The Utah Grizzlies will finish out their final season before relocating to New Jersey in 2026, under a new collective bargaining agreement.
Game on.
ECHL team owners and the union representing its players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on Tuesday, ending a brief strike that began shortly after Christmas that postponed several games, including some at the Maverik Center. It guarantees that the Utah Grizzlies will finish out their final season before relocating to New Jersey in 2026.
Utah’s season resumes on Wednesday at Wichita. The team’s first home game since the dispute will be against Kansas City on Jan 16.
The new five-year agreement includes player compensation raises, as well as ways to improve player health and safety, while also supporting the league’s “continued growth and ability to put an entertaining and accessible product on the ice for our fans and the communities we serve,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin, in a statement.
“This agreement reflects the unity, resolve, professionalism and discipline of our members throughout this process,” added Brian Ramsay, executive director of the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. “Meaningful progress was made in several key areas identified as priorities by our members, and this outcome would not have been possible without their engagement and support.”
The strike began on Friday, Dec. 26, a few days after the Professional Hockey Players’ Association announced they had served a strike notice to the league. It led to the postponement of several league games, including a pair of Utah Grizzlies home games, but a tentative agreement was announced a day after the strike began.
The Grizzlies announced before this season that it is being sold to a group that plans to relocate the franchise to Trenton, New Jersey in 2026, making this the final season for any Utah team in the league. It’ll end a three-decade-long tradition in the Salt Lake Valley that began when Denver landed an NHL team and essentially ended when Salt Lake City secured its NHL team last year.
Utah’s final regular-season home game will be on April 11 against Rapid City.
Contributing: Associated Press
Category: General Sports
