NEW YORK (Reuters) - National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the remainder of the season on Wednesday, after team owners and locked out players were unable to negotiate a new collective agreement.  Owners had been seeking to impose a salary cap on players, something their union had steadfastly refused to consider since the lockout began last September until Monday when they said they would be prepared to accept a cap of $52 million per team, which was rejected by the owners. That figure was lowered to $49 million, while the owners upped their proposal from $40 million to $42.5 million, but neither party was willing to budge any further. The NHL is the first North American professional league to lose an entire schedule due to a labor dispute. |