Articles in NHLPA

from the NHLPA,

The NHLPA Player Poll has returned with the 2023-24 edition. During the regular season, 639 NHL players were surveyed on 15 hockey-related questions. Players weighed in on a variety of topics, including top positional players, most complete player, best playmaker, best style, toughest arena to play in and more!

If you need to win one game, who is the goalie you want on your team?

Make it three seasons in a row now for Andrei Vasilevskiy who received 289 votes as the players’ top pick to defend the crease for their team in a must-win game. With two Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Vezina Trophy already in his back pocket, this netminder’s experience is hard to ignore.

If you need to win a faceoff, who would you pick?

Blink and you’ll miss it! As a veteran in the faceoff circle, Ryan O’Reilly gets another clean win with 80 votes. Sidney Crosby finished closely behind with 75 votes. Meanwhile, Claude Giroux and Luke Glendening placed third and fourth, respectively, and Jordan Staal received one vote more than Anze Kopitar to round out the top five.

more plus two related videos below...

from Sportsnet,

A major shift in the hockey world could be coming soon.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the NHL gave the general managers an update on the future of the NCAA and Canadian Hockey League relationship this week at the GM meetings.

"The NCAA is actively considering removing all restrictions for CHL players to play in the NCAA after their CHL careers are done," Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada's Saturday Headlines segment.

Friedman reported that the change is not a sure thing, and that the exact timeline is unclear, but the NHL is preparing for it to be made. If it becomes official, there are a number of things that would have to be collectively bargained with the NHLPA.

"The deal could affect a lot of things, the NHL-CHL agreement," Friedman explained. "Also, for example, if you get drafted from the CHL, NHL teams hold your rights for two years. If you get drafted out of the USHL or NCAA, they hold your rights for four years. So all of that would have to be collectively bargained with the players."

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NEW YORK/TORONTO (March 11, 2024) – The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) today announced the completion of a Leaguewide educational tour led by members of the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition (NHL PIC). Beginning at the start of the 2023-24 season, NHL PIC members hosted one-hour guided conversations with active Players in all 32 locker rooms where discussions focused on diversity and inclusion, emphasizing how inclusion builds the foundation for stronger and higher-performing teams.

from Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff,

President Joe Biden nominated NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh as a governor of the United States Postal Service on Thursday, a bipartisan board role that will keep at least one toe in Washington’s political waters for Walsh while he runs hockey’s union.

Walsh, 56, was hired by the NHLPA one year ago on Feb. 16, 2023 out of Biden’s cabinet as the sitting United States Secretary of Labor. He served two terms as mayor of Boston and was previously head of Boston’s building trades council.

A press release from the White House on Thursday says Biden picked Walsh to “serve as a key leader in his administration” and was the first nominee listed among a host of positions. Walsh will need to be confirmed by the United States Senate. If confirmed, he will be one of nine USPS governors. Walsh said on Friday that he advised the NHLPA executive board of the opportunity and it is not a full-time position.

“There are maybe three to four meetings a year,” Walsh told Daily Faceoff. “It’s not unfamiliar for a person in a labor union position to serve on a board, President Biden knows what I bring working for people and drawing on that labor experience.”

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NEW YORK/TORONTO (Feb. 1, 2024) – The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) today announced plans for Black History Month, recognizing the commitment and dedication required to break barriers and become changemakers in hockey with a ‘Next Generation of Hockey History’ campaign.

NEW YORK (Nov. 15, 2023) – The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), National Hockey League (NHL), NHL Alumni Association (NHLAA), and Sweet, a leading platform for gamified digital collectible experiences, today announced the official launch of NHL Breakaway™, the official digital collectibles highlight community of the NHL, NHLPA and NHLAA for the NHL’s community of fans.

Starting today, fans and collectors can collect, gift, trade, display and participate in set collections and challenges to earn exciting rewards. The NHL Breakaway platform delivers an immersive experience featuring some of the most recognizable and iconic highlights in NHL history, as well as unique features including:

via the YouTube page of NHL,

The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association are marking the start of the 2023-24 NHL season by celebrating 10 years of the Industry Growth Fund (“IGF”), which was established to create opportunities to help grow the game of hockey both on and off the ice. Over its first decade, the IGF has dedicated more than $180 million to develop programming, create initiatives, host events and provide education that drives awareness and brings hockey to communities across North America.

Much more below.

from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

From the Pride tape ban reversal to Shane Pinto’s gambling-related suspension, it’s been an eventful week for the executive director of the NHL Players’ Association.

I caught up with Marty Walsh on Friday afternoon over the phone from Boston where he’s currently stationed speaking to teams as part of the NHLPA’s fall tour. Subject matter will not be lacking for those meetings with players over the coming days and weeks.

Let’s begin with the news still dominating hockey circles: Shane Pinto’s 41-game suspension for “activities related to sports wagering.”

The first question I had for Walsh was simple: If Pinto didn’t bet on hockey, as the league made clear in its statement, and NHL players are allowed to bet on other sports, what was he suspended for?

“Well, I mean, there are rules and regulations in the collective bargaining agreement, and the league felt that there were issues that crossed the line,” Walsh said. “They did an investigation of the situation, and they came back, talking and working with the player, the league and the team, it was agreed upon that 41 games would be the penalty, if you will, for Shane’s actions.

“There’s a collective bargaining agreement, and there’s terms in the collective bargaining agreement. I’m not going to get into all the terms of what it states there, but clearly there were issues there that rose to the level of the commissioner getting involved and the union getting involved on behalf of the player.”

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from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

In a world now increasingly open to legalized online sports betting, did we set up a young man like Pinto to fail?

I’m not letting Pinto off the hook at all here. He clearly crossed the line. His statement Thursday said he took “full responsibility,” and again, the NHLPA isn’t fighting this. The player clearly erred.

But was anyone truly shocked to hear the news that an NHL player finally got suspended for this?

We now live in a world where legalized online sports gambling surrounds us 24/7. The league, its teams and the NHLPA benefit from it financially, as do sports television networks on both sides of the border. And yes, full disclosure, I should point out that I also work for TSN, which is among the beneficiaries and has a partnership with FanDuel. And further full disclosure, I obviously also work for The Athletic, which has a partnership with BetMGM and publishes a large amount of content on sports gambling.

And don’t get me wrong, the networks and content providers have a right to make money off gambling. It’s legal, after all.

But I think this Pinto suspension serves as an opportunity to ask more important questions. Because I truly believe that people, especially in his age group, are vulnerable to the allure of online sports gambling. I’ve seen it with my own eyes with people in their 20s.

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NEW YORK (Oct. 24, 2023) – The National Hockey League today released the following statement regarding symbolic tape in support of social causes.

“After consultation with the NHL Players’ Association and the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, Players will now have the option to voluntarily represent social causes with their stick tape throughout the season.”

from Joe Smith of The Athletic,

In his introductory news conference in late March, Walsh vowed to bring a “different” style of leadership. And it feels like Walsh is going with a more personal approach. He’s starting his fall tour of team visits next week, heading to Las Vegas for the Golden Knights’ season opener. He plans to meet with every player in the NHL by Christmas. He went to the BioSteel camp in Halifax this summer and the European NHL Media Tour in Stockholm. He’s checked in with many players by phone.

And Walsh is giving them all his personal cell phone number.

The NHL and NHLPA jointly established and launched a hotline, operated by an independent third-party provider, that enables players, staff and anyone else in the NHL ecosystem to report unethical behavior and misconduct. This is separate from the line established by the long-standing NHL/NHLPA player assistance program.

But it was telling that Babcock’s behavior was sparked by a whistleblowing player going to “Spittin’ Chiclets,” not the league. Walsh hopes to change that, saying he’s already heard concerns from players on other issues.

“It’s about building relationships,” Walsh said. “I’m working with some players who have come up to me with other things. They didn’t go through the hotline or a podcast; it came directly to me or (Hainsey). Let’s be honest: I’m still fairly early in this journey. So the players know me directly or by hearsay or through somebody. By Christmas, I’m going to have met every single player in the NHL at least once — and a lot of them will be multiple times. After our fall tour, there’s no reason for a player to not call us directly.

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from The Hockey News,

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh spoke with Adam Proteau about growing hockey, best-on-best international competition, expansion, the Arizona Coyotes and more.

The Hockey News: I wanted to get your initial thoughts on the lessons that you’ve learned in the short span of time you’ve been at the NHLPA.

Marty Walsh: One of the things is, this is a labor organization, and our concerns are no different than other labor organizations – quality of work, collective bargaining, wages, benefits, work conditions, things like that. Also, the players that I’ve met, the players I’ve come across – they’re a very humble group of people, very focused on their career, very focused on their families, the ones that are married and have kids.

A lot of players now in the off-season are focused on their families and moving forward. We saw at the NHL award ceremonies last week, almost every person that received an award was thanking their spouse for raising their family and putting up with their hockey life. So it’s really been interesting, and it’s also been great to learn internally at the PA, there’s a lot of great people working behind the scenes and doing a lot of great things for the membership of the union.

THN: I want to know where you believe are issues that you can take up with the league and actively advocate for the players.

read on

TORONTO (June 22, 2023) The National Hockey League Players’ Association today announced the official launch of NHLPA UNLMT, an innovative athlete development offering created to meet players where they are at, maximize their experience on and off the ice, and give them the tools to leverage the game for a lifetime.

Born of the NHLPA’s commitment to empowering NHL players to connect, engage, and excel, NHLPA UNLMT utilizes a truly bespoke, by-the-players, for-the-players approach, helping players become the best they can be during their hockey career and for years to come. Players can explore and unlock their strengths and interests through a best-in-class assessment experience, and guidance from NHLPA UNLMT personal strategists to seek out pathways and mentors to support them in carving out their own unique path. The initiative ensures players receive one-on-one support every step of the way, driving meaningful outcomes for them in the process.

TORONTO/NEW YORK (June 28, 2023) – The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association announced today that the Team Payroll Range established for the 2023 24 League Year, pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, provides for a Lower Limit of $61.7 million, a Midpoint of $72.6 million and an Upper Limit of $83.5 million.

NASHVILLE (June 27, 2023) – The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association today announced, the launch of the NHL Player Inclusion Coalition, a group of current and former NHL Players and women’s professional hockey Players who work to advance equality and inclusion in the sport of hockey on and off the ice. As part of the launch, the NHLPA and NHL have earmarked more than $1 million USD to support the coalition’s programs through contributions to grassroots organizations, Player-perspective storytelling, and other special projects.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

The NHLPA and NHL will meet this week to open discussions on a variety of issues that include the possibility of increasing the salary cap beyond the prescribed $1 million, Slap Shots has learned.

Executive director Marty Walsh, who has been on the job for two months, and newly appointed assistant director Ron Hainsey will confer with commissioner Gary Bettman after having conducted three meetings with player agents in precincts across the continent over the last couple of weeks.

The Players’ Association is on record that the union will not be willing to raise the escrow ceiling of six percent for each of the next three seasons as a trade-off for elevating the cap above $83.5 million.

We have learned that the PA is willing to discuss increasing the schedule to 84 games....

continued plus other topics like this...

If a 29-year-old in his seventh season can become a breakout star in the playoffs, then Brandon Montour is that player for a Florida team that is not only wildly entertaining, but also zoned in on details.

One of those details happens to be Sergei Bobrovsky returning to the elite form that had escaped him since he signed that seven-year, $70 million free-agent deal with the Panthers in 2019-20.

This is the greatest goaltending turnabout in memory, or at least since Roberto Luongo couldn’t stop a puck in Boston in 2011.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- If you believe the NHL is ever going to give up the hard cap, you’re dreaming.

The only way the hard cap is going away is if the union ever decides to decertify.

That is a concept that seems as foreign as the Flyers ever winning another Stanley Cup.

- The folks who believed that Calgary general manager Brad Treliving won the summer might want a re-do on that one.

Of course, Jacob Markstrom’s descent into .890 save-percentage territory has not made either the GM or head coach Darryl Suter look very smart.

Finally, I am aware that the NHL’s decision to grant uniform rights to Fanatics beginning in 2024-25 has generated revulsion on social media.Maybe it is justified.But if this outfit can get rid of that garish red collar around the Rangers’ road whites and that ruinous red yoke at the collar of the home blues, I am all in.

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from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe,

Walsh has the good fortune of taking over at a time of labor peace, the collective bargaining agreement between players and the league not pegged to expire until Sept. 15, 2026.

That grace period, or what Walsh terms “a learning period,” will allow him time, he noted during a phone conversation on Friday, to get to know players across the 32-team league on a meaningful, personal level and fully absorb the minutiae of the CBA before beginning talks on a new deal, ideally in the fall of 2025.

It’s that commitment to build a close connection with the players that went a long way in Walsh landing the gig. A protracted subnarrative among the players for much of Donald Fehr’s 12-year tour in office — and during prior PA administrations — was that they felt a need for closer, more direct relationship with the boss.

Walsh assured the search committee it was his intention to build that bond, a trademark of his career dating to his years in public office. He’ll be on a flight Monday morning to Los Angeles to start meeting directly with players in a number of NHL cities, building a constituency, making sure rank-and-file members have his office and cellphone numbers.

“By this time next year, I’ll be able to rattle off to you a super-majority of the players in the NHL,” he promised. “You know, not that I just represent NHL hockey players. I think a good leader of a union knows the membership not just by what they want in a contract, or [when it’s time for] collective bargaining, but who knows who they are as people, and have that relationship.

“If you understand the players, and they have confidence, first of all to know you know who they are by name, then when you are leading them, whatever the conversations might be, they’ll trust my judgment.”

much more and other hockey topics too...

NEW YORK/TORONTO (March 31, 2023) – The National Hockey League, National Hockey League Players’ Association and NHL Alumni Association announced today a joint donation of $100,000 to the Borje Salming ALS Foundation.

With the NHLPA's new executive director Marty Walsh taking control, TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun, and Chris Johnston discuss some of the biggest issues the players are concerned about including the playoff format, a best-on best international tournament, the salary cap and more.

Watch at TSN

from Matt Larkin of The Daily Faceoff,

As he put affectionally put it, two lifelong passions merged for former U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh Thursday as he held his first press conference since being named executive director of the NHL Players’ Association in February.

The first passion: unionism through and through, something he was born into growing up in Boston as the son of Irish immigrants, sitting at the dinner table learning from his father, a laborer, about the importance of representation. He carried that mentality with him into his political career. And even when he was criticized for being “too close” to organized labor, he explained Thursday, “I wore my unionism with a badge of honor.”

Walsh, 55, was mayor of Boston from 2014 through 2021 and left his position to join U.S. President Joe Biden’s cabinet as Labor Secretary in 2021. Under Biden, Walsh oversaw regulations to protect the rights of more than 150 million workers nationwide. He had previously been president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America and was head of the Building Construction and Trades Council in Boston.

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TORONTO (March 22, 2023) While hockey fans are enjoying an exciting finish to the regular season, the National Hockey League Players’ Association today has unveiled its 2022-23 NHLPA Player Poll results on NHLPA.com. A total of 626 players took part in the NHLPA Player Poll this season.

To view the full results, click here.

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

George Parros is useless in his job as senior vice president of the NHL’s ironically named Department of Player Safety. He acts as a human guardrail against prosecuting predators. That apparently was the job description when he was hired following a 474-game NHL career in which the Princeton product picked up 1,092 penalty minutes and engaged in 158 fights (per HockeyFights) while recording 18 goals and 18 assists.

If the NHL is going to go into contortions to excuse a prior offender such as Austin Watson after he charged Tyler Motte and simultaneously thrust himself upward to deliver a headshot with his elbow and shoulder, then the department should be disbanded.

It is as if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were working in concert with banks and credit card companies.

This isn’t the first time Watson has committed a similar offense. He was suspended for two games for an elbow and shoulder to Boston defenseman Jack Alcahn just last February. That was his second two-game suspension. Motte is all but certainly concussed.

Yet the Department of Player Safety, with full endorsement of the league and Board of Governors, finds a way to legitimize hits to the head by splitting infinitives between initial conduct and secondary conduct as if the brain knows or cares. Truly, it is beyond me why team owners authorize this type of woefully titled supplementary discipline system that increases the likelihood of injury.

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