U.S. Labour Secretary Walsh to become head of NHL players' union: reports

U.S. labour Secretary Marty Walsh is expected to leave the Biden administration to run the National Hockey League Players' Association, according to two people familiar with his plans, and other media reports.

The hockey players' union has been searching for a new executive director to take over for Don Fehr. An association spokesperson had no official update on the situation when reached Tuesday.

CBC Sports has not independently confirmed the reports. 

A serious fan of the Boston Bruins, Walsh, 55, showed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport in videos posted online during his tenure from 2014 to 2021 as mayor of Boston.

The NHLPA began its pursuit of a successor for Fehr in late August, naming a seven-player search committee and hiring a firm to assist.

Fehr, best known for his lengthy career in charge of the Major League Baseball Players Association, started working for hockey's union in December 2010 and had been executive director since 2013, overseeing two collective bargaining negotiations.

Walsh figures to take over at a time of growing NHL revenues with three years remaining until the next round of CBA talks.

"I have met Marty a couple of times when he was the Mayor of Boston, but beyond that there's nothing to add," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

"I'm not going to comment on who may or may not be the next executive director. It would be inappropriate, and if I went far enough, could violate the federal labour laws. The fact of the matter is, we're very respectful of what the players are doing. They're going to conduct the process for a new executive director as they see fit, and whoever it is we'll work with."

As labour secretary, Walsh helped broker a temporary work agreement between major freight