NHL Players Union to Form Landmark Committee to Educate Players On CTE-Related Issues

Hockey's higherups have long downplayed any link between the disease and hockey.

NHLPA president Marty Walsh in 2021. | Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETW

For the first time in its history, hockey's top players union will educate players on the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The NHLPA will form a committee to help players better understand risks associated with CTE, union president Marty Walsh said Friday at a gala for the Concussion Legacy Foundation via the AP.

The committee's formation follows years of growing fears surrounding the long-term effects of head injuries in hockey.

“The long-term health of NHL players is of paramount importance to our membership," the NHLPA said in a statement included in the AP's account. "To this end, the NHLPA is in the process of forming a player committee that will be focused on learning more about chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The committee will be guided by leading medical experts in this field to help players better understand CTE.”

As recently as 2023, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman denied a link between hockey and CTE—doing so in an interview with NPR's A Martinez in 2023.