What purpose is this? NHL Cancels draft

From the AP

NEW YORK (AP) -- Its season already called off, the NHL on Thursday canceled its 2005 entry draft that had been scheduled for June in Ottawa.

"In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement, we are not able to conduct an entry draft in the traditional sense on the dates scheduled," Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said in a statement.

The NHL said there was no immediate word on when Ottawa will host a draft "although the league is committed to bringing an entry draft to Ottawa as soon as is feasible."

The league had been facing a deadline on hotel rooms reserved for the June 25-26 draft at Corel Centre.

I don't get it.

Is this another pressure tactic by the NHL to get the NHLPA to get with the program? If it is, it's VERY detrimental to the League itself and only encourages top prospects (read: Sidney Crosby) to look elsewhere to play hockey because there is no guarantee the NHL will resume any time soon.

And from the looks of it, it won't.