2005 NHL CBA

2005 NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement

It took a 310-day work stoppage, many heated negotiating sessions, and numerous concessions from players but there will be a 2005-2006 professional hockey season in North America. The new six-year agreement is designed to level the ice for all NHL owners by restricting salaries. The theory is it made the National Football League more competitive so why wouldn't it work for hockey? Here are some of the important changes.

1) Club payrolls for the 2005-06 season will not be below $21.5 million and not go above $39 million. This includes all salaries, signing bonuses and performance bonuses for players. No individual player's salary can exceed 20% of the team's upper limit on payroll. The highest salary a player could receive would be $7.8 million. Each player currently under contract will be given a 24% salary reduction for every year of its term.

2) The player's share of league revenues cannot exceed 54% of $2.2 billion.

3) The minimum salary for 2005-06 is $450,000, which is up from the former minimum of $185,000.

4) Clubs will be eligible for revenue sharing subsides if they rank in the bottom half of League revenues and are in markets of 2.5 million TV households or fewer.

5) The entry-level salary limit for 2005 and 2006 draftees is $850,000 and it goes to $925,000 for 2011 draftees.

6) There is no renegotiation of contracts, either up or down, during the term of the contract.

7) The signing deadline is December 1 for that year's season. If a Restricted Free Agent does not sign by then they cannot play in the league that year.

8) The trade deadline is now 40 days prior to the end of the regular season rather than the former 26 days.

9) Clubs as well as players may now request salary arbitration for eligible players.

10) The age for an unrestricted free agent will eventually drop from 31 to 27 years by the 2008-08 season.

11) Starting in 2005 the entry draft will be reduced from 9 to 7 rounds. The Waiver Draft has been eliminated.

Although it looks like the players have lost, in a way they've also won. Many played in European leagues during the lockout and discovered lower salaries, teammates who had day-jobs, and reduced perks. Although it's never easy to take a pay cut, the fact is the new CBA should make the league more interesting, competitive, and stable. Anyway, how much can it hurt to go from $5 million a year to $3.8 million? Wouldn't you like to know?