Under Bettman's reign, the NHL has seen three lockouts - 1993, 2003 and 2013, but thankfully the league and NHLPA came to an agreement during COVID that extended the CBA, and avoided another lockout. At least for now.
Speaking at yesterday's «State of the Union» as Bettman normally does before the Stanley Cup Final, he said that relations between the NHL and the PA are the best they have ever been, since Marty Walsh took over as the executive director of the Players Association, seemingly firing a shot at the likes of Donald Fehr, who held the position from 2010-2023 before Walsh took over.
Not only did Bettman have praise for Walsh and how he has stepped into his role, but he also noted that the salary cap is expected to see «robust growth» meaning it could reach $100M or close to it by the time a new CBA is needed.
While the relationship between the players and league is stable for now, once the negotiations begin, all bets are off. By the sounds of it, one of the biggest contention points could be elated to the LTIR rules, as deputy commissioner Bill Daly noted that teams have asked for changes to the process but that it is something that has to be discussed with the PA and likely won't be able to be renegotiated prior to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
On the surface, the relationship between the league and players is stable for now, but you can be sure that there are a handful of minor tug-of-wars being played behind closed doors as both sides begin to posture for what could be lengthy negotiations.
