Everything Else

When It Comes To Women’s Hockey, The NHL Need To Do Better Or Worse Than A Token

By Sam Fels 998 0

A few days ago, a major story broke that the CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey League) would be folding in total. That leaves the NWHL as the only women’s professional hockey league running in North America, and leaves a lot more questions than answers.

I’ve never really known where to stand when these discussions. On one side, at the end of the day all of sports are a business, or entertainment if you prefer, and a given league or team either succeeds in the market place or it doesn’t. There’s either interest or there isn’t.

On the other, that really only works in a completely fair marketplace, or in a vacuum one. Women’s sports as a whole deal with a lot of prejudice or myopia or fallacies, and hence has more to overcome than others. Although to counter that, we just watched the AAF turn into dust nearly instantly and it’s not like this nation has a small appetite for football.

Triangulating this debate, I guess, is that while sports and leagues are not and should not be a charity, there is something beyond dollars and cents to the continued growth, promotion, and coverage of women’s sports. As we know, in every facet of society, representation matters.

On the other side, having a job or being professional in whatever your chose vocation is not a right, and you can ask thousands if not millions of bloggers about that. Just because you happen to be among the best in the world at something doesn’t mean you’re entitled to make a living at it, even if your male counterparts do. That’s a harsh reality, but it’s kind of the way things are.

I can’t seem to do anything but stand at the nexus of where all these things meet, never leaning to one side or angle of it.

Women’s hockey has greater challenges than basketball or soccer. Women’s basketball has been in the nations consciousness longer, and both of those sports have greater participation at the youth level (though hockey continues to grow). While some would point to the popularity of the US and Canadian women’s team during the Olympics, even the men’s side can’t turn viewing numbers and following during the Olympics into something tangible for the league in which these players play afterward. What chance would the women have?

Another sharp end of these kinds of debates is where the NHL fits in and how involved or not involved it should be with a women’s league. It’s easy to point to the NBA’s involvement in the WNBA, but the NBA has a lot more money to play with and again, women’s basketball has a stronger base from which to work from. Women’s hockey’s base is getting stronger, but may never approach that.

Without getting a look at their books, it’s hard to know how much money the NHL has to set aside to either help, or totally fund, a WNHL as it were. Or just to do the same with the existing NWHL. What I do know is it’s probably more than this:

That’s $100K. That’s a little over $3,000 per team. In a league that just got $650M in expansion fees from Seattle, and isn’t too far removed from just about the same from Vegas, both totals the league didn’t have to share with the players in anything other than maybe salary. Except those fees weren’t included in the league’s revenue that’s subject to players salaries. Curious, no?

I don’t even know if this would qualify as a token gesture. This feels almost like the dude throwing a quarter out of his moving BMW at the homeless person next to the underpass off the Stevenson.

Again, I have no idea what NHL teams would have to give to a women’s league. This is a league where the Hawks still claim to lose money, but hey check out that new scoreboard next year! What I do know is that if you’re going to wade in and say you’re going to help, you have to do a lot better than this. Do or do not, there is no try.

What the NHL probably has to figure out is how much of an investment a women’s league is. Would cultivating a generation of young girls as fans help in 10-15 years? That might sound cold, but the correct things done for selfish reasons are certainly better than nothing at all. You have to believe that was the calculation, or in part was, the NBA made with the WNBA. And it’s been able to hang around long enough to be in a fairly strong position. Or much stronger than it was.

It’s hard to see where that kind of investment could hurt. Part of the NBA’s calculation wouldn’t work for the NHL, I don’t think, which is that they can run a WNBA season when the NBA isn’t playing and then maybe catch new fans in the fall and winter. Or give idling NBA fans something to do in the summer. Maybe hockey can work in the summer, but I tend to doubt it. And that’s based on nothing but feel.

Let’s just say you asked every NHL team for $500K. I’m just going to go ahead and say they have it. And I would imagine $15M for the NWHL would make a difference. Maybe not as much as I’d first guess, but a difference. Surely the publicity and the appearance is worth that to teams that are all valued at several hundred million?

Maybe that’s not enough, maybe the NHL doesn’t have that to give, maybe women’s hockey just isn’t going to work anytime soon. But I’m fairly sure we can do better than this.

Everything Else

The Wickenheiser Debate

By Sam Fels 2147 0

As we settle into a deeper state of depression over the lack of activity, and the seemingly intended lack of activity, from the Hawks, let’s kick around some news outside. Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic did an interview with Hayley Wickenheiser, the most decorated women’s hockey player of all-time. Her comments about what a women’s professional league should look like has raised a few eyebrows. Here it is in full:

” I was just in the NHL offices three weeks ago meeting with them about WickFest, which the NHL is on board with and partnering with us on – and then we had a discussion about women’s pro hockey. The NHL is ready and willing and has a plan in place to take on women’s pro hockey. The problem right now with women’s hockey is the women in hockey. It’s not anyone else. It’s the women in hockey…

…I know the Canadian Women’s Hockey League would be happy to fold and hand it over to the NHL. They seem to be the reasonable people in all of this. The NWHL wants to make a go of it – or if they are going to hand it over to the NHL, want a lot of money to do so, and that doesn’t make any sense. So, I question the motives there.

But at the end of the day, the power in all of this is the players. And I’ve said this to many players. It’s time for the players to band together and rise up and they can make instant change if they wanted to – and make this thing (a unified league) happen. It was the same at the WADA event, watching the athletes of the world realizing, ‘wow, if we all collectively say something, we might make a change.’

It’s the same in women’s hockey. Get the best 40 women’s players in the world to say, ‘we aren’t playing in either league until we have one league to play in.’ That would be the easiest way forward. Gary Bettman does not want to be seen to be breaking any league — or want any lawsuits on his hands. I think that’s a weak way of looking at it. The WHA and the NHL, same thing happened (a merger). I think they should just do it. I don’t think there’s anything they can lose. They would put everyone else out of business and then be able to do it the right way. To me, that’s the only way forward – and again, people want to complain that women need pro hockey, and the women need TV. Well, then the women in the game need to do something about it. So that’s my view – and the first time I’ve ever said that (laughs).”

There’s some pretty meaty stuff in there, but I remain unconvinced it’s as simple as Wickenheiser says it is.

First off, it’s not really clear what is meant by Gary Bettman “being on board.” Does that mean they’ll simply lend the NHL’s name to a possible women’s league, a WNHL as it were, without taking ownership of it? A dual-marketing drive? Or does she mean more the WNBA arrangement where NBA owners also own WNBA teams? The latter isn’t as simple as well.

The NBA is bathing in money, and thus can afford to take on a loss like the WNBA (and the WNBA still does lose money, though not as much as it used to). The NBA recognizes there are benefits to having a women’s league associated with it, and is willing to deal with the financial ramifications. But it’s also in a position to do that.

While I’ll never truly believe the NHL’s claims on their books, it is clear it doesn’t make anywhere near the money. How many teams, if that’s what the NHL was actually considering, could take on a “WNHL” team, at least to start before finding new ownership? Toronto? Montreal? That might be it. Maybe the Rangers? I’m not sure. Again, it would be great if the NHL could take on a loss because “it’s the right thing to do,” but I’m not convinced it’s in that spot.

It’s also never sat comfortably with some that the WNBA is a league that the NBA basically lets use the gym when the boys aren’t. It’s a little more natural to have basketball in the summer, but would a WNHL take place in the summer to have more attention? Would it run along with the NHL season as the CWL and NWHL do now? There are marketing benefits to that obviously, but there are challenges as well.

Secondly, the idea Wickenheiser puts forth here that fans and especially players should just go along with his idea seems a bit short-sighted. I don’t have any idea what the actual reasoning the players would have to try and stay out on their own, but it wouldn’t shock me if some of them said, “Um, the NHL is trash?”

One, this is a league that’s about to have several teams competing to sign Slava Voynov. It’s one that’s put Patrick Kane front and center of its marketing. This list could go on long enough to cause a lot of us to throw up so hard we wet ourselves at the same time. Maybe that’s not something the players have thought of, but maybe it is. Quite simply, it could be the world’s best female players don’t want to be associated with a league that has demonstrated it couldn’t give a flying fuck about its female fans.

Secondly, we know the NHL isn’t that well run. Even if the first part wasn’t as big of a concern as it could be, you’d have to wonder if a possible professional women’s league that can’t really ever seem to unfuck itself.

It’s obviously ideal to wish for one, unified women’s league, as basketball and soccer have, but even the latter has had a dizzying time maintaining that and  that has more participation among kids than hockey does. The challenges are greater for hockey as well. Women’s basketball has been at least part of the sports scene at the college and Olympic level far longer. The NCAA tournament is on TV, so anyone who’s a fan can follow those players into the WNBA. Arguably the soccer team gets more attention because it has World Cups and Olympics to grab eyeballs, whereas the hockey team really only has the Olympics.

The CWL and NWHL at some point are going to have to figure out some merger, you’d have to think. And even then it will be a struggle. But there’s nothing to suggest the NHL is the one to help them navigate that.

Everything Else

Hockey Tonk Women Give Me The Hockey Tonk Blues

By 1351

In which I regularly-ish sum up this past weekend in women’s hockey.

Photo via Kaitlin S. Cimini.

NWHL

NYR 4 – 3 BUF (SO)

For the second week in a row, Buffalo managed to drag a game kicking and screaming into overtime only to drop it there. The Beauts outshot the Riveters 47-32, counting overtime play, but Fujimoto wasn’t having any of that nonsense, and New York took the win on shootout goals from Ammerman and Dosdall. The end result may have been good for New York, but they can’t go on playing catchup like this; they’re going to have to learn to produce a lot more consistently, something that’s been a rare sight from them this season. Come fall, with Boston College scoring juggernauts Carpenter and Skarupa in their lineup, the Riveters’ scoresheets may start to look very different.

 

BOS 4 – 2 CTW

The Pride edged ahead of the Whale for first place this weekend, beating them decisively 4-2. The Whale are still noticeably slipping; losing 3 of the last 4 doesn’t sound so bad, but it feels like a much bigger deal in a 18-game season. Connecticut got a measly twelve shots on Boston’s goal, and took five penalties of which they only killed four. The Whale have always been penalty-heavy, but until now they’ve been able to compensate with a strong penalty kill and plenty of scoring firepower. With the scoring dropping off, they need to either pick their offense back up or clean up their play if they want to take back first place.

The NWHL has two weeks of regular season play left until the playoffs. Boston and Connecticut are one point apart for first and second place; Buffalo and New York are two points apart for third and fourth.

 

CWHL

CAL 4 – 2 MON

CAL 1 – 2 MON

Right on the verge of clinching first place in the league, the Canadiennes stumbled a bit and split this weekend’s series against Calgary. The teams turned out similar shooting numbers in both games; it was goaltending that made the difference between nights. Montreal’s Charline Labonte stopped only 27 of 31 on Saturday, but on Sunday she stopped 34/35 for the win and the first place clincher.

 

BRM 4 – 3 TOR

Brampton got ahead early in this one, leading the shooting for the first two periods and going into the third with a 3-1 lead. However, the Thunder took five penalties in the third and the Furies were able to capitalize twice, sending the game into overtime tied 3-3. with Toronto still on the power play. They couldn’t quite complete the comeback, though–after only a few seconds Vint got the shorthanded game-winner for Brampton.

The CWHL has one week of regular season play left with Montreal securely in first. Brampton and Calgary are one point apart, and will be playing each other next weekend for second and third places. Toronto trails far behind in fourth. Boston still has no regulation wins.

 

EXHIBITION

SHATTUCK 3 – 2 MIN

No word yet on whether the Minnesota Whitecaps will end up being folded into the NWHL. In the meantime, they finished up their exhibition season this weekend against Shattuck-St. Mary’s. The Whitecaps nearly made it through the game with a 2-1 lead, but the Sabres scored back-to-back goals late in the 3rd that Minnesota couldn’t answer. The 3-2 loss left the Whitecaps with a 6-6 record for the season.

Everything Else

Hockey Tonk Women Give Me The Hockey Tonk Blues

By 962

This is something we’re hopefully going to do regularly, but our friend Cyndi B drops in to update all on what’s going on with the NWHL and CWL. This is from yesterday’s C.I. program. 

NWHL

BUF 4 – BOS 3 (OT)

Boston dug in early in this one with a 2-0 lead, but Buffalo’s Hailey Browne tied it up with a goal in the middle of the first and another early in the second. Browne also assisted on Devon Skeats’s go-ahead goal in the third, but with five minutes to go Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker tied it up again. Buffalo went into overtime riding a 4-on-3 advantage, Megan Bozek got the power play goal, and that was the end of that.

Many years ago, in October 2015, I went to Buffalo to watch these two teams open their inaugural seasons against each other. Back then, it was an easy and common assumption that the Pride were going to be the juggernauts steamrolling the rest of the league; not only was their roster heavy on USWNT players, many had hopped leagues from the CWHL’s Boston Blades and had history together in pro hockey as well. In any brand-new league, it was inevitable that the one team of women who already knew each other would have an advantage. As an event it was a great place to be live; as a hockey game…well, there was a very visible difference in level of play.

This weekend looked nothing like that. This was a matchup between two professional, alarmingly good teams, and no one watching should have doubted that.

From the viewers’ end, an advantage to a new league with only four teams is that it’s easy to follow as teams grow into themselves. (This was the fifth of six games between the Pride and Beauts this season.) Buffalo may have stumbled out of the gate–they’re still only 2-7-2–but the quality of their game is grinding upwards with impressive consistency. They started out getting creamed, and then losing by narrow margins or sheer bad luck, and then scattering some wins in there. If ever there was a team winning or near-winning games by sheer force of will, it’s probably the Beauts right now, and I would be surprised if their record in the second half of the season looks much like their first half.