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In a recent interview, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly shared key updates about the potential for a lockout as the league and NHL Players' Association prepare to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) after the 2025-26 season.
While past negotiations in 2004-05 and 2012-13 led to lockouts, Daly believes this time will be different. Although there will be disagreements, he doesn't expect the same level of conflict.
In an interview with The Athletic during the NHL Players Media Tour in Las Vegas, Daly said:
What's the temperature in the relationship between the league and union, and what do you expect in the next CBA talks?
"Certainly there are things we don't agree on. And there are things that we're going to want in the next CBA that they're going to resist and probably vice versa.
But I don't see any of the contentiousness that I have seen in the past, particularly heading into the '04-05 but even the '12-13 negotiation. I think we all knew we had strong headwinds on (those)."
"Certainly there are things we don't agree on. And there are things that we're going to want in the next CBA that they're going to resist and probably vice versa.
But I don't see any of the contentiousness that I have seen in the past, particularly heading into the '04-05 but even the '12-13 negotiation. I think we all knew we had strong headwinds on (those)."
Both the league and players have their own interests, so discussions could still become heated, but fans hope the process will be smooth and won't affect the 2026-27 season.
For more details, you can check out the full interview linked below:
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