NHL: Emergency Fund for Retired Players and Olympic Future

The new NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) brings significant changes, including an unprecedented investment in the care of retired players.

Health and Wellness Fund for Retired Players

The league and the union will contribute $4 million annually to the newly created Emergency Health and Wellness Fund for Retired Players. Glenn Healy, president and CEO of the NHL Alumni Association, highlighted that the plan provides access to a family doctor and a mental wellness professional for any player, regardless of whether they played a single shift or 10,000 games.

Our wellness plan isn’t like basketball’s. It’s not like football’s. We’re different in this sport. We don’t have our teeth. We have different issues, and I think this is a real step forward for the players. This is innovative. This is Christmas Day for us.

Glenn Healy

The CBA, which extends to 2030, also increases the insurance subsidy that retired players can opt for, reaching $10,000 annually. Ron Hainsey, who played more than 1,000 games between 2002 and 2020, commented that the goal is to ensure that players, upon leaving the sport, have a completely different situation for their post-career lives. Healy, a Stanley Cup champion with the New York Rangers in 1994, has been pushing this initiative for some time, meeting with Marty Walsh to discuss it. Walsh, at the time, noted that the well-being of former players was one of the NHLPA’s priorities, and this demonstrates the league’s involvement in that effort.

We certainly recognize in the league the importance of our history and the men who made that history and formed that base for the success we have today, so we are very grateful for that.

Bill Daly

Decision on Hockey Canada Players Cleared

Following the acquittal of five members of the 2018 Canadian junior team in their sexual assault trial, their situation remains uncertain less than a month before the start of the season. The judge determined at the end of July that the prosecution could not meet the burden of proof against Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton. The league declared them ineligible until they are reinstated, something the Players’ Association does not agree with. Bill Daly expects a decision on the players “in the relatively near future”. Daly also indicated that some NHL teams have inquired about the eligibility of players cleared by Hockey Canada. The uncertainty about his future in the league persists.

Progress in the Hockey Arena for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games

NHL players are scheduled to return to the Olympics in February for the first time since 2014. Although Commissioner Gary Bettman had previously expressed concerns about the completion of the arenas on time, progress on this front continues. Daly acknowledged that, although “the arena is not finished, it is being worked on diligently.” A test event on ice related to hockey is expected in December, although without spectators.

We’ll find out in early December how far we are.

Bill Daly

The NHL Draft Will Be Decentralized Again

For the second year in a row, the NHL draft will be a decentralized event, with no team personnel on site, Daly confirmed. The league experimented with this format in June, after a large majority of teams voted in favor of decentralizing the event, following the example of the NFL and NBA.

It was clear that, although it wasn’t as overwhelming a vote as the first time we asked, it was still a strong majority that wanted to have a decentralized draft.

Bill Daly