A marathon negotiation session that started Saturday and ended early Sunday morning has resulted in the National Hockey League and its players finally putting a new collective bargaining agreement in the back of the net.
Following 113 days of a labor stoppage that has claimed contests through Jan. 14 and iced All-Star weekend, the parties, after negotiating for some 16 hours, struck a tentative accord.
"We have reached an agreement of a framework of a new CBA," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman around 6 a.m. on Jan. 6.
"Any process like this is difficult; it can be long," noted NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr. "We have the framework of a deal."
On its website, the NHL indicates that the "new CBA, which still must be drafted and formerly approved by both parties, would replace the agreement that expired Sept. 15."
More details about the tentative deal can be read here.
