Adam Proteau gives his opinion on what the NHLPA could do now that Marty Walsh is expected to become the player union's next executive director.

The NHL Players Association is expected to hire current U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh as its new executive director, an NHL source confirmed to THN.com Tuesday night. 

Walsh will be replacing longtime executive director Donald Fehr. The NHLPA’s executive committee announced their decision to hire Walsh at the union’s all-star game break in Florida, ending a nearly year-long search conducted by executive search company Russell Reynolds Associates. The formality of the hiring is expected to be completed in the coming days by an executive board vote.

Walsh, 55, is a former mayor of Boston and a union advocate, and he has also served in the Massachusetts state legislature and as the head of the Boston Building Construction and Trades Council. He departed as Boston’s mayor in 2021 after U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hired him as labor secretary.

However, Walsh’s hiring by the NHLPA is not a signal the union is angling to take on NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the 32 team owners. That battle may happen down the line, but the state of the NHLPA is such that it should be expected to continue with the status quo. It doesn’t matter whether Walsh or anyone else is going to be their next executive director – the constituency of the players’ union has not shown any appetite for a new labor war.

Some believed that, under Fehr, the NHLPA would take a tougher stance on its dealings with the league. But in practice, Fehr’s reign wasn't as effective on that front. But this is not to place the blame on Fehr. He could only operate as per the wishes of the players, and at this stage, the players have taken the money they can get under the current collective bargaining agreement and kept waters calm.

Now, there’s an argument to be made that the union should be more aggressive – that player salaries have flatlined; that teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings spent upwards of $80 million before the salary cap was implemented, and they’re still paying that amount of money today; that there should have been more of a push by them for the World Cup of Hockey to be held more times since it last operated in 2016. 

Why does a league like the NBA, which is making money hand over fist, allow for a luxury tax while the NHL demands a hard cap? Of course, the commissioner would spin his answer to the owners’ benefit, but there’s no good reason why the NHL can’t ease cap regulations to allow teams that draft and develop players to retain more of them in any competitive cycle.

But back to the union itself. Think of it this way: the NHLPA is, in practice, like the cast of a Broadway play. Although the ideal union represents all of its members equally, there are (relatively) highly-paid stars at the top of the marquee, and the rest of the cast is left to fight over the crumbs that are left over. This is how the players union has appeared to operate. There’s no unified voice, as the league has its top-paid players looking out for themselves and the blue-collar, short-career players looking out for themselves. And Gary Bettman and the owners seem willing to let them fight amongst each other, so long as the owners get their 50 percent of hockey related revenues.

Walsh’s arrival likely won't change that reality. He may be able to negotiate ancillary improvements to the CBA – better safety measures, improvement to concussion protocols – but Bettman isn’t about to hand over a luxury tax component to the union simply because there’s a new presence at the top. Bettman is well aware the players don't want to sit out a year or more in a labor showdown, and because the CBA is working positively for owners, he’s not going to suddenly show affection for the union and make a notable concession. 

The most aggressive option for the NHLPA to take on the owners is the nuclear option – union decertification. This was discussed during the 2012-13 lockout as a risk to possibly give players additional leverage in negotiations and end the pause to the season. 

In this case, the majority of players could vote to decertify the union, and all the players would become UFAs and could negotiate any contract with any team. The CBA is a product of two entities working together, but if one of those entities splits into 700 different components, it's basically up to the teams and individuals to negotiate whatever deal they want. While the NHLPA has and still negotiates benefits and pensions with the NHL, those could also be negotiated independently.

It would be complicated as there would also be massive legal fights that would follow such a move. But the players have not demonstrated an inclination to press that button. 

Walsh may choose to hire his own group of management members, or he may retain current union leaders. But until such time as his new constituency calls for a serious battle against the owners, Walsh could be as hamstrung as Fehr was.