Report: Players to receive 5-day bye week next season
Bye weeks are coming to hockey.
NHL players traded participation in the 3-on-3 mini tournament at the All-Star Game for a few days off in 2017, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.
The league will fit the 5-day bye break into schedules for each team between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 next season...
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) November 19, 2015
LeBrun has more on the reported agreement:
Players won’t have to report for practice until after 4 p.m. on the fifth day if they have a game on the sixth day, a source said was part of the agreement. If they don't have a game on the sixth day, they would have all of the fifth day off.
Bye weeks are regularly scheduled in the NFL, and with the NHL's physical nature a break in the second half of the grueling season will certainly be welcomed by the players.
The NHL already shuts down for three days in late December for Christmas, with no games scheduled from the 23rd through the 25th. The All-Star festivities are held in late January.