Sources: NHL, NHLPA preparing to announce new CBA framework on Friday
Here are some pertinent details of the agreement, according to both league and union sources:
- The NHL will move to 84-game regular seasons beginning in 2026-27. The preseason will be shortened, to an expected four games per team, and players with 100-plus career games played can play in a maximum of two preseason games.
- Player contracts will be term limited to a maximum of seven years for players re-signing with their current club and six years for players on the free agent market. The 2025-26 season (next week’s free agency) will mark the final eight-year deals in the NHL.
- A comprehensive playoff salary cap mechanism, which has many machinations to account for player acquisition, will effectively close the LTIR loophole for teams to significantly pad payroll by using injury relief space.
- Signing rights to draft picks will be uniform across the board until age 22, regardless of the league prospects are picked from or which league they matriculate to next. In other words, if an 18-year-old CHL player is drafted but decided to play NCAA, a team will still hold his rights for four years.
- Outlawing of player deferred salary in contracts, which previously lowered the cap hit of deals. This is one example of significantly more stringent contractual limitations that are expected to be in the new CBA for players.
- Revenue split will remain 50/50 between owners and players. There are not expected to be changes to the definitions of what constitutes hockey related revenue (HRR).
- Significant increase in Stanley Cup playoff bonus pool fund, nearly doubling previous amount.
- Establishment of ‘full-time’ Emergency Backup Goalie (EBUG) position within organizations so that amateur goalies signed out of beer league are not entering games in rare injury circumstances.
- Landmark player benefit improvements (health insurance and post-playing health insurance stipends), plus movement of player payroll taxes and worker’s compensation premiums to be paid out of owner’s share.
- Teams will no longer be able to mandate player dress code for arriving/departing games.
- As previously announced in February, the next three seasons of the salary cap’s upper limit: $95.5 million, $104 million and $113 million.
Also, signing bonuses will be capped at a maximum of 60% in a given year, and 20% variation year to year. So Zibanejad's contract wouldn't float.
Just what we need....more games...by the time they expand to the desired 36 teams, the season won't end until sometime in late August. Sheesh.
In this case they are just reducing the number of preseason games to 6 from 8 which the only negative I see from that is that it may affect some decisions to cut or send down some players on the bubble of making the NHL team...Just what we need....more games...by the time they expand to the desired 36 teams, the season won't end until sometime in late August. Sheesh.
If they need me to bleed, then I'll bleed for my team
In this case they are just reducing the number of preseason games to 6 from 8 which the only negative I see from that is that it may affect some decisions to cut or send down some players on the bubble of making the NHL team...Just what we need....more games...by the time they expand to the desired 36 teams, the season won't end until sometime in late August. Sheesh.
Actually it'll reduce preseason games from 6 to 4, and no player with 100+ games will play more than 2 of those games
Another item, you can no longer involve a 3rd team on salary retention in a trade. Unless you wait 75 days, at which point, that third team could retain salary.
Also in the playoffs, you will only be able to have LTIR equivalent to the average league salary ($2.8M this past season), unless the player misses the entire playoffs