NHL, NHLPA Reportedly Agree to CBA Extension Ahead of 2025 Draft, Free Agency

As expected, the NHL and NHL Players' Association came to terms on a collective bargaining agreement extension on Friday, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

LeBrun added that a news conference is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. ET in Los Angeles to officially announce the extension.

The deal was struck on the same day that the 2025 NHL draft will commence in L.A., and just days before the start of NHL free agency on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Greg Wyshynski and Kevin Weekes were among those to report that the NHL and NHLPA were expected to reach a CBA extension well before the expiration of the current one on Sept. 15, 2026.

Several changes are expected as a result of the new CBA, but none bigger than the expansion of the NHL regular season from 82 games to 84 starting in 2026-27, per LeBrun and Chris Johnston of The Athletic.

In an effort to account for the longer regular season, the preseason will reportedly be shortened to four games per team.

The CBA extension is expected to be a four-year deal, meaning it will run until 2030, guaranteeing five more years of labor peace.

Some of the other changes reportedly included in the new CBA are related to contracts and the salary cap.

Maximum contract lengths will reportedly be shortened from eight years to seven years for players signing with their own teams, and from seven years to six years for players signing in free agency.

Teams will no longer be able to defer salary in contracts either, which became a hot-button issue in Major League Baseball in December 2023 when the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani agreed to defer much of his 10-year, $700 million contract until 2034.

A new playoff salary-cap system will reportedly prevent teams from stashing players on long-term injured reserve during the regular season and activating them for the playoffs, which is something Stanley Cup-winning teams such as the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers have taken advantage of in recent years.

Additionally, teams will have the ability to employ full-time emergency backup goalies in case of multiple goaltender injuries, the Stanley Cup playoff bonus pool fund will be nearly doubled, and player dress codes will be eliminated for players arriving to and leaving games.

Strikes and lockouts caused NHL games to be canceled during the 1991-92, 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons, plus the entire 2004-05 season was called off as a result of a lockout.

However, with a new CBA in place well ahead of time, NHL owners, players and fans won't have to worry about any work stoppages for a long time to come.