Outspoken player agent Allan Walsh is alleging NHL commissioner Gary Bettman isn't being truthful in his reasons for not allowing players in the league to participate in Olympic hockey. Bettman has long argued Olympic participation is disruptive to the NHL season. Walsh calls that "Bettman bulls---."
"With regard to the Olympics, Bettman has privately indicated to those around him he's ok with players going as long as the NHL Players' Association gives up some big concession for it in collective bargaining. The whole “extraordinarily disruptive” argument is #BettmanBull---t," Walsh recently tweeted.
Walsh's comments stem from chatter on Twitter stating the All-Star Game and bye-week are just as disruptive as the Olympics and not nearly as exciting for fans.
This is, no doubt, a serious allegation to make. Walsh is essentially claiming that Bettman has been lying this entire time and is simply using Olympic participation, something players clearly want, as a bargaining chip in upcoming negotiations with players. The current collective bargaining agreement between players and the league is set to expire after the 2021-22 season with negotiations expected to resume in the upcoming offseason. While players want to be able to attend the Olympics, it's doubtful their union would be willing to give up ground in negotiations in order to make that happen.
Walsh is a well-known power player in the world of sports and represents some high profile NHL clients. Some of these include Marc-Andre Fleury, Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Huberdeau, David Perron, among others.
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