NHL, players reach tentative deal to end lockout

The NHL and the players' association reached a tentative agreement Sunday morning to end a nearly four-month-old lockout.

A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours, stretching from Saturday afternoon until just before dawn Sunday, produced a 10-year deal.

The announcement came after months of stops and starts in the negotiations, which began in late June and resulted in the cancellation of more than 630 regular season games -- more than 40 percent of the regular season -- as well as the Winter Classic between Detroit and Toronto on Jan. 1 in Ann Arbor, Mich., and All-Star Weekend in Columbus, Ohio on Jan. 26-27.

"We've got to dot a lot of Is and cross a lot of Ts," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "There's still a lot of work to be done, but the basic details of the agreement have been agreed upon."

The schedule for a 50- or 48-game season must still be worked out.

The majority of the league's 30 owners, as well as the union's full membership of close to 740 players, must still vote to ratify the deal  Read more