Last night’s all-night negotiation session appears to have resurrected hockey. The National Hockey League and NHL Players’ Association confirmed today that a new agreement has been reached, effectively ending the lockout that annihilated the 2004-2005 season.

The new deal, details of which have not formally been announced, must be ratified by both the league and union before we can breathe a sigh of relief and pull our Caps jerseys out of the mothballs. But, this is the closest we have come to real progress in almost a year. If everything goes smoothly details should be made available next week.