The deal still requires majority approval from the board of governors, who will meet Wednesday, when the 30 owners will vote on the new agreement with players.

The tentative agreement is a 10-year deal with a mutual opt-out clause after eight years and includes contract term limits at seven years (eight years for a team to re-sign its own players), a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com.

"I am happy deal has been reached and excited to get back to playing hockey," Penguins star Sidney Crosby said in an email.

For the first year, the salary cap is $60 million, but teams can spend up to $70.2 million in the transition period, while the floor is $44 million.

Sources said the 2013-14 salary cap, a very divisive issue, will be $64.3 million, while the floor will remain at $44 million.

Contract salary variance is capped at 35 percent from year to year, with the provision that the lowest year can't vary more than 50 percent from the highest-salaried year, a source told ESPN.com.

Revenue sharing will spread $200 million, with a $60 million NHLPA-initiated growth fund included.

The NHL had hoped to change the opening of free agency to July 10, but the players stood firm and it will remain July 1, although it will start later this year due to the delayed season. Regardless of the season's start date, the league at this point is suggesting April 5 for the trade deadline, a source told ESPN. The NHLPA has not agreed to that date yet.

Olympic participation will not be part of this agreement. The two parties will work on a side agreement regarding the Olympics and possibly the World Cup of Hockey.

Veteran forward Shane Doan said the players knew it would be concessionary bargaining from the beginning, but was satisfied with the agreed-upon terms.

"You knew you were in that position, and I think as a union we got the best deal we could possibly get, and you're happy," he said. "You're just excited to play hockey again and do what you really enjoy and have a passion for."

Word of the agreement came after the two sides hashed out their remaining differences for more than 16 hours at a hotel in midtown Manhattan. It was the lengthiest negotiating session and latest night of a lockout that has lasted 113 days.

George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, issued a statement congratulating the NHL and NHLPA.

"The negotiated agreement represents the successful culmination of a long and difficult road in which the parties ultimately were able to reach mutually acceptable solutions to a wide variety of contentious subjects of bargaining," he said.

Bettman did not have details on a timeline for ratification or a potential schedule for the opening of the regular season. It is believed the sides are aiming for either a 48- or 50-game season depending on how quickly things get done. Sources told ESPN.com that a 50-game season would start Jan. 15, while a 48-game season would start Jan. 19.

The league sent out a memo Sunday night saying that Jan. 19 was the probable option for opening night, but that if the ratification process progresses quickly, Jan. 15 still would be in play.