The abrupt demise of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League came as a big shock to the players.
The CWHL’s board of directors broke the news to the players in a conference call on Sunday, announcing that after 12 seasons, it will cease operations as of May 1.
The news comes a week after the Calgary Inferno beat Les Canadiennes de Montreal 5-2 to win the league’s Clarkson Cup.
Despite the popularity of women’s hockey on the international stage, adding a team in China and seeing a record 175,000 fans tune in to watch the 2019 league final in Toronto, the CWHL — which owns all the teams — determined that a 13th season was not going to be financially feasible.
Many of the players shared their thoughts on Twitter, including Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin.
In fact, the players do have another option to continue playing. The National Women’s Hockey League in the United States was formed in 2015 and says it is coming off its most successful season in terms of attendance, viewership, merchandising and engagement.
The NWHL and CWHL had talked about merging in the past, but it never materialized.
WATCH: Canadian Women’s Hockey League announces it will cease operations
I’ve always wondered why the National Hockey League hasn’t gotten behind a North America-based women’s league. The NHL’s revenues have been steadily rising for years and nearly topped US$5 billion in 2018. Surely the NHL could establish and operate a 10-team women’s pro hockey league, right?
Maybe it’s time for commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL’s board of governors to step in and give the best female hockey players on the planet a stable league to showcase their talent.