A new women's hockey league is coming to North America.
The Professional Hockey Federation and the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association announced a merger Friday, with an intention of starting a new league in January 2024.
The North American league is expected to start with six teams -- three in the U.S. and three in Canada -- according to a person with knowledge of the league's plans. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the details were not made public.
The PWHPA has almost 100 members listed on its website, including the majority of the Canadian women's hockey team.
Half the U.S. women's roster at this year's world championship, including stars Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield, are also PWHPA members.
The new league will be financially supported by Mark Walter, with sports icon Billie Jean King, sports executive Ilana Kloss and Los Angeles Dodgers President Stan Kasten serving as board members.
Walter -- who is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, co-general partner of the ownership group of the Premier League's Chelsea Football Club and holder of a significant interest in the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers -- said the league will have the backing and resources it needs to represent the very best of women's hockey.
"I have always believed that professional sports should bring the highest levels of performance and organization," he said in a statement.
The PWHPA rose from the collapse of the Canadian Women's Hockey League in 2019 after 12 years.
The association has since barnstormed across North America in Dream Gap Tour tournaments and games.
"This new league will be unlike anything we have seen in women's hockey," said four -time Olympic gold medallist Jayna Hefford, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and PWHPA lead. "I am inspired by this generation of players who are redefining the sport. We will create dreams and opportunities for girls and women around the world for decades to come."
The players' goal is a sustainable league that pays a living wage and offers the competitive supports the male pros get.
The PWHPA operated four teams in nine events in 2022-23, including a championship tournament in Southern California.
Players trained out of hubs in Boston, Calgary, Minnesota, Montreal and Toronto.
The seven-team PHF features two Canadian franchises: the Toronto Six, who won the league championship this season, and the expansion Montreal Force.
The PHF had been scheduled to begin its ninth season this fall. Instead it is expected to cease operations.
"The Toronto Six looks forward to working with this new ownership group building one strong women's professional hockey league," said Six president Sami Jo Small in a statement.
The merger could bring the NHL to the table in a support role. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he and team owners did not want to get involved in a dispute between leagues and would throw weight behind one, once it was formed.
"The National Hockey League congratulates the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association and the Premier Hockey Federation on their agreement," the NHL said. "We already have initiated discussions with representatives of this unified group regarding how we can work together to continue to grow the women's game."
Among the many issues that need to be sorted out is the number of teams and where they will play. The PHF, which had doubled each team's salary cap to $1.5 million entering this season, also had teams in Boston, East Rutherford, New Jersey; Hartford, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; and Richfield, Minnesota.
The PWHPA was certified as a union this spring and has completed negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement. A 62-page CBA was presented to PWHPA members on Thursday night, and they have until Sunday night to ratify it and the new league's constitution, according to a person familiar with the details who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity before the deal was announced.
If approved, the deal will run through 2031 and features a minimum salary of $35,000 for players on active rosters, the person said.
In the meantime, existing PHF player contracts have been voided, though an agreement is in place to pay those under contract a portion of their salary through September, the person told AP. Some players are losing out on contracts they signed worth more than $150,000 over two seasons.
The higher salaries helped the PHF attract several high-profile international players, including Switzerland's Alina Muller, Sweden's Emma Soderberg and former Finland goalie and ex-PWHPA board member Noora Raty.
With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2023.
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