Sports | NHL NHL, Union Strike Tentative Deal 10-year agreement still needs to be ratified by players, would save half season By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Jan 6, 2013 5:13 AM CST Copied In this Dec. 6, 2012, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and deputy commissioner Bill Daly speak in New York. Bettman has told the players union that a deal must be in place by Jan. 11. (Mary Altaffer) The NHL and the players' association reached a tentative agreement early today to end a nearly four-month-old lockout that threatened to wipe out the season. A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours and stretched from early yesterday afternoon until just before 6am today produced a 10-year deal that still must be ratified by the players. After the sides stayed mostly apart for two days, following late-night talks that turned sour, federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh worked virtually around the clock to get the sides back to the bargaining table. The NHL avoided the embarrassment of having a second season lost because of a labor dispute when no other North American sports league ever had to cancel one. Read These Next UPS driver hits the Slip 'N Slide with some partying teens. Kohberger agrees to plea deal in Idaho killings. Death certificate reveals Brian Wilson's cause of death. Lorde's risque photo causes a fuss. Report an error