Hay River, Dawson City off NHL players' tour

Organizers have cancelled charity exhibition hockey games by locked-out NHL players that had been planned for Hay River, N.W.T., and Dawson City, Yukon.

NHL players will still be lacing up for games in Yellowknife on Nov. 18, Inuvik on Nov. 20, and Whitehorse on Nov. 21. Organizers had earlier said players will also be playing a fun game with a local team on frozen Great Bear Lake during a stop in Deline, N.W.T.

In a news release issued Friday, tour organizer and former NHLer John Chabot said the Hay River and Dawson City games were cancelled because the labour dispute between NHL owners and players may soon be over.

“With the possibility of the NHL lockout being resolved fairly soon we wanted to include as much of the North and present a game in each of the three territories,” Chabot said.

There was no indication any games are planned for Nunavut communities.

The N.W.T. portion of the tour is being organized by the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the Northwest Territories and First Assist Charities.

Organizers have yet to identify the NHLers who will be coming North. Ottawa Senators Daniel Alfredsson and Chris Neil are reportedly among those interested in participating.