Talks on a new NHL CBA are set to start early next year. Here’s why there is optimism

The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement does not expire until Sept. 15, 2026. “No discussions yet, so when I say smooth and steady, that doesn’t mean I have any numbers in mind and it doesn’t mean the cap couldn’t conceivably go up faster, but we’re not anywhere near to having anything like a substantive discussion on that.” Walsh said players would love to see the cap go up because “it lifts everyone up.” “It’s not just talking about the top, marquee players,” Walsh said. “It’s just deciding what things are important to you, what things you’d like to maybe be different,” Washington Capitals alternate player representative Trevor van Riemsdyk said Monday. Bettman said Walsh, a former federal labor secretary and before that mayor of Boston, “has a very professional, sophisticated approach” and understands that “everybody does better when you collaborate.” “That doesn’t mean you don’t fiercely represent your constituents, but you pick and choose the things that are important — and the places where you can work together, you should for the greater good,” Bettman said. “He’s a hard-nosed guy, he worked in Boston and we have the utmost confidence in him and his ability to portray to the owners what’s most important to the players.” Walsh said hockey has been in a transition period far enough away from bargaining talks to not have it be a day-to-day focus, and Bettman has warned against setting any sort of artificial timeline for a new deal.