The NHL and NHLPA are reportedly close to an agreement to extend the collective bargaining agreement through the 2029-2030 season.
According to ESPN, the two sides have agreed on several key factors, including extending the regular season from 82 games to 84 beginning in 2026, closing a controversial long-term injury reserve (LTIR) loophole as it relates to playoff rosters and limiting the length of player contracts to seven years.
With two more games in the regular season, the preseason would be shortened from the current eight-game slate to four. Teams will still visit each city at least once a season, but now could play division rivals four times every other season.
Both the league and union have talked changing language around the LTIR to ensure that all teams are compliant with the salary cap through the playoffs. Teams have placed injured players on LTIR during the regular season, allowing them to exceed the salary cap.
Some players and teams have complained that shrewd general managers have taken advantage of the LTIR pool to allow certain players to take off more time before the playoffs. Some believed it helped the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 (with Nikita Kucherov) and the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023 (with Mark Stone) in their runs to the Stanley Cup.
Additionally, contract lengths will be maxed out at seven years for players who re-sign with their teams and six years for free agents joining new clubs. Deferred salary contracts will no longer be allowed. Finally, the extended CBA would grant a permanent emergency backup goalie (EBUG) position, allowing that player to travel and practice with the team.
Neither the NHL nor NHLPA immediately responded to requests for comment.
Back in October during the league’s board of governors meeting, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters that an extension could be ready by the end of the playoffs. Although the Florida Panthers raised the Stanley Cup last week, a potential announcement on the CBA could come ahead of Friday’s NHL Draft in Los Angeles.
This will be the second time the original 10-year labor agreement signed in 2013 was extended a year before end of the deal. Originally set to expire after the 2021-22 season, the first extension took place during the pause in league play in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CBA news comes as the salary cap will rise significantly over the next three years, jumping from $88 million in 2024-25 to $113.5 million in 2027-28. Meanwhile, the average NHL team is worth $1.79 billion, according to Sportico’s NHL franchise valuations from October.
