The NHL lockout is officially over after the league and players' association finalized a memorandum of understanding regarding the new labour deal signed last weekend.

The league's board of governors ratified the collective bargaining agreement on Wednesday after club owners voted in favour of the new deal reached early on Sunday after a 16-hour meeting.

The NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has apologized to hockey fans for the lockout that delayed the start of the season by three months.

Even though the latest NHL lockout required 113 days to solve, several players will not be ready to join their teammates when training camps open. Some players have not completely healed from lingering ailments from last year and some suffered injuries playing in Europe.

Which teams benefited from a compressed schedule in 1995, the last time the NHL played a 48-game season? Who might it help this time around? What else can we learn from the last lockout-shortened campaign?

Watch as the economic impact of the NHL lockout is weighed and evaluated on the Lang & O'Leary Exchange.

NHL training camps are expected to open on Sunday. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said that the ratification process for a new CBA should be completed on Saturday.

Hockey Night In Canada commentator Elliotte Friedman explains how the NHL's new salary cap recapture system affects players with long-term contracts.

We asked fans what they want as compensation for the NHL lockout, and while there was no clear answer, we received some interesting suggestions and what it will take for some fans to forgive and forget.

Don Cherry says fans soon will witness the"dynamite" hockey that a 48-game season brings once the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.

Sure, NHL fans are angry about the lockout. But the many fun storylines surrounding the Canadian-based teams will pull them back in, writes Tim Wharnsby.

The NHL is most likely to play a 48-game season after its new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.

With the lockout finally over, Elliotte Friedman turns his attention to the logistics of a shortened NHL season, namely scheduling, free agents and a revised trade deadline.

Sidney Crosby says the prolonged NHL labour negotiations could have ended a month ago with what essentially was the same agreement that was reached over the weekend.

You're probably aware that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are now members of the Minnesota Wild, and right-winger Shane Doan is staying in Phoenix. But who remains an NHL free agent following the lockout?