NHL Lockout Ends; Players Accept $64.3 Million Salary Cap
The NHL lockout ended on Sunday after 16 hours of talks between the league and the players union ended in a settlement.
The concessions were made by both sides in New York when the National Hockey League and the NHL Player's Association reached a verbal agreement on a tentative framework for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, according to CNN.
The lockout lasted for 113 days and a total of 625 regular-season games were sacrificed, which also accounts for over half of the 2012-13 season.
The new 10-year CBA deal comes with a seven-year contract limit and a player salary cap at $64.3 million dollars, according to The Huffington Post.
The deal ends an ordeal that began on June 29, 2012, when collective bargaining started between the two sides. That led to a July 13 proposal from the NHL that may have set back negotiations for months and included a drop in the players' share of revenue from 57 percent down to 43 percent. The response by the league galvanized the union to stick through a hard dispute.
The lockout formally began at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2012, but only now has a settlement been agreed to by both sides. The deal was completed but currently needs finalization pending ratification from the owners and players.
FOX News reported the excited tweets by players over the news.
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist posted a message saying, "The past is the past... lets move forward and start enjoying the best game on the planet!! Hockey is back and I love it!!!"
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Marc-Andre Bergeron put it simply: "Back to work!"
The season will be shortened and is expected to begin on Jan. 19 or as early as Jan. 15.
