ECHL, PHPA Reach Tentative CBA to End Players' Strike

The Professional Hockey Players Association and the East Coast Hockey League announced a tentative agreement Saturday night on a new collective bargaining agreement, ending a two-day players strike that disrupted the start of the league's post-Christmas schedule.

The deal, reached after months of negotiations, requires ratification by the union's ECHL membership and approval from the league's board of governors before it takes full effect. In the interim, players are expected to report to their teams in good faith and prepare to resume play. The ECHL, a 30-team minor professional hockey league operating two tiers below the National Hockey League, spans teams across the United States and one in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

The strike began Friday, when the PHPA initiated job action following an impasse in talks that started in January. Players had authorized the negotiating committee to call a strike on December 18 and issued formal notice on December 22, just before the holiday break. As a result, the league postponed at least 13 games scheduled for Friday, with additional contests affected Saturday, including matchups involving teams like the Cincinnati Cyclones and Idaho...