LOS Angeles – The NHL and NHL Association of Players announced on Friday that they reconciled on a new collective agreement, signing a memorandum of understanding which will ensure the peace of labor in the League until September 2030.
The NHL, represented by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, and NHLPA, represented by Executive Director Marty Walsh and Deputy Executive Director Ron Hainey, refused to reveal specific changes in the extension of the four -year ABC on Friday, because a majority of players and owners must always ratify.
The ABC will come into force in September 2026, and Daly said that none of its new provisions would come into force before that.
According to the sources of the league, the CBA Go see the NHL extend to a regular calendar of 84 games from 2026-27, with a shortened pre-season.
“I know it was widely said,” said Bettman. “It is certainly one of the things that was a subject of discussion.”
The ABC also includes a number of other adjustments to the rules concerning contracts, by league sources, in particular by reducing the maximum duration of contracts to the seven years for extensions for the team’s own players and six years for free agents, from 2026-27. Delayer-to-side contracts have also been eliminated and a new rule limiting signature premium payments to no more than 60% of the total value will be introduced.
A mechanism to enforce the salary ceiling during the playoffs and close the Ltir flaw is also introduced as part of the new CBA.
The minimum wage of the league will increase to $ 1 million before the end of the new agreement while the salary ceiling ceiling increased to $ 104 million in 2026-27 and $ 113.5 million in 2027-28.
Most importantly, this ABC extension was navigated peacefully and completed on a rapid calendar between owners and players. The entire agreement was concluded in a three -month window.
The NHL has lost thousands of games since 1992 in a strike and three lockouts, including the cancellation of all the 2004-05 season.
“We thought it was important to confirm the fact that we can all be delighted with at least five years of peace of labor,” said Bettman. “Although we do not agree on everything, we have had a very constructive, professional and collaborative collective negotiation process. … I think we have identified the problems that were important for both sides. I think Marty and I have established a very good tone and a very good basis for our relationship in the future. ”
“When I started this work 2 years ago, we talked about collective negotiations,” added Walsh. “One of the first meetings of Gary and I speak:” Is there a way to look at collective negotiations because of the momentum in hockey? ” We were talking about the 4 nations.
“I do not agree on everything, but no big eruptions in the room. We just talked to stay in front of us to move forward.”
The NHLPA presented the memorandum of understanding to its negotiation committee this week in Las Vegas. The plan is to take him to the players and put him in place for a full vote in next week.
“Compared to other negotiations of which I was one of them – and I was one of them enormously – it was really different,” said Walsh. “Very open dialogue. Even the complicated problems that could have occurred were fully thought out on both sides, and we were able to achieve good resolutions here. Happy the process and I hope that the players will be satisfied with the result.”
Adding Bettman: “To say that it was a little different, from my point of view, I assure you that it was completely different, and it is still a testimony of the whole tone (marty). It was the ultimate team effort on both sides.”
During the contract duration, Walsh said it was important to make sure that new players have a chance to weigh every few years.
“I like to have contracts at most four or five years so that you can have the opportunity to see what is good, and if there is an error, we can fix it,” he said. “For longer -term contracts, you have players from the League who have played who have never suffered negotiations … have never been lucky to really express their collective opinions or rights of negotiations.”
On state taxes
In addition to the announcement of a CBA, the NHL and the NHLPA addressed the burning subject of state taxes and the salary ceiling after another final of the Stanley Cup with a state without income tax winning the championship.
“First and foremost, we can’t do anything about it,” said Walsh. “This is so many different moments. In different states, in most states, most cities do not have competence to increase taxes. Some states do it.
“The free agency is coming. I don’t think there are players who say:” Well, I don’t want to sign with team X because the rate is 10%. “So, I don’t think it has such an important impact.
Hausey added: “We have had teams for more than a decade that all have state taxes that had players who remain less and have great success.”
And Bettman: “It’s almost insulting for the teams that have managed to assign it to state taxes.”
(Photo of Gary Bettman: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
