Player-agent Allan Walsh makes major claim about NHL salary cap, slams league commish for "artificially further restricted player salaries" 

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Nov 18, 2024 12:29 GMT

NHL player agent Allan Walsh is no stranger to making his thoughts known in public and on social media. Perhaps his most infamous example comes in the form of a picture of his client, Marc-Andre Fleury, being stabbed through the chest with a sword.

Walsh is also a well-known critic of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, and he once again targeted the infamous executive on his social media account. Walsh wrote the following about the latest reports indicating that the NHL salary cap could rise to as much as $92.5 million, saying that he thinks player salaries are being restricted under Bettman's leadership of the league:

"What many people don’t realize is using the formula in the NHL/NHLPA CBA from 2005 until 2020, the Upper Limit this season would have been set at $110M. Next season, the Upper Limit based on current revenue projections would be approx. $120M."

"The 2020 CBA negotiated during the pandemic with its 2 year lag formula in setting the cap did not envision what happens if NHL HRR blew past 2020 projections," he continued. "Gary’s triple hard cap combined with the 2 year lag have artificially further restricted player salaries."

It's clear that Walsh believes that the players he represents are getting the short end of the stick under Bettman.

NHL agent Allan Walsh is a fierce critic of Gary Bettman

Allan Walsh has targeted Gary Bettman numerous times in the past for criticism. Some of his biggest pushback against the NHL's top executive came in the form of his stance on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain condition associated with repeated head trauma.

He wrote the following message on X in March of 2024, demanding that Bettman step down from his post:

"It's time for everyone with a stake in the game to demand Gary Bettman be removed as NHL commissioner. His continued denial of #CTE is not acceptable. The owners, players, media and fans have the collective power to demand he step down. How many more Gary?"

Walsh's message was sent shortly after former NHL player Greg Johnson, who played with the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, took his own life and was posthumously diagnosed with CTE.

Walsh followed up his initial message with an even more accusatory post.

"A message directly to Gary Bettman - there is NHL player blood on your hands. #EndCTE," he wrote.

Count Allan Walsh as one of Bettman's biggest - and higher profile - critics.