Major Shake Up? NHL And The NHLPA Reportedly Considering Cutting Max Players Contracts in Newest CBA
The NHL has a brand new CBA coming up very soon, and according to reports, they're looking to make a potentially major shift to player contracts.
While the current NHL CBA isn't set to expire until September of 2026, the NHL and the NHLPA are certainly already hard at work making the next one as profitable for the players as it is the league.
Now, TSN's Pierre LeBrun has offered a very intriguing insight into negotiations, but especially surrounding player contracts, with the suggestion that a radical change could be on the way.
- Pierre LeBrun, Insider Trading
According to LeBrun, The General Manager's executive committee proposed a massive new change to the league that would change the maximum term allowed on a contract from eight years to five.
While we've seen some long-term deals like that pay off for GM's, with players improving well beyond the value of that deal throughout the eight years, but it's also hindered teams too, with some players struggling to live up to the value of the contract throughout that term.
This is something that has already been changed in recent years, as teams were allowed to hand out 12 year deals in the past before being shortened to eight, and now, teams are looking to give themselves a much larger margin for error by suggesting this change.
Obviously there's still just under two years before a new deal comes to light, but with the salary cap expected to continue rising, it may be smart too for players to target shorter deals as the earning potential grows exponentially at that point.
It's unclear at this point what type of support the league is getting for their suggestion, and with these negotiations often staying private, we may never know until a deal is officially announced, but given the change from 12 to 8 in the latest CBA, it would not be a surprise to see this pushed through.
