NHLPA officially appoints Marty Walsh as new executive director

Walsh, 55, most recently served as the United States Secretary of Labor in the Biden Administration. He has a long record of working for various labor unions, most notably Laborers Local 223 in his native Boston, Massachusetts.

He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the 29th Secretary of Labor on March 23, 2021. Walsh also served as the Mayor of Boston from 2014 to 2021. In addition to those prestigious positions in the government, he spent 16 years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 13th Suffolk district.

“I am honored to have been selected as the Executive Director of the NHLPA. In accepting this offer I am committing to do all that I can to advocate on players’ behalf,” said Marty Walsh. “My years of experience in the labor movement and in public life has taught me that the job is never about me. It’s about us.”

Kyle Okposo, a longtime NHL veteran and among the 10 players on the NHLPA Search Committee said, “We are excited to name Marty Walsh as the next Executive Director of the NHLPA. Marty is a proven leader with a strong union background.  His energy and ability to connect with players were immediately evident to the search committee.  These were the very qualities we were focused on throughout our search for the next Executive Director.”

There were nine other players representing all NHL players on the search committee including Ian Cole, Mattias Ekholm, Justin Faulk, Sam Gagner, Zach Hyman, Nate Schmidt, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jacob Trouba, and James van Riemsdyk.

Walsh has a long history as a Boston Bruins season-ticket holder dating back to 1995. He was once kicked out of a game due to excessive alcohol consumption, according to a story from Frank Seravalli. He has since been on a journey of recovery from alcoholism.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he had met Walsh “a number of times” while he was the Mayor of Boston but didn’t elaborate further. According to Seravalli, Walsh will likely earn in the neighborhood of $3 million annually as Execute Director of the NHLPA.