NHL, NHLPA ensure labor peace after agreeing to 4-year extension to CBA through 2030

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced on Friday that the two sides have agreed to an extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, ensuring labor peace through at least 2030.

League owners and NHL players still need to vote on the deal before the agreement can be officially ratified.

The four-year extension will begin on Sept. 16, 2026 — the day after the current agreement expires — and will run until Sept. 15, 2030.

“While we didn’t agree on everything, we had a very constructive, professional, collaborative collective-bargaining process,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said during a Friday news conference. “I think we identified the issues that were important to both sides and I think that [NHLPA executive director] Marty [Walsh] and I have established a very good tone and a very good basis for our relationship going forward.”

Bettman and Walsh, who was appointed in 2023, have said over the past few months that the relationship between the two sides has been productive and talks have not been contentious — a drastic change from CBA discussions in the past involving previous union heads that led to three lockouts since 1994.

Few specifics of the agreement were released on Friday with the full deal to be made public once the ratification process is done.

Here’s what we know so far, via Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff:

Two more regular season games per team

Beginning in 2026-27, NHL teams will play an 84-game schedule, up from the current 82 games. This will allow the league to schedule more division games, helping attendances and television ratings.

Teams will still visit an opponent at least once during the regular season.

An 84-game schedule was last used by the NHL for the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons when two neutral-site games were played by all teams.

The increase of the regular-season schedule will see the preseason schedule cut down to four games per team, with players who have at least 100 career games played allowed to play in a maximum of two preseason games.

A limit on player contract term

Teams re-signing their own players will be able to offer contracts featuring a maximum of seven years and six years when signing free agents.

The 2013 CBA saw limits to player contracts, with the longest term allowed for a player re-signing with his own team being eight years and the longest term for free agents capped at seven years.

NHL teams participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs will need to be salary cap compliant as be the next CBA. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Christian Petersen via Getty Images)

Playoff salary cap for teams

NHL teams have been able to exceed the salary cap ceiling if they have players on long-term injured reserve. That has allowed clubs to activate star players who missed time during the regular season at the beginning of the postseason.

Once the new CBA kicks in in September 2026, teams will have to ice rosters in the Stanley Cup playoffs that are compliant with the current salary cap limits, but specific details on how that will work will be released once the agreement is made official by the owners and players.

Other notes about the new CBA:

50/50 revenue split between the owners and players and definitions of hockey-related revenue will not change.
Teams will hold the rights of draft picks until they are 22 years old.
As was previously announced, the salary cap ceiling for the next three seasons will be $95.5 million, $104 million and $113 million.
Deferred salaries will no longer be allowed, which previously helped teams lower the salary cap hit of contracts.
A 60% cap for player signing bonuses.
Player playoff bonus pool fund increased.
Teams will now have a full-time emergency backup goalie to avoid amateur goalies entering games following unique injury circumstances.
No more dress code for players as they enter/depart arenas for games.