All-in? The #ForTheGame movement and the future of pro women's hockey in North America

Mike Murphy

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All-in? The #ForTheGame movement and the future of pro women's hockey in North America image

Just one day after the CWHL officially ceased operations, over 200 women’s hockey players took to social media and turned the sport on its head. The group of players, which continues to grow by the hour, have decided to collectively not play professional hockey in North America  — which is now solely the NWHL — next season.

The group behind the #ForTheGame movement features players at every stage of their careers, including collegiate players, stars such as Shannon Szabados, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight and  Marie-Philip Poulin, and hockey equipment company, Bauer Hockey. 

 

But is this worth the risk? And yes, there’s a lot of risk involved here.

First off, while the players appear to be a unified group, there is some dissent in the ranks. NWHLPA director Anya Battaglino, who also happens to be a former member of the Connecticut Whale, believes that the decision to not participate in the upcoming season will set the women’s game back. Battaglino has made strides since the season ended in her discussions with the NWHL to get more for the league's players. In a press release that followed the #ForTheGame explosion, the NWHL outlined progress with the Players’ Association that included increased salaries and a 50-50 revenue split for league-wide sponsorships and media rights deals.

Along with Battaglino, Kaleigh Fratkin, a Canadian defender who played with the NWHL’s Boston Pride last season, also spoke out against the campaign.

Clearly, the decision to sit out the upcoming NWHL season is not a unanimous one, unlike the #BeBoldForChange drive executed by members of the United States women’s national team in 2017. Together, they threatened to boycott the IIHF Women’s World Championship in pursuit of greater equity from USA Hockey. Ultimately, they won and their victory changed the landscape of women’s athletics.

Now, Knight, Coyne-Schofield and other influential players are ready for their next battle. They’re ready to sacrifice a year of their professional careers to fight for the One League that they want, rather than settling for the one league that’s left standing. 

The hope of many current and former players is that if the NWHL does dissolve, there will be nothing stopping Gary Bettman and the NHL from entering the picture to establish the next women's hockey league. After all, Bettman has said that the NHL would look into creating a professional league — but only if there were no other leagues to compete with.

“What we have said is, if there’s no opportunity for women to play professional hockey, then we would explore what would make sense or might be appropriate,” Bettman told Sportsnet last month. “But by the same token, I didn’t want to be presumptuous or be even bully-like and say we’re going to start a league and put them out of business. I didn’t think that was appropriate. If the NWHL is successful, great. That’s terrific.”

In theory, that league would have a similar model to the the one the NBA has with the WNBA. Canadian superstar Hayley Wickenheiser is one of many current and former players who thinks that this is the best path forward for the women’s game.

And who can blame her? That league would be expected to have financial stability and resources that have been out of reach for both the CWHL and the NWHL.

There’s no denying the NWHL has made tremendous strides over the last two years. They added the Minnesota Whitecaps for the 2018-19 season, and in their first year Minnesota not only won the Isobel Cup but were the first franchise to turn a profit  The success wasn’t limited to the State of Hockey though; the NWHL set a new high for sold out games and had a tremendously successful All-Star weekend in Nashville.

In a span of 18 months, led by commissioner Dani Rylan, the league established partnerships between four of its five teams with local NHL franchises. Of course, the partnership between the Buffalo Beauts and the Sabres is a direct result of the purchase of the former by Pegula Sports and Entertainment and changed the perception regarding the viability of the league. Now that viability is teetering based on what happens next.

What actually happens next is anyone's guess.

Women's hockey stars boycott, demand one sustainable league

If the NHL were to step up, women's hockey will have to deal with Bettman, who has a reputation for being an unyielding negotiator that doesn’t blink and won’t be forced into anything that he thinks will harm his league or its brand. In other words, the commissioner could be as much of an adversary as an ally. If he’s going to offer the NHL’s resources to the players behind #ForTheGame — if and when the NWHL buckles — he will be the autocrat of the league that follows. At the end of the day, it will be his league.

In all likelihood, the members of the movement have a good idea of what they are asking for when it comes to the NHL's involvement. Many players in women’s hockey have friends and family with ties to the NHL. For example, Hockey Canada’s young star forward Sarah Nurse is cousins with Darnell Nurse, the Edmonton Oilers NHLPA representative. Perhaps the future they collectively envisioned is worth the risk if a Bettman-run women’s league comes with progress.

As of now, the NWHL plans to have a 2019-20 season — although how that will happen without the vast majority of the most recognizable names in women’s hockey is unclear. The league is open to collaborating with players, but it appears that the overwhelming majority of them don’t want the NWHL to be the “one league” left standing. 

The immediate future of professional women’s hockey in North America is bouncing and skipping around the roulette wheel. Where it will land is anyone's guess at this point. Regardless, the women behind the #ForTheGame drive are willing to risk almost everything to take the game to the next level — and some people think that women’s hockey players aren’t tough.

Mike Murphy