Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa announced as franchises in newly named Professional Women's Hockey League
CBC
Three Canadian franchises are included in the newly named Professional Women's Hockey League that laid out details of where and how it will begin play in January 2024.
Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa will join franchises in Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and the New York area in a 24-game schedule for the inaugural season. Players will be allocated to those cities through a free-agency period in early September followed by a draft on Sept. 18.
"Today, we look ahead to a phenomenal future for the PWHL," said Jayna Hefford, a former Canadian national team player and the PWHL's senior vice-president of hockey operations. "We have never seen more excitement and demand for women's sports, and through the launch of this league, the top women's players in the world will have the opportunity to reach even greater heights."
Teams may sign only three players in free agency. The first-round draft order will be determined by a lottery, while subsequent rounds will follow a snake format. current and graduating NCAA and U Sports players — a group that could include Canadian star Sarah Fillier — may only be acquired through the 15-round draft.
Stan Kasten, a league board member and Los Angeles Dodgers president, said he expected a full schedule for the season to be available in October, including some games at neutral venues in partnership with the NHL. He said subsequent seasons will consist of 32 regular-season games, expected to start in November, plus at least two playoff rounds.
WATCH | Hefford breaks down draft, free agency processes:
The league is coming together quickly after the PWHPA ratified a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with owners in July.
Along with the ratification of the CBA, Dodgers chairman Mark Walter and wife Kimbra Walter, the new league's sole financial backers, bought out and folded the PHF, the rival outfit featuring seven franchises which had been set to raise its salary cap to $1.5 million US this coming season.
The PWHPA was formed in the aftermath of the Canadian Women's Hockey League's 2019 collapse and features nearly every North American national-team member. Since then, it has rebuffed potential mergers with the PHF despite plenty of discussions and the urging of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Throughout it all, the union fought for a sustainable professional league complete with the bells and whistles befitting the world's top players. The PWHL promises to provide that.
"The journey to get us here has been long, it's been twisted, it's been empowering, but I'm not sure success comes in a straight line, so I think we're all excited today to move forward together," Hefford said.
Kasten said the league's relationship with the NHL is "consultative" for now. In a statement, the NHL congratulated the PWHL on its formation.
"We remain committed to supporting the women's game and look forward to working together with the PWHL to grow our sport," it said.
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