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New NHL agreement ratified

NEW YORK, July 22 (UPI) -- The National Hockey League board of governors ratified a new collective bargaining agreement Friday, ending a work stoppage that wiped out the 2004-05 season.

The NHL Players Association ratified the agreement Thursday.

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The agreement calls for a salary range with a floor of $21.5 million and a cap of $39 million per team -- including all salaries, signing bonuses and performance bonuses.

"Our foundation for the future now is in place," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "It is the mandate of this new partnership, achieved at enormous cost, to reconnect with our fans and refocus the spotlight where it belongs: on the ice."

The 2005-06 season is set to begin Oct. 5, while the NHL entry draft will be held July 30, and a free agency period begins two days later.

Bettman said some rules changes will help the league get back in the good graces of its fans. The changes include: no center ice line; the re-implementation of the tag-up offsides rule; a limit on goaltenders playing the puck behind the net; limitations on goaltender equipment size; moving the nets two feet closer to the end boards; and shootouts to decide the outcome of games tied after overtime.

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