There's no shortage of opinion across Canada on the new tentative deal reached between the NHL and NHL Players Association (NHLPA).

The deal in principle reached Wednesday on a six-year collective bargaining agreement -- the rules that govern all player contracts -- ended a long, damaging labour battle that some say the game won't recover from.

The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons says the players suffered a serious blow in the new deal.

"Having been slaughtered in most damaging fight in hockey history, having been sold out by their own union representatives on just about every issue they were instructed to believe in, players spoke bravely (Wednesday) about rebuilding the game. What else could they do after such a stunning defeat?"

New York Islanders forward Mike Peca -- like several other players -- says he's pleased a deal has been made, but is anxious to get a look at all the details, which won't be released until ratification.

Colourful hockey commentator Don Cherry says there's no doubt the owners won this contest. He says the players won some concessions, such as a lower age for unrestricted free agency, "but not much else."

But Cherry also points out that players unsatisfied with the new deal should remember that it was NHLPA leader Bob Goodenow who helped get players their high average annual salaries in the previous CBA signed in 1994.

The new agreement

The previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA) died in September and the 2004-2005 NHL season was cancelled by an owner-imposed lockout because of disagreements over a salary cap.

The two sides were miles apart philosophically. The owners wanted "cost certainty" -- which they said meant linking salaries to revenue, or a salary cap -- while the players were seeking a more market-based solution.

Wednesday afternoon, the NHL and NHL Players Association agreed tentatively to new terms on a six-year CBA -- thus ending the longest labour strife in the history of pro sports in North America.

Both the NHL Members and NHLPA Board of Governors must ratify the deal for it to become official, which is expected to happen within a week.

Flood of free agents

Among the leaked details of the CBA are liberalized free agency rules. Unrestricted free agency remains at age 31 this summer, but players will be getting unrestricted status at age 27 by 2008, or after seven years of NHL tenure.

With only about 300 players under contract to the 30 NHL teams, a number of high profile unrestricted free agents are set to flood the marketplace.

The Ottawa Sun's Chris Stevenson says to expect an all out "free agent feeding frenzy."

"I'm looking forward to the insanity of it," Islanders general manager Mike Milbury told Newsday. Milbury has just five players under contract.

"That's part of the fun. It should, I hope, create a lot of speculation and rumor and it should create a lot of talking and interest. People talking hockey again is a good thing."

Future of the game

The Globe and Mail's Roy MacGregor says Canadians who still love the game and its players will welcome the NHL back with open arms.

"But so many fans became so disenchanted with what they saw as a silly spat between greedy millionaire players and greedy billionaire owners -- without any consideration for the paying customer -- that it remains questionable as to how many will return, how quickly and, significantly, at what price," he wrote.

NHL owner and hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky, says he's happy that a tentative agreement is finally in place.

But he adds the lockout has almost crippled the hockey industry, and says that both sides have a lot of work to do in order to win back disenfranchised fans.

Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun, meanwhile, believes fans stopped caring months ago.

Cole says the reputations of the players are "in the toilet -- for failing to acknowledge the sorry state of hockey's economics initially, for spouting union dogma and vowing to fight to the death for their principles, then abandoning them when the going got tough."

He says the owners, while clearly winning this "test of wills," left some heavy casualties behind, including " corporate America, American television, and hockey's shaky foothold in a dozen U.S. markets."

South of the border

Tom Reid, the general manager of Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub in St. Paul, Minn., says the lockout has put a lasting dent on NHL teams in the southern U.S.

"In a place like Minnesota, hockey means a lot," said Reid. "But in the south, I think people have found other uses for the entertainment dollar they once saved for hockey."

In Philadelphia, hometown of the Flyers and a traditional hockey town, not all fans seemed anxious about the NHL's return.

"I've got to admit, I didn't miss it," said Joe Hartman, a Philadelphia insurance adjuster.

Former Buffalo Sabre Rob Ray added: "Even a town like (Buffalo), I think it's going to take a bit for them to come back to the numbers that we've had. It's not going to be an easy task.''

Once the deal is ratified on both sides, a formal announcement "re-launching" the game will take place, likely on July 21.

The current dispute officially started on Sept. 15, 2004, when the previous collective bargaining agreement between the NHL owners and the NHLPA expired. After 154 days, the season was officially cancelled on Feb. 16.