Allan Walsh put hockey's head-impact problem back under a harsh light after a new CTE study landed with numbers that demand attention.
The research examined 878 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021. Researchers confirmed CTE in at least 24.5% of that entire group.
Among the 235 players whose brains were examined, 215 had CTE. Researchers stressed that brain donors can represent a selected group, so that rate cannot be applied to every former player.
The mathematical upper boundary reached 97.7%, though researchers made clear that figure was an extreme scenario rather than an expected prevalence rate.
Walsh amplified the findings Wednesday, writing that he had received numerous calls about the study before delivering a four-word assessment: “This is a crisis.”
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For hockey, the NFL data are not interchangeable with NHL data. But the underlying issue - repetitive head impacts over years of contact - has already produced troubling findings inside the sport.
Hockey already has its own CTE warning signs
A separate study of 77 deceased male hockey players found CTE in 42. Among 28 former professional players in that sample, 27 were diagnosed with the disease.
The NHL-specific portion was even more striking. Researchers found CTE in 18 of the 19 former NHL players whose brains were part of the study.
That research also found the odds of CTE increased 34% for each additional year of hockey played, linking cumulative exposure to greater long-term risk.
Fighting sits directly inside that conversation. Among 22 enforcers examined in the hockey study, 18 had CTE, though researchers found career length remained the stronger statistical factor.
Another NHL study compared 239 former enforcers with an equal number of matched non-enforcers. CTE diagnoses were recorded more often among the enforcer group.
None of those studies establishes the prevalence of CTE across every NHL player. Brain-donation research carries selection limitations, and CTE still requires postmortem examination for a definitive diagnosis.
But the direction of the research keeps circling the same concern: repeated head contact matters. And for the NHL, fighting remains one of the most visible parts of that unresolved problem.
Should the NHL remove fighting from the game after these CTE findings?
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