It is unknown if the NWHL will absorb the CWHL's Montreal franchise or create a new organizationMONTREAL CANADIENES
The NWHL expects to add teams in Montreal and Toronto for the '19-20 season, and Commissioner Dani Rylan said that "previous discussions about expansion will continue, leaving the door open to add more teams, perhaps as soon as next season," according to Rachel Blount of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The news comes after the CWHL announced on Sunday that it would discontinue operations May 1 of this year. Rylan said that the NHL has "committed to become 'one of our biggest financial sponsors.'" NWHL teams will play a 24-game schedule next season, a "significant jump from the current 16-game schedule." Though Rylan planned to eventually expand the NWHL, she said that she had "not expected it would happen during this offseason." With two women’s professional leagues, Rylan said there had been "confusion in the marketplace" that hurt both. She already is "receiving interest from potential sponsors and investors who had stayed on the sidelines" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 4/3). Rylan said that she "expects player salaries to grow for next season." ESPN.com's Emily Kaplan noted the NWHL had a "salary cap of $100,000 last season, with the lowest-paid player making $2,500 for the season" (ESPN.com, 4/2). THE HOCKEY NEWS' Jared Clinton noted it is "not yet clear" if adding the two Canadian teams will mean the "absorption of the CWHL’s Toronto Furies and Les Canadiennes de Montreal franchises or the creation of two new organizations" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 4/2).
COME TOGETHER? SPORTSNET.ca's Elliotte Friedman noted last season, the NHL "gave $50,000 to each the NWHL and CWHL," and with the CWHL "no longer in operation, the league will give the full allotment of $100,000 to the NWHL." But how much more the NHL is willing to do is "still unclear." The league has made it "very clear it will not step in as long as there are options for women to play at the professional level, which is the case now." It does "not want to be perceived as picking favourites or bullying." An NHL-backed league, like the WNBA or NWSL, is the "obvious solution." There have been "rumours of a player boycott until an NHL-supported entity is created, but no one indicated they think it’s a possibility at this time" (SPORTSNET.ca, 4/2). The AP's John Wawrow noted NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly "cautioned the additional support doesn’t change the NHL’s position in fully backing a women’s pro sports league." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman previously said that he was "hesitant about the league assuming control of the CWHL or NWHL or both because ... 'we don’t believe in their models.'" The CWHL operated liked MLS used to by "owning each of its teams" (AP, 4/2). In N.Y., Seth Berkman writes a sturdy future partnership between the NHL and NWHL "could dramatically increase exposure for women’s hockey" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/3).
