PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - Our long national nightmare is over– a deal has been made to end the NHL lockout. As long as the players ratify the new deal, we could have hockey by mid-January.

One of the people affected by the strike was “Doc” Mike Emrick, the voice of NBC Sports hockey coverage. Like the players and coaches, he has also been out of a job and is excited to get back to work.

As a hockey insider, he has had a look at the lockout negotiations and knows why the process has taken so long.

“It’s a huge business, and you can’t run it like when teams were owned by families. Now, teams are owned by corporations. You have to go through this ugly process,” he said.

Luckily, Doc says we won’t have to go through this process again for at least 10 years.

KDKA-AM’s John Shumway talks to Doc about what it means for hockey to return, what the details are for the lockout deal, and what teams he expects to be good this year.