A handful of Edmonton Oilers host an informal practice. Mandatory Credit: The Japan Times and Associated Press

The NHL Board of Governors are set to meet today and vote on the new collective bargaining agreement that was tentatively agreed upon by the NHL and NHLPA. A majority vote is required for the CBA to pass and it’s expected to pass without a problem. If/when it does pass the NHL will be one step closer to getting its regular season started and it’s product back on the ice, where it belongs.

The NHLPA is still typing up their “memorandum of understanding” and they are planning to have more than 700 players vote on the new CBA once the memorandum is finished and the agreement can be easily explained to every player. Like the BOG the players must also vote in favor of the new CBA in order for the deal to be ratified and made official. That is also not expected to be a problem.

Many players have started to return from Europe to their respective rinks, cities and towns. In fact, many teams and players have already started to hold informal practices and scrimmages as training camps can’t open just yet and the season can’t officially start until the new CBA is ratified.

With the CBA expected to be agreed upon and the ratification process complete by Saturday, the NHL and NHLPA hope to open training camps on Sunday and begin the season the following Saturday, January 19th.

As reported earlier in the week the NHL is expected to play a 48-game schedule with all games being within conference games. Kind of a bummer but should make the playoff race that much more interesting.

It’s kind of funny actually, the lockout lasted over 100+ days. Now, with NHL hockey only 10 days away, this next week is going to feel like an eternity.Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The LA Kings clinch the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL lockout is over! The NHL is leaving the boardrooms and headed back to the ice! They’re back! Took 100+ days but whose counting? The lockout never should’ve happened but who cares?

The day we’ve all been waiting for, praying for, hoping for, wishing on Christmas for and trying to sell a kidney for has finally come! Early Sunday morning the NHL and NHLPA reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement to end the ridiculous and completely unnecessary NHL lockout. Hallelujah, praise Jesus, praise Allah, praise whoever it is you pray to and atheists, well thanks for keeping your fingers crossed and hoping!

The proposed deal which still needs to be formally written up and agreed upon by both sides ends the NHL’s 3rd lockout in 19 years and it is a 10-year agreement with an opt-out option available after the 8th year. So, we should be able to go 5-6 years without a lockout, this is the NHL we’re talking about though so don’t jinx it.

From NHL.com,

“According to multiple reports, the deal spans 10 years with an out option for either side after eight years. It also reportedly features a seven-year limit on new player contracts (extended to eight for players re-signing with their own team). Additionally, these reports say the sides agreed on a salary cap of $64.3 for the 2013-14 season with the floor resting at $44 million. For this season, the cap will reportedly be at $70.2 million. To be able to meet the reduced cap number in 2013-14, each team will be allowed the option of two compliance buyouts before the start of that season, again according to reports. The buyout money reportedly does not count against the salary cap of the team buying out the player, rather it is counted against the players’ share of hockey-related revenue.”

The NHL sent out a memo on Monday to all the teams telling them to be ready for a January 19th start and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly sent an email to the Associated Press stating the same and that they are planning a 48-game schedule. Daly went on to say that the season could start sooner and be a little longer if “the players can expedite their ratification process.”

Its funny how the NHL is saying the season could start sooner if the players hurry up, isn’t it the NHL that locked out the players initially after the NHLPA said they would play the 2012-13 season under the old CBA until a new one was drafted? Now, the NHLPA has to find players that are scattered around the world, get them to understand the new CBA and then agree to it. Seems like that is an easy enough process and if they can do it quickly the NHL is kind enough to make the season longer so the owners/league can collect more ad revenue. It’s also a process that could’ve been avoided had this unnecessary lockout never happened, see where this is going?

At this point I don’t really care, hockey is back. For those who say they won’t support the NHL or spend any money on it, I wish them well. I’m most certainly not one of those people. Call me a sell out, say I have no pride or whatever I don’t care. I can now get back to covering NHL hockey as opposed to continually writing about Gary Bettman and Donald Fehr. If I never have to type those two names again in an article I’ll be happier than I am today, which if you can’t tell is pretty freaking happy. I can also get back to watching the Boston Bruins instead of the Boston College Eagles and while I do love college hockey, it’s not the NHL, fact not opinion.

The NHL is back! Just keep telling yourself that and soon enough (about 2 weeks to be exact), it will be back on your TV and back in rinks across North America.Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

It feels like it has been months since the NHL owners and players had a series of unorthodox collective bargaining agreement talks that were apparently going so well that a new deal was reportedly inevitable.

Even some cynics (myself included) let themselves believe that an NHL season was in reach. Ultimately as you all know the deal fell through and now the two sides haven’t met for formal talks in a few days. The NHL has now cancelled a total of 526 regular season games, which includes the NHL Winter Classic and NHL All Star Game.

Now the players have begun voting on whether to authorize a disclaimer of interest, which would lead to the dissolving of the NHLPA. It basically means the players feel the union has failed to get a new CBA done, so Donald Fehr and company would no longer represent the players as they would no longer be a union.

According to the Associated Press and CBS Sports, player’s votes will be cast electronically over a 5 day period that starts on Sunday and ends this Thursday with 2/3 of the union’s membership votes needed for the disclaimer to be filed. If the disclaimer actually passes, the 30 member NHLPA executive board would have until January 2nd to file it.

Also according to the AP & CBS, “On Friday, the NHL filed a class-action complaint which asked a federal court in New York to make a declaration on the legality of the lockout. In the 43-page complaint, the league argued the players’ association was only considering the “disclaimer of interest” to “extract more favorable terms and conditions of employment.”

Awesome stuff, seems like these two sides are getting along really well. Shortly after the NHL filed their suit the NHLPA released a statement in which they questioned the NHL’s suit. From the statement, “The NHL appears to be arguing that players should be stopped from even considering their right to decide whether or not to be represented by a union. We believe that their (the NHL) position is completely without merit.”

Court rooms aside it would appear the NHL and NHLPA still remain apart on 3-4 key issues. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger via Twitter, “CBA term, contract length remain key issues,but, PA favors a $67.25 million cap,compliance buyouts and a cap on escrow. Huge hurdles for NHL.”Oh, those are the holdups? I feel better now, NOT. Hopes of a new CBA and possible abbreviated NHL season get slimmer and slimmer by the day.

So, there you have it. Hopefully I’ve done my job and now at the very least you are updated on all the ridiculous going-ons of the current NHL lockout. It’s not pretty and no one is winning in my opinion. Certainly not the local businesses and fans anyway.