PHF’S Toronto Six Sold as League Continues Move to Single-Team Ownership
The Premier Hockey Federation’s Toronto Six has been sold by its Boston-based ownership group, BTM Partners, to a group of the league’s first BIPOC and Canadian investors. Retired NHL player Anthony Stewart, former Canadian hockey star Angela James—the club’s current assistant coach—Carnegie Initiative co-chair Bernice Carnegie and former NHL coach Ted Nolan are among the new owners.
The team sold for between $3 million and $5 million, according to someone familiar with the league.
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The Six are currently competing in its second season in the PHF. The club made its debut in 2020 following the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League the year prior. The PHF said a full list of investors in the new ownership group will be announced when the sale officially closes.
“This is a really amazing time to be part of professional women’s hockey and I am thrilled to lead a new ownership group to support elite athletes in my hometown,” Stewart said in a release. “Together with my partners, we know how much representation matters and how important role models are for young hockey players. It brings me great joy to be part of something special and help strengthen a platform that will make the game better for the next generation and grow the game in the community that I love.”
The move is another step toward the league’s goal for distinct ownership for each of its franchises. BTM Partners also owns the PHF’s Boston Pride and the Metropolitan Riveters franchises, though each is chaired by a different member of the ownership group. NLTT Ventures, which includes two members of the league’s board of governors, also still temporarily owns multiple clubs, holding both the Buffalo Beauts and Minnesota Whitecaps. Major League Soccer took a similar approach in its early days, when investors such as AEG and Lamar Hunt held multiple MLS teams until new owners were found.
The PHF, formerly known as the National Women’s Hockey League, only recently disentangled itself from team ownership. Founded as a single-entity operation in 2015, the current campaign is the first in which all of the PHF’s six franchises were in the hands of private owners. PHF bylaws prohibit the same ownership group from owning multiple teams for an extended period of time but allowed the practice temporarily as it transitioned to private ownership.
BTM has previously told Sportico of its intent to only eventually hold one franchise.
“Local ownership who believe in our vision to grow women’s hockey and are committed to supporting these phenomenal professional athletes represents another significant step forward in the overall growth and sustainability of the PHF,” Johanna Boynton of BTM Partners said.
As the women’s hockey league continues to eye future growth and expansion, with plans for two expansion franchises for 2022-23 including one in Montreal, it also announced a $25 million investment by team owners over the next three years. The new funds will support increased player salaries and full healthcare benefits, as well as an extended schedule, league expansion, infrastructure and facility upgrades. More than $7.5 million will be invested into the league next season, when the salary cap will more than double to a record $750,000 for each of its six teams.
A new commissioner will oversee those changes. The league’s current leader, Tyler Tumminia, resigned as PHF commissioner last month, a position she has held since October 2020, first in an interim capacity before she was appointed permanently in June 2021. She will remain in her role through the conclusion of the PHF’s season later this month.
