Failure to reach an agreement could affect the availability of NHL players at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin next year.
The agreement regulates all player transfers between IIHF European leagues and the NHL. European hockey federations and teams receive money distributed by the IIHF when they lose a player to the NHL.
In addition, the agreement has a direct affect on NHL player participation in the IIHF World Championships and World Cup of Hockey, as well as the Winter Olympics.
Finland, Germany, Sweden, Slovakia and Switzerland have already given a thumbs up to the new five-year deal, but it is yet to be approved by Russia and the Czech Republic.
The 2005-06 NHL schedule calls for the league to break for 16 days in February in order for its players to represent their countries at the Winter Games.
