Antitrust Lawsuit
NHL and Major Junior Hockey Leagues Hit with Antitrust Class Action Alleging Anticompetitive Collusion
On February 14, 22024, WAIPU and other plaintiffs filed a landmark antitrust case in New York federal court aimed at exposing what we allege to be egregiously anticompetitive collusion that targets teenage hockey players across North America.
The class action lawsuit, which names as defendants the National Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, the Québec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and each of those leagues’ member clubs, challenges the alleged systematic exploitation of teens pursuing their dreams of playing in the NHL.
In this historic litigation, plaintiffs allege that defendants conspired to: 1) restrain competition for players, rendering them nothing more than the property of the major junior teams that draft them; and 2) compensate those players at artificially suppressed, non-competitive levels.
For more information about this lawsuit, please visit www.HockeyAntitrustLitigation.
Statement from Sandra Slater, President of WAIPU USA: “This lawsuit will serve as a catalyst for sweeping reforms across major junior hockey and underscores the urgent need for a new governance model that values athlete welfare above profits. This is a defining moment in the fight to create a hockey ecosystem that is fair, safe, and respectful to all athletes.”
