Tag Archives: Winnipeg

NEW YORK (AP) — Hockey is back, and it took nearly four months and one long night to get the game back on the ice.With the season on the line, the NHL and the players’ association agreed on a tentative pact to end a 113-day lockout and save what was left of a fractured schedule.Commissioner Gary Bettman and union executive director Donald Fehr ceased being adversaries and announced the deal while standing side by side near a wall toward the back of the negotiating room and showing a tinge of weariness.”I want to thank Don Fehr,” Bettman said. “We went through a tough period, but it’s good to be at this point.”A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours, stretching from Saturday afternoon until just before dawn Sunday, produced a 10-year deal.”We’ve got to dot a lot of Is and cross a lot of Ts,” Bettman said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, but the basic details of the agreement have been agreed upon.”Even players who turned into negotiators showed the strain of the long, difficult process.”It was a battle,” said Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ron Hainsey, a key member of the union’s bargaining team. “Gary said a month ago it was a tough negotiation. That’s what it was.Continue Reading… … Read More