On December 26, 13 ECHL games were postponed due to the ECHL players’ strike organized by the Professional Hockey Players Association. Tensions between the union and the ECHL had been building since January.
Multiple proposals have been voted down, and collective bargaining on issues at hand has reached an impasse. Some of the problems the union is still citing as “unresolved” include: player compensation, guaranteed contracts, back-to-back games, a holiday break, and health insurance benefits during the offseason.
Professional Hockey Players Association executive director Brian Ramsay: Even went as far as to say that the league is attempting to bypass the union by communicating directly with players. He said: “Despite the union’s repeated efforts to meet and engage in bargaining, the league has continued to communicate directly with players in a manner that bypasses the union’s role as the exclusive bargaining representative.”
With the strike set to begin on December 26, the ECHL made its “last, best, and final offer” to the PHPA on Christmas Day. In a statement, the league said: “The ECHL made clear that this was the best offer and that any future offers will likely need to account for losses in revenue attributable to missed games from a player strike.” This “final offer” includes a 19.8 percent increase in the salary cap, a continued 100 percent coverage of player cost for fully furnished housing, utility, and internet costs, and medical and dental benefits.
Graphic courtesy TSN
Other issues addressed in this latest proposal included mandatory days off, travel schedule for consecutive games, modifications for mid-season and holiday breaks, equipment requirements, and an increase in per diems. The ECHL said that they did not receive a formal response from the union, but had been notified by several players that they would not be reporting to scheduled games on December 26 (and very likely until the strike is over).
The ECHL said: “We strongly encouraged union leadership to submit our offer to a vote of its membership, but we do not believe that happened.” Before we go any further, I want to focus on this for a moment. The ECHL knew days in advance that the strike would commence on December 26 unless this were resolved. But what does the league do? They wait until the last minute and submit this offer on Christmas Day, when nobody is in the office, everyone is with their families as they should be, and then try to point the finger at the PHPA for not voting on it.
Now, in my opinion, it was irresponsible of the league to wait until Christmas Day to submit said offer, and it makes the league look as if it doesn’t really care about the issues, the players, or the fans. Then, to try to play victim with the above statement about the union not voting on it isn’t a good look either. Somebody at the ECHL should have known better than to wait until Christmas Day to submit an offer to prevent a strike on December 26. Games will also be postponed at least through December 27.
Postponed games from December 26 include:
Trois-Rivieres Lions at Adirondack Thunder
Orlando Solar Bears at Jacksonville Icemen
South Carolina Stingrays at Savannah Ghost Pirates
Norfolk Admirals at Greensboro Gargoyles
Atlanta Gladiators at Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Worcester Railers at Maine Mariners
Wheeling Nailers at Toledo Walleye
Kalamazoo Wings at Cincinnati Cyclones
Indy Fuel at Fort Wayne Komets
Bloomington Bison at Iowa Heartlanders
Allen Americans at Wichita Thunder
Kansas City Mavericks at Tulsa Oilers
Idaho Steelheads at Utah Grizzlies
The big questions remain: How long will the strike last? And if it does last for a while, will the ECHL be able to survive with its reputation intact? Only time will tell.
As a hockey fan, I hope it will end soon. The ECHL is a developmental league. It is full of talented young players trying to get to the NHL. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that this strike will negatively affect player development. That isn’t good for anyone. Also, the longer the strike lasts, the more damage it will do to the ECHL as a whole.
I also want to take a second to talk about the players in the league below the ECHL, the SPHL. My hometown of Pensacola, Florida, has an SPHL team, the Pensacola Ice Flyers. I worked for the Ice Flyers for three years, 2019-2022. In my time with the team, I saw the players and their desire to play hockey, and not only play it, but play it at a high level.
The ECHL is the next step in their career development. And if the ECHL is on strike, that only makes the journey harder for these SPHL players who have done nothing wrong and are busting their butts on the ice every single game.
So I plead with the ECHL and PHPA: Let them play hockey!
