A proposed 3-on-3 pro hockey league is preparing to reveal details of its plan at some point during the Stanley Cup Final.
On the 32 Thoughts podcast Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said Major League Hockey hopes to offer more insight during the announcement.
“I do expect some kind of announcement during the Stanley Cup Final about this, a revelation as to exactly what this is, what the goals are and what they are trying to do,” Friedman said. “I think the picture is going to become a bit more clear some time during the Cup Final.”
As of now, details are foggy at best. The league does have a website, which states it hopes to start this fall with 16 teams across North America. B.C., Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec are listed as the Canadian markets.
The league says it will have two 24-minute games per night with games exclusively on Friday and Saturday nights.
Each team would carry 14 players and have a $30-million salary cap, with an $100,000 win bonus for each game.
Friedman says some players have reached out to the league to ask about details.
There has been speculation that the league is being funded by a group in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East, but that also is unclear.
“The only thing anyone would tell me is the company behind this is not based in the Middle East. I think … it’s based on Europe. That doesn’t mean I know necessarily where the money behind it is.”
Friedmansays some coaches and executives have made contact with the league. Major League Hockey says on its website that it has “retained prominent professional-level coaches and management personnel in many markets.”
There also are rumblings that one player who played in the Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has talked to the league, Friedman said.
“I think a bunch of players have reached out and are curious about it … If there’s a chance to play hockey for legitimate money, people are going to be interested,” Friedman said.
Of course, until there are concrete plans and an idea of who is running the league, there will be plenty of doubt on whether this ever gets off the ground.
“Obviously, there is a lot of skepticism and we all have our questions too, but I think we’re going to get some answers in the middle of the Stanley Cup Final,” Friedman said.
While 3 on 3 hockey hasn’t been played much at an organized level, 3×3 basketball debuted at the 2021 Summer Olympics and will be played again this summer in Paris.