NHL and players agree to deal and end lockout

Finally, there will be hockey in 2013.

The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players'  Association today signed a Memorandum of Understanding reflecting the terms of a new, 10-year Collective Bargaining Agreement. Team training camps will open on Sunday, and a regular-season schedule with 48 games per team will begin on Saturday, January 19.

Under the deal, Hockey Related Revenues (HRR) will be shared 50%-50% between Owners and the Players. The Agreement includes terms that limit the length of individual Player contracts to seven years (eight when a team is re-signing its own Player).

The new Agreement, the longest in League history, also features a new defined benefit pension plan for the Players, enhanced club revenue sharing, and the creation of a Revenue Sharing Oversight Committee with Union participation.

In addition, there will be a Player playoff prize pool that doubles in size to $13 million in Year 1, and the creation of an Owner-Player Relations Committee. That committee will meet at least twice a year to discuss matters of mutual interest and to consult regularly on how best to continue to grow the game.

Furthermore, the Agreement modifies the Prohibited Substances List to include additional illegal substances (e.g., stimulants, amphetamines, etc.) and contemplates the creation of a committee to study the issue of HGH testing and to make recommendations relative to whether an HGH testing program should be established in the NHL. The Agreement also provides for enhanced drug testing policies and protocols.

By Staff of The Daily Sports Herald and news services