NHL discussed reducing maximum contract length

The NHL discussed reducing maximum contract length, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday.

"It's an item (general managers) have asked us to focus on," Daly said. "It wasn't any more specific than managers saying if we could achieve bargaining shorter contract limits, we should put that on our list."

The league's current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in September 2026.

Term limits are presently set at eight years if a player's re-signing with his current team and seven years if he's going elsewhere. Those limits came into place following the 2012-13 labor dispute.

The longest deal ever signed in NHL history is 15 years, inked by both Rick DiPietro with the New York Islanders in 2006 and Ilya Kovalchuk with the New Jersey Devils in 2010.

Sidney Crosby is currently playing out the final season of the 12-year pact he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012. Though Shea Weber hasn't played since 2021, he still has one more season remaining after this one on his monster 14-year contract inked with the Nashville Predators, also in 2012.

The Minnesota Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to matching 13-year extensions 12 years ago, but the club bought out their contracts with four seasons remaining prior to the 2021-22 campaign.