116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
ECHL hockey players strik lasts about a day and a half
League and Professional Hockey Players’ Association union announced a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, with games returning to the ice imminently
Dec. 27, 2025 10:02 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
CEDAR RAPIDS - It lasted about a day and a half.
The ECHL and Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced Saturday night they have reached a tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The new CBA is subject to ratification from ECHL players and approval from the ECHL’s Board of Governors.
“Players will report to their teams in good faith and prepare to return to play, pending ratification and approval,” a joint statement said Saturday night. “Further details will be shared at an appropriate time.”
ECHL players went on strike Friday at noon Eastern Iowa after the sides said they could not come to an agreement. All scheduled games Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the league have been postponed.
For the local Iowa Heartlanders, that was Friday night at Xtream Arena against the Bloomington Bison and Saturday and Sunday at Bloomington.
The PHPA served notice last week to the league that ECHL players would strike without a deal. The ECHL gave players what they called their final offer Friday, one that the union turned down.
The vitriol on both sides became worse and worse in the past week, with the PHPA filing an official complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and asking for a non-partisan moderator to help settle the dispute. The league turned that down.
It complained front-office members of ECHL clubs were communicating directly to league players in an effort to “bully them” into supporting the ECHL’s latest proposal. The ECHL accused the PHPA of not bringing their proposal to the entire union.
It was a mess. But after a good day of negotiating Saturday, the sides presumably came up with a CBA both sides can live with.
Players were calling for higher wages, better equipment, especially helmets, which had been re-used. They also must be satisfied with the ECHL’s acknowledgement of the brutal travel and schedule many teams are forced to endure.
Three-in-three weekends see teams play three games in three days, many times in three different cities. The weekend, of course, is the most popular time for fans to attend games.
But it’s unfair and potentially unhealthy for players that have to go through them.
Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters