Canceling the draft may or maynot have been a "chess move" of wits by Bettman. But it does do two key things. 1 - Free's up any pressure point for a date of agreement on CBA, 2 - gives plenty of respectable notification to the organizers at the hotel to...well, not prepare. Sends a message of "Hey, don't spend the time and money, we don't see a deal getting done & we're gonna be more respectful to the 'little people' who would be negatively affected by this." It'd be easier and more gladly accepted to throw something together at the last minute, than to cancel the huge dog-n-pony show at the last minute.
I personally don't like what Bettman has done while in power, but really he's just been doing his job, which is doing what the owners (collectively) tell him to do. Bobby G on the other hand, while also trying to do his job of pushing the league to give as much as it can to the players, has continually pushed too hard and too far. He's been preaching the "stick together, we can win this thing" to the players and unfortunately most of them have listened. Like it or not this whole ordeal has turned into a battle of wits, & Goodenow is screwed! Business is business, and you can only have expenses be a certain percentage of revenue. Bob & (some of) the players can't seem to grasp this concept. Bob said "We've already turned down two proposals that were more than that..." ...no $#it Sherlock. Bettman told you that future offers would go down, this season was the NHLPA's last real leverage tool. It's gone & Goodeman is just a tool. The draft was NO leverage point for the players, they are (or should be) just worrying about their own salary at this point.
The PA will have to end up accepting a cap, p'bly mid 30's, and who knows when. Without TV and other sponsor backing, the owners are not in any "sacrifice" mode to make a deal. Bettman (as bad as it may be) will be praised for "getting the deal done" when this is all over. He's just been the monkey in the suit, and earns a paycheck to do as he's told, especially for the on-ice decisions.