Gratton Issue Settled

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers found a way to agree on the future of Chris Gratton.

The cash-starved, for-sale Lightning conceded Gratton to the Flyers by declining to match a $16.5 million offer sheet the restricted free-agent center signed last week. But that was not before working out a deal to obtain right wing Mikael Renberg and defenseman Karl Dykhuis from Philadelphia.

The National Hockey League and the NHL Officials’ Association agreed on the central terms of a new collective bargaining agreement that will run through the 2000-2001 season.

The New York Rangers agreed to a contract with defenseman Alexei Vasilev, their fourth-round pick in the 1995 draft.