US EditionNHL and the Players’ Union Have Discussed Going to an 84-Game Season in CBA Talks, AP Source Says
- Since April 2025, the league and its players' union have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, which includes increasing the regular season to 84 games starting with the 2026-27 campaign.
- This discussion follows the league's previous 84-game schedule from 1992 to 1994, which ended due to increased travel, divisional imbalances, and player fatigue.
- The proposed agreement adds two regular-season games and two neutral-site games per team while reducing preseason games to four to maintain the current format balance.
- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman described talks as "constructive, professional and cordial" but emphasized no deal was announced before the 2025 playoffs began.
- If the new CBA is finalized before the current deal expires on September 15, 2026, it would extend labor peace and require addressing the added player wellness challenges from the longer schedule.
60 Articles
60 Articles
The Bakersfield Californian
An 84-game season is among the changes coming to the NHL as part of the new labor deal
An 84-game season is coming to the NHL as part of an extension of the collective bargaining agreement. The league and the Players' Association are on the verge of reaching a deal to extend the CBA. It could be announced…
NHL, NHLPA closing in on new CBA with 84-game seasons
The NHL and NHL Players’ Association are on the verge of extending the collective bargaining agreement more than a year before it expires and expanding the regular season to 84 games. The league and union have been in talks since April and are closing in on a memorandum of understanding addressing a number of high-profile topics long before the current agreement runs out in September 2026. The four-year extension that could be announced as soon …
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