Malcolm Lee Georges
Over the past several days, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), North America’s only professional women’s hockey league, has announced a year’s worth of exciting events.
The league played an outdoor game, announced a neutral site game in partnership with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, outlined plans for their all-star weekend in Toronto, and most notably, doubled their salary cap for the coming season.
The historic salary cap doubling from the current $750,000 to $1.5 million next year represents a 900-percent increase in league salaries over three years.
Perhaps more exciting for fans of women’s hockey is that the recent announcements are the beginning, not the end of the league’s growth, according to PHF commissioner Reagan Carey. She said she sees the PHF continuing to expand benefits to players, and truly becoming the “home for women’s hockey.”
“If you take a step back and look at the history of the league, trailblazing has always been part of the DNA of the PHF,” said Carey. “Not just for the future generation, which I think we all agree is critical to make sure we leave the game in a better place than we found it… but also, we want to be able to deliver for our players today. That is in large part why we have to keep taking these large steps forward in real-time, there’s no time to wait and let things develop at this point, we need to act and invest and believe in the business.”
Less than a year ago, the PHF announced a $25-million investment aimed at expanding salaries and benefits for players over three years. While a doubling of the league’s salary cap seems immense, Carey called this year’s increase “conservative.”
“We’ve put what seems like a conservative, cautious number for this season, but still a significant jump from the season prior, so it was a big step in the right direction to demonstrate the commitment,” said Carey. “It was a responsible but big number this season (and) it gives the opportunity to move the needle for the sport but also appropriately evaluate what’s sustainable.”
While some details were omitted from the PHF’s initial announcement regarding the salary cap increase, Carey confirmed that the salary floor would remain at 75 percent of the cap. This means next season, teams will need to spend $1,125,000 to remain cap compliant.
Carey also stated players who signed two-year contracts, an option first available this past off-season, will be able to request renegotiation of those contracts, and that discussions were ongoing on increasing the league minimum salary for players.
By increasing the league minimum salary, Carey hopes the “conversation starts to dissolve about walking the line between being a full-time professional player and having to have other sources of income.”
Parallel to the PHF’s developments, members of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) continue to host the Secret Dream Gap Tour and work toward another professional women’s hockey league in North America.
While Carey says the PHF, which lured a number of PWHPA players to the league this season, is focused on fostering their own success, she acknowledged the perceived competition is a motivating factor. The motivation, however, remains altruistic in providing the best atmosphere for all professional women’s hockey players, whether they’re members of the PWHPA or PHF.
“Our focus has been on building the best home for women’s professional hockey,” said Carey. “Players have options, which is great, it makes everybody work harder and be more focused on what needs to happen. If we continue to do our job well and continue to put more pieces in place that ensure we continue to be the best home for women’s hockey, then I would anticipate more players and more opportunities for the top-end players in the world to play professionally. .”
While salary growth continues, expansion remains inevitable as well.
This season, the PHF expanded to seven teams by welcoming the Montreal Force. An eighth rumored location, which was believed to be Providence, RI, did not materialize, but following the success the PHF has incurred already this year, instead of the league going to markets, expansion markets and prospective owners are now calling the PHF with increased regularity.
“There’s a lot of people calling with interest and a lot of people inquiring… there are more options now for the league,” said Carey. “I see expansion as being part of that strategic plan in the near future – it’s just a matter of making sure we’re going to the right places and working with the right people.”
Although Carey declined to mention specific markets the league is in discussions with or targeting, she did claim that based on the success of Montreal and Toronto in the league, the PHF is “eager to continue to grow our presence in Canada.”
The recent announcement of a neutral site game in Pittsburgh renewed rumors that the league is targeting the American city, while whispers of other locations, such as Detroit and Ottawa, are also present alongside options that may seem less traditional. Where an eighth franchise inevitably lands will depend on a variety of factors, but continued expansion for the PHF is coming.
“There’s a combination of finding markets that make sense for the future of our sport,” said Carey, “But also, there are so many great markets who’ve championed women’s hockey all along.”
The PHF is set to host their all-star celebration on Jan. 29 at the Mattamy Athletic Center in Toronto. The regular season concludes on March 12.
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