NHL scraps first week of preseason

The NHL lockout claimed its first casualties as the league said on Wednesday it had canceled the first week of preseason games given the absence of a collective bargaining agreement.

The NHL, in the midst of its fourth work stoppage in 20 years, said in a statement the preseason set to open on Sept 23 is canceled through Sept 30, chopping 60 games off the schedule.

A league-wide lockout was imposed by the NHL last weekend when the previous labor agreement expired, with the owners and players at odds over how to divide a $3.3 billion revenue pie.

There have been no formal talks between NHL owners and the union representing its players since last Wednesday, leaving the scheduled Oct 11 start of the 2012-13 season in doubt.

The work stoppage is the first in the NHL since a lockout wiped out the entire 2004-05 campaign, and the upcoming season could see the same fate as the two sides remain at a stalemate over key economic issues.

The NHL, which enjoyed record-breaking revenues last season, is looking to cut the players' share in revenue while players are against taking an immediate, absolute salary reduction.

The cancellations come amid unconfirmed reports that the NHL will cut employee salaries by 20 percent and institute a four-day work week starting Oct 1.

At the same time, the flood of players rushing to find work in European leagues is expected to grow with no end in site to the work stoppage.

Reigning Most Valuable Player Evgeni Malkin and former scoring champion and MVP Alex Ovechkin head the list of big-name NHL players who have already signed deals to play in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

Ovechkin became one of the latest high-profile player to return to Russia since the NHL announced a lockout on Sunday when he signed a contract with his former club Dynamo Moscow.

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk signed a lucrative deal with big-spending SKA St. Petersburg on Tuesday while three other players, including MVP Evgeni Malkin, joined Metallurg Magnitogorsk over the weekend.

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov said he was returning to his former club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.