NHL commissioner optimistic about starting negotiations with players on next CBA soon

NHL fans hoping there won't be a strike or lockout when the collective bargaining agreement between the league and players' association expires in September 2026 are getting good news. The two teams are expected to begin discussions about a new CBA in early 2025, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday in New York

If that wasn't enough, Bettman expressed optimism that the deal could be completed in time for the deadline.

“We will likely have further discussions with the players' association after the start of the year,” Bettman said at the NHL Board of Governors meeting. “We said it could be as early as November, but I think everyone still has some homework to do. They know the union is on a fall tour, so no big deal. I just think that's probably the most realistic timing-wise. There is still a long way to go and we believe we are in a good place overall in terms of the relationship.”

NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh recently began his tour of all 32 teams to better understand what players want in the next CBA. It will be the first negotiated by Walsh, who succeeded Don Fehr in February 2023.

The NHL experienced three major work stoppages under Bettman, who became commissioner in February 1993 and is the longest-serving top executive in league history.

A 104-day lockout by the owners in the fall of 1994 resulted in the season being shortened to 48 games. Ten years later, the entire 2004–05 season was disrupted by a lockout after owners and players failed to agree on a new CBA. The 2012/13 season was also reduced to 48 games due to a four-month lockout.

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The NHL salary cap is set to rise to $92.5 million next season

Bettman said the NHL salary cap for the 2025-26 season is expected to be around $92.5 million, a $4.5 million increase over this season's $88 million cap ; However, he said it was “still preliminary.” Bettman has repeatedly said that the game has never been stronger; Revenue reportedly hit a record $6.2 billion in 2023-24, the league was at more than 97 percent capacity and franchise values ​​have skyrocketed.

Among the issues the owners and players will discuss for the next CBA is adjusting the schedule. Reducing the number of preseason games and expanding the regular season to 82 games are “on the list of things for owners to think about before the next CBA,” Bettman said.

One topic that “did not come up in any form” at the meetings was expansion. However, Bettman noted that “there are a number of places that have expressed interest and are talking to us.”

“We don’t feel compelled to do it [expand] right now,” the commissioner said. “We have just completed our most successful season in our history. We need to look at collective bargaining. We need to make new media arrangements in Canada. If something comes in and meets all the criteria and we feel like it might make sense, we might think about it, but we’re not there yet at the moment.”

The NHL's last two expansions have been huge successes.

The Vegas Golden Knights joined the league in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021. Vegas reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017-18 and won the Cup in 2023, its sixth season in the league. The Kraken qualified for the playoffs in the second season of 2022–23 after improving by 40 points from 2021–22. They eliminated the defending champion Colorado Avalanche in the opening round.