On the eve of the Premier Hockey Federation’s seventh season — and its first as the PHF — new commissioner Ty Tumminia offered an olive branch to the women who belong to the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association.
Basically, it was: Come join us, sooner rather than later.
“I keep presenting a table and a bunch of chairs for people to sit down and really try to unify this going forward,” Tumminia said. “We will always be here for a one-league concept, and unification will still continue to be here waiting for that to happen.
“If the PWHPA wants to unite, I think the window is starting to close. So I think they need to make a couple of decisions, whether that’s through leadership or their players to determine whether or not they want to grow the game together.”
But for now, the answer — from Jayna Hefford, the chair of the Olympic-level women of the PWHPA — is no.
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“We’ve continued to talk to anyone and everyone who wants to play a part in the future of women’s professional hockey, and we’ve had multiple conversations with the group at the PHF,” Hefford said. “Our wants, asks, needs — whatever you want to call them — have not really changed. It’s finding a way to have a league that is going to be sustainable over the long term. So not something that, in two years, things are going to change. That there’s a living wage. We don’t think that exists anywhere right now. Health benefits is critical to us, especially to our players in the United States.”
There are other basics that Hefford’s group wants, like coaching and medical teams that men’s professional teams have to ensure optimal performance.
“Those are things that we don’t think we need to compromise on. We think there’s a way to get there,” Hefford said. “We’re working every day to try to figure out a way to get there. If they were to come to us tomorrow and say, ‘Hey, everything, it’s all here, right here in front of you,’ maybe the conversation’s different. But we don’t want to settle when we think we can do better.”
The NHL would like to be involved in a single women’s professional league but is staying out of it until either the two groups unite or a main player emerges. There may remain bad blood from the creation of the NWHL — the PHF’s predecessor — seven years ago. Dani Rylan Kearney started the league when the CWHL was under the impression she was joining their league. Rylan Kearney has since stepped down, replaced by Tumminia.
Tumminia held a zoom video conference “town hall” on Friday to promote the six-team league, which includes the Toronto Six. The league has streaming deals with ESPN and Twitch, new ownership, a well-received business plan, and seems to have a lot of momentum. Teams have a $300,000 (U.S.) salary cap.
“I’m proud of what we’re doing here,” Tumminia said. “I have owners that are putting their skin in it, rolling up their sleeves, actually making a commitment to grow the game in a in a way that is productive and positive. Our success here last season and this season is as a direct result of owners that really want to grow the game. They’re committing themselves through heir operations, liquidity. They’re committing capital just beyond this blood-sweat-and-tears this job. And I think you’re seeing that growth as a direct result of our owners that are really trying to grow the game.”
What the PHF doesn’t have are the Olympic-level women who have remained faithful to the PWHPA, which barnstorms North America through its Dream Gap tour. That group has grown out of the ashes of the defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League and is having a tournament next weekend in Nova Scotia.
“It’s been really successful,” Hefford said. “This is our third year. We’ve got a really great profile of partners that are committed to us and our mission. But all that said, that’s not the end goal. We’re not looking to be a continuous tour model. We want a league with a home base and that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
Tumminia’s league has it, if not quite to the specifications of Hefford’s group. Tumminia is quite clearly unhappy with the narrative of two separate groups vying for the same goal and sounds as if she’s trying to reach the PWHPA’s players, going around Hefford and the leadership.
“They’ve asked for certain changes along the way. We’ve made changes, real true changes,” Tumminia said. “We’ve enhanced our player benefit package. We pay our players. We give them a contract. We have insurance for them. We’re at the point now where you have to come to the table now if you really want to grow it.
“I anticipate growing it together. I want that. We all want that. I think that’s what’s good for the sport. I don’t think it’s good for the sport to keep this narrative going on of trying to unite. We’ve got to actually unite. So I’m here for it. We’re here for it. The players have the platform. They’re the most powerful in the game. It’s up to them. They have to make the decision now.”