Changes you would like to see made to the next CBA

[Brawndo]

At His Preseason Press Conference Gary Bettman said he would like to be able to announce a new CBA at the Stanley Cup Final in June which would be 15 months before the current agreement expires. The final year season of the agreement calls for the salary cap to rise to approximately 92 million, Elliotte Friedman mentioned one of the sweeteners that might get the deal done faster with the NHLPA is cancelling the final year of the year of the current CBA and allowing the cap to increase more than the current projection of 92 million.
 

Ryan Kennedy mentioned a suggestion that has been floated is allowing players drafted from the CHL to be eligible for the AHL at age 19.  The NHL and CHL extended their agreement during Covid, but there will be pressure on the CHL to allow the change given the pending NCAA-CHL Player Agreement. 

 

Finally Pierre LeBrun mentioned there a push to allow NHL Teams to have a third goalie who would be able to be assigned to the AHL without clearing waivers. 

 

I doubt a guaranteed playoff berth at least once every 6 years for a certain team located in WNY would be on the table but we can dream. 

 

What other changes would you like to see made to the next CBA? 

 

 

 

 

 

[JoeSchmoe]

Limiting player salaries to curb ticket price inflation.

[thewookie1]

I’d give every team an emergency 1F, 1D, and 1G that can’t have a cap hit over 1.25mil  and but can play in the AHL. They’d be cap free players only allowed to activated in specific situations and could ply in the AHL or merely skate with the team. Players on ELCs are not allowed, bonuses that can rise above the 1.25 mil are not allowed, the contract cannot be retained under the 1.25mil to qualify and the old player would have to pass through waivers if the team decides to change their emergency player to someone new. The NHL protects itself from unforeseen situations while throwing the NHLPA a bone with 96 roster spots. 
 

It would allow teams to carry a vet player with them without it being a liability.

For instance this year the Sabres could have kept Reimer safe, signed Giordano and some older forward with playoff experience. 

[PerreaultForever]

I like the idea of a third goalie. Goalie injuries can kill ya. 

I think each team should be allowed to have one special exemption where an under age player could go to the AHL (like Benson for us). Just one max though.

Biggest thing, I'd like to see the salary cap kept in the playoffs. No Stones or Kucherovs coming off of injury lists to playoff rosters. The issue of an injured player coming back with no trade options seems a no brainer to me. The cap in the playoffs would apply to the roster you dress for the game. So if you wanted your superstar back legitimately you could go 11 forwards or whatever but your total cap number would have to be within the same cap. 

[LGR4GM]

CHL agreement needs to be a priority. I think 19yrs old or 1 year post draft for 1st and 2nd rounders is needed. 

Preseason needs shortened to 3 games and we would start in the reg season sooner. 

I like the 3 goalie thing. Would like a process where the 3rd goalie can agree not to pass through waivers or at least gets some power there. 

I'd like all teams without a state income tax to have a 5% reduction in their cap to assist in league parity. Still gives them a benefit but evens stuff slightly. 

[LGR4GM]

I'd like the NHL to add a rookie spot on nhl rosters where a player with less than 20 nhl games can be kept as the 24th roster player, as long as cap compliant 

[tom webster]

7 hours ago, JoeSchmoe said:

Limiting player salaries to curb ticket price inflation.

I am really surprised that there are people who think that player salaries have anything to do with ticket prices. Companies charge what their analyst say will maximize sales and thus  revenues irrespective of any expenses. 

[pastajoe]

I’d like the players to push for a reduction of the compensation required to sign another team’s RFA to an offer sheet to encourage more activity.

[Stoner]

Copay on penicillin injections reduced to $75 per.

[mjd1001]

Lots of ideas above are pretty good.  The ones I like the most:

First by a mile:  You must be cap compliant in the playoffs

-Expand roster size.  I can't see why the players wouldn't like that.  At least to allow a 3rd goalie. Lot of Vet 35+  year old guys would love this one I'm sure.

-You are eligible for the AHL a year earlier now than going back to Junior. Guess what, the junior leagues will survive that isn't going to kill them.

-College rule.  We all know that a player drafted can just go to college for 4 years and then he is a free agent.  How about simply making it..once you draft a player, you retain his rights until he is 23 or 24, or he has to play 2+ years PROFESSIONAL before you relinquish his rights?  Some variation of that.  

-Does it need to be in the CBA?  probably not, but WHITE UNIFORMS AT HOME!

-How about this (more for the fans than the players). Start times. A lot of east coast teams have weekend games that start early. Boston has a lot, Buffalo has some. I have noticed over the last few years that Boston will sometimes play west coast teams during the afternoon, when back home that means the games start for THOSE fans at 10am.  Of course, we know on west coast trips games start here at 10 or 10:30pm.  Make an EFFORT to flip that.  When on a west coast trip, the east coast team will often have games in L.A., Vancouver, san jose, etc be AFTERNOON start times locally on the weekend (so they are late afternoon here.)  and East coast teams on the west coast during the week, start the games 30 minutes earlier? every bit helps.   But West coast teams traveling east...under NO circumstance should a west coast team playing in the easter time zone have to play an afternoon game.

An example of the above is Boston played Arizona at 1pm on Saturday in Dec 9 of last year...The Bruins played the Kings Sat Feb 17 at 12:30 in boston (9:30am in LA).  Make an effort to make things better both ways for the fans.

-I'd also like to see buyouts be a little less punitive in terms of cap hit. Now, I don't want them to be 'free' and have no cap consequences.  If you sign a bad deal you should pay for it. But maybe don't stretch the penalty out quite as much.

7 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

I’d give every team an emergency 1F, 1D, and 1G that can’t have a cap hit over 1.25mil  and but can play in the AHL. They’d be cap free players only allowed to activated in specific situations and could ply in the AHL or merely skate with the team.

It would allow teams to carry a vet player with them without it being a liability.

For instance this year the Sabres could have kept Reimer safe, signed Giordano and some older forward with playoff experience. 

I like the idea, but if this had been in place, every team would have those extra slots so Giordano and Reimer would have probably already picked a different team.

Edited October 26 by mjd1001

[Jorcus]

59 minutes ago, pastajoe said:

I’d like the players to push for a reduction of the compensation required to sign another team’s RFA to an offer sheet to encourage more activity.

 

Maybe at the high end but on the second level contracts, Think Quinn, Peterka, and maybe Levi all can be poached for a second round pick unless you give them 4.5 + for however many years.  

[#freejame]

How would salary cap in the playoffs even work without changing how cap accumulates during the regular season?

[pastajoe]

39 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

 

Maybe at the high end but on the second level contracts, Think Quinn, Peterka, and maybe Levi all can be poached for a second round pick unless you give them 4.5 + for however many years.  

And the Sabres could do the same to other teams. It would make GMs have to work smarter.

[kas23]

College draft picks who complete 4 years of college and don’t sign with their team should not become free agents. If they refuse to sign, they should go back into the draft. 

[JoeSchmoe]

3 hours ago, tom webster said:

I am really surprised that there are people who think that player salaries have anything to do with ticket prices. Companies charge what their analyst say will maximize sales and thus  revenues irrespective of any expenses. 

Good point!

I still like to think there'd be enough goodwill that they'd rather see a full building and make a bit less than have empty seats, especially with concession and souvenir sales once in the building.

I also realize that they still drop a lot on the secondary market and no one shows up, but by the time the secondary market ticket price really falls, people have other plans.

I.e. I'll skip my kid's hockey game if I bought tickets before their schedule comes out, but I won't buy them a day or two before if I know my kid has a game.

After they cheaped out this offseason, I'm on a boycott anyways until the team is sitting in a playoff spot... so it wouldn't matter how cheap they got.

[French Collection]

I like the idea of creating another roster spot. It could be used for a veteran goalie, 4th liner or a rotation of prospects. The NHLPA would like to see 32 more NHL jobs. If the 3rd best goalie is waiver exempt then a team has more options.

Not sure how to change this but I don’t like Adam Fox types only wanting to sign with their favourite team. The more this goes on the more guys will see it as an option. You are 18-21 years old making a million per year, suck it up princess. Cutter Gauthier and Rutgers McGroarty are other examples of “entitled” kids. Go where you want as a UFA but prove that you belong in the NHL first and show some respect for the organization that drafted you.

I think an IR guy should play in at least the last regular season game to be eligible for the first round. It’s just too fishy to miss 40-82 games and come back for game 1 of the playoffs. Smarter people than me can figure out how have some kind of cap restrictions in the playoffs.

[repster]

If a team scores on a delayed penalty, the penalized team still has to serve the two minutes.

More of a rule change than a CBA thing, but I’d still like to see it.

[GASabresIUFAN]

I like the 3rd goalie idea.  The only issue is that aren't enough good goalies to go around now.

I'd like to see a change to the PP and Penalty Shot rules.  1).  If awarded a penalty shot, a team can elect to take the 2 minutes instead and/or in the alternative a team that take's a PS and misses is still awarded a 1 min PP.  2) I'd like to see PPs broken up by a period ending, the team on the PP, if they are in the O-zone when the period expires, get the faceoff at the start of the next period in the O-zone. 

 

[Taro T]

Eliminate full no trade clauses.  Leave teams at least 5 teams they can trade a player to even if the player really wants to be where he is.  Am perfectly fine with vets being allowed to have no waive for purposes of transfer to a minor league clause; but you have to give teams a possibility of getting out of a contract that simply doesn't make sense anymore in a manner besides an outright buyout.

Add a 3rd goalie that doesn't have to clear waivers but can play in the AHL.  Would require that 3rd goalie to be on a 1 year deal that cannot be extended prior to July 1.  (Keeps from having teams squat on good but not great goalies essentially forever.  Having been in goalie purgatory for roughly a decade; don't want teams not playing in Buffalo being able to make it impossible for MY favorite team to get out of goalie purgatory should they go back there again.)

Not CBA directly, but kind of, and similar to what others have wanted, adjust the NHL-CHL transfer agreement to allow players drafted in the 1st round to be put into the AHL if they are 19.  Not going full alteration of the transfer agreement, but giving teams and strong players a little more leeway to continue the development of those players.

As compensation to the PA to make those changes happen, would up the players' portion of HRR to 52%.

Would NOT give the players a direct share of expansion fees.  (Hoping that expansion fees are never again collected, but realizing that's unrealistic.)  Because the expansion fee is a direct payment to the other owners for diluting THEIR portion of leaguewide revenues.  The players effectively get compensated for having more players taking a slice of their pie by higher national broadcasting revenues (as the footprint increases, the national contracts go up) and by having more revenue coming into the league from the new teams via regional broadcasting fees, ticket sales, and concessions.

Would bring the start of the regular season back to the 1st week in October.  Would also force the end of the season/playoffs to be a week or 2 earlier as well.  Understand that the league sells more tix after the NFL season ends; but don't care.  Also realize this one is completely unrealistic.

Am sure there's a couple of other minor items.  But for the most part believe the CBA is the best in pro sports and wouldn't mess with it much.

Edited October 27 by Taro T

[Brawndo]

33 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Eliminate full no trade clauses.  Leave teams at least 5 teams they can trade a player to even if the player really wants to be where he is.  Am perfectly fine with vets being allowed to have no waive for purposes of transfer to a minor league clause; but you have to give teams a possibility of getting out of a contract that simply doesn't make sense anymore in a manner besides an outright buyout.

Add a 3rd goalie that doesn't have to clear waivers but can play in the AHL.  Would require that 3rd goalie to be on a 1 year deal.

Not CBA directly, but kind of, and similar to what others have wanted, adjust the NHL-CHL transfer agreement to allow players drafted in the 1st round to be put into the AHL if they are 19.  Not going full alteration of the transfer agreement, but giving teams and strong players a little more leeway to continue the development of those players.

As compensation to the PA to make those changes happen, would up the players' portion of HRR to 52%.

Would NOT give the players a direct share of expansion fees.  (Hoping that expansion fees are never again collected, but realizing that's unrealistic.)  Because the expansion fee is a direct payment to the other owners for diluting THEIR portion of leaguewide revenues.  The players effectively get compensated for having more players taking a slice of their pie by higher national broadcasting revenues (as the footprint increases, the national contracts go up) and by having more revenue coming into the league from the new teams via regional broadcasting fees, ticket sales, and concessions.

Would bring the start of the regular season back to the 1st week in October.  Would also force the end of the season/playoffs to be a week or 2 earlier as well.  Understand that the league sells more tix after the NFL season ends; but don't care.  Also realize this one is completely unrealistic.

Am sure there's a couple of other minor items.  But for the most part believe the CBA is the best in pro sports and wouldn't mess with it much.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the NHL announces expansion to Atlanta and Houston/Phoenix by June. 

[shrader]

So many people talk about adding new jobs for the players. Why would the PA want that? They already get a specific cut of all revenue. Adding jobs just takes away money from the current players. 

[Weave]

I don’t want to see more protected roster spots.  I like the waiver drama.

The biggest change I want to see is a fix to teams hiding players on IR for the playoffs.

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

Limit the max term of contracts and maybe only two no move clauses per team.  Trades and turnover are good.

Allow cap room to be traded.

[GASabresIUFAN]

One issue that must be worked out is how to handle prospects drafted from the CHL that sign with a US College after a few season in the CHL.  Does the NHL team retain that player's rights when the move to college or do the rights expire like any other CHL player?  If an NHL team does retain the rights, how long are they retained for? Would it be a 4 year max between the two leagues or up to 4 more years once they enter college?  Also what about ELC slides? If you sign a CHL player to an ELC, but then that player goes to college, how long would the ELC slide.  I'm assuming since college athletes are really no longer "amateurs" that a kid can sign an ELC and still go to college.  Maybe not, but that seems more logical given the current NIL environment.

[Taro T]

22 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

One issue that must be worked out is how to handle prospects drafted from the CHL that sign with a US College after a few season in the CHL.  Does the NHL team retain that player's rights when the move to college or do the rights expire like any other CHL player?  If an NHL team does retain the rights, how long are they retained for? Would it be a 4 year max between the two leagues or up to 4 more years once they enter college?  Also what about ELC slides? If you sign a CHL player to an ELC, but then that player goes to college, how long would the ELC slide.  I'm assuming since college athletes are really no longer "amateurs" that a kid can sign an ELC and still go to college.  Maybe not, but that seems more logical given the current NIL environment.

It woud be 4 years max of having draft rights retained, just like it currently is for drafted players regardless of the league they're in.  CHL players go back into the draft if they haven't signed after 2 years and can have their draft rights obtained by a subsequent team for another 2 years.  Expect that a player that starts out as CHL would once again be draft eligible after 2 years should he go to an NCAA team without signing with the NHL team that drafted him, but maybe they'd negotiate something else as a bone to throw to the CHL teams for allowing some players to be AHL eligible in the D+1 or D+2 seasons.  I.e., if a player starts out in CHL but goes NCAA then the player's rights are retained for the full 4 years as if he started out in the NCAA.  But it would seem with the NIL environment that if anything, it'd go the other way for the NCAA players in that as long as they don't actually get paid above X (likely as a signing bonus) on an NHL contract they could have a signed contract and still play NCAA. 

Players lose draft eligiibility after 2 years and players drafted at 20 can only be on a team's reserve list for 2 years before they become UFAs if they don't sign a contract.  Don't see any reason why that would change.

And ELC slides would be the same as they currently are.  They only slide when players are 18 or 19 reflecting how a team maintains the draft rights of players in the CHL for the 2 years that they are either in the NHL or the CHL (barring the player's CHL team being willing to let them get loaned to the AHL) and acknowledging that very few players are actually good enough to be in the NHL at 18 or 19.  Can't see a way the NHL would allow the PA to eliminate the slide altogether, and can't see the PA allowing it to extend beyond a player's D+2 season.  So would be quite surprised if that changes at all.