Hefford is hoping for one women’s hockey league
CALGARY — The interim commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League says finding a way to unite the CWHL and the U.S.-based National Women’s Hockey League into one premier North American women’s hockey league is a priority for her.
“That’s the goal: to get to a point where we have all the players in one professional league,” Jayna Hefford said. “Without too much detail, I think the NHL being involved is the best-case scenario. How soon that can happen ... I don’t know if that’s a one-year thing, a two-year thing.”
Playing women’s hockey professionally in North America isn’t lucrative enough to be a full-time job, except perhaps for the U.S. and Canadian Olympians who earn money from their national federations. After U.S. won gold at the Winter Games in February, a number of players have called for one pro league.
The CWHL, which is heading into its 12th season, has seven teams split between the U.S., Canada and China. The NWHL began in 2015 and has four U.S.-based teams. Both have different salary and bonus structures, and the nonprofit CWHL has partnered with NHL teams in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary on some of the logistics.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has not indicated the NHL will be proactive in helping set up a single league.
“Having two leagues makes it more difficult for us to get involved,” Bettman said earlier this year on Calgary’s 960-Radio. “If there were no leagues, we’d probably start one under the NHL umbrella, and I’ve told both leagues that. But I have no interest in competing with the existing leagues.”
NWHL commissioner Dani Rylan has said she is interested in discussing any proposal to improve women’s hockey.
The outgoing CWHL commissioner, Brenda Andress, said she always wanted one league and predicts it will happen. “There’s been a ton of discussions behind the scenes,” she said. “Those are the talks that will continue.”
Hefford played 14 seasons for the Brampton Thunder and the CWHL trophy given to the most valuable player is named after her. She will become the sixth woman in hockey’s Hall of Fame in November.