As of Tuesday, there will be labor peace between The ECHL [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/]and Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA), at least for the next five years. The two sides announced Tuesday [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/echl-phpa-ratify-new-collective-bargaining-agreement]that both parties have ratified a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, officially ending a work stoppage by the players that began last Friday afternoon. With the agreement, the 2025-26 ECHL regular season, which has been idel since the beginning of a holiday break just before Christmas, resumes on Tuesday night. “This new agreement ratified by both the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association significantly increases player compensation, improves health and safety and delivers on new initiatives that are responsive to our players' needs, while supporting our league’s continued growth and ability to put an entertaining and accessible product on the ice for our fans and the communities we serve,” ECHL Commissioner, Ryan Crelin, said in a statement released by the ECHL. “I am so appreciative of the dedication and effort of our CBA committee who worked tirelessly to reach this agreement on behalf of the entire ECHL community.” The new CBA will run through the 2029-30 season. The two sides reached a tentative agreement [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/echl-phpa-reach-tentative-agreement]Dec. 27, allowing players to report to their teams in good faith for resumption of the season. "This agreement reflects the unity, resolve, professionalism and discipline of our members throughout this process," PHPA executive director Brian Ramsay said in the announcement [https://www.phpa.com/news/3217]. "Meaningful progress was made in several key areas identified as priorities by our members, and this outcome would not have been possible without their engagement and support." The PHPA's ECHL membership issued a strike notice on Dec. 24, and the work stoppage took effect two days later after the ECHL had made its final offer [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/echl-makes-final-offer-to-players-as-potential-work-stoppage-looms]to the union Dec. 25. Full details of the ratified agreement were not made public, but the ECHL's final offer included an immediate 19.8 percent increase to the salary cap for this season, to be paid retroactively from the start of the 2025-26 campaign, additional salary cap increases in future years, mandatory days off, modifying holiday and mid-season breaks, and addressing travel concerns between back-to-back games. The strike resulted in postponement of all ECHL games scheduled Friday through Sunday. The 2025-26 regular season resumes Tuesday night with one game on the schedule, as the Jacksonville Icemen [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/grando-coughlin-return-to-icemen]travel to Orlando to face the Solar Bears [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/solar-bears-gillies-earns-weekly-honor]. Puck drop is set for 7 Pm ET.
