A radio station I listened to on Monday had an interesting lead during its news roundup — Hockey is no longer on ice.

Think about it for a second before it comes to you.

Now that you got it — it took me a couple of seconds, too — the National Hockey League’s season is back.

To be honest, I all but gave up on the season once it canceled the Winter Classic, which is played on New Year’s Day at an outdoor rink.

This year, it was slated to be played at The Big House — Michigan Stadium and it’s 110,000 seats — pitting the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Once that was canceled, then games through Jan. 14 were deleted, the NHL was staring at 511 games lost because of the lockout.

But when commissioner Gary Bettman and players’ association executive director Donald Fehr stood together Sunday morning to announce a plan was in place and just needed to be finalized, I was shocked.

I thought the season was gone. During the 1994-95 campaign, 468 games were lost and left the NHL playing a 48-game schedule, the same number the league plans to play this year.

The agreement was struck only five days before the NHL’s deadline to completely drop the season.

It was now or never, because the season couldn’t be watered down any more. Plus, if you make the Stanley Cup playoffs, you’d be looking at playing into late June.

Among the highlights of the deal was a 10-year contract with both sides having an option to end it after eight years — which in essence says someone will back out after Year Eight.

I haven’t delved into all the numbers yet, but I’m not concerned with that side of it.

I haven’t got my juices going for hockey just yet.

Usually, once the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season has come to a close — and that was actually just Dec. 30, one of the earlier finishes — do I turn my attention to hockey.

Actually, without hockey floating around in the periphery, I haven’t really missed it.

If a deal wasn’t done by this week, the season wasn’t happening. I never concerned myself with it, all but accepting the fact that hockey wasn’t going to be played this season.

I enjoy hockey and watching the Penguins — especially since it looks like another year that the team can make a postseason run — but it’s not at the top of my list.

I’m happy for my hockey-loving friends and I’m sure I’ll start following them — the season looks to be slated to start Jan. 19 — but wake me up when playoff hockey rolls around.

Aside from the Winter Classic, which has a tremendous following with the classic notion of playing in the elements — the playoffs are the NHL’s bread and butter.

You want the Stanley Cup? You have to earn it by winning 16 grueling games. No one-game wild card or best-of-five series here.

Every series, first one to four wins moves on. And none of the other three major sports leagues can boast overtime drama like hockey.

That’s the hockey I’m waiting for. The regular season doesn’t interest me.

Wake me up when the playoffs roll around. Then, and only then, will hockey capture my full attention.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.