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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says the league will begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with players as soon as January 2025, Greg Wyshynski reported for ESPN.
The current CBA was ratified by the NHL Players' Association in 2013 and extended in 2020. It is set to expire on Sept. 15, 2026.
NHL schedules have featured 82 regular-season games since 1995. Bettman said expanding that number while reducing the preseason slate will be on owners' "list of things to think about," per Wyshynski.
The NHL has reportedly been considering expanding its schedule since at least December 2022, when Wyshynski reported for ESPN that the league had "discussed" stretching the regular season to 84 games.