New NHL CBA could spell chaos for the Avalanche
Photo credit: Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press via AP
The NHL has just unveiled a new collective bargaining agreement that could bring significant changes impacting the Colorado Avalanche and the rest of the league.
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the deal was officially settled on Friday.
New NHL CBA could ruin the Avalanche.
Trent Finnegan from Denver Sports writes that the two most notable elements of the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA are an extended regular season and a cap on the maximum length of player contracts, both of which would directly affect the Avalanche.
With the current CBA set to expire on September 15, 2026, these changes will take effect starting in the 2026-27 season.
"For a team that has struggled to stay 100% healthy by the time the playoffs roll around, an extended regular season means more good than bad. Especially with an aging Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog who is likely to have some type of load management next year, more games equals more chances to get injured. In return, the preseason would be shortened from six games to four, and veterans who have played in at least 100 games in their career would be limited to a maximum of just two preseason games." -Finnegan
The structure of the regular season schedule would remain largely unchanged, with Colorado facing each Eastern Conference team twice and each division rival four times. The additional games would likely come from extra matchups against Pacific Division teams such as Edmonton and Vegas.
"The agreement is also set to limit any new contract to a maximum of seven years for players who re-sign with a team and six years for players gong to a new team in free agency. This would make contracts like MacKinnon's and former Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen's impossible to agree upon nowadays, limiting financial stability far down the line for players while adding an incentive to stay home." -Finnegan
Colorado would've benefited from that rule back in January, when they lost Rantanen to Dallas on the same contract they couldn't offered to keep him.
Overall, the agreement brings more positives than negatives, but it would still have significant implications for the Avalanche and the rest of the NHL.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 27 | 16 ANSWERS New NHL CBA could spell chaos for the Avalanche Are you excited about the NHL's new CBA agreement? | ||
| yes | 8 | 50 % |
| no | 8 | 50 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
