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NHLPA Names Marty Walsh Executive Director

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As expected, the NHLPA has officially announced their next executive director will be Marty Walsh, ending a nine-month search to replace the outgoing Donald Fehr. Walsh was unanimously appointed by the executive board, after being recommended by the player-led search committee.

Kyle Okposo, a member of that committee, released the following:

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.  We look forward to the NHLPA’s future under Marty’s leadership.

The committee included Okposo, Ian Cole, Mattias Ekholm, Justin Faulk, Sam Gagner, Zach Hyman, Nate Schmidt, Kevin Shattenkirk, Jacob Trouba, and James van Riemsdyk.

Walsh, 55, is not new to the public eye. He recently served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, was the mayor of Boston for seven years, spent 16 years in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and was previously the president of the Laborers Local 223 in Boston.

He will officially take over from Fehr in mid-March, at which time there will be an introductory press conference.

Morning Notes: Walsh, Penguins, Pegula

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According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the NHLPA is expected to name Marty Walsh as its next executive director. The sitting U.S. Secretary of Labor will be installed after Tuesday’s presidential address, though a formal executive board vote is still required. Seravalli reports it is expected to be a unanimous approval for Walsh, a former Boston mayor who was only included in the search a few weeks ago.

Here are some more notes from around the league:

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald available this evening, but Tristan Jarry isn’t quite ready to return. Casey DeSmith will get the start, his 23rd appearance of the season. The 31-year-old netminder has a .901 save percentage on the year and is 7-10-4, proving exactly why the Penguins need Jarry back as soon as possible (and why goaltending is an area of concern as they head toward the trade deadline). Getting Kapanen, who hasn’t played since January 18, back to playing at a high level would also be huge for Pittsburgh; the 26-year-old has just six goals and 17 points through 35 games this season.
  • Regardless of what you think of the Buffalo Sabres ownership, it is hard to read professional tennis player Jessica Pegula’s heartfelt piece in the Players’ Tribune this morning, which revealed that her mother has been battling serious health issues since last summer. Kim Pegula, president and co-owner of the Sabres (and Jessica’s mother), suffered cardiac arrest in June 2022, leading to a long stay in the hospital. She is now on the road to recovery.

Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Korchinski, Walsh

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After a slow start, things haven’t gotten any better for Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi this season. As his ice time continues to dwindle, currently being utilized in a fourth-line role, so does his trade value. The 2016 fourth-overall pick has just 10 points in 49 games this season after a 35-point campaign last year.

With Edmonton expected to go all-in at this year’s trade deadline, Puljujarvi will likely see his Oilers tenure end by March 3 to make room on the roster. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli outlined some potential destinations for the Finnish winger, also reporting that general manager Ken Holland sent a note to all 31 other NHL teams two weeks ago that Puljujarvi was available for trade.

That trade could come sooner rather than later, as the Oilers need to clear salary to activate Kailer Yamamoto from long-term injured reserve. They have at least another few days, as he’s not eligible to return until February 12. Seravalli lists the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning as potential fits for Puljujarvi in a hockey trade but also says to keep the possibility of a pure cap-dump move to a salary cap floor-hugging team in mind.

  • In a mailbag piece released Wednesday, Scott Powers of The Athletic noted that 2022 first-round selection Kevin Korchinski could crack the Chicago Blackhawks’ NHL lineup out of training camp to start the 2023-24 season. Powers said the Blackhawks organization was impressed with his training camp before this season opened, and that “all signs” point to Korchinski being NHL-ready. Still 18, the left-shot defenseman has 40 points in 30 games with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds this season.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that current United States Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the current front-runner to replace Donald Fehr as the NHLPA’s Executive Director. Dreger says an NHLPA board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, which could yield a vote on whether to instate Walsh as the league’s top player representative. The former mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, has a strong labor union background and is certainly an interesting selection.

Evening Notes: Boeser, IIHF/Russia, NHLPA Leadership

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After the Bo Horvat trade yesterday, the floodgates appear to be opening on the trade front. That’s especially true for the Vancouver Canucks, who have some desirable trade assets other than Horvat that could find their way out of town by the trade deadline.

One of those is Brock Boeser, who TSN’s Darren Dreger said today continues to receive interest from around the league. However, he reported that any Boeser trade, and the corresponding interest, hinges on how much salary Vancouver is willing to retain in a potential trade. Boeser is signed to a steep cap hit of $6.65MM for the next three seasons. With so many teams already dipping into LTIR pools to stay cap-compliant, Vancouver is unlikely to find a trade partner willing to take the full brunt of the deal. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 30 points in 41 games this season. That’s a 60-point pace over 82 games.

Afternoon Notes: Schedule, Stone, Sabres, Team Canada Captains, Hershey Bears

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More hockey? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want it. Earlier this week, there had been some discussions about the NHL potentially expanding the season back to an 84 game schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expanded on those rumors with an idea of what that schedule might look like, and how the league could get there.

In effect, the schedule would be expanded an additional two games to promote intra-division rivalries, such as the one between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers or the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, both of which have seen their head-to-head matchups drop off in recent years. As Friedman details, the schedule would consist of four games against each of the other teams within the division, three games each against each team in the opposing division, and two against each team in the opposite conference. To balance things out, each team’s slate of preseasons games could be cut down. It doesn’t appear that any change is imminent, however Friedman adds that there is a willingness to discuss the change between the league and the NHLPA, however there hasn’t been much dialogue on the subject recently.

  • Things didn’t look good for Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone last night when he went down in obvious pain during the third period of the team’s game against the New York Islanders. The winger struggled to get off the ice with the assistance of his teammates, but surprisingly was able to come back and join them in the final moments of the game. Unsurprisingly, after the game, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was asked about the status of his star forward, telling The Athletic’s Jesse Granger that the hope is Stone’s injury is “just a stinger,” but he wouldn’t know much more until today. Cassidy added that Stone was not 100% when he rejoined the team late in the game. So far, no additional information has come out about Stone’s status. Vegas next plays at home on Monday against the Sabres.
  • Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres were able to get forward Kyle Okposo back from injury and Jeff Skinner back from suspension, but were without defensemen Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The team didn’t have much information on Power or Bryson, and the same holds true today, however according to The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ilya Lyubushkin is set to return tomorrow against Vegas. Noticeably absent from the ice this morning were defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, but as Harrington adds, both were absent simply for rest purposes.
  • With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
  • Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.

Jakub Vrana Enters Follow-Up Phase Of Player Assistance Program

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Detroit Red Wings forward Jakub Vrana is now eligible to return to action after moving into the follow-up phase of the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. According to a press release from the league, his care “continues to be administered” but the dynamic forward’s status has been changed to available.

Vrana entered the program in October and has played just two games this season. He scored 13 goals and 19 points in 26 games in 2021-22, and is on the second season of a three-year, $15.75MM contract with Detroit.

The team has not yet made any statement on when Vrana will be back in the lineup, but given the two months that it has been since he last suited up, it may take some time before he can contribute. The Red Wings are set to play the Ottawa Senators tomorrow afternoon. The team has enough cap space and roster room to activate Vrana if they choose to do so.

Bettman Updates Salary Cap Projection

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For everyone projecting a substantial salary cap increase for next season, commissioner Gary Bettman has a message for you: “we’ll see.” That’s what the executive told gathered media including Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff today at the board of governors meeting, explaining that the league is currently projecting a $70MM escrow balance at the end of the season. If that isn’t paid off in full by the players (through increased hockey-related revenue) the salary cap will be increased by just $1MM.

There has been some rumbling about a potential compromise with the NHLPA to increase it by a little over the next few seasons, instead of waiting for it to spike once the escrow balance is paid, but Bettman wouldn’t comment on that possibility.

That means the most likely outcome at this point is an $83.5MM cap ceiling for 2023-24. A much larger increase would follow in 2024-25 as that $70MM of debt would surely be paid off. Teams handing out long-term extensions or preparing for free agent negotiations will have to pinch a few extra pennies for a little while longer.

The interesting outcome that this could create is a number of free agents agreeing to one-year deals next offseason, knowing for certain that the cap would raise the following year. Restricted free agents may agree to more qualifying offers or go through the arbitration process instead of locking into multi-year bridge deals, and veterans could look to play out a single season before cashing in again when teams have some extra money to spend.

Either way, it appears as though true respite for the cap-strapped teams may still be a little way down the road.

Michael McCarron Enters Players Assistance Program

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The NHL and NHLPA jointly announced this afternoon that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron has entered the Players Assistance Program effective immediately. McCarron will be away from the team for an indefinite amount of time while he receives the care he needs through the program.

McCarron will be eligible to return to on-ice activity once cleared by the program administrators, per the release. His care will be administered pursuant to the NHL/NHLPA assistance program.

The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, has played parts of six seasons with Nashville and the Montreal Canadiens. The forward has split this season between the AHL and NHL, last playing on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Everyone here at PHR wishes McCarron the very best while he gets the help he needs.

Washington Capitals Place Alexeyev, Kuemper On IR; Recall Johansen, McIlrath

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11:28 am: According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Capitals have indeed made those corresponding moves. Alexeyev, as well as goaltender Darcy Kuemper, have both been placed on IR. Kuemper’s IR placement shouldn’t come as too much of a concern, as it is retroactive to December 3rd, meaning he could come back as soon as Tuesday when the team is in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks.

10:44 am: The Washington Capitals announced they’ve recalled a pair of defensemen in that of Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath from the Hershey Bears, their AHL affiliate. While no other corresponding moves were formally announced, the Capitals’ roster is already full at 23 players. The moves could signal an IR stint for defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, who suffered an upper-body injury in Friday night’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Despite being at 23 skaters, the Capitals had just six defenseman before the recalls, which included Alexeyev.

Notably, these two recalls seem to cap off a morning of defenseman shuffling in the Capitals organization. Earlier, the Hershey Bears announced they’ve recalled defenseman Martin Has from the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. That recall came not only with Johansen and McIlrath’s recalls in mind, but after the Bears lost defenseman Bobby Nardella during the first period of last night’s game with an undisclosed injury. For Has, 21, he could have a chance to take the next step in his development after a solid start to this season in the ECHL with three points in 14 games. This is the defenseman’s first professional season in North America, spending last season with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL.

Johansen, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Capitals back in 2016, but has played in just two NHL games to date, one in each of the last two seasons. He may not have hit the ceiling expected of him as a first-round selection however he has turned into a solid defenseman at the AHL level. Given Washington’s injury issues on defense this season, which include Alexeyev and Dmitry Orlov, both left-handed, the left-handed Johansen may get a chance to shine.

McIlrath, 30, is a longtime veteran of the AHL and NHL as well. The former 10th-overall pick back in 2010 to the New York Rangers, has played in 66 NHL games total, spread over six different seasons between the Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Detroit Red Wings. The veteran hasn’t played in the NHL since 2019-20, when he got into 16 games with Detroit. This is McIlrath’s second season with Hershey, recording just five assists in 22 games to start this season, but does have a respectable 36 penalty minutes in that span, playing the role of physical shutdown defenseman.

Interestingly, McIlrath did appear to have a two game NHL suspension awaiting him upon his recall. He had been suspended during the 2021 preseason for two preseason games and two regular season games, but hadn’t played in the NHL, during the regular season, since. However, as NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports, according to the Capitals organization, the NHL and NHLPA reached a settlement agreement this fall that allowed McIlrath’s two regular season games to be served during this preseason. Thus, McIlrath should be eligible to play tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, should Washington choose to dress him. Gulitti was also the first to raise the question about the suspension.

Evening Notes: Quenneville, Warmups, Ehlers, DeMelo

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To describe the last year or so for the reigning President’s Trophy winners, in part, as a “coaching carousel” would certainly surprise those not following too closely along, but that is more or less a fair description for the Florida Panthers. It was just over a year ago that the then 7-0-0 Panthers fired head coach Joel Quenneville amidst the fallout of the Chicago Blackhawks scandal. Replacing Quenneville would be assistant coach Andrew Brunette, who lead the team to a 51-18-6 record under his watch, as well as a first round win over the Washington Capitals. Brunette would go on to be a Jack Adams Award finalist, but ultimately replaced by now head coach Paul Maurice. Brunette ultimately took an assistant job on Lindy Ruff’s staff with the New Jersey Devils, and many wondered if Quenneville might try to jump back into the mix, if he even could.

On today’s installment of TSN’s Insider Trading, Darren Dreger reported that Quenneville is hoping to return “sooner rather than later,” but how soon that could be is unclear. For one, Dreger says, the team hiring him would have to go through the Florida Panthers first. That may not be much of an issue, however Quenneville himself would also have to go through the NHL Commissioner’s Office to be cleared to coach in the league again. According to Dreger, some believe that might not happen until next season. Although that might be a while to wait for Quenneville, considering there had been speculation he may never return to the NHL, a return as soon as next season, just about two years after Florida let him go, may very well be a best case outcome for the coach.

  • Also from today’s Insider Trading, TSN’s Chris Johnston broke the news of an interesting new rule change: effective immediately, players must wear their helmets during warmups. The rule does come with a grandfather clause, allowing any player who made their debut prior to the 2019-20 season to continue to make that decision for themselves, however all players who debuted in that season or later, and all future players, must abide by the rule. Johnston adds that this rule was a recommendation from the NHL/NHLPA Committee on Concussions. While warmups are far from an injury magnet, it’s not unheard of for players to get hurt.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have been off to an impressive start this season, going 9-4-1 early on. However, behind the success have been some troubling injury concerns. Star winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who was originally expected to only miss a few games, is still not an option for the team, and surgery is a possibility, added Dreger on Insider Trading. Dreger cautioned that nothing was decided yet, but Ehlers had had a few consultations with different doctors and that surgery could possibly be an option. That wouldn’t necessarily be a devastating blow to Winnipeg or Ehlers, depending on the circumstances behind it, but is far removed from the short-term injury it appeared to be at first. Dreger adds that Winnipeg, who is without forwards Mason Appleton, Morgan Barron, and Ehlers, are hoping to fill the gaps internally, but could be considering some trade options.
  • Sticking with those Winnipeg Jets, defenseman Dylan DeMelo did not take warmups tonight and was instead replaced in the lineup by Kyle Capobianco. Swapping out one player for another is usually no big deal, but Scott Billeck of The Winnipeg Sun adds that while the circumstances are unknown, DeMelo is not playing nor is he healthy scratch tonight. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee DeMelo is hurt, but it is a point of concern worth following.

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