Hockey’s Business And Legal Bi-Monthly Highlights June 16th Through 30th Featuring Big Moves for Women's Hockey

Hockey’s Business and Legal Bi-Monthly Highlights June 16th Through June 30th Featuring a Big Move in Women’s Professional Hockey

Alec Roberson

It’s that time of the month when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Twice a month we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look at what has been happening this period.

Hockey’s Business and Legal News

Proposed Plan for CHL Hazing Lawsuit to Move Forward

The attorneys for the former players pursuing a hazing, bullying, and abuse lawsuit against the CHL, OHL, WHL, QMJHL, and those leagues’ teams have outlined a proposed plan for players looking to join in the lawsuit. Notably, any players not sharing their stories to the public and wanting to pursue a case must be assured that their identities will be kept confidential. This lawsuit was denied certification as a class action previously. However, players still have a chance to pursue remedies and the court will set hearings to determine procedurally how this will proceed.

The Winnipeg Ice Have a New Owner

The WHL’s Winnipeg Ice have been sold to David White and will be relocated to Wenatchee, Washington. White is the President of the Shoot the Puck Foundation which is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping grow hockey and the current owner of the Wenatchee Wild in the BCHL. The relocation comes after multiple attempts failed to construct a suitable arena in Winnipeg to house the Ice based on agreed upon deadlines. Much like other leagues (including the NHL), when there is a sale and a relocation, the Board of Governors approval is required. The WHL Board of Governors have approved this transaction and the new team will begin play next season.

NHL to Disallow Specialty Jerseys in Warmups

Following a year of controversy involving various players around the league declining to wear team-initiated pride jerseys in warmups, and various teams responding by nixing that practice completely, the NHL’s Board of Governors decided to disallow specialty jerseys in warmups. In addition to pride jerseys, teams have worn various warmup jerseys including military appreciation, hockey fights cancer, holiday and other throwback jerseys. While the teams will still hold special nights to raise money and awareness for causes, the players will not wear jerseys in warmups. The reasoning here is that the NHL felt last season it became a distraction. However, the quick decision to just cut the practice was met with a lot of criticism. It’s a case of trying to protect the brand, but the NHL might could have figured out a better solution.

Qatar Investment Authority Buying a Minority Stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is reportedly seeking to buy a minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Monumenetal). Monumental is the parent company of the Washington Capitals but also owns the Washington Wizards in the NBA and the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. The interest is reportedly around a five percent interest being acquired. The company is valued around four billion dollars.

The QIA is an investment fund owned by the government of Qatar. This is the first time that Qatar has invested in a U.S. sports team and the first time that a Sovreign wealth fund has invested in an NBA or NHL team. Notably, part of Qatar’s global diplomatic strategy is investment in sports and entertainment. For example, the QIA already owns a European soccer club and Qatar hosted the most recent World Cup. As is the case with investments in NHL and NBA teams, the Board of Governers have to approve such investments. The NHL has approved this investment while the NBA still has to approve.

Initiatives to Make the Game More Inclusive, Diverse and Safe

There have been two separate announcements during this period related to diversity, inclusion and safety of the sport. The first came from Hockey Canada. Hockey Canada announced that it will be hosting a convention aiming at understanding the areas of hockey that need to change. This summit, named the Beyond the Boards Summit, will take place in Calgary, Alberta on September 8 and 9, 2023. The summit will include subject matter experts and provide opportunities for collaboration and conversation to discuss areas in the sport that need adjusting, and how to do so.

The second initiative is the NHL and NHLPA launching the Player Inclusion Coalition. The NHL three years ago announced the development of the Player Inclusion Committee to combat racism and increase inclusion in the sport. This Coalition is an evolution of that Committee. The Coalition is a group of both former and current NHL and women’s pro hockey players working to advance inclusion on and off the ice. Namely, the group is led by former NHL players Anson Carter and P.K. Subban. This announcement also includes that one million dollars have been committed to programs that promote diversity in hockey.

Tennessee State University to Offer College Hockey

Tennessee State University will be the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to offer college hockey. The goal is to start at the club level for the 2024-25 season and then shift to NCAA Division One later. This was a similar path Arizona State and Penn State took. The NHL, NHL Players’ Association, Nashville Predators and College Hockey Inc., are all partners in this move as it shows another step towards diversity and inclusion in hockey. Creating a new sport is not easy and Tennessee State will now start the process of fundraising, finding coaches, recruiting players and so forth. They will play at one of the Predators’ Ford Ice Center facilities. And then whenever they jump to NCAA that’s another step, like what we saw with Long Island University.

Nevertheless, this is a big step forward for Tennessee State and hockey alike. Hockey is clearly growing in the southeastern United States with ACHA Club hockey continuing to progress to higher levels. For example, an outdoor game between NC State University and UNC Chapel Hill saw around 25,000 fans show up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Adding Tennessee State into the fold is a big move for many reasons.

Updates to the NHL Salary Cap

The NHL and NHLPA announced the salary cap limits for the 2023-24 season. The cap floor will be $61.7 million, the midpoint $72.6 million, and the ceiling $83.5 million. This came following reports of the same a few weeks ago. Players still owe escrow amounts still to the owners. But being they have almost fully paid this amount, we may see a bigger cap ceiling increase next year. But only time will tell.

Harvard University Women’s Hockey to End “Harmful Traditions”

Following the announcement of the retirement of long time Harvard women’s ice hockey head coach Katey Stone, the university announced it will no longer allow certain traditions deemed abusive. This follows an independent investigation into the team’s culture and actions. Even though such report has not been made public, the results have prompted this action by the university. It’s unfortunate that it takes this much to make a team culture respectable. Also unfortunately, there are likely other teams and programs that could use some adjustments.

A New Singular Women’s Hockey League on the Horizon

In our featured story for the period, the Mark Walters Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises have purchased the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). The PHF is a women’s professional hockey league operating with seven teams. Meanwhile, these groups were responsible for financing the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) which has been looking at developing its own professional women’s hockey league that would rival the PHF. Now with this acquisition, there should be one professional women’s hockey league with PHF players needing to negotiate new contracts. That part of the acquisition has become a sticky subject.

There seems to be some difficulties to work out through this acquisition. Particularly, how the contracts of PHF players will be handled and what the new league does with current PHF teams. It may not be smooth, but this could be a positive step for women’s hockey as it looks to progress into what many are hoping it could be. As one league, ideally, they can use all resources to make it the best possible. It’s new ground though. The collective bargaining process and financing/sponsorship/exposure will be some other areas that will take work. Stay tuned as more details arise. This one is progressing quickly.

Post image attribution: By BDZ Sports, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alec Roberson

Alec Roberson grew up in coastal North Carolina, taking a somewhat unconventional path to hockey. With hockey being almost nonexistent in that area, Alec found his passion for the game following the success of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001 and 2006 and later played club hockey in college. After going through law school and practicing for some time, he now continues his love for the game through writing. Find him on twitter @roberson_alec

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