The NHLPA's executive director chats about getting the CBA done, the CBA's impact on the salary cap and the arena/ice conditions for the upcoming Olympics.
The Hockey News' Money & Power 2026 hockey business annual is available at THN.com/free, featuring the annual 100 people of power and influence list.
W. Graeme Roustan, owner and publisher of The Hockey News, sat down with special guests for peer-to-peer conversations also featured in the issue, including NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh.
Here's their full conversation in The Hockey News' True Hockey Talk:
Read along with an excerpt from their discussion:
W. GRAEME ROUSTAN: A lot's been going on with the Players' Association this past year in the NHL. You got the CBA done. Looking back, is there anything you want to comment on?
MARTY WALSH: It was a good process. The negotiations went well. We started April 1st, and we finished during the Cup final. I think part of the reason it went so well was we didn't have any outside counsel. It was just Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and their attorney and myself, Ron Hainsey and our attorney. We went through the different issues. We put across proposals. But a lot of it was about growing the game of hockey.
Both sides agree we're in a unique place in hockey. There's growth happening in the sport. We came off a very successful 4 Nations tournament, and creating more opportunities for business is important. Creating better opportunities for international hockey is important. So it was about getting an agreement done, which we did. And it was also about, "How do we get an agreement done that can also benefit the league and benefit the players by growing the sport?" And I think we accomplished all that by the end of the agreement.
WGR: How is the resolution of the CBA going to impact the salary cap?
MW: The cap was set. We talked with commissioner Bettman last year, and we set the cap for three years – this year and the next two. It's really based on revenue and money coming in. And if there's an opportunity to increase the cap even higher, we certainly would be excited about that. The players like that. And Gary gave his report at the board of governors meeting this week, and the revenues look strong for this season. And hopefully, for the foreseeable future, it'll continue to be strong.
We can revisit the cap whenever. As long as it's going up and not down, our players would be happy. I think the fans would be, too. So we stay very closely connected. We talk a lot, just with everything, with the revenue, the business side of it and any issues we have with the PA side of it as well. There is an open line of communication both ways. And I think that's important for positive momentum moving forward.
WGR: With the COVID-19 era, whatever adjustments had to be done to the cap, that's sort of behind you now, right?
MW: Yeah, that's all behind us. And all the COVID-19 debt is paid off by the players, which is good for the players. They had escrow in the double digits for a long time, and this season, for the first time in forever, there's no escrow being taken out. So it shows positive momentum moving forward. That's where you want to be. You want to be in a place where you're showing good growth in the sport of hockey.
Players for the last decade, they might have signed a contract, but they didn't get 100 percent of their contract because they owed money back in. This year, they're getting their money back. Last season, they got their money back. So hopefully, for the foreseeable future and beyond, they're going to make the entire value of their contract.
Marty Walsh, middle, believes the arena being built in Milan for the Olympics should have been done long ago. (Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images)WGR: There's been a lot of talk in the media and everywhere about the ice problems for the Olympics. What can you share with us about that?
MW: I don't think anyone's happy with where we are today. This is something that we've been worried about for quite some time, not just the ice but the arena as well.
I feel they built it late. It's not structurally done yet. And the ice is a major concern of ours. It seems like we're moving in the right direction these last couple of days. We're working very closely together, but it shouldn't have come to this. There was plenty of time and opportunity to build this arena and to get it up and running in time to have real strong test events on it. But we're going to continue to monitor it.
There's still a bit to go. I'm going to make sure that our players are playing on ice that's high quality, where they're not going to have any type of problems. We'll see as time goes on here. I don't want to add too much to it other than this. This arena should have been done a while ago.
For more interviews with a deep look into the world of the hockey business, check out The Hockey News' Money & Power 2026 issue, available at THN.com/free.