Commissioner Tai Tominya’s departure raises more questions about PHF
Tyler Tomenia is stepping down as the Hockey League’s first commissioner, effective at the end of the season. The move comes as a surprise after Tomenia, the second commissioner in the PHF’s history, was removed in August.
According to the sources, she gave “personal reasons” to the Board of Governors.
“Supporting our phenomenal athletes and helping build a professional platform for them to showcase their incredible talent and skills is something I have loved from the moment my hockey journey began,” Tomenia said via a press release. “I am very proud of what we have been able to do as a team in such a short period of time and am grateful to the Board of Directors for the opportunity, to the PHF staff and team leadership, and most importantly the athletes who believe in me.
“I am here to focus on finishing what we started in Season 7 and making the Isobel Cup qualifiers a memorable one. The foundation for growth and a sustainable business model is here, and I look forward to welcoming someone new to come and take things to the next level.”
Tomenia, who will remain in her role during the Isobel Cup playoffs March 25-28 in Tampa, Florida, took charge in October 2020, when Women’s National Hockey League founder and original commissioner Danny Rylan Kearney left the league. She originally joined the league as the front office president of the Toronto Six.
Her departure – not a direct resignation, but a request not to renew her contract – comes from the league just under a month after the PHF announced a $25 million investment over the next three seasons, and the addition of two new club expansions for the 2022-23 season, along with a salary cap. It is $750,000 per team. The expansion is expected to include Montreal and a US city on the East Coast that has yet to be identified.
Tumminia has overseen every major event at PHF over the past two seasons, including the Lake Placid bubble that was cut short due to COVID, the completion of the 2021 Isobel Cup two months later, broadcasts on NBC, and a broadcast agreement with ESPN Plus for the 2021-22 season.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Maric said Saturday night that Tumminia had informed him that she would not seek to renew again in January. PHF officially announced its departure on Sunday noon.
The timing of the announcement came days after the Winter Olympics ended, where several former PHF players competed. Nearly all of these players participate in the Professional Hockey Players Association, a group of athletes who have refused to return to or play in FIFA.
Meanwhile, former PHF players’ union manager Alex Sinatra was fired less than a month after accepting the job, leaving the union without a leader to navigate the investment, the terms of which were not compromised by the players.
The new investment raised questions about whether any of these players would go to PHF, and after the announcement, PHF social media channels reached out to several PWHPA players to try to recruit them. No one committed to making the jump or commented much on it, although some former PWHPA players—notably former Olympian Kaley Flanagan—have already gone on to the PHF.
Tumminia, who previously served as an executive on several Minor League Baseball teams, didn’t say what she might do next, or whether she’d be in hockey. The PHF Board of Governors, made up of the six team owners, will go through the search for a new commissioner.
The PHF looks very different than it did two years ago when the Toronto Six were about to be announced as the sixth club in the league. Rylan Kearney was still a commissioner. Pegula Sports and Entertainment sold the Buffalo Beauts to the league; The New Jersey Devils have ended their partnership with Metropolitan Rivets; Miles Arnoni bought the Boston Pride Club, becoming the only independently owned club; Michelle Piccard was still the Deputy Commissioner.
The front desk of the league was completely overhauled at the time, especially after Lake Placid.
After the Olympics, members of the PWHPA were asked to anticipate the start of a new league by the end of 2022, according to sources. Since few have expressed interest in moving to PHF, which has its own pool of players without Olympians and PWHPA players, it may do little to change the PHF’s plans.
They’ll have to choose the next person to lead them through another challenging era, though, and the PHF always seems to be in the throes of it.
Whether it’s salary cuts two years ago, the departure of stars to the CWHL, the death of the CWHL, the birth of the PWHPA, the canceled Isobel Cup or the mishandled Lake Placid bubble season, there’s always something going on.
The next leader in the league will be out of business again. But there is still plenty of time between now and the end of the season to find someone who is willing to do it.
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