The NHL is taking a page from the NFL's playbook next season, as the league has reportedly agreed with the NHL Players Association to install bye weeks for every team in the 2016-17 schedule.
Each club will receive a week off between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 next season, according to ESPN reporter Pierre LeBrun. Bye weeks would last five full days, unless teams have a game on the sixth day of the week. In that case players would need to report to practice by 4 p.m. on the fifth day.
The addition is reportedly the cost of the NHLPA accepting the NHL's recent proposal to turn the All-Star Game into a 3-on-3 tournament. LeBrun speculates that the reasoning behind this is to get players more rest during a year with the 2016 World Cup, as well as just more rest in general.
Hockey players like their rest during the Olympic breaks and apparently want to extend that to the regular season as well. The NHL is hoping this drums up more interest from players to attend All-Star Weekend.