It was over 300 days ago that the National Hockey League locked out its players at the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. The NHL and Players' Association struck a tentative deal this afternoon on a new collective bargaining agreement that could end the hockey lockout. The deal still requires ratification by the league's board of governors and players. It should be finalized in the next week or so and only then will any details be released. We do know that the agreement is for six years includes a hard salary cap, may be re-negotiable after four years and will include a 24% rollback on existing contracts.

At 301 days, the NHL lockout is the longest labour dispute in the history of North American pro sports. "We supported this all along, because the NHL needed an economic course correction," said Richard Peddie, president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Most experts believe that the union could have had a much better deal had it agreed to the NHL's final offer last February. "The union miscalculated every step of the way," said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based consulting company SportsCorp Ltd. "They never accepted just how poor the economic condition of the sport was." Assuming that this deal is ratified, both parties have a daunting task ahead of them as they try to increase the profile of hockey and win back the fans.