National Hockey League owners unanimously ratified the new collective bargaining agreement, bringing an official end to the lockout which wiped out an entire season and saw the Stanley Cup not awarded for the first time since 1919.
To no one's surprise, the vote was 30-0 in favour of the new agreement.
NHL players formally accepted the new deal on Thursday with 87 percent of the membership voting in favour of the deal.
"Well folks, it's over," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. "Let's drop the puck on a fresh start and a wonderful future for the National Hockey League."
The deal will see NHL hockey return this fall under a drastically new financial landscape which includes hard salary cap of around $39 million per team with teams required to spend at least $21.5 million on player salaries. Players will receive 54 percent of league revenues, which are projected to be about $1.7 billion for the 2005-06 season.
"With the ratification of the CBA, let me be the first to welcome you to our new season," said Bettman who confirmed that the 2005-06 season will begin October 5th with all 30 clubs in action.
Under the new deal, divisional rivalries will be emphasized with each team playing eight games against each of its four division rivals and four games against each of the 10 non-division clubs in its conference.
Each club will also play 10 interconference games. For the 2005-06 season, Northeast Division teams will host the Pacific Division and visit the Northwest, Atlantic Division clubs will host the Northwest and visit the Central; and Southeast Division teams will host the Central and visit the Pacific. Such assignments will rotate annually.
With the league's redesigned silver and black logo serving as a backdrop, Bettman also unveiled the new rule changes which will take effect this fall, aimed at opening up the game and increasing scoring, part of a plan to lure back disenchanted fans.
Among the changes fans will see this season is the implementation of the shootout to decide a winner in every game, the removal of the center ice red line, a return to the tag-up offside rule, moving the nets two feet closer to the end boards while limiting the goaltenders ability to play the puck around the net and a reduction in goaltender's equipment.
Bettman says the new rules will put an emphasis on offense and flow. A new joint player-league competition committee has also been created to oversee the new rule changes.
"We are going to let our offensive players, our skilled players do what they do best," said Bettman.
The bottom line? Hopefully more flow, less stoppages, more mistakes from tired players, more scoring chances, and ultimately more goals.
"I think what will happen is that you will create more scoring because you'll see more mistakes," said New Jersey Devils CEO and GM Lou Lamoriello. "Scoring comes from mistakes. And the reason we haven't scoring if that the coaching has reached such a high level of minimizing the number of mistakes and turnovers. And that to me is what we'll see."
The general aim of the changes is to reward offence over defence and in the process hopefully change the mindset of coaches who have mastered the art of stopping goals, not necessarily scoring them.
"I hope there are coaches looking at it saying: `How do we maximize scoring?'" said Anaheim Mighty Ducks GM Brian Burke.
Will hockey fans see a whole different game overnight? Not exactly.
"I do think that a lot of these things will take time to develop," said Brendan Shanahan, who was intrumental in getting some of the new rules implemented. "Certainly some of the changes will be immediate to the eye and exciting to the eye, but realistically there will be a time period, obviously an adjustment period for the obstruction. I think coaches who know how to exploit defences and take advantage of these offensive opportunities will get hired more.
"All of the benefits of these rules won't happen on Day 1. They have to develop."
Bettman said he hopes fans will come back to the game.
"We will do everything in our power to be the best we can be and to earn your continued devotion," Bettman said in addressing hockey fans everywhere.
"We pledge to our fans we will do everything we can to make it up to you."
Bettman confirmed that NHL players will take part in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy as well as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. In those Olympic years, the NHL All-Star Game will not be played.
With files from CP