The National Hockey League and NHL Players Association announced a tentative agreement Monday to return to play this season and extend their collective bargaining agreement for four years.
The CBA deal, along with both sides’ agreement on protocols for training camps and games, paves the way for hockey to resume in less than a month. Training camps would open next Monday, July 13, and games would resume on August 1 if the league’s board of governors, players’ executive committee, and full membership sign.
The NHL is heading straight into the playoffs with 24 teams resuming play. Those teams will travel to one of the two “core” cities on July 26 for exhibition games. The qualifying round would begin on August 1.
Extending the CBA, which will now run until the end of the 2025-26 season, was considered a necessary step for hockey to return this summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Details of the CBA extension were not disclosed.
Among the topics discussed were the league that would possibly return to the Olympic competition. The NHL participated in five consecutive Olympics between 1998 and 2014 before skipping 2018 in South Korea.
Another major issue involved the share of escrow payments that players would owe to owners to match hockey-related revenue 50-50, something that had been a hot spot for players even before the pandemic cut revenue. of the league this season.
The deal needs two-thirds approval from the owners, and on the union side, most representative members of the executive board of 31 representatives.
Over the weekend, the league and players agreed on an extensive series of return-to-game protocols. involving training camps and games. Players will be able to choose not to compete in the expanded playoffs, and will have three days to make a decision once the deal is ratified.
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