The NHL has already shortened or canceled five seasons in the last 30 years due to labor disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic. Signs look promising that a lockout in 2026 won’t be next.
As the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting took place in Florida this week, commissioner Gary Bettman said he was confident the relationship with the NHLPA could lead to quicker negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement and labor peace.
Considering the similarly positive comments NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh made to The Hockey News in early November, Bettman’s comments should be encouraging.
“I find working with Marty Walsh and (assistant executive director) Ron Hainsey, as does (NHL deputy commissioner) Bill (Daly), very constructive, very professional, very cordial,” Bettman told reporters this week. “We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves and prognosticate as to what’s going to happen, but we hope to do this as quickly and as seamlessly as possible.”
Gary Bettman says CBA talks with the NHLPA are tentatively scheduled to commence in February.
A reminder that the current CBA expires in September 2026. But the league hope is to get an extension done sometime in 2025.— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 10, 2024
Walsh’s comments in November were just as encouraging.
“If the players at the end of the (NHLPA’s) fall tour all feel that we should move forward with having a conversation now – when I say ‘now’, (I mean) next year – we absolutely will move forward with it,” Walsh told The Hockey News. “And to date, we’ve had players that have not expressed concern about starting a conversation earlier.
The relationship between team owners and players has been caustic over the years, to say the least. This is why there have been lockouts and labor wars in NHL and NHLPA negotiations.
The last lockout happened during the 2012-13 season. Before it became too late, the NHL and NHLPA reached an agreement in January 2013 and had a 48-game regular season. They narrowly avoided cancelling an entire season for the second time due to a lockout following the lost 2004-05 campaign. But it was the third lockout in under 20 years, including the 1994-95 dispute that shortened the season to 53 games.
Things appear to have changed on the labor front.
“I feel that in negotiations, if two sides stay at the table and have common open dialogue, open conversations, try not to make it personal, you will get to an agreement easier than you would if one side walks away or one side demands something that’s unrealistic,” Walsh said.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman characterizes relationship with NHLPA as healthiest it’s been since he joined the league. Says CBA talks set to officially begin in February
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) December 1, 2024
Unless something drastic changes the tone of negotiations, the league and players should have a new collective bargaining agreement in 2026.
“I think Marty Walsh’s focus on how this relationship should work is probably a little different than we’ve experienced,” Bettman said.
That’s good news for fans concerned about labor discussions. The NHL and players seem to be on the right page, and that’s all fans can ask of the two parties. Things could still go sour, but Walsh and Bettman were saying all the right things to ensure labor peace would be coming sooner rather than later.
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Related: Q&A: NHLPA Exec Marty Walsh On NHL Expansion, CBA Plans And More, Part 1
Related: Q&A: NHLPA Exec Marty Walsh On CTE, Salary Cap, Growing The Game And More, Part 2
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