Toronto Maple Leafs: A Potential CBA Extension Avoids the Dreaded Lockout

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of many teams counting their lucky stars that the NHL is reportedly closing in on an extension with the CBA.

In a year that has proven to be filled with one crazy story after another, there is potential for one that would surely be a refreshing sight to see for all Toronto Maple Leafs fans.

As the title of this post outlines, the NHL and NHLPA are allegedly getting close to agreeing on an extension of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, it is believed that a deal is “imminent” and would be a six-year deal if all goes well.

For fans constantly fearing the NHL will experience yet another lockout, this news is surely going to give them a reason to exhale. After all, this is the same league that saw two separate seasons cut short and another wiped out entirely due to labour disputes. All three of which have taken place throughout Gary Bettman’s tenure as the NHL’s commissioner.

This comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ending the 2019-20 regular season and forcing the NHL to stagnate the salary cap for the next few years. It’s one of many consequences that the pandemic has caused in the sports world, and hockey is no different.

Still, the fact that the NHL and NHLPA are close to extending the CBA is a positive sign any way you slice it. We can only hope that this can lead to a positive relationship between the two sides in future negotiations and isn’t a one-time anomaly because of unforeseen circumstances.

Some details in the new CBA

There’s quite a lot to unpack when it comes to what’s included in this new CBA, but the gist is that hockey fans will be pleased with some of the changes implemented.

For starters, the deal confirms that Toronto and Edmonton are chosen as hub cities for the Return to Play (RTP) plan, with Edmonton hosting both the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals. The playoffs would relatively begin on August 1st and conclude no later than early October. That means the 2020-21 campaign would commence around late December or early January.

Additionally, players are able to opt-out of the RTP without facing any discipline. Given that the pandemic shows no signs of going away anytime soon, it’s understandable why this was added. I’d imagine there will be a few notable players that choose to sit out and await the start of the next season.

The NHL is also allowing players to participate in the 2022 and 2026 Winter Games, pending negotiation between the IOC and IIHF. This a massive win for both the players and fans, who have expressed frustration over the lack of NHL players during the 2018 Olympics.

As a result of lost revenue, the salary cap will stay at $81.5 million in 2020-21 and remain there until revenue hits $4.8 billion. Minimum salaries will increase to $750K and remain so for the next four seasons.

An escrow cap is expected to be introduced, starting at 20% next season before jumping down to 6% in 2025-26. To get a better understanding of what escrow is, check out this post from Forbes that details what it means.

Players will also need to defer 10% of their salary and signing bonuses that will be paid back between 2023 and 2026. Finally, the signing bonus system is projected to remain unchanged for the next six seasons.

Takeaways

Of course, this isn’t everything that is included in this new CBA and could easily change since the NHL hasn’t formally announced this at the time of writing. But if the deal does get completed as expected, then a bunch of these changes are a positive addition for the league.

Given the U.S.’s poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, playing the games in Canada made the most sense and the NHL deserves some praise for taking their time in choosing the hub cities. But the NHL also hopes to have an 82 game season in 2020-21, which seems far fetched given the projected start date of the next campaign. To me, a 48 game season makes the most sense given the circumstances.

While the players will surely be happy to be able to compete in the Olympics once again, they also won’t be pleased with having parts of their salary on deferral for the next few years. With star players like Artemi Panarin expressing frustration over the escrow system, it is imperative that the league gets this right to keep the NHLPA happy.

And of course, the salary cap remaining stagnant for the foreseeable is surely going to be a challenge for teams at or near the ceiling. A team like the Leafs are going to have to get creative in filling holes and keeping them competitive. (so expect more Ilya Mikheyevs, Alexander Barabaovs, and Mikko Lehtonens)

Regardless of when the NHL finally announce a formal agreement to the CBA, the projected terms in this deal sure do look promising for the most part. At the very least, it sounds like there won’t be a lockout in 2022-23!