This article was written by contributors Heather Chen, Abigail Scardelletti and Silvia Leija.

After eight seasons, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) is no more. Reports from Thursday night indicated that the North American professional women’s hockey league was bought out by the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) through Billie Jean King Enterprise and the Mark Walter Group.

Under the acquisition, all PHF contracts have been voided, leaving the future unclear for dozens of players who had already signed with teams for the coming season. Additionally, reports have also indicated that players from the PWHPA will be prioritized for contracts.

The abrupt move to a singular professional women’s league has some individuals concerned about what this means for women’s hockey, especially since players and staff members were given so little warning about the buyout.

Regarding protections for players and team staff, while the PHF had a player’s association, it only existed as a representative body. More importantly, the league lacked a collective bargaining agreement between players and team owners.

A close source to a PHF team informed Hockey of Tomorrow that PHF players had been closing in on unionization, with the possibility of an official union by this upcoming season. The buyout has effectively ended those efforts, which means that players are unprotected amidst the acquisition of the league.

According to Sportsnet insider Jeff Marek, some PHF agents had been working towards a player’s strike which would have taken place before next season. The strike would have targeted the clause in player contracts which allowed them to be terminated at will.

Prior to the acquisition, the PHF and the PWHPA existed as rivals. The PHF, previously known as the National Women's Hockey League, was founded in 2015, serving as the only professional women’s league in North America since the Canadian Women’s Hockey League folded in March 2019. In its eight seasons, the PHF grew the league from four teams to seven, with the newest expansion debuting in Montreal this past season along with establishing partnerships with Twitch, TSN, and ESPN plus.

The PWHPA was created in May 2019 and entered into a formal partnership with the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprise to launch a league. Currently, the PWHPA includes Olympic-level players such as United States forward Hilary Knight and Canadian forward and captain Marie-Philip Poulin. Earlier this year, the PWHPA announced that it was nearing the creation of a new league that would launch in the 2023-2024 season.

As reported by The Hockey News, the PWHPA is planning on a six-team league, meaning that one of the PHF franchises will likely be lost. With the PHF folding into PWHPA, this means that more players will be fighting for less spots, meaning over 100 players will be left without a roster spot. It also appears that the season will begin on the PHWPA’s timeline, starting in January 2024.

Meanwhile, both leagues have remained quiet, with no statements released at the time of publication.  However, players and media alike have taken to Twitter to discuss the situation.

“What an exciting time for women's hockey! Can't wait to show the world what we can accomplish TOGETHER!” Metropolitan Riveters captain Madison Packer tweeted Thursday night, with a heart emoji.

The Hockey of Tomorrow team will report more as the story develops.