NHL Negotiations

The NHL's CBA doesn't expire until after next season, but the players and owners have already started negotiating the next one.  That in itself is a great sign that a new deal will get done with plenty of time to spare.  Both sides want to get it done, too.  And, while there are issues that they'd both like to address, there isn't anything that will truly be a dealbreaker.

There are things that the players want, all of which seem reasonable.  The things that will be important to the owners are reasonable, too.  Where will they meet in the middle?  Both sides have suggested they don't want to make massive changes.  Just tweaks.  But still, you'd have to figure some things will look different once the new CBA is completed.

Two of those things are related, and they both involve the schedule.  The owners would like to go to 84 games.  When Seattle joined the league, each team lost two division games from their schedule so that they can play the Kraken twice.  As a result, there are two division teams they only play three times instead of four.  Going from 82 games to 84 would give them those two games back.  Makes complete sense.

An easy way to do that would be getting rid of two preseason games.  That seems to be the players' preferred option and would appear to be the likely compromise.  Many veterans feel the preseason is too long anyway, so, even if they're weary of adding two regular season games, you'd think they'd be willing to accept that tradeoff.

Then there's the playoff format.  The owners and the league office seem to be the only ones who like the current NHL playoff system.  The players, like most fans and media, would like it to be a straight 1-8 for each conference instead.  I've been over many times why I think the division-based format is stupid, so I'm obviously with the players on this one.  Do they care enough about it to make it a big deal, though?  I sure hope so!

I can see the players not fighting too hard for the playoff thing if it means they can get something else they want more.  Things like international events.  The league and the owners have finally figured out that the players badly want to represent their countries at tournaments like the Olympics and World Cup.  They'll have the Four Nations Face-Off this season as a prelude to the NHL's return to the Olympics in 2026.  The players would like to once again make that a permanent arrangement. 

Now that Salt Lake City, which is hosting the Winter Olympics for a second time in 2034, is now an NHL city, you know there's absolutely no chance NHL players won't be participating.  And, since 2026 is already locked in, it would just be dumb to not have NHL participation at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.  But the players would also like a commitment for a regular World Cup (which, frankly, it would be dumb to hold again unless/until Russia is reinstated by the IIHF), as well as having events like the Four Nations Face-Off semi-frequently.

One of the biggest things on the owners'/general managers' wish list is an adjustment to the long-term injured reserve rule.  This is a loophole that the Vegas Golden Knights have repeatedly taken advantage of, where they put players on injured reserve (when their salary doesn't count against the cap), only to activate them for the playoffs (since players don't technically get paid for the playoffs), while using the cap space they "saved" to take on high-priced veterans at the trade deadline.  While it's borderline unethical and 100 percent gamesmanship, there's currently no mechanism to prevent it.  Some teams would definitely like to change that.

While that isn't a top priority for the players (mainly since they benefit from it), they know it's something that'll be brought up during the negotiations.  But, again, there could easily be some give-and-take here, with the players using that as leverage to get something they want.  They don't like how there's a maximum number of years for contracts.  They can thank Ilya Kovalchuk and Lockout 2.0 for that CBA provision, but even still, they'd love to see it eliminated.

Speaking of salaries, that's one of the biggest sticking points for the players.  Even with franchise values and hockey-related revenues (which the players and owners split 50-50) going up, salaries have remained pretty stagnant.  The salary cap is expected to increase significantly now that pandemic-related losses no longer need to be accounted for and a new Canadian TV deal is on the horizon, so this issue will perhaps take care of itself.

Although, the players will also be interested to see what other economic proposals the owners might make.  Some have suggested the idea of a "soft" cap like the NBA or even an MLB-style luxury tax.  There are definitely some owners who'd go over a luxury tax if they could, with that money getting spread around to the smaller-market teams.  There's also the possible expansion fees should the NHL go to 34 teams (which doesn't seem like it's imminent or a priority since it looks like the Coyotes won't be revived), which would be another influx of cash.  And the players would love to get a cut of it!

Another priority for the players that will likely come to the forefront during the CBA negotiations is the "Jack Eichel issue."  In 2021, when Eichel was still a member of the Sabres, he had a herniated disk in his neck that required surgery.  Except he and the team disagreed on what type of surgery he should have, and the team ultimately had the final say.  The standoff wasn't resolved until he was traded to Vegas, with the Golden Knights agreeing to let Eichel get the surgery he wanted.  (Not only did it work, he's arguably the Knights' best player.)

Eichel's situation was certainly unique, and there's definitely merit to the argument that it's not a common enough occurrence to warrant wholesale changes.  But it does bring to light the importance of healthcare-related issues.  Both sides have some legitimate things they want on this front, so it'll be interesting to see where they ultimately fall on health care in the new CBA.

Perhaps the biggest thing, though, is that there's no area where the sides are too far apart.  Which means there's no reason to think they won't come to an agreement with plenty of time to spare.  So, another lockout probably isn't on the horizon.  And that's the most important thing of all.