The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) has said that it is open to discussing the possibility of forming a new professional league if the right investors come forward.
In an official statement the league also reiterated that it is still working towards October as the start date for its 2019/20 season, despite more than 200 of the world’s top female ice hockey players saying that they will not play professionally in North America this year in an attempt to establish a single, economically viable league.
The group have also formed a new players union to push for the creation of a league with the financial resources to provide a fair wage, health insurance, infrastructure and support to training programmes for younger female players.
The NWHL has now emphasised on its website that it will ‘always do what’s best for the game’, even if that means helping to establish a new entity.
The league wrote: ‘If any individuals or groups come forward and declare they are ready to start and invest in a new league where women can receive a substantial full-time salary and medical insurance, we would be ecstatic to have a conversation about a partnership or passing the torch.’
However, the NWHL also stressed that it has not yet held discussions with investors who have the necessary funds to help set up a more economically viable alternative to the existing league.
‘We have participated in meetings with stakeholders in hockey and inquired, and to the best of our knowledge, no one is putting this forward at this time,’ the statement said.
One casualty of the fallout between the NWHL and the players could be the league’s expansion plans.
The NWHL said in April it had secured investment to add two teams – expected to be in Toronto and Montreal – to its existing five franchises in Boston, Connecticut, Buffalo, New Jersey and Minnesota.
However, given the uncertainty surrounding women’s ice hockey in North America, the NWHL now looks likely to shelve those plans until the 2020/21 season.
‘To expand properly, as we did in Minnesota, time, cooperation and preparation is required,’ the league said. ‘We would love to have more teams in 2019/20 and will make it happen if there is a spirit of partnership from all sides.
‘Unless there is a change of heart soon, we will revisit expansion for the 2020/21 season.’
The NWHL is currently the only option for professional women’s ice hockey players in North America after the shock closure of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) earlier this year.
Although it will be without a number of its biggest stars for 2019/20, the NWHL has tried to draw attention to the fact that a number of players are returning for the 2019/20 campaign, including Madison Packer, who is the joint-top scorer in the league’s history.
The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) has said that it is open to discussing the possibility of forming a new professional league if the right investors come forward.
In an official statement the league also reiterated that it is still working towards October as the start date for its 2019/20 season, despite more than 200 of the world’s top female ice hockey players saying that they will not play professionally in North America this year in an attempt to establish a single, economically viable league.
The group have also formed a new players union to push for the creation of a league with the financial resources to provide a fair wage, health insurance, infrastructure and support to training programmes for younger female players.
The NWHL has now emphasised on its website that it will ‘always do what’s best for the game’, even if that means helping to establish a new entity.
The league wrote: ‘If any individuals or groups come forward and declare they are ready to start and invest in a new league where women can receive a substantial full-time salary and medical insurance, we would be ecstatic to have a conversation about a partnership or passing the torch.’
However, the NWHL also stressed that it has not yet held discussions with investors who have the necessary funds to help set up a more economically viable alternative to the existing league.
‘We have participated in meetings with stakeholders in hockey and inquired, and to the best of our knowledge, no one is putting this forward at this time,’ the statement said.
One casualty of the fallout between the NWHL and the players could be the league’s expansion plans.
The NWHL said in April it had secured investment to add two teams – expected to be in Toronto and Montreal – to its existing five franchises in Boston, Connecticut, Buffalo, New Jersey and Minnesota.
However, given the uncertainty surrounding women’s ice hockey in North America, the NWHL now looks likely to shelve those plans until the 2020/21 season.
‘To expand properly, as we did in Minnesota, time, cooperation and preparation is required,’ the league said. ‘We would love to have more teams in 2019/20 and will make it happen if there is a spirit of partnership from all sides.
‘Unless there is a change of heart soon, we will revisit expansion for the 2020/21 season.’
The NWHL is currently the only option for professional women’s ice hockey players in North America after the shock closure of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) earlier this year.
Although it will be without a number of its biggest stars for 2019/20, the NWHL has tried to draw attention to the fact that a number of players are returning for the 2019/20 campaign, including Madison Packer, who is the joint-top scorer in the league’s history.
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