UPDATE: 7:30 p.m.:  The ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association have announced that a tentative deal has been reached on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The tentative agreement remains subject to ratification by the PHPA’s ECHL membership and approval by the ECHL Board of Governors. 
 
Players will report to their teams in good faith and prepare to return to play, pending ratification and approval.
 
Further details will be shared at a later date.

STATELINE, Nev. – Players in the ECHL, including the Tahoe Knight Monsters, have gone on strike.

The Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) announced it “commenced job action” and cited travel for back-to-back games, a holiday break, guaranteed contracts, health benefits during the offseason and player compensation as unresolved issues in talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.

According to the ECHL, they made its last, best, and final offer to the PHPA on Christmas Day. “The ECHL made clear to union leadership that this was the best offer and that any future offers likely will need to account for losses in revenue attributable to missed games from a player strike,” they said in a statement, adding it would raise player salaries and raise salary cap 19.8 percent retroactive to beginning of season, increase per diems to $60, guarantee more off days and expand equipment made available to players. “While we did not receive a formal response, we have heard from certain players that they will not be reporting for their scheduled games. We strongly encouraged union leadership to submit our offer to a vote of its membership, but we do not believe that happened.”

Members of the PHPA voted last week to give their negotiating commitee the authorization to call for a strike.

“Our members are simply seeking reasonable improvements that allow them to work safely and earn a sustainable living while continuing to perform at a high level,” PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay said. “Despite the union’s repeated efforts to meet and engage in bargaining, the league has continued to communicate directly with players in a manner that bypasses the union’s role as the exclusive bargaining representative.”

When asked for a comment, the Tahoe Knight Monsters organization referred to the ECHL statement. They did say the team’s games this weekend were postponed. Their next scheduled games in Lake Tahoe Jan. 2-4 against the Allen Americans. At this time there is no word if those games will be played, or not.

The ECHL is professional minor league ice hockey league in North America, serving as a crucial developmental league for the top-tier AHL (American Hockey League) and ultimately the NHL (National Hockey League).  ECHL originally stood for East Coast Hockey League but now just goes by its initials.