If there’s going to be another NHL lockout, it won’t come until at least 2022.

The NHL Players’ Association declined to reopen the CBA, it announced on a Monday, in a move that guarantees labor peace for three more years.

The decision comes hours before the NHLPA’s deadline to opt out of the current deal with the league. Instead, the CBA will run through Sept. 15, 2022.

“While the players have concerns with the current CBA, we agree with the league that working together to address those concerns is the preferred course of action instead of terminating the agreement following this season,” NHLPA director Donald Fehr said in a statement. “We have been having discussions with the league about an extension of the CBA and expect that those talks will continue.”

Meetings between owners and players have been going on since February and increased in frequency in recent weeks. The league did not opt out of the CBA, with Commissioner Gary Bettman citing momentum and the importance of labor peace overriding the issues owners might have.

Players have bigger issues than owners after making significant concessions in the last CBA agreed to in 2013. Escrow payments, health care, Olympic participation and what qualifies as hockey-related revenue are things players have cited as some of their top concerns — many of which could be addressed in a potential extension.

The NHL has had four labor stoppages since 1992, including the loss of the entire 2004-05 season.

— With AP