Negotiating through all of the safety and logistical challenges as the NHL and NHLPA attempt to finalize the framework for the NHL’s final two phases of their Return to Play plan is difficult enough. Adding in a CBA extension only makes it that much tougher but as Pierre LeBrun reports in his latest column for The Athletic (subscription required), that is indeed what the two sides are working on.
In fact, LeBrun notes that the two elements (final plans for the NHL’s return plus a CBA Memo of Understanding) could very well be presented as a package deal to the players before the end of the month.
The main reason for this would appear to be the salary cap. With the expected drop in revenue for the remainder of this season plus next year as attendance will likely take a dip, escrow is expected to rise considerably. The two sides are believed to be negotiating a fixed percentage with the hopes that as fans are able to return and a new television agreement in the United States is worked out, any lingering ‘debt’ to get the revenue split back to 50/50 will be paid off over time. Salary deferrals are also on the table.
In terms of shorter-term issues, LeBrun adds that the sides are working on an opt-out provision that would allow players who are uncomfortable with returning to sit out the postseason. It would almost certainly come with some sort of financial hit – perhaps forfeiture of their final regular season pay which has still not been resolved and/or not getting a playoff pool share – but the option to sit out would be there.
If a CBA vote is indeed required, it would require all NHLPA members to vote on it. Conversely, in the previous votes on Return to Play protocols, only team representatives were included. Needing the rubber staff from the full membership will take several days at a minimum to complete and with this being tied in with plans on the next phase (slated to start July 10th), time is starting to become of the essence, especially with a new Critical Dates calendar needed by the end of the month. To that end, talks are expected to continue daily until an agreement is reached.
In the meantime, an announcement is expected on the two hub cities by next week with a previous report saying that it could come as soon as Monday. Once that occurs, some more details for the third phase can start to be finalized. Despite an uptick in recent positive COVID-19 tests, Vegas is still believed to be a front-runner while the Canadian Press reported late Thursday that a path has been cleared for a Canadian host city to bypass the current 14-day quarantine requirement which increases the odds that Toronto, Edmonton, or Vancouver will have an opportunity to be a hub. As TSN’s Bob McKenzie noted in the latest Insider Trading segment, the NHL’s preference is to have hub city host teams play in the other hub to avoid any possible home ice advantage, that’s only possible if each conference has one hub.
There has been a lot of progress made in recent weeks as the two sides work their way towards a resumption of play but there is also a lot that still needs to be accomplished over the next few weeks for that to happen.