New CBA may be reached on Saturday, ratification process could begin Monday
The lengthy and arduous process of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA may soon culminate with a new six-year deal in place and the two sides focusing solely on returning to game action and navigating life during COVID-19 and the life that follows.
According to TSN's Bob McKenzie and Frank Seravalli, the league and the Player's Association are in the final stages of negotiations and a tentative agreement may be reached as early as Saturday afternoon, which would then initiate the ratification process wherein players would vote in favor or against the deal made by the NHL and the NHLPA. According to Seravalli, that process could begin on Monday, July 6th.
Among the items listed within the new CBA includes:
>An opt-out clause for any player who wishes to opt-out of the league's return to play plans for any reason, without fear of recourse or disciplinary action taken against them.
>An $81.5M frozen salary cap for 2020-21, which will remain in effect until league revenues return to the $4.8B threshold.
>An agreement of Olympic participation, which would be subject to IIHF and IOC negotiations.
>A new league-minimum salary of $750,000, up from the previous league-minimum of $700,000.
The full list is included in the link provided in the tweet from Bob McKenzie below.
With summer upon us and a glimmer of hope that the NHL returns in August, this is fantastic news and a true sign of progress as it appears that a work stoppage will be avoided. It's probable that the season being paused due to COVID-19 and the loss in revenues it created were directly responsible for a deal being reached so quickly. As we've seen in past negotiations, the needle can move from zero to lockout pretty quickly, so it's nice to see the league and the PA working together on a deal that everyone can be happy with and accept.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 11, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Martin Necas | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ross Colton | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Parker Kelly | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nico Sturm | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Danila Yurov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jack Drury | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Faber | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Ahcan | - | - | - | |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | - | - | - | |
| Zach Bogosian | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Marcus Foligno | - | - | - | |
| Nick Foligno | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||