2012-13 NHL Lockout: NHL and NHLPA reach tentative agreement on CBA

According to everyone, the NHL and NHLPA have reached an agreement on the framework for a new CBA. The nitty-gritty is available here, but the bottom line is this: The Ottawa Senators season will begin soon!

Without going too far into the details, the new CBA will: be ten years long, mutual opt-out after eight; include $200M in revenue sharing plus $60M "growth fund"; outline an eight-year max on re-signed players, seven-year max on players with a new team; restrict contract variance to a max of 35 per cent; cap reduced to $64.3M for 2013-14; allow two compliance buyouts; reward all teams that don't make the playoffs with a chance to get the first overall pick. (Olympic participation will be determined separately.)

Few of these new rules will affect the Senators too much. The team has never signed a contract of more than eight years, nor have they done much cap circumvention using outlandish year-to-year contract variance (Daniel Alfredsson's contract being the lone exception). The team has ample cap space, and will almost certainly not be using either of the compliance buyout available. The revenue sharing may be advantageous to the team, and management may have an opportunity to take advantage of the falling cap in trades or signings given their well-placed position.

There will be time for that. For now, we can get ready to enjoy Senators hockey!