NHL Labor Peace Guaranteed

It's a miracle!  The NHL and NHLPA agreed on a new CBA without first going through a lockout!  Not only that, they came to an agreement with 15 months remaining until the current CBA expires!  It's a change that's, in the words of Gary Bettman, "completely refreshing."  We know there will be labor peace in the NHL through the 2029-30 season (which also means NHL participation in the 2030 Olympics is guaranteed).

As was previously reported, one of the things included in the new CBA was the addition of two regular season games.  Starting in 2026-27, teams will play an 84-game regular season and the preseason will be reduced to a maximum of four games.  An additional stipulation regarding the preseason was added, as well.  Veterans who've played more than 100 games can only appear in a maximum of two preseason games.  That's a little vague, however.  Does it mean 100 games in the previous season or 100 games total? 

There's obviously a big difference.  If it's the first one, that's fine.  Only the four teams that reach the conference finals can get to 100 games in a season and they obviously play later than everyone else, so it makes sense to give their veterans a little bit of a break.  If it's the second, that's dumb.  Every player who's been in the league full-time for two or more years will have played in at least 100 games.  Who's left to play in preseason games, then?  And, they'll have to make room for exceptions.  For example, if somebody's coming back from an injury, he (and his team) may want to play in all four preseason games (or at least three) just to get back in playing shape.

With the addition of those two regular season games, that also likely means the season will start earlier.  Right now, the season starts in the second week of October.  Those two games will probably add an extra week, but they're evidently discussing starting as early as late September.  That would, hopefully, mean the regular season ends earlier (even with the February break for the Olympics/World Cup) and the playoffs start earlier, which, in turn, means the Stanley Cup is handed out before late June (which everyone agrees is way too late).

Another feature of the new CBA is that it'll reduce contract lengths.  Players will be able to re-sign with their current team for a maximum of seven years or six years if they leave as a free agent, down from eight and seven.  What's interesting is that since this rule doesn't take effect until the CBA is signed and ratified, players can still sign eight-year deals until then.  Which is exactly what the Panthers and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett did.  How many other players will do the same thing between now and when the new CBA kicks in?

Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers should take note of this next stipulation.  No deferred salary.  Teams have been increasingly doing that in recent years to soften the cap hit.  They won't be able to do that anymore.  A five-year, $25 million contract will count $5 million against the cap each season.

Speaking of counting against the cap, they've also fixed the long-term injury reserve loophole.  I call this the "Golden Knights Rule" since Vegas was experts at exploiting it.  Players on long-term IR don't count against the salary cap.  Playoff games don't either.  So, teams could put a few players on long-term IR, which would give them enough cap space to load up at the trade deadline.  Then, once the postseason started, all of those guys on long-term IR would suddenly be miraculously healed from their injuries and ready to go for the playoff run.

That loophole has been closed.  Moving forward, teams will have to be cap-compliant throughout both the regular season and playoffs.  The final language that'll ultimately end up in the CBA is unknown, but it was an issue mentioned by both sides, so it'll be in there.  Which, frankly, it needs to be.  Because, as the players and owners both agreed, the fact that teams were able to do that was ridiculous!

They've also made changes to the EBUG (emergency backup goalie).  These are the guys who are always that feel-good story.  A teacher or Zamboni driver or accountant who played college hockey, but hasn't suited up in years and would be on-call just in case one of the teams needed a last-minute goaltender that night.  It normally includes just getting an actual NHL jersey with his name on it and getting to dress in an NHL locker room, but we've occasionally seen EBUGs get into the game and have some highlight moments.

Once the new CBA is signed, the EBUG will look totally different.  I'm not even sure we'll be able to call it an EBUG anymore.  That's because teams will be required to carry one, who'll be allowed to practice and travel with the team.  Again, the details won't be released until the CBA is official, but it sounds like they're creating a spot for a third, practice squad goalie who can only be activated if there's an injury to one of the two primary goalies (similar to a practice squad quarterback in the NFL).  So, just as it was bye-bye LOOGY when MLB instituted the three-batter minimum, it looks like it'll be bye-bye EBUG (at least in its current form).

With the league and the NHLPA agreeing to the CBA details on the same day as the NHL Draft, a notable provision regarding the NHL Draft was also included.  Teams will now only retain a player's draft rights until he turns 22.  It doesn't matter whether he's coming from the NCAA, Juniors, Europe or somewhere else, whatever team drafts him maintains his rights until he's 22.  Previously, where they were drafted from was taken into account.  Moving forward, it'll be strictly based on age, which is much easier for everybody.

This next one might not seem that significant, but it was important enough to include in the CBA.  There will no longer be dress codes on the road.  Players can still wear suits if they choose.  They'll just no longer be required.  We've already seen similar rules loosened in other sports in this post-COVID world.  The NHL is simply catching up with the times.  It'll be interesting to see how much this changes things and what type of personal style we might see from players (just imagine if somebody like P.K. Subban had been allowed to walk into the arena wearing whatever he wanted!).

And, we already knew this, but the salary cap will be going up by nearly $10 million a year in each of the next three seasons.  It'll be $95.5 million next season, then $104 million in 2026-27 (the first year of the new CBA) and $113.5 million in 2027-28.  Along with that, the minimum salary will also be going up.  By the end of the new CBA in 2029-30, all players will be making at least $1 million per season for the first time.

All of this is good news.  And the most amazing part is how all of this came together so quickly and easily.  It's a great sign that there's so much agreement between the players and the owners.  What's most important, though, is that a league that's had three lockouts in the past 20 years is guaranteed labor peace until 2030.