NHL roadmap: What to expect when deal is done

[Renew Deal]

Sometime between today and next week, sweaty NHL bargainers will look up at their counterparts from the National Hockey League Players' Association and together they will nod their heads and put down their pens. Done. A new collective-bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and its players.

But then what?

Here's a rough road map of how the frenzied post-CBA summer is likely to unfold.

Once both sides agree on a deal -- likely sometime this weekend or early next week -- don't expect the parties to rush onto Broadway and burst into song. The two sides will likely draft a joint release about the tentative deal, but further details will wait for ratification.

There has been speculation the league will wait to announce a tentative deal until after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game next Tuesday in order to take advantage of the hole in the North American sporting schedule. Maybe. But time is at a premium; logic dictates that once a tentative deal is done the league will want to move forward as quickly as possible.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=2103817

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. nobody will recognize their own teams

My team, the Islanders, only has FIVE players under contract for next season. The rest are free agents, and our best defenseman, Kenny Johnnson, just left to finish his career in Sweden.