Bettman says NHL, NHLPA in 'really good shape' on talks for new collective agreement

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league and its union are in "really good shape" with negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Speaking ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final rematch between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, he added that this round of talks with NHL Players' Association executive director Marty Walsh are "no comparison" to past CBA discussions.

"We are having very constructive, professional, cordial dialogue," Bettman said Wednesday. "We started a little bit later than we had anticipated for a variety of reasons on both sides, so I don't have an announcement to make that we have a deal."

The current CBA, which was extended during the COVID-19 pandemic with the NHL's financial situation on shaky ground, is set to expire Sept. 15, 2026.

"We have more than a year to go," Bettman continued. "I think we're in really good shape, having really good discussions; we're in a really good place in terms of our relationship."

Walsh held a media scrum with reporters after Bettman's availability and called conversations "good" and "ongoing."

"It's moving steady, it's moving forward," he said. "I feel good with where we are, and we'll see what happens. It gets complicated at certain times -- any collective bargaining agreement -- but it's not where it was in the past here where you're seeing national disputes between organized labour and companies."

Walsh, who took over from former union head Donald Fehr in February 2023, added the league and players are working through "different pulls on both sides."

The positive tone is a welcome sign for fans of a league that lost the entire 2004-05 season to a lockout and went through labour disruptions that shortened both the 1994-95 and 2012-13 campaigns.

Asked directly on when a deal might be signed, Walsh replied: "We didn't start (negotiations) until April, so a slow start there; I'm not going to give any timeline on that."

Olympic question

The NHL is set to return to the Olympics next year in Italy. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league doesn't expect the International Olympic Committee or the International Ice Hockey Federation to change its ban on the participation of Russian teams, which means NHLers from that country, as things stand, will be barred from the first Games involving the world's best players since 2014 due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Talking growth

Daly said the NHL has received a lot of interest from markets looking for expansion teams -- Atlanta and Houston are believed to be on the list -- but it won't be going through a formal process to add to its 32 clubs.

"If somebody wants to essentially apply for an expansion franchise and has all the requisite elements that we would look for in an expansion franchise, we would raise it with the board of governors and see if they have any interest," Daly said. "There are some people we've talked to more than others, but there's a lot of interest, which I think we're gratified with."