Dec. 27th: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the ECHL and PHPA have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike. Multiple outlets reported that players will return to their teams in the next few days in “good faith”, assuming that each side ratifies the new deal.
Dec. 26th: ECHL players officially commenced a strike effective today at noon Eastern. All games scheduled for tonight have been postponed. Multiple teams have announced plans to bring in new sets of players to avoid further postponements. Those players will presumably come from the SPHL and FPHL, the fourth and fifth tiers of pro and semi-pro hockey in North America.
Dec. 22, 7:15 PM: Sure enough, in an update shared by the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (Twitter Link), the ECHL players will go on strike effective December 26, after concerns on unfair labor practices have not been heard, and their new Collective Bargaining Agreement has not yet materialized.
In the announcement, PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay emphasized that members are simply seeking basic fair standards for working conditions and are eager for a resolution, remaining hopeful that the ECHL will negotiate, reach an agreement, and soon resume play. Teams are currently inactive until 12/26 due to the holidays, raising speculation of the strike today before it became official.
Later in the evening, the ECHL issued an official update regarding the strike. They outlined their goal of reaching an agreement that supports the players while maintaining a “sustainable business model” that remains accessible to fans. Although it touches on a potential 16.4% salary cap increase, travel restrictions, and holiday breaks, there is no discussion of the equipment issue raised by the players.
Dec. 22, 5:00 PM: Amidst ongoing negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the ECHL Players released a statement, shared through the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (Twitter Link). Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also shared that a possible five-year deal on a new CBA between the PHPA and the AHL is closing in, but there has been little progress on a deal for the ECHL, and a strike may result.
The message emphasized that, despite nearly a full calendar year of bargaining, a new collective agreement has not been secured. The players noted the ECHL’s “unlawful conduct”, in which they made changes related to mandatory subjects of bargaining, even engaging in regressive bargaining.
Ultimately, the players’ concerns about health and working conditions continue to be disregarded. The statement also mentioned that the league recently sent direct communications “in an attempt to bully and intimidate players with tactics that violate US labor law”. Therefore, it appears that the latest development has only further widened the gap between the league and its players in potential negotiations, and a strike could be on the horizon.
The statement ended with “The ECHL appears by their behavior to prefer bullying to bargaining and does not respect the process nor the players’ right to negotiate a fair settlement”.
One such concern, voiced by the players, is the need for properly fitting helmets. The ECHL has an equipment deal with Warrior, a major supplier of ice hockey equipment, which originated in 2019-20. Such deals in minor league hockey are not uncommon, as the AHL also has a deal with CCM. However, aside from not being able to select their preferred option, ECHL players say they have even been supplied with used equipment, which is simply unacceptable at this level of professional hockey.
Regarding player conditions, travel schedules are a major concern. According to the players, the ECHL considers bus trips home as days off, even though travel time can be nine hours or more. Thankfully, it appears the league is now willing to give players one day off each week; however, it has shown no interest in negotiating a proper holiday break.
Teams have not played since December 21, which especially puts them into the spotlight for a possible strike; however, they are scheduled to jump right back into action on December 26, an especially short turnaround considering the rigorous travel schedules, if players were to have any chance to spend time with family and friends for the holidays.
Overall, such developments are extremely unfortunate for the league. Over the past decade, the ECHL has expanded across the country, far beyond the East Coast, even north of the border into Quebec. New franchises in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and Augusta, Georgia, have been announced for 2026; however, given recent news, it may be a turbulent start.
Besides offering another level of professional hockey closer to home for those coming out of the NCAA, CHL, and USports, allowing lower-level players to follow their dreams and play for a living, the ECHL brings the sport to dozens of communities across North America. With most teams operating on razor-thin profit margins and heavily reliant on ticket sales, the league offers a tightly knit community-first culture. It offers market testing for cities to make their case. Although the league’s Utah Grizzlies are set to move to New Jersey, they played a vital role in setting the foundation for hockey in Utah, building up to the state taking in the Utah Mammoth.
Additionally, while any NHL-signed prospect who is assigned to the ECHL faces a serious uphill battle to reach the highest level, that does not mean it does not happen. To start the 2025-26 NHL season, 60 ECHL alums were on opening-night rosters. The number continues to grow. Today, many NHL organizations lean on the ECHL to send overlooked young AHL prospects down another level to get vital ice time in a bid to extend their careers.
Late bloomers such as Carter Verhaeghe, Yanni Gourde, and Jordan Binnington, all longtime NHLers who have won Stanley Cups, spent time in the ECHL on their path to the top. For any player in the ECHL, such hope persists that they could be next in line.
Now at a crossroads as they’ve grown into 32 teams, the hope is that the ECHL will hear the concerns of its players, who help drive so much of the game’s development in North America’s smaller communities, and work out their differences for a better tomorrow. For now, eyes will be on the ECHL for a possible strike, which could occur as soon as December 26.
Yeah…no such thing as “labor law” for the next few years. Try again, Guys.
Buy a few billion in meme coins or offer up a gold trinket or perhaps it’s time to bestow the first annual ECHLPA World Peace Prize.
(nods grimly) Not to mention that the owners can, well, “trump” the players by renaming the league to the King Donald HL.
Nice
(scratches his head) What on earth makes you think I’m Canadian? Unless you count a two-tour paid vacation in Nam, I’ve lived all my life in Massachusetts.
“Karens” are typically defined as whiny little B’s who are always complaining to the manager.
I guess someone who whines to network execs that their late night hosts are too mean to them and threaten to call the CEO’s or have them taken off the air entirely would the Karen of Karens. The most Karen who ever Karened.
PS- The irony of the people who straw man “all these kids with their participation trophies!@#!%!!!” golfing clapping Grandpa’s FIFA prize like wind up toys with their orange tongues…kinda sad.
“No Karens are typically defined as miserable middle aged white women…”
So he’s two inches and many decades away from being an official Karen. Got it.
So close and yet…precise GPS.
Pretty sure he’s full time. He just doesn’t get health insurance.
Who wants to mute you, we can laugh at you instead
Thank you for your service. Respect
Honestly, nothing a lot of young men in my day weren’t doing coming right out of high school. But thank you kindly all the same, Shawn!
“Welcome to browsing web.” “how to use internet” “cant even use computer”
Are you one of those Malaysians posing as a red hat or is your English just that bad?
I flagged him but I’m sure when they boot him he’ll just be back with new name. Stay tuned. He’s not worth even reading.
I don’t flag, I mock.
Although, to be fair, I do seem to be getting all the replies on this thread. This is either a new change (recent glitch?) or every reply I’ve gotten for the past few years has been directly to me by happenstance (unlikely).
Shame I got sidetracked by that instead of really focusing on that comedy bag of tricks of his…Karen and boomer…good stuff. Someone stayed for the first 4 minutes of the first day of their S***posting 101 class.
Well whatever reason he’s here it has nothing to do with hockey, sports or anything this site represents. The place for nonsense like that is X or Truth Social.
“(which goes against commenting policy btw)”
And just like that, the Groyper troll becomes the Karen.
You are the Amy Schumer of Nick Fuenteses.
Scorching wit.
You see…the walls of your childhood bedroom. Still.
“Im not going to reply to you anymore.”
Need someone to mansplain to you what your own words here mean, Amy Fuentes?
Yep, that’s that trolling choad’s new name here: Amy. Amy doesn’t even remember who was the one who called it an a-hole.
Your being modest. Truthful in responds but you guys were treated awful. Fact. Thanks again
Of course he’s mocking you, we’re all mocking you. “Learn to use a computer?” Howja think he’s sending his replies to you, carrier pigeon? You really are a stupid bastid, Amydoll.
Sad the NHL teams would allow this to happen. Would be nice if some NHL players would speak up about this too.
It’s a shame because living in the Southeast the ECHL is the only real opportunity for me to see hockey in person. The closest NHL team is 4.5 hours away and besides that there’s the Charlotte AHL team which again is 3+ hours away.
Good for them. They have repeatedly been mistreated.
If they’re making the players wear crap equipment because the League has a contract with a company that makes crap equipment then I completely get it. There needs to be standards and players should be able to protect themselves as best they can. Pretty sure the league should have asked the players if they’d wear the stuff BEFORE they decided to pocket the money it would have worked out much better. That’s pretty much common sense and Economics 101. I used to deliver gasoline. If they asked me to wear uniforms made by Chinese Pajama makers for kids because my boss was getting a check from them I would have gone on strike myself. Being 69 and disabled I don’t rink much anymore, but CCM has been making equipment since I played and I’d surely take that over the other company that sounds like it was started by Russian Mobsters.
Warrior was founded in Michigan.
Western governments are respectable people compared to you.
I’m sure the fans will have no issues with players they’ve never heard of donning their teams jerseys. 🙄
ECHL players would make more money driving a truck. The owners might want to consider that.
FHL runs on a shoestring. Take their players away and the league folds like the Maple Leafs in the playoffs.