The grueling late-June schedule will continue next year, with the Four Nations Tournament being held in February and the regular season ending at least two weeks later on April 17. The same will likely be true in 2025-26, when the NHL returns to the Milan Olympics.
There’s no breathing space between the Cup Final and the draft, and no breathing space between the draft and free agency. The condensed schedule has as much to do with cost as the elimination of the condensed draft. Well, almost as much. Well, it’s at least a factor.
The league and the NHLPA will have an opportunity to discuss this important schedule during the next collective bargaining session, which is not too far off, as the current CBA expires on Sept. 15, 2026. That’s two years away.
If the draft, in whatever form, is going to be held every year toward the end of June, there is no reason to start free agency on July 1. Deals are made, miraculously, supernaturally, just seconds after the starting bell. No riches will be lost by postponing free agency to July 5. No player will be inconvenienced by the change.
That would give people some breathing room. The No. 1 overall pick turned into a free agent signing in a matter of hours. The draft was overshadowed by the open market. Four more days would give more attention to prospects and prepare them for free agency.
Here’s one example: It’s absurd that the length of the Cup final should dictate when the league’s first buyout period begins. Currently, the buyouts are set to begin on June 15 or 48 hours after the end of the final, whichever is later. The dates are important because the buyouts are set at one-third for players under the age of 26 and two-thirds for players over the age of 26.
Sometimes millions of dollars are at stake, as they were when the Kings mulled over Pierre-Luc Dubois, who had seven years and $47 million remaining on his contract after his first season in Los Angeles. Dubois was set to turn 26 on June 24.
According to PuckPedia, if the Finals had ended on or before June 21, the Kings could have bought out Dubois for about $15.833 million, which is the amount if the Panthers had won Game 5 or 6 against the Oilers.
But when Edmonton extended the series to a Game 7 on June 24, Dubois would have had an extra 15.8 million reasons to celebrate his birthday, because his buyout price would have doubled if he hadn’t been traded to the Capitals five days earlier.
Does anyone think that makes sense?
Even if the league were to lock in the ages to a specific date, the calendar could have unintended consequences but it’s not completely arbitrary. This buyout rule is weird: Half the league finishes by mid-April, the other eight by the end of the month.
Why should everyone wait? There’s no rule prohibiting teams from making trades during the playoffs — Dubois was traded for Darcy Kuemper during the Finals — so each club should be able to conduct its own business on its own schedule.
Teams should be able to buy out players starting 48 hours after the final game of the regular season or playoffs. Age and buyout formulas should be fixed dates so millions of dollars aren’t put at risk based on calendar fluctuations and Game 6 outcomes.
Wait a moment.
The Senators traded a first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Coyotes for Jakob Chychrun on March 1, 2023, then traded Chychrun to the Caps 16 months later for a third-round pick and Nick Jensen on July 1, 2024. It’s hard to imagine Ottawa missing the playoffs for seven straight seasons with such slickness. What do you think?
Going by the honor system, I bet you have no idea what team Jarome Iginla finished his career with.
Who would you have liked to have been on your team? Jeremy Roenick or Keith Tkachuk? Who would you have liked to have been on your team? Roenick or Rick Tocchetto?
Still, it’s Roenick who will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Finally, Jim Dolan might encourage Jalen Brunson to call Igor Shesterkin.
