from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

There are going to be things both sides will hate about this CBA. But the reactions from the NHL and NHLPA could be very different, which is amazing to me, because Bettman and Daly did get some important concessions.

The players lost hundreds of millions in salaries and some of them were extremely unhappy. But if you look at where the process started and where it ended, the union gained by fighting hard -- just like it did in 2005.

It lost on share of HRR, which went from 57 per cent down to 50. For the first time, there will be term limits on contracts. Compliance buyouts will come from the players' share of revenue, and escrow is a real wild-card here. The league limited money "outside the system."

The 10-year CBA (with an opt-out after eight) and the variance rule -- with the maximum difference between the highest- and lowest-paid seasons of a multi-year contract set at 50 per cent -- were league initiatives. But were important, and will benefit both sides. (Those back-diving contracts are escrow killers.)

The players get a higher cap than expected for 2013-14, they kept free agency and arbitration status quo (actually made it harder to walk away from arbitration than before) and got the pension rules they wanted.

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