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NHL, players' association reach new labor agreement
Posted: Wednesday July 13, 2005 11:21AM; Updated: Wednesday July 13, 2005 12:56PM
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.
NHL commissioner Gary 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.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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