EDMONTON- 113 days after it began, the NHL lockout appears to be nearly over.
Early Sunday morning, after a marathon negotiation session, the NHL and its players came to a tentative agreement on a new deal.
For months, local businesses such as bars, hotels, and sports retailers have been impacted by the lockout. As a result, news of the tentative deal was well received Sunday.
"We're pretty excited about it. Getting through this winter without hockey was always a little bit of a struggle," said Ian Wilson, Shift Manager at Hudsons Canadian Tap House on Whyte Avenue.
Wilson says the bar has seen a bit of an increase in business on NFL Sundays since the lockout hit but, he's looking forward to seeing the hockey crowds return.
"It definitely helps out the week nights. On weekends, (hockey) is a great start to every night. It definitely boosts sales, gets people in here, excited, having fun," he said, "It'll be great for business."
Another business that's happy to see the Oilers return is the Coliseum Inn. General Manager Crystal Vea says staff have worked extremely hard at finding new ways of bringing guests into the hotel over the past few months.
"We become complacent in life. (When) hockey's there, you know your nights are coming. But when it's not, you have to dig deep and get those people back into your hotel and that's something we learned."
Vea is looking forward to the coming weeks, mostly because of the great community of hockey fans she is used to seeing at the hotel.
"We love the movement around here. It's nice to have fans around."
Over at United Cycle on Gateway Boulevard, staff members say business has been slow.
"Financially, it's been a huge hit. We book all of our NHL product on the premise of Canadian culture, everyone getting excited and rallying around a team," said Kendt Fredborg.
It wasn't just business that was affected by the lockout. Fredborg says staff and customer morale has dropped over the past few months. However, there was a shift in mood when Fredborg got to work Sunday morning.
"Just coming into work and talking with the other staff members... we were already saying 'Who's your pick, who's going to win?'"
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2013.