Unfollow NHL September 15

By Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, Sports

The collateral damage of a possible labor dispute in the NHL has begun to set in, as the Detroit Red Wings today canceled the annual prospects camp they host in Traverse City. 

General manager Ken Holland told the Free Press that, “We had a conference call with all the teams involved. Due to the uncertainty of CBA negotiations and teams having to make commitments for hotel rooms and travel plans — the biggest thing is the hotel rooms. The people Up North needed to know if the rooms would be used or not. So we made the decision to cancel for 2012. We plan to be back next year.”

Games among prospects for the Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues were to have run Sept. 15-19 at Centre Ice Arena.

The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players’ association expires Sept. 15. The sides held talks again this week, but most people in hockey believe there’ll be a lockout that will shorten the 2012-13 season to around 60 games.
For now, though, training camp for the main Wings group remains on schedule to start Sept. 20.

“We’ve got our training booked in Traverse City, and we’ll leave it as is,” Holland said. “But we’ll be in touch with the hotels up there, and at some point in time, we’ll have to make a decision.”