Latest news with #labourpeace
National Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
What the National Hockey League's CBA extension means for Canada's teams
The National Hockey League and NHL Players' Association have decided to give labour peace another chance. Article content Before the first round of the NHL draft was held Friday night at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, commissioner Gary Bettman and Marty Walsh, the executive director of the union, held a news conference to announce a four-year extension of the collective bargaining agreement. Article content Article content Article content The deal needs to be ratified by the NHL's board of governors and the members of the NHLPA. The players will begin voting next week, and the board of governors saw most of the details during a meeting last Wednesday in Los Angeles. Article content The current agreement will expire in Sept. 2026. The new deal ensures members of the NHL and the fans that there is no chance of labour uncertainty until 2030. The NHL has had several work stoppages, including the 2004-05 lockout that wiped out the whole season. Article content The most recent lockout was in 2012-13. Article content 'This was a very thorough, constructive and professional process, and I think that bodes very well for the future of the game and the relationship between the players and the league going forward again, while we have an understanding and agreement,' Bettman said on Friday. Article content Walsh echoed those sentiments. Article content 'The process for us now is to take this agreement to the entire membership for ratification; we're going to do that over the next week or so,' Walsh said. 'I'm happy with the process. Hopefully, the players will be happy with the outcome.' Article content So, what does this mean for hockey fans in Canada? Article content All teams will have to be cap-compliant for the playoffs, which will help even the playing field. Article content THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR Article content The cap will rise significantly over the next three seasons, which will make life more challenging for small-market teams in places such as Ottawa and Winnipeg in a league where the salaries are paid in U.S. dollars. Article content This year, teams can spend up to $95.5 million US, but in 2026-27, that number will rise to $104 million. It will go up to $113 million in 2027-28. Article content If Winnipeg and Ottawa want to spend up to the cap in 2027-29, it will cost the seven clubs north of the border $154 million in Canadian currency, based on the current exchange rate. Article content 'What we were trying to do was catch up after a number of years of a flat cap, and so we were trying to do that on an orderly basis,' Bettman said of releasing salary projections for three seasons. Article content 'Over the years, our projections have been pretty good, and while we can always agree to make adjustments if circumstances warrant, we think the projections that we made and the caps that we put in place for the next three years are where they should be.'
National Post
20 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
NHL, NHLPA agree to extend collective bargaining agreement four seasons
The NHL and NHL Players' Association are set to have labour peace through the 2029-30 season. Article content The league and its union announced Friday that the two sides have agreed to an extension of their collective bargaining agreement that includes an expansion of the regular season from 82 to 84 games. Article content Article content The NHL and NHLPA, which agreed to a memorandum of understanding through negotiations that began in April, revealed details of the pact Friday ahead of the first round of the league's draft. Article content The extension still requires ratification on both sides. The two sides had previously described talks as positive, a far cry from the boardroom strife that has gripped the sport in the past and led to a number of work stoppages, including a lockout that doomed the entire 2004-05 campaign. Article content Along with adding two games per team to the regular-season schedule and truncating exhibition play, early reports said the CBA will see a shortening of the maximum length of contracts and the addition of a playoff salary cap. Article content Players have been able to re-sign with their current team for up to eight years since 2013 and sign a contract with another club for seven years. The new CBA would reportedly see both scenarios cut by one season. Article content The playoff salary cap, meanwhile, would prevent teams from using long-term injured reserve loopholes to load up rosters ahead of the post-season. Article content Previous rules allowed teams with players on long-term injured reserve to exceed the salary cap by roughly the same amount as the injured player's salary until the playoffs. Article content Article content A consistent complaint from certain teams and fan bases alike, the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights are among the clubs to have used the system to load up for post-season runs. Article content Article content
CTV News
20 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
NHL, NHLPA agree to extend collective bargaining agreement four seasons
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference ahead of Game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, in Edmonton, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck LOS ANGELES — The NHL and NHL Players' Association are set to have labour peace through the 2029-30 season. The league and its union announced Friday that the two sides have agreed to an extension of their collective bargaining agreement that includes an expansion of the regular season from 82 to 84 games. The NHL and NHLPA, which agreed to a memorandum of understanding through negotiations that began in April, revealed details of the pact Friday ahead of the first round of the league's draft. The extension still requires ratification on both sides. The two sides had previously described talks as positive, a far cry from the boardroom strife that has gripped the sport in the past and led to a number of work stoppages, including a lockout that doomed the entire 2004-05 campaign. Along with adding two games per team to the regular-season schedule and truncating exhibition play, early reports said the CBA will see a shortening of the maximum length of contracts and the addition of a playoff salary cap. Players have been able to re-sign with their current team for up to eight years since 2013 and sign a contract with another club for seven years. The new CBA would reportedly see both scenarios cut by one season. The playoff salary cap, meanwhile, would prevent teams from using long-term injured reserve loopholes to load up rosters ahead of the post-season. Previous rules allowed teams with players on long-term injured reserve to exceed the salary cap by roughly the same amount as the injured player's salary until the playoffs. A consistent complaint from certain teams and fan bases alike, the Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights are among the clubs to have used the system to load up for post-season runs. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said earlier this month during the Stanley Cup final that talks on a new CBA were going well and that the sides were 'having really good discussions.' NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh added at the time: 'I feel good with where we are.' The league and union have been working off the memorandum negotiated to finish the 2019-20 season during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new deal melds that agreement with the framework from 12 years ago, after the 2012-13 campaign was reduced to 48 games because of a lockout. By Joshua Clipperton.
