If the National Women's Hockey League - entering its first season and paying their players - was positioned as an American alternative to the Canadian Women's Hockey League, it makes sense that the lone American CWHL team would be affected. That being said, I don't think anyone could have predicted the extent to which it would affect them.
The Boston Blades enter the season with an unbelievable amount of turnover from the team that beat Montreal in overtime in last year's Clarkson Cup final. In total,18 of the 24 players on the Blades 2014-15 roster signed in the NWHL.