Discussions have been held in the past on a possible merger between the CWHL and the NWHLCALGARY INFERNO
CWHL Calgary Inferno GM Kristin Hagg said that there were "discussions on moving the league forward" being held last week around the time of the Clarkson Cup, and there was "no indication the league would announce, only a week later, that it is disbanding," according to Zach Laing of the CALGARY HERALD. Discussions have been held in the past on a merger between the CWHL and the NWHL, but it is "too soon to tell if there would be any more steps towards completion" (CALGARY HERALD, 4/2). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Jared Clinton wrote, "No one had any inkling this was coming; not the players, not the coaches, not the management." Markham Thunder G and CWHL Players Association co-Chair Liz Knox expressed "incredible disappointment, not just at the closure, but at the fact the players hadn’t been informed sooner or told that the league was in danger." Toronto Furies GM Sami Jo Small said that the league "'sounded optimistic' that something else was coming, but nothing was specified." There has been "talk of the shutdown being the impetus for one league." Others have "posited that the NWHL might be able to put down roots in Toronto or Montreal." But the reality is that "no one knows" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 4/1).
IT WILL LIVE ON: Former Gov. General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson said that the Clarkson Cup will "continue to reward women’s hockey champions in Canada regardless of a league’s uncertain future." Clarkson, who donated the league’s championship trophy, said, "The Clarkson Cup will always be there to be the symbol and the trophy for the best women’s hockey." The CWHL said it will cease operations May 1 because the business model has "proven to be economically unstable." Clarkson: "I understand certainly that the not-for-profit model just didn’t work. I’ve known that for 10 years quite frankly" (CP, 4/1).
GLASS HALF FULL: In Toronto, Damien Cox writes, "Women’s pro hockey as a concept, as a business enterprise, is here to stay." It is "not going anywhere." Even though the CWHL is "no more, the women’s pro game is very much alive, with reasons to believe it has a much brighter future." Establishing a "firm footing for women’s pro hockey was never going to be easy." After 23 years, the WNBA is still "trying to figure out its best business model." Given that the CWHL was only 12 years old and the NWHL has only been around since '15, it seems "entirely reasonable that women’s pro hockey has still got a long way to go before it finds a measure of true stability" (TORONTO STAR, 4/2).
