Professional hockey players in the East Coast Hockey League are set to potentially go on strike Friday amid an ongoing labor dispute. As of early Friday morning, the ECHL has not offered any new updates on the dispute or announced game cancellations. That has left matchups across the league, including Friday night’s scheduled game at Heritage Bank Center between the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Kalamazoo Wings, in limbo. The Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced last week that players would strike on Dec. 26 if a new contract for players was not reached with the ECHL. The two sides have been in negotiations since the start of the year over a new player contract. “We have been bargaining since January 2025, and find ourselves unable to secure a new collective agreement due to the league’s ongoing unfair labor practices, which have undermined the bargaining process,” the ECHL players wrote in a letter to fans on Dec. 22. The PHPA says that sticking points remain over increasing players’ pay, health and safety standards, and scheduled days off during the season. In response, the ECHL says that it has made concessions that meet the needs of players on and off the ice, but that the players’ union continues to make extreme demands. The league outlined its current proposal to the PHPA in its last public update on Christmas Eve: Proposed a 16.4% increase to the salary cap with retroactive pay for the 2025-26 seasonProposed stricter requirements for mandatory days off every week, including extra nonphysical activity days after playing three back-to-back gamesProposed the option for every team to have more leniency over the types of hockey sticks and helmets they use”We continue to be willing to bargain and reach a deal that avoids a strike and sets us up for long-term growth,” the ECHL wrote on Dec. 24. “No matter what happens, it will not be possible for us to agree to a new deal that could potentially have dire consequences for teams and the future of our league.”Neither the league nor the players’ union has offered an update since Dec. 24, making it unclear whether leaguewide matchups will take place as the ECHL is set to return from its holiday break on Dec. 26. WLWT is closely monitoring updates from the ongoing negotiations and will share those as soon as they are available.

CINCINNATI —

Professional hockey players in the East Coast Hockey League are set to potentially go on strike Friday amid an ongoing labor dispute.

As of early Friday morning, the ECHL has not offered any new updates on the dispute or announced game cancellations. That has left matchups across the league, including Friday night’s scheduled game at Heritage Bank Center between the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Kalamazoo Wings, in limbo.

The Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced last week that players would strike on Dec. 26 if a new contract for players was not reached with the ECHL. The two sides have been in negotiations since the start of the year over a new player contract.

“We have been bargaining since January 2025, and find ourselves unable to secure a new collective agreement due to the league’s ongoing unfair labor practices, which have undermined the bargaining process,” the ECHL players wrote in a letter to fans on Dec. 22.

The PHPA says that sticking points remain over increasing players’ pay, health and safety standards, and scheduled days off during the season. In response, the ECHL says that it has made concessions that meet the needs of players on and off the ice, but that the players’ union continues to make extreme demands.

The league outlined its current proposal to the PHPA in its last public update on Christmas Eve:

Proposed a 16.4% increase to the salary cap with retroactive pay for the 2025-26 seasonProposed stricter requirements for mandatory days off every week, including extra nonphysical activity days after playing three back-to-back gamesProposed the option for every team to have more leniency over the types of hockey sticks and helmets they use

“We continue to be willing to bargain and reach a deal that avoids a strike and sets us up for long-term growth,” the ECHL wrote on Dec. 24. “No matter what happens, it will not be possible for us to agree to a new deal that could potentially have dire consequences for teams and the future of our league.”

Neither the league nor the players’ union has offered an update since Dec. 24, making it unclear whether leaguewide matchups will take place as the ECHL is set to return from its holiday break on Dec. 26.

WLWT is closely monitoring updates from the ongoing negotiations and will share those as soon as they are available.