Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: NHL and NHLPA agree to move free agency start date, trading cap space

NHL and NHLPA logo

We know the talk between the owners and players has been littered with talk about how far apart they are on many issues, but there is common ground being reached.

Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star reports the two sides have “more or less” agreed on a number of issues and some of them are pretty fun.


  • Moving the start of free agency to June 15 or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup has been awarded, whichever is later.
  • Ability to trade salary cap space and give teams better ability to get out from loaded deals.
  • Elimination of re-entry waivers.
  • Neutral third-party arbitrators to weigh in on on-and-off-ice punishment.
  • A joint health committee.
  • Minimum roster requirements so teams couldn’t dress fewer players to dodge salary cap problems.

While none of these have much to do with the major problems causing issues in negotiations, they’re still interesting.

Free agency being moved to right after the season ends takes a page out of Major League Baseball’s book as their method is somewhat similar. It also moves the start of free agency off of July 1, a national holiday in Canada. That’s something a lot of players, agents, and executives would be ecstatic about.

Cutting out the ability to dump guys in the minors to save on cap space is one that’s been discussed before. Dealing away cap space to help move guys with monster deals will help make sure guys with NHL deals can stay out of the minors.