NHL fans likely feel like they are living in Bizarro World.
For the past 30 years, labour negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA were as strained as a couple who had separated but still lived in the same house. It wasn’t fun. It led to shortened seasons in 1995 and 2013, and missing the entire 2005 season. Fans loathed any discussion about the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement, because it rarely went well.
But that’s not the case in 2025. The NHL and NHLPA have already agreed to a new CBA that doesn’t begin for another 15 months. Wild.
Here are the highlights of what will be different in the new CBA. It is important to remember none of these changes will be implemented until the 2026/2027 season.

Playoff “Salary Cap”

Fans, media and the NHL didn’t love how injured players on LTIR would return for the playoffs, thus giving their teams a significant advantage by icing a deeper and more talented roster. It wasn’t against the rules, but it was a clear advantage. There will now be a playoff salary cap with these two rules:
1. The extra cap space a Club receives when a Player goes on LTIR will be limited to an amount equal to the prior season’s Average League Salary (unless the NHL and the NHLPA approve the full amount, which will only happen when there is no doubt the Player will miss the entire remainder of the season, including the Playoffs).
2. A cap will exist in the Playoffs but will apply only to the 20 Players that suit up for each game. The formula also accounts for players acquired during the season and how their cap hit will count towards a playoff cap.
It will also include any buyout cap hits as well as a player in the minors who count against the cap. The salary retention isn’t 1-for-1, but portions of it will count. 
It isn’t perfect, but a good first step.

ELS Eligibility for European Players

Currently, European Players aged 25 to 27 are required to be in the Entry Level System. That requirement will be deleted, and European Players will now not have to sign an ELC if they are 25 years of age or older.
Meaning they could earn more money and not have to sign a two-way contract. Atro Leppanen would be a good example. He just broke the scoring record for D-men in Finland, but had to sign a one-year, two-way ELC, that pays him $975K in the NHL and $85K in the minors. Eliminating the ELC, which has to have a two-way deal, benefits the player and teams. Many European players would be more willing to stay in the AHL and learn the North American Style if they could earn more. This way they could still sign a two-way deal, but they’d be eligible for much more in the minors. Or even sign a one-way deal and get paid the same regardless of where they play. 

Minimum Salary Increase

It will increase by $50K each year. It will be $850K in 2026/27, then $900K in 2028, $950 in 2029 and $1m in 2030.

Paper Loans

Certain clubs were loaning players to the AHL on “paper” only (i.e., the player was loaned but never had to report to the AHL Club). This practice unfairly reduced the players’ compensation because they were paid at the AHL rate for the days when they were on loan. The new agreement requires that a loaned Player play in one minor league game before being recalled.
This is a big deal for “young players.” Teams could send a player down for two days, usually just to accrue cap space. For a player making $925K in the NHL they would earn around $5,000/day while in the NHL and $405/day in the NHL. If you were “paper loaned” for two days at three different times of the year they’d go from making $30K to $2,430. That’s a massive difference. Some teams might still send a player down to save cap space for a few days, but it will be rare, and it would have to align when the AHL affiliate is playing a game otherwise the player could be down for three or four days and miss NHL time. 
The only day this will not be enforced is at the trade deadline when teams loan players to the AHL, so they are eligible to play in the AHL playoffs. It makes sense to allow it only on that day. 

Drafted Players Rights Retention

Under the current CBA, there are different retention periods based on a player’s age and where he was playing (CHL, Europe, NCAA) when he was drafted. They are standardizing the rules as follows:
• For players drafted at age 18, clubs will retain their rights until the fourth June 1st after they were drafted.
• For players drafted at age 19 or above, clubs will retain their rights until the third June 1st after they were drafted.
• There is one limited exception to these rules: The rights retention period for Players who are college students at the time their rights would have otherwise expired will be extended until 30 days after notice to NHL Central Registry that the Player will no longer be playing college hockey.
This change is due to CHL players being eligible to play NCAA. It would be unfair for NHL teams to lose their rights after two years, because CHL players, drafted to the NHL, who want to go to NCAA can’t sign an ELC before playing NCAA. This just protects NHL teams from not losing their rights after two years, which is the current rule. Keep in mind this won’t impact next year’s draft so a team who drafts a CHL player, could in theory lose their rights after two years, if they opt to go NCAA. Those kids would then go back into the draft.

Retained Salary Transactions

Clubs will still be able to conduct retained salary transactions. However, a second retained salary transaction on the same SPC will only be permitted if the second transaction takes place more than 75 regular season days after the first transaction.
Teams usually use this at the trade deadline so they can fit a player under the cap and find a third team who just takes 25% of the remaining cap hit. I guess some feel it was too big of an advantage for a team to get a player at 25% of their cap hit. Which, in theory does make sense. 

Signing, Roster, and Reporting Bonuses

The total amount of signing, roster, and reporting bonuses will be limited to 60% of the total aggregate compensation under the contract.
For instance, a player making $10m can only have a maximum of $6m in signing bonus. Leon Draisaitl’s new contract pays him $1m a year in salary and the rest in signing bonus. He got $15.5m on July 1st this year. For those who are concerned Connor McDavid won’t re-sign in Edmonton (I don’t think it is a concern), this new rule will help you. McDavid can sign an extension this year and get all of his salary each year in signing bonus except $1m in base. 

Contract Term

The maximum term of an SPC will be seven years (currently eight) if a player re-signs with his existing club and six years (currently seven) if he signs with a new club.
I love this rule. I’ve been advocating for maximum term or five-year contracts for players age 28+. This does mean some top players would become UFAs one year earlier than usual. Often, we saw high end players sign an eight-year deal after their ELC expired. Now it will be seven, but we’ve also seen some players like Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews sign for five or six years. Teams who remain competitive will be able to retain the majority of their top stars, even with a maximum seven-year deal out of ELC. 
The best part of this is it lowers UFA contract length. That is where teams, fans and players have lost out. The good, but not great players get long-term deals that age terribly. This reduces that by one year and lowers the years of pain on many longer term deals. Essentially it reduces the pain of bad contracts. They will always exist, but at least now they will be six years instead of seven.

Healthcare Subsidy

Currently, players who stay on the NHL Health Plan after retirement are eligible to receive a yearly subsidy to help with their premium costs. Eligible Players who retired before the 2020-21 season receive an annual subsidy of up to $3,500 in the currency of coverage (USD or CAD); all other eligible players receive an annual subsidy of up to $5,000 in the currency of coverage (USD or CAD). Now the maximum subsidy amount will increase to $10,000 per year in the currency of coverage (USD or CAD) for all eligible players. The NHL will pay for 65% of the cost of this subsidy off-share.
This is a win for the players and long overdue.

Playoff Fund

The Playoff Fund currently sits at $24 million, with the League effectively paying $12 million of it. The fund will be increased, but now the league will pay all of it and it will be considered off-share, and not part of HRR. Here is what the payout will be starting in 2026/27:
Season
Playoff Fund Amount
2026-27
$34M
2027-28
$36M
2028-29
$38M
2029-30
$40M
This is another small win for the players as the fund increases, but they also don’t pay into it. 

OTHER QUICK NOTES…

— The regular season will now be 84 games. Preseason will be reduced to four games. And players who have played 100+ games can only play a maximum of two preseason games. Personally, I can’t wait for the end of the eight-game preseason. It was the worst, and nothing more than a cash grab the Oilers and the few other teams who played eight. Half the league played six games, and some teams played five some years.
— Fitness testing will no longer be allowed in training camp or during the season. I’m curious to see how teams will gauge the conditioning of their players. Most come to camp in great shape, but there still needs to be some sort of baseline. Tom Renney used to have a conditioning drill he would do at the start of the season. Players would line up on the right boards at the blue line. They’d then skate behind the net (closest to blue line) and circle up to the blue line on the opposite side of the ice. They’d then circle back down into the corner, across the ice and out. He timed it, and the player needed to show him their conditioning was the same after returning from an injury. I’d think coaches will have something to test the players on ice. The Wingate and other off-ice tests were outdated, so that change makes sense.
— Clubs will no longer be allowed to implement a dress code. Instead, there will be a league-wide dress code requiring only that players dress in a manner consistent with contemporary fashion norms. I’m curious what those norms will be. I still think most players will dress in a suit or dress pants, as they like how it looks. 
— Teams can have a full-time emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) and he can travel with the team and won’t count against the cap.  In order to be an EBUG they must not:
  1. Have played in an NHL game while under contract.
  2. Have played more than 80 professional hockey games.
  3. Have played professional hockey in the previous three seasons.
  4. Be on the reserve list or restricted free agent list of an NHL club
  5. Have another current contractual obligation that would preclude the ability to serve as the team’s Ebug.
Essentially this will be players who played USport, NCAA or Major Junior or the odd former pro who hasn’t played in three years. There will never be another David Ayres.
— One change in LTIR: replacement players aggregate cap can’t exceed LTIR’d player and the average cap hit can’t exceed league average. If exception is approved to league average rule, the player being replaced is ineligible for rest of season. This is an interesting wrinkle. I’d h
— Waiver-exempt players (those on ELC) who play in at least 15 of their team’s last 20 games before the beginning of the bye week will be entitled to the time off at NHL salary as long as they are not loaned to the minors prior to the club’s fourth-to-last game before its break. This wasn’t used a lot by teams, but it did happen a few times and this allows young players to make plans for the bye week and not get sent to the AHL to save cap space and money.
— All players will now have their own hotel room on the road. Players on ELC could have shared a room in previous agreement, but that’s gone now. I think sharing a room had some benefits, especially for guys who don’t love being alone.
— Teams can sign players to a mid-season 10-day PTO. Similar to NBA. Teams would have first right to match any offer from opposing team.
— All Black Aces will be entitled to per diem, even if their AHL Club is in the same city as the NHL Club. I can’t believe some NHL teams wouldn’t pay a per diem to Black Ace while in the playoffs. The fact this rule was put in suggests it happened. That is a new level of cheap. 
— Increased availability of therapists. Clubs will now be required to have a second massage therapist available to treat Players. In lieu of the second massage therapist, Clubs can instead retain a physical therapist or chiropractor meeting certain requirements pertaining to experience in soft tissue management (e.g., ART specialists). I’d heard a few cases where players had to wait a few hours to get treated, because the club didn’t have enough physical therapists, and clearly it happened frequently to get his put in.
— A 3rd Physician Expert for Disagreements on Diagnosis and/or Course of Treatment.  When a Player seeks a second medical opinion, and the second opinion doctor and Club doctor disagree on diagnosis and/or treatment, the two doctors will now select a third doctor to help resolve the dispute. The Club must give due consideration to the opinion of the third expert prior to determining the final course of treatment. The Club must also pay the reasonable costs of the third doctor. This makes sense. I think of the Jack Eichel case in Buffalo where the Sabres didn’t want him to have the surgery the second medical doctor said was good. This might have saved them from trading him. 
— Fitness-To-Play Second Opinion Deadline. Under the current rules, Players have three days to decide whether to challenge a Fitness-to Play determination by the team doctor. That time period will be extended to five days. I honestly didn’t know this existed, so I added it in because I found it interesting. I wonder how often it happened. 
Overall, I like the new CBA. I would have added dead cap space to the playoff salary cap, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
Did anything stand out for you?

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