The ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players' Association announced a tentative deal on Saturday, Dec. 27, that would end the two-day strike.
The ECHL players’ strike could be over very soon, as the league and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced they reached a tentative agreement on Saturday evening.
The PHPA membership and ECHL Board of Governors will next vote on the collective bargaining agreement drafted by the negotiating teams. A positive vote by both sides will end the strike that started Friday, Dec. 26, and resume the season. “Players will report to their teams in good faith and prepare to return to play, pending ratification and approval,” the ECHL and PHPA wrote in a joint statement.
Details of the CBA and timetable for voting were not made available.
Florida Everblades union representative Logan Lambdin confirmed the deal.
"Yes, we just reached a tentative deal," the Blades forward said. "So we are glad we were able to get things sorted quick and get back to what we do and play hockey."
Everblades president Craig Brush was at Hertz Arena before this announcement, an hour and a half before what would have been Peanuts night vs. the Reading Royals on Saturday, Dec. 27. The arena bowl was empty, the box office was shuttered and only a few cars were seen down at the recreational rinks.
For the first time in its 27-year history, an Everblades game was postponed due to a labor dispute as the players' strike stretched into its second day.
While he waited for the good news to be official, Brush was getting ready to head downstairs. He was going to greet anybody who may have come to the game not knowing about the strike or postponement.
“These games are games where you have a lot of fans that are visiting from out of town, not season ticket holders,” Brush said. “So I just want to try to make them happy and deal with any issues.”
This is new territory for him, the Everblades, and the league itself. Until now, there has only been one strike in ECHL history, in 2003, but it took place during the summer and no games were lost. Like everybody else, he hopes the strike is over soon.
“It would be disastrous if it went longer,” Brush said. “But we’ll just have to wait and see on that.”
If the deal is struck, the Blades still have the third of three games for Reading on the schedule for Monday, Dec. 29, having postponed the games Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 28.
The Everblades put out a statement on social media on Friday alleging that the Professional Hockey Players’ Association was forcing the players to go on strike. Brush confirmed that the posts were from the ECHL.
“It comes from the league,” Brush said. “The league and the union are conducting the negotiations, and we have been meeting regularly with the league, and the players have been talking to the union. So you know, I think it’s a fair statement that we all would like to get back on the ice again.”
On Facebook groups and Subreddits, fans were trying to make sense of the situation, some issuing blame to their preferred side, others just wanting both sides to figure it out so that hockey can resume. One rumor made the rounds stating that some teams were trying to throw together a roster of replacement players to avoid missing games.
A few more players around the league issued statements, some as a team and others as individuals. Free agent Brayden Low, who played for the last two seasons with the Orlando Solar Bears, weighed in, offering praise to PHPA director Brian Ramsay and calling out unspecified teams, blaming their business practices as leading to the strike.
“The shock wave of having a union director that cares mixed with teams that don’t know how to turn a profit from their business is where another problem lies,” Low wrote in a statement posted on his social media. “Hockey, the ECHL, and some of the teams have a marketing and retention problem. Their inability to make additional revenue and feel comfortable finally spending on players’ salaries, has made them put away their wallets and brought negotiations to a standstill.”
The players of the Kansas City Mavericks gave a statement supporting the union and thanking their franchise leadership and fans.
“This strike is about the future of the league as a whole, not about any one team or city,” the Mavericks players wrote. “We remain hopeful for progress and committed to returning to play once a fair deal is reached.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: ECHL and players association reach agreement to end strike
Category: General Sports
