Peace In

In a world during which all of us face uniquely challenging times, it follows the business practice of collective bargaining would be similarly demanded to think and act differently. The leaders of the NHL and NHL Players' Association verified as much and more Saturday during a video media conference to discuss the league's newly announced collective bargaining agreement that keeps the labor peace for six more hockey years through the 2025-26 NHL season.

"In the days leading to March 12 [when the league paused play], we began a period of unprecedented collaboration and problem solving," said Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner. "I wouldn't say it was negotiations. We are facing an incredibly different and novel situation."

Don Fehr, executive director of the NHLPA, has been representing players unions in professional sports for 40 years by his count, including the span of 1983 to 2009 in major league baseball and the last decade in the NHL.

"This could not be normal collective bargaining," said Fehr during his opening remarks Saturday. He added "health and safety for everybody" across players, coaches, officials, league employees and many others represented the top-of-list priority rather the typical task of negotiating an employment contract with an emphasis on compensation, benefits and schedules along with health and safety conditions. The alternative, Fehr surmised, would be the NHL, NHLPA and fans to "be stuck in this morass."

"I believe this agreement meets the challenges," said Fehr, who mentioned "literally hundreds of players" joined NHLPA status calls. "There is a lot in this agreement players can be proud of. I was persuaded well before the end of March [the collaboration and problem-solving approach was working]. I always thought we would reach an agreement."

A critical issue for players is the NHL's escrow process in which a common percentage of each player's salary is withheld each season to maintain the agreed 50-50 split of league revenues each season. At the end of the season if there is an imbalance, the players are returned a percentage is an extra paycheck. The challenge presented by COVID-19 is gigantic revenue hits for NHL teams for this season and certain to affect future years.

The "problem-solving" Bettman mentioned lead to this solution: 20 percent of salaries for 2020-21; between 14 and 18 percent for 2021-22, depending on hockey-related revenue, 10 percent in 2022-23 and 6 percent from 2023 through 2026. In addition, the players agreed to changes that will give the owners needed cash flow next season. They will defer 10 percent of their salaries next season, returning it to them during 2022 to 2025 installments under more favorable escrow terms. NHL owners will have access to this season's escrow 15 days after CBA is ratified. Complex, yes, but vital to players; New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin ventured a few weeks ago that players would not report to training camp without an escrow adjustment.

Hockey fans are potentially most excited about the new CBA allowing players to compete in the next two Winter Olympics in 2022 and 2026. It turns out the players are equally enthused and made it a priority for Fehr and his top deputy Mathieu Schneider. The NHL did not allow its players to take an Olympic break in 2018, the first miss since 1994.

The more immediate return to ice places the NHL and NHLPA "switching from one grind to another," said Bettman. Training camps begin Monday in home cities for the 24 postseason teams, who will then travel July 26 to hub cities, Toronto for Eastern Conference play and Edmonton for Western Conference games.

One media question will greatly interest Seattle hockey fans. Bettman has said publicly that a full 82-game schedule is the hope for the 2020-21 regular season. If the Stanley Cup Final ends as late as Oct. 4 this fall, can that still happen? Bettman answered in the affirmative, noting the season might well start in November or December and going "a little later than normal may be one of the consequences." Those consequences could potentially mean delaying the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft for Seattle's new team and the NHL Draft, both scheduled for June 2021.

It would be remiss not to commend the work of Bettman. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, Fehr and Schneider, along with 31 NHL ownership groups, numerous league staffers and NHLPA player representatives and alternatives who achieved owners-players alignment that Bettman said was "not purely about the Return to Play [plan] ... it's about maintaining and stabilizing our league and franchises to stay strong for the future."