Women’s Professional Hockey League Expands into Montreal

Montreal is finally getting its long-promised women’s pro hockey franchise, though the Premier Hockey Federation put the brakes on adding a second expansion team entering its eighth season. PHF Commissioner Reagan Carey tells The Associated Press it was in the U.S.-based, privately backed league's best interest to take a slower approach toward growth to ensure long-term stability in adding a seventh franchise, and second in Canada. The yet-to-be-named Montreal franchise has been in the works for some 18 months, with its launch already delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. PHF officials in January also had committed to expanding into a U.S. location, without disclosing where.