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NHL players prepare their contracts for a potential lockout

 Andrew Taylor
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NHL players prepare their contracts for a potential lockout
Credit: Capture d'écran / Screenshot

Hockey fans didn’t appreciate the 2012-13 lockout, let alone the 2004-05 one. But it’s a situation that could soon be repeated, and some players are already taking precautions.

That’s what TSN’s Travis Yost noticed when he looked at recent contracts awarded to NHL players.

Yost analyzed contracts signed since January 2024 and realized that 80% of players will receive a signing bonus during the 2026-27 season.

These signing bonuses are a way of creating a cushion should the NHL fall back into a lockout situation. These signing bonuses will be paid during the summer, before the NHL cuts salaries if there is indeed a lockout.

The players are getting ready, since the current NHL collective agreement will expire after the 2025-26 season. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL has taken advantage of revenue plans, which could result in strong negotiations.

Juraj Slafkovsky is among the players who have taken this precaution, and will receive a $3 million signing bonus in the summer of 2026.

As TVA Sports explains, players who have already been paid during the summer will be less afraid to negotiate more fiercely, since a lockout would not prevent them from receiving money for a full season.

While players are trying to build up a cushion with bonuses, NHL general managers can use the opportunity to negotiate better contracts for their teams. A GM might, for example, agree to give a player a bonus in trade for a lower annual salary or an extra year.

Yost expects this trend to continue next season, with more and more new contracts offering signing bonuses before the 2026-27 season.

A lockout is never appreciated by fans and major NHL players alike, but there could be one again in 2026-27.


Overtime

– They’re a sight to behold.

– Simply dominant.

– Lots of money in sight.

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