Halak agent faces Twitter backlash

Player agent Allan Walsh doesn’t seem to be winning any friends in Montreal.

The representative of Canadiens backup goalie Jaroslav Halak(notes) stirred up controversy following the Habs’ 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

The kerfuffle stems from a comment Walsh made on the social-networking website Twitter about Montreal’s Carey Price(notes).

Price was in goal for the loss against the Lightning and Walsh tweeted: “Interesting stat of the night … Price is 10W, 32L in last 42 starts. Hmm.”

The comment has since been taken down from his Twitter feed.

However while it was up, the tweet caused an immediate reaction from fans and members of the media.

Kelly Hrudey commented on the issue during Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, saying the comment “makes me sick, I hate it.”

“I have no problem for an agent sticking up for his client and telling management and whomever that ‘this is what I think about my guy,’” Hrudey said. “But to make that public really annoys me, because if I’m Carey Price that’s already starting a fight between me and the other guy.

“I would actually go to the goalie the next day and say to the goalie ‘tell your agent to shut up — we have to work together through this whole thing, and we do need competition … but don’t do that, don’t pit us against each other.’”

Walsh later posted a new tweet explaining his earlier posting: “It was a tongue in cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously, forgot it was Montreal and everyone loses a sense of humor.”

This isn’t the first time Walsh has used Twitter to air his feelings about someone in the NHL. He used his Twitter page to broadcast his disapproval of both the recent turmoil in the NHLPA and Chris Chelios(notes).