Ahead of talks, which are slated to resume on Friday, the NHL has announced the cancellation of the entire 2012 pre-season schedule.

The league locked out the players on September 15th, when a new contract could not be worked out.

Previously, the NHL had cut out the first hald of the pre-season, meaning games through September 30th, but hoped to salvage the second half.

The next thing that would be on the chopping block: regular season games.

The season was supposed to start on October 11th.