NHL packs its entire year on ice

NEW YORK – A hockey season on the brink is now a season gone bust.

The National Hockey League canceled what was left of its decimated schedule Wednesday after a round of last-gasp negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap – the flash-point issue that led to a lockout.

It’s the first time a major pro sports league in North America lost an entire season to a labor dispute. The resulting damage could be immeasurable to hockey, which already has limited appeal in the United States.

“This is a sad, regrettable day that all of us wish could have been avoided,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

“Every day that this thing continues we don’t think it’s good for the game,” NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow said in Toronto.

To begin with, all momentum gained in the final days of negotiations has been lost – late offers that appeared to bring the sides close to a deal are off the table, and there’s no telling when the NHL will get back on the ice.

No Stanley Cup champion will be crowned, the first time that’s happened since 1919, when the 2-year-old league called off the finals because of a flu epidemic.

Without an agreement, there can be no June draft. The sport’s heralded next big thing, Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby, won’t pull on his first NHL sweater anytime soon.

Then there are aging stars – Mario Lemieux (39), Mark Messier (44), Steve Yzerman (39) Brett Hull (40), Ron Francis (41), Dave Andreychuk (41) and Chris Chelios (43) – whose playing days could end on someone else’s terms.

“This is a tragedy for the players,” Bettman said. “Their careers are short and this is money and opportunity they’ll never get back,” Bettman said.

Hockey was already a distant fourth on the popularity scale among the nation’s major league sports. The NHL lost the first season of its two-year broadcasting agreement with NBC that was supposed to begin this season.

Taking a year off, or more, will only push the league further off the radar screen.

“The scary part now for hockey is: Do the fans come back? We’re not baseball. We’re not the national pastime,” Nashville forward Jim McKenzie said.