Ice hockey: NHL players approve six-year deal

TORONTO - The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) have voted overwhelmingly to approve a new collective bargaining agreement, ending the lockout that wiped out an entire season.

Nearly 90 per cent of the players voted in favor of the six-year labor deal which, according to media reports, contains a US$39 million (NZ$56.8m) salary cap for each of the NHL's 30 teams and a 24 per cent rollback of salaries for players on existing contracts.

"We look forward to starting fresh with this new agreement," NHLPA executive director Bob Goodenow told a news conference.

"We're fully committed to the new deal and we anticipate great success for the game as we go forward."

More than 230 players were in Toronto to vote on the six-year deal which ties players' earnings to league revenue.

Players who were unable to attend voted via the internet.

The NHL and its board of governors will meet in New York on Friday to rubber-stamp the new agreement, reveal the order for the 2005 entry draft and discuss possible rule changes for the forthcoming season.

"I am optimistic that we will bring this promptly to a successful conclusion so that we can go together and get this game, and the attention on this game, back where it belongs, on the ice," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

LABOUR DISPUTE

The league imposed the lockout on September 16 and canceled the season in February, making it the first North American professional sports league to lose an entire season because of a labor dispute.

The NHLPA meeting began on Wednesday to allow players to check the 600-page agreement and address any last-minute questions before casting their votes.

While the deal limits total player salaries to 54 per cent of league revenue, essentially a salary cap that many players were against during negotiations, the union said the deal was fair for both sides.

The NHL's projected revenue for next season is about US$1.7 billion.

The vote to ratify the deal came one week after news of a tentative agreement between the two sides surfaced, which was 301 days after the lockout began in September.

According to NHLPA president Trevor Linden, the deal is better than the one discussed five months ago and will work for all players.

"There's been a lot of comparison to the deal in February and it's not even close. It's much stronger, allows much more growth and I think players will be very satisfied," he said.

Since the league's approval of the deal on Friday is being regarded as a sure thing, the next business will be the order of selection for next week's draft.

The draft, in which Canadian Sidney Crosby is tipped to be the first overall pick, is scheduled for July 30 in Ottawa.

- REUTERS