Posted on 07/13/2005 10:25:46 AM PDT by So Cal Rocket
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NHL and the players' association reached an agreement in principle Wednesday on a new labor deal, ending a lockout that wiped out last season.
The sides met for 24 hours starting Tuesday afternoon to hammer out the collective bargaining agreement that will return the NHL to the ice. In February, commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the season, making the NHL the first North American sports league to lose a year because of a labor dispute.
Both sides still need to ratify the deal, which is expected to contain a salary cap. That process is expected to be completed next week, the league and the union said in a joint news release.
It took all night and then some for the final round of negotiations to produce an agreement.
The sides met for 10 straight days in New York, and it became clear Wednesday morning -- the 301st day of the lockout -- that they weren't going to leave the room without an agreement in hand.
The expected salary cap will likely have a ceiling approaching $40 million and a minimum somewhere between $20 million and $25 million.
Player salaries will not exceed 54 percent of league-wide revenues.
Some players in recent days have voiced their displeasure over what will be included in the new agreement.
Bettman warned in February when he canceled the season that the offers the union passed up were better than any it would see once a year of hockey was lost.
Just days before the season was wiped out, the players' association said for the first time it would accept a salary cap if the league dropped its desire to link player costs to revenues.
Bettman promised ``cost certainty'' in the form of a hard salary cap to the owners and he has gotten it.
The landscape of the NHL will be quite different than it was back in June 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning skated off with the Stanley Cup in the league's last game before the lockout.
Now when the league relaunches in the fall, it will do so with a brand new salary structure that keeps high-spending teams such as Toronto, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers in line.
The first order of business after the deal is ratified will be to get a majority of the players signed. The belief is that last season's contracts will be wiped from the books, leaving many players without deals.
Those who are still under contract will have their salaries reduced by 24 percent, a concept first proposed by the union last December.
There will also be several rules changes that could run the gamut from the size of goaltender equipment to the installation of a shootout to eliminate tie games.
A draft will also have to be held soon, replacing the June event that was the last casualty of the lockout.
Canadian phenom Sidney Crosby is the consensus choice to be the No. 1 pick. Where he goes will be determined by a draft lottery that will give each team an opportunity to snag him.
Hockey is back in Motown!!!
Now if only I could remember what hockey is ...
Damn - I was hoping another missed season would put the CBC off the air. What else can you watch on that channel?
Seriously, I miss the Habs.
I wonder if the players are disgruntled enough to turn down the new agreement?
Opinions anyone?
How forgiving will the fans be?
No, they are completely gruntled.
Seriously, they came VERY close to killing the goose (NHL) that laid the golden egg (multi-million dollar contracts). They will vote for the agreement overwhelmingly.
A link to another story:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=130274
Nay! Sayth this is NOT true? The drout endith? Be it so, sweet God!
Woo hoo! Where's the Labats?!!
Wow. Hockey in July? I can't wait.
I don't give a puck about hockey anymore. ;-)
I'm a pretty big Red Wings nut (for many years) and will welcome it back. The newer fans will probably have moved on to something else by now.
Come on, boys, don't fold now. You need to hold out to get all that money you lost by not playing last season, even if you have to sit out another season or two.
Do it for the skipper.
Well I think a lot of fansz feel that way.
BOOOOOOO! I hate the shootout format. What the Hell is wrong with tie games? If folks don't like tie games, they wouldn't be hockey fans.
They have NO choice. The owners absolutely will not budge on their stances, they have proven this already. A lot of teams lose less money by having no season then if they did.
Well, I am sure ticketr sales are going to be slow.
And America Reacts! With apathy!
FYI..hockey is played at Tiger Stadium..
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