( Photo Credit: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP )

By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth

This week, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association have been meeting to discuss the new collective bargaining agreement that seems to be nearing completion. Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun, of The Athletic, reported earlier today that, while no memorandum of understanding had been signed as of this morning, it was understood that there would be a “four-year extension before Friday’s draft.”

The biggest change that would come of the new CBA is not financial, but the shift from 82 games per season to 84 games per season, shortening the preseason to four games per team, with veteran players who have over 100 games played allowed a maximum of two games.

That shift directly impacts a number of Bruins players and helps prevent preseason injuries that bleed into the regular season. Far too often, we’ve seen players go down in the preseason and miss significant time during the regular season. Most recently, we saw Kings’ defenseman Drew Doughty go down in the preseason with an ankle injury that sidelined him until January.

Along with an extended regular season, a change to player contracts would come into effect, limiting the term players can sign for. Right now, free agents resigning with their teams can sign for a maximum of eight years, and teams signing other teams’ free agents can sign for a maximum of seven years. The new CBA would shift resigning free agents to seven years and teams signing other teams’ free agents to six years.

While it isn’t a drastic shift, it would’ve affected a couple of Bruins’ contracts last offseason, specifically Elias Lindholm, who signed for seven years, and Jeremy Swayman, who re-signed for eight years. The shift in terms certainly could’ve affected how the signing process worked out, either for better or for worse.

On the minor front, teams who utilize the long-term injured reserve loophole for the playoffs will no longer be able to after September 2026, when the new CBA would go into place. The Bruins haven’t done it since 2023, but it eliminates any option of them doing it in the future. Additionally, teams will also be allowed to permanently carry an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG) with them full-time.