The First Hockey League was bought by The Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises, multiple sources familiar with the situation said. the athlete Thursday night.
The league will stop all operations. PHF player contracts will be terminated; Players will receive severance pay and a period of continuous health benefits.
This news comes after a long split between the league and the Professional Hockey Players Association, and fundamentally changes the landscape of professional women’s hockey. The path is now clear for one North American league that can showcase the best players in the world.
Players from the PHF and PWHPA were informed of the news in separate meetings Thursday night.
The PHF, formerly the Women’s National Hockey League, was founded in 2015 and was the only choice for professional women’s hockey in North America after the Canadian Women’s Hockey League closed in March 2019. The PWHPA was founded in May 2019 with a vision to build a sustainable league. In May 2022, the athlete was the first to report that the PWHPA had entered into a formal working relationship with Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises to explore launching the league. The group is finalizing a first-of-its-kind CBA ahead of the league’s launch.
the athlete It reported in March that a new professional league would be ready for the 2023-24 season. There will be six teams, with rosters of 23 players. More details, such as where the teams are located, are still awaiting attendance.
This is a developing story.
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(Photo by Jocelyn Laroque and Kendall Quinn Schofield: Justin Pearl/Getty Images)