The NHL and the Canadian Hockey Association are
"teaming up to promote women's ice hockey, and suddenly one
can envision the possibility of a sister league for women,"
according to Shawna Richer of the Toronto GLOBE & MAIL. The
game, scheduled to be played "a day or two" before the NHL
All-Star Game in Vancouver, is "expected to pit" Canada
against the U.S. NHL VP/Special Events Frank Supovitz:
"We're going to be showcasing NHL hockey at the Olympics and
women's hockey both for the first time, so it seemed like a
perfectly natural fit to do something together leading up to
the all-star game weekend." The GLOBE & MAIL's Richer
writes the NHL could create a women's NHL in "much the same
way" the NBA created the WNBA: "Start with a short season
and a handful of teams. Put those teams in the cities of
the Original Six and use that as a marketing strategy." But
Richer adds, "What would likely scare the NHL away from this
plan is the likelihood that the greatest interest for a
women's league would probably be in Canada, and this offers
limited potential for revenue" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 9/24)
