After 113-days the National Hockey League lockout is almost over. The NHL and National Hockey League Players’ Association have a tentative pact on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place.
"Don Fehr (NHLPA Executive Director ) and I are here to tell you that we have reached an agreement on the framework of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the details of which need to be put to paper," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a recent report. "We have to dot a lot of I's and cross a lot of T's. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the basic framework has been agreed upon.
"We have to go through a ratification process and the Board of Governors has to approve it from the League side and, obviously, the players have to approve it as well. We are not in a position to give you information right now about schedule, when we are starting. It's early in the morning and we have been at this all day and all night, obviously. But, we will be back to you very shortly, hopefully, later today with more information in that regard."
The former CBA expired on September 15 and as a result the NHL locked out is players and canceled all games through January 14, 2013. The NHL canceled 625-games, or 50.8% of the regular season, including the NHL All Star Weekend, scheduled for January 25-26 in Columbus, Ohio.
No start date, nor amount of regular season games for the shortened 2012-13 season, has been officially announced. A recent report indicates that a 48 to 50-game regular season will begin on January 15. The 1994-95 season was limited to 48 regular season games, due to a similar lockout from the expiration of the CBA.
This was the third lockout during Bettman’s 20-year tenure as NHL Commissioner. As noted the 1994-95 season was shortened to 48-regular season games due to the expiration of the CBA. The entire 2004-05 was canceled, due to the expiration of the CBA, and for the first time since 1919 the Stanley Cup was not awarded. The 2004-05 season was the only instance that an entire season was canceled, due to labor disputes, in North American professional sport’s history.
Phoenix Coyotes’ captain Shane Doan was one of six NHL players that took an active role in negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA. He was involved in thehour negotiation session over the past weekend that led to the basic framework of the new CBA.|
"Everyone’s obviously relieved that it’s over and done with for all intents and purposes and we’re able to move on to what all enjoy doing,” Doan said on Sunday.
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