On December 30, 2025, just as New Years fireworks were getting set to explode, the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) agreed to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement (the CBA). While the league, its players, and fans are all likely relieved to get some resolution and return to play (the players went on a multi-day strike before agreeing to the new CBA), the circumstances around the process seem to show the delicate nature of the power balance in hockey at this level.
The PHPA's ECHL membership has ratified a new, five-year collective bargaining agreement with the @ECHL. The new agreement will run through the 2029-30 season.
— PHPA (@thephpa) December 30, 2025
“This agreement reflects the unity, resolve, professionalism and discipline of our members throughout this process,”… pic.twitter.com/V5zLBk5DVB
A Brief Background
The ECHL is a professional minor league hockey organization operating in North America two tiers below the NHL. Many players in the ECHL are on NHL or AHL contracts so that the league provides a development opportunity. However, many are also solely on ECHL deals. Just like in the NHL, players on ECHL contracts are unionized and represented by the PHPA. The PHPA also represents AHL players.
The PHPA is responsible for speaking and negotiating for the players when it comes to working benefits and conditions. This mostly comes in the form of negotiating a CBA with the ECHL. That CBA governs most of the conditions of their employment. Under U.S. labor laws, there are mandatory subjects that the sides must negotiate in every CBA. This includes wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment (benefits, safety, grievance procedures). Notably, they do not have to agree on these subjects ultimately, but they do have to bargain over them.
See our previous articles on past NHL CBA negotiations from 2013 and 2020.
The Runway to a New ECHL CBA
The ECHL and PHPA had been operating under a CBA that was effective from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2025. When neither side agreed to a new CBA, they agreed to begin the 2025-26 season operating under the terms of that previous CBA while continuing to negotiate a new one. This continued until late December of 2025 when the PHPA alleged that the ECHL had made unilateral changes to the terms of players’ employment that involved subjects of mandatory collective bargaining. The issues the PHPA sought to improve included the use of used or improperly fitting helmets, days off (including conditions around travel time between games), holiday time off, and increased pay related to inflation.
A message from ECHL players to our fans pic.twitter.com/tkBJ9xsKW2
— PHPA (@thephpa) December 22, 2025
After getting little to no response from the ECHL, the PHPA served a strike notice but attempted to engage in mediation or arbitration to resolve these disagreements. When the ECHL rejected those attempts, the players went on strike beginning on December 26, 2025. While many games were postponed during that lockout, only a couple of days later the two sides announced they had agreed on the terms of a new CBA that will last for five years. While the specific terms of the new agreement were not immediately released, the league got back to its usual operations under the terms of the new CBA that included improved working conditions for the players. Other unions poured in support for the PHPA including the NHLPA.
The NHLPA congratulates @thephpa and its members on the ratification of their new collective agreement with the @ECHL. The players' strength and unity during the strike brought the ECHL back to the bargaining table. That solidarity will continue to serve the players well in… https://t.co/G84L4IV9fE
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) December 30, 2025
Weapons for Collective Bargaining
While not perfect, labor laws exist to help protect workers who may not have as much power individually while creating the parameters for fair negotiations between all parties. In essence, the goal is to protect the balance of power between employee and employer. Within those laws there are not only the rights for employees to organize and collectively bargain with their employer, but also certain “tools” they can use if unfairly treated without resolution.
The Strike
One of the most powerful tools is the right to strike and hold out from continuing work. However, it is important to note that during a strike the employer is under no obligation to pay the striking workers. Many times the employees’ union will maintain a strike fund to help cover living expenses. If the employees strike for economic reasons (increased wages for example), the employer can hire permanent replacements if done legally. If they strike due to the employer’s unfair labor practices, the employer may only hire temporary replacements. The employer must reinstate the striking employees after the strike ends. Sometimes that could be a question for the National Labor Relations Board or a court to answer.
Since the PHPA’s strike was for alleged unfair labor practices, particularly claiming that the ECHL was communicating to players through team management, the ECHL likely couldn’t permanently replace them. They could have called in players from other leagues on try-out contracts for temporary replacements, but it never got to that point. It’s also important to note that not all players voted in favor of the strike. Roughly 70% did, which was enough to approve it, but many disagreed. In addition, the ECHL claimed that it presented its best and final offer to the PHPA who never conveyed this offer to the players. Needless to say, it shows how labor negotiations can truly be a game of ping pong sometimes.
The Balancing Board of Power in the ECHL and Beyond
What is interesting here is to look at this negotiation through the lens of hockey as a whole. What I mean is, with the current state of hockey following events like the Chicago Blackhawks sexual abuse scandal, there may be a slight shift in power when it comes to players’ well-being in professional hockey in North America.
Comparing the NHL to the ECHL CBA Past Negotiations
If you look at the last major lockout in the NHL in 2012, it lasted over 100 days and tons of games were cancelled. Of course, that leads to lost revenue for owners and less pay for players (not including any strike pay or ancillary income they may receive). The NHLPA was pushing hard for a sharing of what is known as hockey related revenue on an equal basis and also stood firm for some niche items such as a pension plan. The guys absolutely want to play and hate missing time away, but their ability to stand firm for an extended period helped lead to these changes.
But NHL players, and the NHLPA as a whole, have more power than the PHPA and ECHL players. Some of it is purely economic. With ECHL guys making fairly modest salaries, taking time off from playing could be a bigger issue from an earnings perspective. In addition, and arguably the bigger issue, is that many guys in the ECHL are still trying to earn their way to the top. No matter the size of that gap, guys want to play and they want to impress the upper brass enough to get a call up. Going on strike ends up with time off the ice. Beyond just simply wanting to play, this is why the vote for a strike didn’t get close to unanimous support. And that’s also, at least partially, why the strike only lasted a few days too.
See our previous article on the NHL’s pension plan here.
ECHL CBA Negotiations a Slight Tip in the Scales
And the ECHL owners likely know this. In negotiations prior to the PHPA going on strike, the ECHL representatives were allegedly nonchalant and sort of flying by the seat of their pants. That includes when in person negotiations happened, which was rare. But when the PHPA stood firm, something actually changed.
This is where we are seeing some shifts in perspective amongst the players. Players appear to be more focused on their overall well-being when it comes to playing professional hockey. They still want to make it and impress the powers that be. That will never change and that is ok. But the cost of doing so seems to have taken a toll to the point where players, and in this case the PHPA, are advocating a little stronger for themselves. It’s about more than money, it’s about health, wellness and overall quality of life. You add in all of the exposed stories of abusive power in hockey now coming to the light, and the players are having a little more voice in these regards.
Without the full terms being released of the new CBA at the time of this writing, it’s hard to say for sure where things landed. But this is the first ECHL strike since 2003. And 2003 was very different. For one, that was the first year the East Coast Hockey League and West Coast Hockey League combined to form the ECHL. And for two, that strike occurred during the offseason and didn’t cause any missed or delayed games.
A Step Forward but One Size Doesn’t Fit All
So, when you look at all of these factors in the light of where hockey is trending currently, you can see the weight this has on the sport. But you can also see how the balance of power is a delicate thing that does not translate equally from league to league. When it comes to junior hockey or the collegiate level, you have yet another animal that would be the subject of an article on its own. This is also why Canadian junior players fought (unsuccessfully) for legal recognition as employees. For today though, the ECHL players are back playing and hopefully they can do so with a little more assurance of their well-being.
Article image by: Sharife, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
