On Friday, just hours before the start of the SDHL season, the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation announced that they were cancelling the Four Nations Cup tournament scheduled for November 5-9 in Luleå, Sweden.
The federation had met with the players’ union only days before in an effort to negotiate a new contract for the Swedish women’s national team. The union had presented a proposal, the federation had presented a counter proposal, and both sides seemed to think the differences were not insurmountable. Although the federation’s press release implied they had consulted with the Damkronorna players prior to the announcement, the players reacted with shock and anger, insisting they had not been asked and that they had wanted a few days to consider their response to the federation’s counter proposal.