At last years National Womens Hockey League All-Star Game in Buffalo, commissioner Dani Rylan confidently predicted the fledgling league -- the first to pay players regular salaries -- had enough investor capital and sponsorship commitments to fully fund a second season in 2016-17.She was wrong.Citing cash flow problems and a drop-off in attendance, Rylan confirmed Friday that the league has asked players on its four teams to take significant salary cuts for the rest of the season. A person familiar with the leagues finances but not authorized to discuss them said the cuts are 50 percent, and follows two pay periods where direct deposits to some players arrived several days late.The leagues coaches, general managers and paid staff are not affected, Rylan said. Most of the leagues front-office employees are volunteers.Teams have a $270,000 salary cap with player salaries ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.We fell short on some projections, and we had to pivot and make a business decision, Rylan said on a conference call Friday. Unfortunately, we had to make this decision to save the season.Its a decision we did not take lightly. It came after trying everything we could from a business perspective to avoid it. Were doing everything we can to build the league, and sometimes that means taking a step back -- a step I have not wanted to take.The cuts, Rylan said, ensures the league will complete its 21-game regular season and the playoffs. (Teams have played between four and six games so far.) But the league did not consult with the NWHL Players Association.And the timing, more than a month into the season, angered many players.New York Riveters captain Ashley Johnston said the players had no inkling this was coming before Thursday night, when Rylan informed them by phone and email.To hear its something that needs to happen is a tough thing to hear, Johnston said on the same conference call as Rylan. Its kind of like going through different stages of mourning. Youre sad. Youre frustrated. All the things that you would expect.Said Rylan: The players reacted pretty emotionally. It was difficult news to receive. But many of them reached out to me directly, asking how they could help.Rylan offered one piece of encouraging news: Dunkin Donuts, the leagues first corporate sponsor, pledged an additional $50,000 to go directly to salaries.We believe in the league and we believe in the opportunity to give these women a chance to succeed, said Tom Manchester, the firms vice president of field marketing, in a telephone interview. As a sponsor, its not about dasher boards and signage and traditional marketing elements. We genuinely want these women to succeed in a sport where the men get paid a lot more money to play. We want these women to get an equal chance.The NWHL launched last season with great fanfare and expectations as the American answer to the Canadian Womens Hockey League, which paid bonuses but not salaries. U.S. national teams stars Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, Brianna Decker and others eagerly signed up even though NWHL founder Rylan remained secretive about the leagues financial underpinnings. Only three investors were ever publicly identified, the first being Joel Leonoff, a Canadian entrepreneur whose daughter Jaimie tended goal for the Connecticut Whale.Players said the league met every payroll. But there were rumblings about late payments to vendors and venues. Former chief marketing officer Mike Moran sued the league and Rylan for breach of contract to recover a $200,000 investment. Last February the league cut ties with George Spiers, another executive and investor. Three franchises switched arenas after last season, leaving only the Buffalo Beauts in their original home.This season is considered pivotal for anyone aspiring to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Twelve U.S. national team players are skating in the league, including Knight, Duggan, Decker, Kelli Stack and the former University of Minnesota star Amanda Kessel. The league also features 10 Canadians, one Austrian and one South Korean.NWHL contracts allow players to opt out for virtually any reason, though its not clear whether any will. At this point, most have no other place to play.CHWL commissioner Brenda Andress did not immediately respond to an email asking if NWHL players would be welcome in her league.This is the place where we all want to play, said Johnston, who is not on the national team. Were all invested in this league. We all want to see it succeed.It would be easy right now for everyone to pack up their bags and go home, but Im never one to really think that the easy thing is the right thing to do. Its going to be figuring out the next step, where we go as a team and a league as a family from here.Though Rylan believes the league will ultimately succeed, the pressing need for more sponsors and investors puts that in doubt.After yesterdays news, it would be pretty foolish of me to guarantee anything, she said. But we have every hope and expectation the league will be around for many years to come. Ozzie Smith Jersey Large . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Custom Padres Jerseys . R.J. 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