NHL players preparing for a lockout in 2026: 2004 all over again?

The NHL's current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to run out after the 2025-26 regular season. While the league has enjoyed a relatively peaceful labor environment since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, early indications suggest that the NHL and the Players' Association might be gearing up for a heavy round of negotiations.

One thing is clear: the players are better prepared this time. A key indicator of this readiness is the strategic use of signing bonuses. This has led to the common understanding that contracts heavy with signing bonuses are essentially buyout-proof.

However, there's another advantage to signing bonuses: they can make contracts lockout-proof. Since signing bonuses are typically paid out during the off-season, they are paid to the players before any potential CBA-related disruptions to the regular season. If the season is delayed or halted due to a lack of a new agreement, player salaries are effectively put on hold, but they wouldn't be affected as they would have been paid out their bonuses just before the beginning of the lockout.

It's important to note that every player with a significant signing bonus is one less player who would feel the financial strain of a lockout.

Fans are surely hoping a future lockout is not the case, especially not like the one in 2004 that wiped out the entire season.

Source: TSN
NHL players preparing for labour uncertainty with lockout-protected contracts