2026 NHL CBA negotiations, issues

[rsteen]

I think we have a shit show coming

Why?

 

[LadyStanley]

From Q&A with media. Wide ranging

 

[LadyStanley]

Idea: allow players to have their contact be a % of cap rather than fixed $$

 

[Yukon Joe]

Idea: allow players to have their contact be a % of cap rather than fixed $$

First of all they kind of already are - through escrow.

As you know a certain % of salaries are held back in escrow. The more the league grows revenues the mroe of the escrow is given back to the players. I believe if league HRR is big enough the league will even pay players a bonus on top of their salaries in order to guarantee the 50/50 HRR split.

Secondly though - I think most players just want to put their heads down and play hockey. Even if you're the biggest star in the world like McDavid - you can do all the media, all the endorsements - and it really is going to make a very small difference to your individual take-home pay. If you're a third line winger on a bubble team - nothing you do is going to make a difference to league HRR.

 

[rojac]

Idea: allow players to have their contact be a % of cap rather than fixed $$

It's hardly a new idea. It's one of the ideas that was rejected back in 2005 when they impemented the cap.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[GKJ]

Kinda feels like there’s very little that could change.

If I were the PA, with the way the cap is going to start to move, I would see if I can get opt-outs, similar to baseball. It would not only help them earn more, but some of these teams who end up with bad contracts could get out of them easier.

 

[rojac]

First of all they kind of already are - through escrow.

As you know a certain % of salaries are held back in escrow. The more the league grows revenues the mroe of the escrow is given back to the players. I believe if league HRR is big enough the league will even pay players a bonus on top of their salaries in order to guarantee the 50/50 HRR split.

Secondly though - I think most players just want to put their heads down and play hockey. Even if you're the biggest star in the world like McDavid - you can do all the media, all the endorsements - and it really is going to make a very small difference to your individual take-home pay. If you're a third line winger on a bubble team - nothing you do is going to make a difference to league HRR.

You're simply talking about the mechanisms for making sure that the players as a whole get their 50% of HRR.

What's being talked about by Marek is the idea that a player wouldn't have a fixed salary but would instead have a fixed cap percentage. For example, If a player had a cap percentage of 10% and the cap was at 90M, their salary for that year (which would be adjusted using escrow and other methods to ensure the players get their 50% of HRR) wouldtbe 9M. If the next year, the cap went up to 100M, the player would get a salary of 10M, and so on. If teams spent to the cap in such a system, it would effecitvely make it very similar to a flat cap.