[3] In 2015, former Northeastern University Huskies player and entrepreneur Dani Rylan founded a new National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), after having been in talks to bring a New York expansion team to the CWHL.

The expansion was part of a major deal with the Chinese government, which was seeking to develop its national women's hockey team ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

League commissioner Brenda Andress cited the Chinese expansion, as well as increased sponsorships and licensing rights, as making the move possible, adding that "we know this plan is sustainable.

Brianna Decker, along with NWHLer Kendall Coyne Schofield, made history as the first women to compete in the National Hockey League All-Star Game.

[36] A few minutes after the end of the second conference call, the league issued a press release to the public: just one week after the successful 2019 Clarkson Cup finals and just five days before the start of the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship, the CWHL announced that it would be folding on May 1.

[42] Multiple CWHL teams stated that they intended to try and continue to operate, and there were reports of an anonymous, Toronto-based group drawing up legal paperwork to launch a new league.

[44] Despite asking for financial assistance only on the scale of a few hundred thousand dollars, and the government having previously identified insufficient funding as the main barrier to female sport participation in Canada, the talks were unsuccessful.

The letter discussed the creation of the NWHL in 2015, believing that it had fragmented the women's hockey market in North America and that sponsors delayed necessary investments due to unrealistic expectations of a merger between the two leagues.

[46] According to the laws on non-profit organisations in the jurisdiction the CWHL was based in, the league was required to liquidate all its remaining assets to cover costs and pay off its debts.

Two women's hockey journalists, Kirsten Whelan and Jared Book, launched a GoFundMe campaign to try and preserve as many artifacts as possible from the auction.

CWHL Players' Association chair Liz Knox stated that: "I think it's kind of opened our eyes to something that we always knew was there, and to seize the opportunity to really ask for more for our sport.

"[62]Fran Rider, president of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association (OWHA), stated that the collapse "demonstrates the challenges female sports continue to face in attracting much needed and much deserved financial support.

"[66] Brock University professor Julie Stevens compared the situation to the early days of men's professional leagues and the rivalry between the NHL and the World Hockey Association (WHA) in the 1970s, noting that similar events have often been catalysts for significant new developments in the sport.

"[72] Many graduating collegiate players expressed deep uncertainty over the collapse of the league and the effect it would have on their hockey careers, since around half the potential professional roster spots in North America had disappeared overnight.

Hefford also stated that she was unwilling to take similar actions as the NWHL to address deficits, notably cutting player salaries, believing that it was better for the league to fold than to move backwards.

Other commentators have pointed towards a lack of vision in the league and a failure to consistently establish professional working conditions and structures for players, staff, and members of the media alike.

Having no health insurance and making as low as two thousand dollars a season means that players can't adequately train and prepare to play at the highest level.

[94] Boston Pride defender Kaleigh Fratkin also expressed doubts about #ForTheGame, stating that she had not received answers to questions she had asked the movement's organizers and that she was concerned about attempts to force the NWHL to fold.

[99][100] The nine players chosen to make up the PWHPA's board of directors were Jocelyne Lamoureux, Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Noora Räty, Shannon Szabados, Brianne Jenner, Liz Knox, Kimberly Sass, and Alyssa Gagliardi.

Despite the interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PWHPA continued events during the 2020–21 season, including a more formal regional structure for rosters and a $1 million sponsorship deal from deodorant company Secret, the largest corporate commitment in North American women's hockey history to date.

[104] The PWHPA proved successful in courting sustained corporate, media, and even NHL partnerships, consistently raising the profile of its movement and appearing to get closer to its goal of establishing a new, unified professional league.

[111][112] The CWHL collapse sparked a marked jump in media coverage of North American women's hockey and in discussions about the future of the game.

As the only completely independently-owned CWHL team and as affiliates of the Kontinental Hockey League's HC Kunlun Red Star, the move was able to proceed without much disruption to club affairs.

[128] The strike adopted the named #FörFramtiden (For the Future), with players releasing coordinated social media posts in a similar fashion to the #ForTheGame movement.

[130] On 2 April 2019, the National Women's Hockey League announced that they would be adding two expansion teams in Toronto and Montreal ahead of the 2019–20 season, citing an increased commitment from the NHL for sponsorship revenue.

[131] But after the launch of the #ForTheGame movement, which including a large number of NWHL players, Kim Pegula announced that she was abandoning her ownership of the Buffalo Beauts, and the New Jersey Devils severed their affiliation with the Metropolitan Riveters.

[137] When the NWHL announced its plans for a shortened 2020–21 season, held in a bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NWHLPA secured a guarantee that players would receive their full salary, even if they opted-out of playing.

[109] The CBA, an eight-year agreement unprecedented in women's professional hockey, was ratified on 2 July, 2023, guaranteeing a minimum salary of $35,000 along with a suite of medical, insurance, and other benefits.

[155] At the end of June, while the ratification vote was in progress, Mark Walter Group and BJK Enterprises purchased the PHF with the intent of winding it down and merging it with the new venture.

[156] In August, the partners announced the launch of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) with the intent to begin play in January 2024.