With no information available to fans, media, and little to players, looking at past promises, and current contracts, here is what we can glean about the PWHPA's future plans.

Since the completion of the 2022-2023 Secret Dream Gap Tour, there has been no official news on the PWHPA's future plans. 

In March, reports surfaced that the PWHPA remains focused on launching a six-team league for the 2023-2024 season. Although according to that report in March, the specifics were still very much up in the air.

"We're very much eyeing next hockey season," Jayna Hefford, the PWHPA's lead consultant told The Associated Press. "You know, is that September? Is it November? December? That's hard to predict. We don't want to compromise on making sure we get it right this time."

As more NCAA and USports stars continue to sign in the seven-team PHF, which recently raised their salary cap to $1.5 million and has been a target for investors looking to get into women's hockey, however, time does not seem to be on the PWHPA's side.

To predict what could happen in the coming months, perhaps the most valid information is what the PWHPA, investors, and legal representation were telling prospective players at this time last year, coupled with the PWHL / PWHPA contracts players signed for this season.

On an April 12, 2022 Zoom presentation, the PWHPA provided prospective college players with details on their proposed league, which they stated at the time would be in operation for 2022-2023.

The call was led by Jayna Hefford, and included current PWHPA members, Canadian and USA national team members, international players, and NCAA and USports athletes, many of whom have signed in the PHF this offseason.

The presentation cited an operating model including a league consisting of six teams, each featuring 23 players and three coaches. The PWHPA's document also reports that the average league salary was set to be $55,000 USD per player, with an additional $230,000 USD available for a "Championship Bonus Pool."

In terms of when a league could be announced, it was communicated in the 2022 Zoom call that the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs would be used as an opportunity to announce their league for 2022-2023 when hockey interest was high. No announcement came, but a similar strategy could be deployed this season, meaning the league has until roughly June 18, which is the last possible date for the Stanley Cup to be presented this season, to make an announcement, if their previous timeline carries over to this year.

The proposed league as described in the Zoom presentation was slated to begin in January 2023, running to April, playing 32 regular season games followed by "4 teams playing 3 best of 5 game series for the Championship."

An "unrivaled professional league" was the stated goal of the PWHPA, which listed 12 cities - Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Washington, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, New York, St. Louis, and Chicago - as "potential initial team markets."

Earlier reports stated the league would feature two Canadian and four American locations to start. Since then, additional markets have been rumored to be involved in the PWHPA's plans.

The document presented via Zoom to current and prospective players also contested the legitimacy of the only current professional women's hockey league in North America, the PHF, which has increased their salary cap to $1.5 million per team this season, and continues to expand media and promotional partnerships. In the PWHPA's document, they stated their offering would be "the first truly professional and viable women's ice hockey league in North America." This statement comes despite women signing six-figure contracts with the PHF, and NCAA graduates signing contracts ranging from $60,000 to Daryl Watts' $150,000 contract last season, all well above the PWHPA's promised average salary.

During the 2023 IIHF World Championship, Jayna Hefford, the PWHPA's lead operations consultant, communicated her belief in the path the PWHPA is taking.

"We began this journey in 2019 when the best players in the world united with a shared mission to build a better future for our game," Hefford wrote to The Hockey News in an email. 

"We are so proud of the collective effort of our athletes and the work we have done to help build a world class hockey league. Since 2019, we have worked hard to build a player-led movement that would attract the best athletes and investors who believe the future of women’s professional sports is bright and that see the potential value in giving our sport the stage it deserves."

In May 2023, the PWHPA held a "union" meeting for players to communicate information regarding the potential league and ongoing collective bargaining agreement discussions. While the players themselves move forward in developing a CBA, it's uncertain who they are currently collectively bargaining with, as no owners for franchises, nor a commissioner for any league have been named. When asked by The Hockey News regarding where union filings had been made with appropriate labor boards or departments of labor at the state and provincial level, a PWHPA representative stated those were not details the Association could share. The group incorporated under PWHL Holdings, LLC in Delaware, USA in March of 2022.

Multiple PWHPA members stated no specific details were provided to players at the May 2023 meeting, although they reported positivity among those involved in the call.

In April 2023, The Hockey News reported on current contract commitments players competing in the PWHPA agreed to this season, as well as the working conditions and reported payments current PWHPA members are receiving. According to the Association, all PWHPA members from last season's Dream Gap Tour are signed to "Promotional Period" contracts with the PWHL for $24,000, which expire August 31, 2023. Any player who signs with, or commits to a team outside the PWHL/PWHPA, with the exception of the Canadian or American national teams will be in breach of their contract, and risks not receiving the remainder of their $24,000.

The PWHL contract provides information for next season, matching the promises made in April 2022. The contract states a league will launch for the "Inaugural Season" in the Fall of 2023, ending in the Spring of 2024 "dependent on, among other factors, if we are able to secure agreements on terms acceptable to us for (i) the promotional and playing services of a sufficient number of elite players, (ii) all necessary playing and practice facilities and coaching, training, medical and other necessary services and support, and (iii) a sufficient number of sponsorships and telecast exposures."

This season, the PWHPA had 98 participants, including 13 goaltenders. To reach their promised 23 players per roster for six teams, as outlined in the April 2022 meeting, the league will need to find at least 40 new players for the 2023-2024 season, assuming all PWHPA players from last season return to the Association following the expiration of their contracts on August 31. According to the 2022 Zoom call, all players will be subject to a Draft, where they will be selected by one of six franchises. Players will not have the choice of which team or city they compete in. As well, according to the call and this season's contract, current members of the PWHPA are not guaranteed a spot in any future league, which could make the number of players needed for a season rise again.

The current PWHL contract, to which PWHPA members are signed, states the league "expects to offer" the signee a position as a professional hockey player in the PWHL, although employment as a player is not guaranteed, and is conditional on the players' "ability to satisfy certain terms and conditions, including without limitation your ability to play well enough to make a competitive roster."

While no explicit details have been released by the PWHPA or PWHL in 2023, the combined information delivered to prospective players in 2022, the current PWHL contract, and reports from the May 2023 PWHPA "union" meeting provides some answers, and some questions, about the PWHPA's future plans.

This season, the PWHPA played another instalment of the Secret Dream Gap Tour, with Team Harvey's winning the Secret Cup.