The statement issued on behalf of hundreds of professional women’s hockey players earlier this month was as emphatic and declarative as the action those players decided to take. The group vowed not to play in any North American league for the upcoming season in hopes of finding a more robust, professional long-term solution.



Speculation was rampant for weeks about an impending labor dispute, and the four-paragraph missive issued affirmed that the players were ready to take action. Conspicuously absent in the statement, however, was any mention of the National Hockey League.



And though the NHL was never explicitly referenced in the group’s first front-facing comments, it was talked about plenty in the many player discussions leading up to the group’s decision to sit out the 2019-20 season. Implicit in the decision to abstain from participation was that the women want one, unified league to play, earn a livable wage and obtain adequate health care. And...