SOME CHANGES ARE COMING AS NHL AND NHLPA RATIFY CBA EXTENSION
Hockey fans, rejoice. Thanks to an extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, a lockout has been avoided for the near future, securing a full season through the 2030 season. With the new CBA, some changes are set to come to the league. The changes won’t go into effect until the 2026-27 season.
Most notably, the NHL’s regular season will be expanding to 84 games, two more than the 82-game schedule that has been in place since the 1995-96 season. There were two prior seasons in NHL history where teams played 84 regular season games, from 1992-1994, due to expansion adding more teams. Coinciding with the addition of two regular season games, the preseason will be shortened, cut down from the current six game slate which is filled mostly by minor league players.
Contractually, changes will limit the length of newly signed contracts beginning in 2026, shortening the longest term of a contract from eight years to seven. Also, the minimum salary will be getting a boost from its current rate at $775,000.
In an effort to curb Salary Cap circumvention, the new CBA will include changes to long-term injured reserve rules that include a postseason salary cap on the total salaries of the active players in any given playoff game. It will also eliminate deferred payments in contracts, allowing older players to sign lengthy, backloaded deals to lower the average cap hit.
In terms of international hockey, this CBA officially commits that NHL players may participate in the Olympic Games through 2030.
Left out of the new deal, to our current knowledge, are any changes to the playoff format. Across the league, conversation has been loud, with fans arguing for the league to return from the current set up, with first round divisional matchups, to the classic “1 through 8” seeding in each Conference.
In a statement to ESPN, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that this was the smoothest contract negotiation in his 30+ year tenure, saying, "It's completely refreshing. It's completely different than any of the previous experiences I've had so far," Bettman said.
THREE LOCAL TEAMS SIT ATOP THEIR DIVISION IN THE PGCBL
Three collegiate summer league baseball teams in Western New York have been near the top of the standings all season long. The Batavia Muckdogs, Niagara Falls Americans, and Jamestown Tarp Skunks each sit in the top three spots of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) Western Division standings.
Batavia leads the West Division, with an 18-9 record, with Niagara Falls just behind them at 19-11 overall. Jamestown is next on the table with an 18-11 record, pacing the five remaining teams in the Division.
The Batavia Muckdogs have been terrific at home this season, boasting a 12-4 record at Dwyer Stadium. Of the 15 teams in the PGCBL, Batavia ranks second in team batting average, with a .291 mark. The Muckdogs have won eight of their last ten games, lifted primarily by one of the top hitters in the league, Sean Mindas, who leads the PGCBL with a .451 batting average. The outfielder missed a majority of the month of June, but Mindas, a rising senior at Division III Keystone College, has recorded a hit in twelve of the fourteen games he’s played. Batavia has seven more players hitting at a .300 or greater clip, on average, this season.
The Niagara Falls Americans, formerly known as the Power, have been hovering near the top of the West Division standings all season long, mostly thanks to their defense. The Americans rank third in the PGCBL with a 4.27 ERA across their pitching staff, with 11 saves, the most of any team. Starters Keegan Bazinet, a rising sophomore at SUNY Niagara, and Luke Blandino, an Eden, NY native who enters his senior year at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, led the staff on the mound for Niagara Falls, tossing to a highly regarded prospect behind the plate. Dalton Harper, a native of Cheektowaga, NY, has been turning heads at SUNY Niagara, recently completing his freshman season with the Thunderwolves. This summer, Harper is batting at a .250 clip with the Americans, currently getting the attention of multiple Major League Baseball teams.
Down in Jamestown, the Tarp Skunks are the top offensive team in the PGCBL as the only team hitting over .300 as a team. Paced by Jakob Haynes, a rising junior at Division II Seton Hill, the Skunks have six everyday starters batting at a .300 or greater clip. Jamestown isn’t just boosting that average with singles, they’re the top power hitting team in the league as well. The Tarp Skunks are atop the PGCBL with a .406 slugging percentage, knocking 67 extra base hits. The only thing holding Jamestown back is their pitching, which at times has been dialed, but with a league leading 56 batters hit by pitches, the staff of the Skunks has run into command issues in spurts.
The regular season continues in the PGCBL through the end of the month before playoffs begin the first weekend of August.
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