Q&A: NHLPA Exec Marty Walsh On NHL Expansion, CBA Plans And More, Part 1

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh has had a lot on his plate since entering his role in March 2023.

He's looked out for the best interests of the players with the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Arizona Coyotes and Utah Hockey Club situation, player safety, Mike Babcock's resignation from the Columbus Blue Jackets and more. The 57-year-old recently made headlines when he announced the formation of a committee to study Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and its connection to head injuries suffered playing the sport.

But Walsh has more than just one issue on his plate, and he'll have more to come.

He spoke to THN.com's Adam Proteau in a 1-on-1 interview Wednesday about those issues.

Here is the first part of Walsh’s interview, edited for clarity:

THN.com: Let’s start with the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that will take place in February. How has the plan been received by players who are not eligible for the tournament?

Marty Walsh: They’re open to it. One of the things that players were interested in when I first started the job was really international hockey. I think players understood not all players would be playing in the (4 Nations) tournament.

We haven't really heard anything from players that aren't playing in the tournament. They're going to have some time off in the middle of the season, which I think in some cases will be well-received, so they’ll (rest) up a bit – they'll feel better. But there's no negative on it.

THN: Why specifically were Boston and Montreal chosen as the host cities for the tournament? Was that a strategic decision in your mind?

MW: No, not really. I mean, I think it was kind of like re-looking into cities that can host the tournament, who has availability – you know, there's a whole bunch of different reasons. In the past, it's been in different places, and I think, you know, with the anticipation of hopefully a World Cup of Hockey coming in 2028, potentially there'll be a lot more opportunities for other places to host that tournament.

"I never like the approach of dictating to someone what to do. The evolution is the best way." - Marty Walsh on mandatory safety equipment

THN: Next question – the issues that are coming up during the NHLPA’s fall tour of all 32 teams, are there issues that surprise you, or are they something that you expected? Can you talk about any of them?

MW: No, not necessarily (surprised). You know, we go through, we give an explanation of where we are in the league, where we are with the league, we talk about the financial situation in the league, we talk about different circumstances we've worked on over the years with people, with players. We talk about collective bargaining and some of the opportunities that potentially we could be looking at, doing an earlier (labor) agreement.

The (labor deal) expiration is currently September of 2026, (so) we potentially could be entering into an earlier agreement – what do (players) think of that? What are the main issues that (players are) interested in and following up there? And then we take questions from players – there's a lot of questions about health care, pensions, things like that, and with young players, we take a little time to explain the process. We explain what (hockey related revenue) is, and escrow, and the salary cap. It's an education as much as anything else.

THN: And this is a follow-up – do you find players more engaged now than you might have anticipated, or is it what you expected?

MW: I didn't know what to anticipate, but players are very engaged. You know, I don't talk at players, I talk with players, so I really encourage interaction and response. But I think it's important for players to, you know, ask what they want of us, because this is their union.

THN: OK, next question is on the evolution of safety measures, mandatory neck protection and things of that nature. Where do you see that issue headed?

MW: When you think about safety as a whole, you want to make sure players are safe when situations happen. Obviously, we saw a player (Adam Johnson) lose his life last year in London, in England, playing hockey. You obviously want to pay attention to that. We have a safety committee that works with players, players are on it, players work with the league, with our side.

We saw some rule changes this year with the leg over the boards. We had a referee in the league last year that cut his wrist skating by as the player was hanging on the boards, so we're making some adjustments there.

As far as making safety equipment mandatory, I think it's complicated to do that. Players should have the choice in some cases of what they want to do and how they want to move forward. I am a firm believer in that.

I know there was an issue with visors many years ago that became mandatory, but my understanding is that 90-plus percent of the players were already wearing it in the league, so it's kind of like that's a different situation. I think there's always an evolution. I never like the approach of dictating to someone what to do. The evolution is the best way.

"I don't talk at players, I talk with players, so I really encourage interaction and response." - Marty Walsh

THN: Another issue I want to talk about was expansion. I know that some of the popular mentality, especially put out by the NHL, is that (the players) are 50-50 partners or the PA is equal partners with the owners, but with expansion, there is some inequality there, right? The union doesn't get expansion monies included. How do you feel about expansion in terms of its effect on players and increasing the number of jobs that you have?

MW: Expansion potentially can be very positive. I mean, you think about the last two expansion teams in the league with Vegas and Seattle, very successful, very eager fans in those cities. People love their hockey team as if they're one of the Original Six. I think that's great.

Utah is not an expansion team, but we’ve seen the excitement in Utah since the Arizona Coyotes moved over to Utah. You see the excitement. It's not an expansion team, but for all intents and purposes, it feels like an expansion. So I think if done correctly, it could be great for the league, great for the players.

It is more jobs, obviously. But yeah, the players don’t enjoy the benefit of the expansion fees. They never have. I can't really speak to when that began and why we didn’t have more of a say in that as far as the fees go. But if we have an $80-$90-$100-million-a-year salary cap, over a 10-year period, that’s nearly a billion dollars going to the players. That can be a win for players as well.

THN: Obviously, there’s been a volatile history between the NHLPA and the league when it comes to negotiating new labor deals. How do you feel about the prospects of a new collective bargaining agreement coming sooner than later?

MW: It’s hard to say. I’ll answer that in two ways: No. 1, for me, it's driven by the players.

If the players at the end of the (NHLPA’s) fall tour all feel that we should move forward with having a conversation now – when I say ‘now’, (I mean) next year – we absolutely will move forward with it. And to date, we've had players that have not expressed concern about starting a conversation earlier.

The history of the NHL and the PA has always been very, you know, it's been turbulent, somewhat turbulent at times, really, in negotiations. I feel that in negotiations, if two sides stay at the table and have common open dialogue, open conversations, try not to make it personal, you will get to an agreement easier than you would if one side walks away or one side demands something that's unrealistic.

As we think about my strategy to move forward, I've been successful that way, negotiating contracts, sitting at the table. So I'm planning on taking that understanding that I have and the history I have and the knowledge I have and bringing it at some point – whether it's next year or 2026 – to the table and trying to get the best agreement for the players.

Stay tuned for Part 2 this weekend.

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Related: Should Red Wings Star Patrick Kane Be On Team USA At The 4 Nations Face-Off?