The CWHL Has Folded: Could We See One League Soon?

The Canadian Women’s Hockey League has announced today that they will disband operations starting May 1st, 2019. The CWHL announced this on March 31st, 2019, just one week after the Calgary Inferno won the CWHL’s Clarkson Cup.

The League announced that the folding was due to business structure being “unsustainable financially”.

In a league full of great players and adoring fans, it makes saying goodbye to this league that much harder. The CWHL said in their press release:

“We thank our fans for cheering on their favourite player and favourite teams, our sponsors for helping fund the growth of women’s hockey,” (x)

Fans thanked the CWHL right back, one fan specifically. An 8 year-old girl named Jordyn wrote a letter to the CWHL, specifically the Toronto Furies, thanking them for inspiring her:

I told my 8yr old daughter about the CWHL,who’s a huge fan,she was very upset, she went to her room for a bit and came down and handed me this letter. @natspooner5 @TorontoCWHL @SNCaroline @SamiJoSmall @TheCWHL pic.twitter.com/mzMN4UBxW4

— stacey (@staceyjordyn16) March 31, 2019

But Jordyn does give the girls sound advice. “Keep your head up”. Although it’s a small statement you have to imagine what these players are going through. They just found out that this might have been their last season to play. On top of that, this was not only your passion but a job as well. Marie-Phillip Poulin of the Montreal Canadiannes tweeted about the situation saying:

This morning we were informed the #CWHL is folding. As players, we will do our best to find a solution so this isn’t our last season of hockey but it’s hard to remain optimistic. #NoLeague

— Marie-Philip Poulin (@pou29) March 31, 2019

It would be tremendously hard to try to find a next step but there may already be one in place. The NWHL has been operating for 5 seasons now and have confirmed they will be returning for a 6th. Some players have always fought for #OneLeague, where all women’s hockey players can play and now is the time to create that league. Either by expanding the NWHL from 5 teams to at least 6 or 7, these talented players can find a place to play and get paid.

The biggest problem is the financial standards. Trying to keep all of these teams and their players paid will be a challenge but could it be do-able? It would take big sponsors and a lot amount of work but it would be worth it in the end.

The CWHL has help grown the game in its 12 years and it’s so painful to see it go. But this could be the beginning of a brighter future in women’s sports.