July 8th: According to an announcement from the league, the NHL and NHLPA have officially ratified the four-year CBA extension. The agreed-upon governing document will last from the 2026-27 season to the 2029-30 season.
June 27th: In a pre-draft press conference, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman shared that the league has agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding with the NHLPA that, when ratified, would cement a new, four-year CBA, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The new CBA would begin in the 2026-27 season.
June 26th: As expected, all signs indicate the NHL will avoid another lockout. According to multiple reports, the NHL and NHLPA are closing in on a four-year extension for the Collective Bargaining Agreement. In a comprehensive breakdown, which our readers are encouraged to visit, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported some of the more important items mentioned in the upcoming CBA.
Since the new CBA that was ratified in 1995, each NHL team has played an 82-game season, with 41 games at home and 41 away. That will no longer be the case. Due to player concerns about the extended pre-season schedule, the NHL will implement an 84-game schedule starting with the 2026-27 season, likely featuring 42 home games and 42 away games. The pre-season will be shortened to four games, and Seravalli notes that any player who’s accumulated 100 or more games at the NHL level will only be allowed to participate in two of those contests.
Additionally, this will be the last year that a team can re-sign or extend a player on an eight-year deal. Seravalli reports that players re-signing with their current team will be limited to a maximum of seven years, while contracts signed during unrestricted free agency or through offer sheets will be capped at six years. This could have bigger implications this summer, with more teams potentially scrambling to sign their current players while retaining the ability to add another year.
Meanwhile, to address arguably the most important and, objectively, the most-publicized issue, the NHL will create a ’comprehensive playoff salary cap mechanism’ to close the LTIR loophole. In recent years, some playoff-bound teams have placed injured players on LTIR during the regular season, providing them with additional salary cap space to acquire higher-priced talent at the trade deadline. Most of these cases have been investigated and subsequently cleared by the league. However, the NHL is continuing its investigation into the Edmonton Oilers’ use of LTIR with Evander Kane leading up to the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Lastly, of the large-scale updates, the league confirmed the projected salary cap upper limits for the upcoming three seasons. The cap will rise to $95.5MM in 2025-26, increase by approximately 9% to $104MM in 2026-27, and by another 9% to $113MM in 2027-28.
Seravalli added several other additions to the upcoming CBA. Drafted players’ signing rights will be uniform across the board until they’re 22 years old, the elimination of deferred salary, and the establishment of a permanent emergency backup goaltender who will travel with the teams.
“Drafted players’ signing rights will be uniform across the board until they’re 22 years old.”
I was about to say they got it all right until I got to this part…
The college loophole will remain exactly the same, just under slightly different language. It will almost surely doom the junior leagues to being underage leagues only. Most Europeans and Russians will just hang at home until they are 22 and enter the league as UFA’s.
I hope this is poorly worded reporting and not the league destroying the junior leagues and the draft (and the value of draft picks) with lazy lawyering.
I think this might be a response by both sides to the fact that US colleges can now pay athletes, so the best junior and European players are now more likely to become “students” at US universities. Like McKenna, who just took the highest bid from Penn State to give him some walking around money while he waits for his draft payday. Yes indeed, the Junior leagues will suffer and be mostly U18 players.
Someone should check in on Doghockey, he’s probably devastated that his beloved Golden Knights won’t be able to circumvent the cap with LTIR shenanigans anymore.
Not a Vegas fan, never been. Don’t know how you conjured up that one but I also never expected that you spend your time worrying about me. Amusingly creepy. That said, all I ever did was mock you and the rest of the clan that chronically whined about Vegas and other teams supposedly circumventing the salary cap when they were doing nothing of the sort, but simply using the rules as they were collectively bargained. Didn’t make me a fan of Vegas but but if that is how you comprehended my posts, so be it. Thanks for caring.
Kudos to the NHL for doing things the right way. They didn’t wait until the last day before the agreement ends to negotiate a new one. They are seemingly fixing the biggest problem they have by teams circumventing the Salary Cap for the Playoffs. Didn’t seem right that in the Playoffs all the sudden the Cap doesn’t matter anymore. If it doesn’t matter all year long what’s the point of having one? Anyway well doe boys. All of the recent rule changes have had a positive effect on the game and made it a better product and more fun to watch. Again well played.
I don’t mind these changes but there is a college player issue with players getting drafted by teams only to refuse signing with that respected team that drafted them because they can make more money with NIL or whatever. As we’re seeing more & more NCAA players dictating everything. What’s the point of drafting players if these college players can dictate who they want to sign & play for?…It robs the teams & could have negative side effects moving forward for the league if the matter isn’t resolved.
So, are you made that the people who sacrifice their bodies may earn closer to a fair market wage?
You mean like they do in baseball?
@The Mistake – You’re missing my point entirely. As why even have a draft if players are just going to choose where they want to play or not. It makes the point of the draft moot.
But to add to your remark, these players already make more than they deserve. Also, no one is forcing them to sacrifice their bodies, that’s their choice. Remember, the sport doesn’t owe them anything, it’s a privilege to be a professional athlete if you’re fortunate enough to make it as you got to earn it.
@Polish – like what they do? Elaborate on what part you’re specifically referring to.
MLB is poorly run but that’s another story.
You may feel that they are overpaid but that is simply your envy and emotion taking over. Simple economics and the supply/demand curve says that they are paid their market value.
The baseball draft has teams drafting players based on sign ability.
Thank god. I was nervous for that 15 second shot clock. Lol
The only part I’m hung up on is the drafted players/all equal until 22. Different situations for juniors, NCAA, and international, and this only really impacts juniors.
Otherwise all great points, steady revenue growth and thus cap growth, the game is healthy. Certainly don’t need to get hung up with a labor dispute. Avoid putting teams in Atlanta and Arizona again and it will continue to grow.
Hopefully the schedule is tweaked just a bit. 84 games is fine, and 4 preseason is plenty to evaluate fringe guys. But contract the playoffs # of off days a little bit and start the regular season the first weekend of October – that means no later than June 10 the SCF are done.
“the elimination of deferred salary”
NHL took a look at that Shohei Ohtani nonsense and said, “Yeah, let’s not do that.”
64 more regular season games, Is greedy!
32 more regular season games.
Trivia question: when was the last 84 game season the NHL held?
1993/94. Two neutral site games were played by each team.