BOISE, Idaho — The ECHL and Professional Hockey Players' Association announced a tentative bargaining agreement on Saturday, December 27, following a player strike.
The Idaho Steelheads announced Friday morning that their game scheduled for Friday night against the Utah Grizzlies had been postponed due to the strike in the ECHL.
In a post on social media, the Steelheads said their game at the Maverik Center against the Grizzlies on Dec. 26 would not be played. The team wrote, “We are working to have a team on the ice for our next regularly scheduled game.”
The postponement came after the ECHL said it delivered its final contract offer to the Professional Hockey Players’ Association — the league's labor union — on Christmas Day.
The league said it has heard from some players who plan not to report for games, leading to cancellations and postponements across the league.
According to the ECHL, the proposal included an immediate increase of nearly 20% to the salary cap this season, with retroactive pay once an agreement is approved. The league said future increases would raise total player salaries by almost 27%.
In a statement released by the ECHL on Saturday, the organization announced that it has reached an agreement, although it remains subject to approval by the ECHL Board of Governors.
The organization goes on to say that players will report to their teams in good faith and get ready to play.
No further details have been released, and Idaho News 6 will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
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