PHF Mua Lại, Kết Thúc Sau Tám Năm

Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises have made a surprising move by announcing the acquisition of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The PHF, a professional women’s hockey league, ended its eighth season in December of last year, and recently announced a maximum salary increase of $1.5 million per team. The 2022-23 season concluded with the Toronto Six winning their first Isobel Cup. Financial troubles seem to be non-existent, at least publicly. With this acquisition, the PHF effectively comes to an end. The remaining question is what assets have been purchased by the ownership group and which current teams will continue to exist. The battle between the PHF and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association has caused difficulties for the advancement of professional women’s hockey in North America. Many efforts have been made to merge the two groups, but without success. It’s not just a clash of personalities, although there have been publicly reported issues. The two groups have very different ideas of how the ideal league should be run, with one group having strict ownership/player divisions and the other group empowering the players with control. Don’t call it a sale. A more accurate description would be the purchase of “assets” rather than the league itself. Unfortunately, this means that many players are left jobless or at least in a state of uncertainty. Signed contracts – often with significant amounts of money – are rendered void. The PHF has emphasized the “at will” termination provisions in all contracts prior to this year. This means there is no legal recourse for those PHF players. No selling my information. Privacy settings .consent-eea { display:none; } .consent-ccpa{ display:none; } .amp-geo-group-eea .consent-eea { display:block; } .amp-geo-group-ccpa .consent-ccpa { display:block; } This is a terrifying thought for women who thought they had contracts for the upcoming season. Yes, in theory, they can pursue any team that comes calling. In reality, they’ve gone from guaranteed income to having to audition again. Everyone knows it’s tough to convince a bank to take “maybe” as a loan payment. “I have money here” is no better. Alright, so what about the PWHPA? Officially, the PWHPA is a union, not a league. At least, not yet. It still needs to approve a collective bargaining agreement before becoming a league. But it may not be that simple, according to Erin Brown at Rinkside: In February, there was information that PWHPA players had formed a union. Since then, at least weekly checks have been made with the US Department of Labor to confirm that the union has officially been established. No public record has been found confirming this. – Erin Brown (@rinkside) June 30, 2023 That’s a surprisingly tight timeline for a group with many incarnations. There’s a lot to be said, at least in the US, to meet the Department of Labor’s regulations. And there’s another surprise on Thursday evening: PWHPA players were sent ballots tonight to vote on ratifying the CBA and new constitution for the league. Voting will continue through Sunday evening. It will run through 2031. – Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) June 30, 2023 This article has a lot to say. It’s shocking to think that union members now have to decide whether to ratify three days after their industry was upended. According to all reports, both PWHPA players and PHF players were not informed that this takeover was happening. They found out with the rest of us – right after those in a room agreed. So what now? Melissa Burgess may have said it best. This is what we don’t know: – Everything else. – Melissa Burgess (@_MelissaBurgess) June 30, 2023 The PHF has buildings and infrastructure, not just players. He explains that some of them will be used by the new league. Which ones are being broadcast, and who is running them? Of the seven teams, two Canadian teams are the newest additions and are almost certain to move forward. The most successful team – Boston – may still remain intact. Ideally, all the former PHF teams would continue in some form or another. But it won’t be this year. There are enough talents on the market to increase the number of teams. But starting a professional team from scratch is complicated. Unless the infrastructure is ready to operate, the new additions won’t happen in time for the 2024 season. According to Hailey Salvian at The Athletic, six teams will kick off the 2024 season. Cautiously optimistic. This is bad news for many women who were promised jobs and thought they had security until yesterday. This messy and convoluted business is no better than any other major company takeover. But if there’s reason to be optimistic, it’s for the future of women’s hockey. Having a league that eliminates the reason the NHL isn’t involved. Like the WNBA, it could be a game-changer, accelerating the game’s reach exponentially. Similarly, having a unified voice for women’s professional hockey will help elevate their image to the public. With years of conflict between the groups, that may be too optimistic, but we’re looking for hope here. More information will be released in the coming days. Many players and staff are surely in shock right now, and that’s understandable. This isn’t the end of the mess, not by a long shot. But hopefully – hopefully – it will be a long-lasting and more focused league, ready to start an exciting new season in 2024. MAIN PHOTO: Antranik Tavitian/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK