The NHL collective agreement does not expire until September 15, 2026. The fact that discussions are expected to begin on a new agreement in early 2025 is already a step ahead of where hockey has been in collective bargaining in the past.

Commissioner Gary Bettman Earlier this week, he said he expects discussions with the NHL Players’ Association to begin in February, around the time stakeholders gather for the 4 Nations showdown that constitutes the latest example of collaboration in sports. Both teams have issues to address and changes they want, but the trajectory of the league combined with the strong working relationship between Bettman and Marty Walsh, union executive director means there is reason for optimism in a sport that has seen three work stoppages in the past three decades.

Bettman is canvassing owners and general managers, as well as Walsh, his membership of more than 700 players, to determine the issues that matter most to them.

The salary cap system and 50/50 income split that has been put in place is unlikely to change, and there is already an agreement in place to send NHL players to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030. This leaves a handful of topics to discuss.

What are the issues?

After previous negotiations focused on how to share the money, owners and players focused on increasing revenue accessible to all. Revenues break records each season thanks to new media rights agreements in the United States, including another in Canada in 2026, and new sources of revenue such as the 4 Nations event, advertisements for jerseys and helmets and a series of sponsorship deals.

Of course, there are still points of contention.

Expansion fees were entirely returned to owners, including $500 million when Vegas joined and $650 million from Seattle. Bettman said there are currently no plans to expand the group beyond 32 teams, but it’s no secret that there is interest from ownership groups in Atlanta and elsewhere, and whether that counts as hockey-related revenue – which is shared with players – could be a point of discussion.

The salary cap

Hockey revenue, which includes ticket sales, TV money and more, is what determines the salary cap. After remaining flat and increasing slightly outside of the pandemic, the cap for each team is now $88 million, with $92.5 million slated for next season.

With revenues rising, a debate rages over whether players want to push for a faster cap increase, which would increase player salaries across the league.

“I like smoothness and consistency,” Bettman said Sunday in Boston. “No discussions yet, so when I say smoothly and steadily, that doesn’t mean I have numbers in mind and it doesn’t mean the cap couldn’t increase faster, but we don’t We’re not close to having anything like a substantive discussion about this.

Walsh said players would love to see the cap increase because “it elevates everyone.”

“It’s not just about the big name players,” Walsh said. “It’s about opportunities for all the other players to progress as well. And I think it’s important to raise the cap, and it’s important for revenue.

THE 2020 ACA Extension included caps on escrow kept from players’ paychecks to even out the 50/50 split. Something like this is expected to continue as discussions intensify.

“It’s just a matter of deciding what things are important to you, what things you might like to be different,” Washington Capitals assistant player representative Trevor van Riemsdyk said Monday. “It’s a tough thing about all of this, because not everyone is in the same position. Some guys are in the middle of long-term contracts, others are looking to get new contracts, so you’re going to want some different things.”

From a league perspective, reserve rules for long-term injured and how much money teams spend above the cap may be among the requested adjustments. Players’ pensions, medical care and who has the final say on surgical operations and the schedule that provides for an extended pre-season and hockey until the end of June could come from the union side.

Why so much hope?

The NHL, like other professional leagues, has a history of work stoppages. The 2004-05 lockout wiped out an entire season and the 2012-13 negotiations pushed the start back until January.

It’s hard to imagine this kind of problem this time. The early start has led to speculation that a new deal could be reached by late spring or early summer, more than a year before the deadline.

Bettman said Walsh, a former Federal Secretary of Labor and before that, the mayor of Boston, “has a very professional and sophisticated approach” and understands that “everyone succeeds better when you collaborate.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t represent your constituents fiercely, but you choose the things that are important — and the places where you can work together, you do it for the common good,” Bettman said. “He understands that better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

This will be Walsh’s first collective bargaining. Don Fehr, known for his longtime leadership of the Major League Baseball Players’ Association, was the union’s executive director for the 2012-2013 and 2020 negotiations, and before that it was Bob Goodenow in 2004-2005.

“Marty obviously has a ton of experience working with unions,” van Riemsdyk said. “He’s an uncompromising guy, he worked in Boston and we have the utmost confidence in him and his ability to present to the owners what is most important for the players.”

Walsh said hockey is in a transition period far enough away from negotiations to not make it a daily priority, and Bettman cautioned against setting any sort of artificial timetable for a new deal.

The NHL is also in a good position given the quality of play on the ice and booming business around her. It benefits no one to stop this momentum.

“You probably had the best financial year, the biggest gate year, one of the biggest, if not the best year in television in terms of viewership,” Walsh said. “Engaging in collective bargaining is a good place to be. »

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AP freelance writer Ken Powtak in Boston contributed.

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