Establishment Beginning in the late 1990s, several high-level
amateur and
semi-professional women's ice hockey leagues appeared in Canada and the United States. The
National Women's Hockey League was founded in 1999, mainly comprising teams in Eastern Canada in Ontario and Quebec, before folding in 2007. A western counterpart, the
Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL) launched in 2004 and lasted until 2011. The
Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) was founded to replace the NWHL in 2007, and it strove to become a professional league while placing a greater emphasis on player involvement. However, the league could typically pay only for travel, ice time, uniforms, and some equipment, and did not pay players a salary. From 2011 to 2015, the CWHL was the only organized top-level women's hockey league in North America. In 2015, a second
National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) was launched in the United States, and was the first women's hockey league to pay its players. In 2017, the CWHL followed suit and began paying its players a stipend. Following the
2018–19 season, the CWHL
abruptly ceased operations, citing the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between the CWHL and NWHL, a lack of viewership, and reduced revenue from a partnership in China as eroding the league's financial stability. This left the NWHL—which had earlier in 2019 approached the CWHL to propose a merger—as the only top-level option for women's players. They stated their intent to work towards the establishment of a unified, financially sustainable professional league. On May 20, the players formed a non-profit called the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) to advance their mission. Initially, PWHPA members hoped that the boycott would last for only one year.
Boycott and Dream Gap tour Relations with the NWHL/PHF The NWHL responded to the boycott announcement by stating that they were pursuing increased sponsorships with a view to increasing player salaries—which had reportedly decreased to as low as $2,000 in some cases—and an offer to give players a 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals. However, with a large number of North American players boycotting the NWHL, more than half of the signed players on opening rosters for the
2019–20 NWHL season were new to the league. Over the next four years, the relationship between the PWHPA and the NWHL was strained. While a significant number of players defected from the NWHL in 2019 to help form the PWHPA, dozens would return to the league in the following years, citing improving conditions—the league markedly increased its salary cap after 2019—and a desire to play in a league. Notably, in 2023
Noora Räty resigned from the PWHPA board to sign a six-figure contract with the
Metropolitan Riveters of the then-rebranded Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). However, the PWHPA consistently criticized the PHF and its business model, and rejected overtures to merge. PWHPA players raised concerns over a perceived lack of professionalism and sub-standard conditions within the NWHL. American Olympian
Hilary Knight stated that the NWHL was "a glorified beer league" offering the "illusion of professionalism", while retired Canadian legend
Hayley Wickenheiser called it a "so-called pro league". PWHPA players stated that they disagreed with the NWHL's approach to growing women's hockey, calling for a less incremental approach. NWHL founder and commissioner
Dani Rylan was sometimes cited as a point of contention; Rylan ultimately resigned in 2020. Another significant issue was the role of the
National Hockey League (NHL). While the PWHPA hoped to receive support from the NHL in establishing a new professional league, a number of NHL teams had previously established ties with PHF teams, and the NHL stated that it would not put its support fully behind one effort or the other, encouraging the sides to merge. during the PWHPA Dream Gap Tour in September 2019.
PWHPA partnerships After its formation, the PWHPA focused its efforts on courting corporate and media sponsorships, while also managing to form a number of partnerships directly with NHL teams. The PWHPA launched a "Dream Gap" tour, meant to highlight the disparity in support between men's and women's hockey and to increase support for the latter. As the PWHPA boycott stretched beyond a single season, the Dream Gap tour became an annual "season" of exhibition tournaments. The final Dream Gap season saw four teams competing for the Secret Cup, with Team Harvey's prevailing over Team Scotiabank in the final. The PWHPA formed an early advisory partnership with American tennis legend
Billie Jean King, an early advocate for women's equality in sports and the founder of the
Women's Tennis Association. In December 2019, the PWHPA partnered with the
ECHL and chose four members to participate in the
2020 ECHL All-Star Game, with
Dani Cameranesi,
Kali Flanagan,
Gigi Marvin, and
Annie Pankowski each assigned to one of the four teams. The
2020 NHL All-Star Game also expanded its inclusion of female skaters from previous seasons to a full three-on-three exhibition game between teams composed of American and Canadian women's players. Eighteen of the 20 players were active PWHPA members and the event was supported by the PWHPA, but it was not directly in partnership with the association. In March 2020, the PWHPA partnered with the
Arizona Coyotes for their sixth Dream Gap tour stop in
Tempe, Arizona. The
New York Rangers became the first NHL team to host a PWHPA game on February 28, 2021, at
Madison Square Garden. The PWHPA announced it would also be partnering with the
Toronto Maple Leafs with the team hosting a game and providing marketing assistance and sponsorship consultation services. In 2022, the PWHPA entered a formal partnership with
Mark Walter, owner of the
Los Angeles Dodgers, and Billie Jean King with the intent to launch their new professional league.
Launch of the PWHL In February 2023, the PWHPA organized a formal labour union—the
Professional Women's Hockey League Players Association (PWHLPA)—to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the new league. The eight-year agreement was finalized in June and ratified by July 3, making it effective from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2031. The CBA establishes an average salary target of $55,000 for teams in the new league, with each team required to sign at least six players to a minimum salary of $80,000 and no more than nine players to a league minimum $35,000, with the minimum and average salaries slated to increase 3% per year of the agreement. Its executive committee comprises
Brianne Jenner,
Sarah Nurse,
Hilary Knight,
Liz Knox, and
Kendall Coyne Schofield. During the ratification vote for the new CBA, it was announced on June 30, 2023, that Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises had purchased the PHF, opening the way for the establishment of a new, unified league. The PHF was ultimately wound down and in late August, the partners announced the foundation of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), with the intent of beginning play in January 2024. Six teams—three each based in Canada and the United States—were established, a
PWHL draft was held in September 2023, and training and evaluation camps were held in November and December. League play began on January 1, 2024. ==Leadership==