Expansion forces PWHL teams to make excruciating choices
Each original PWHL franchise is about to lose a couple of cornerstone players because of the league's strict expansion rules.
Here's how it works: Teams initially get to shield three top talents from being taken by Seattle or Vancouver. Once a club sacrifices two players in the expansion process, it can add a fourth to the protection list. Some marquee names will lead the West Coast entrants into battle and help them be competitive as soon as the puck drops in 2025-26.
Expansion will reshape the league in two phases. Both Seattle and Vancouver can sign up to five unprotected players or pending unrestricted free agents during this week's exclusive negotiating window. Then they'll select as many players as needed in a subsequent draft to build 12-women initial rosters.
The exercise is going to rattle the six original markets. All have to part with four players from their 2024-25 lineups. General managers face painful dilemmas: Which stars should they protect, and who should they reluctantly risk losing?
Some choices are automatic. It'd be unthinkable for the Montreal Victoire to expose Marie-Philip Poulin, a living legend and MVP finalist, or Ann-Renee Desbiens, the world's best goaltender. Offensive dynamos Sarah Fillier and Alex Carpenter are guaranteed to stick with the last-place New York Sirens.
All sides have big decisions and impossible choices to make slightly lower down the depth chart. Below, we list each team's top eligible protection candidates and assess their options ahead of Tuesday's deadline, in order of regular-season finish.
Montreal Victoire
Stumbling in the playoffs, the powerhouse Victoire have been upset in two straight opening rounds. Seattle and Vancouver could raid the embarrassment of riches at the top of their lineup.
3 players to protect: Poulin, Cayla Barnes, and Desbiens. Protecting a top center, young No. 1 defender, and lockdown netminder safeguards the spine of a Walter Cup championship contender.
Toughest decision: Barnes over Erin Ambrose and Laura Stacey. Barnes is a seasoned Olympian and 2024 first-round draft pick whose puck-moving prowess complements her complete defensive game. At 26 years old, she can anchor a blue line for the next decade.
Ambrose was the PWHL's Defender of the Year in the inaugural '24 season. She drives offense, munches major minutes, and shoots right like Barnes, but she's five years older and the twilight of her prime is somewhat foreseeable.
It's bold to expose Stacey, the powerful and relentless winger who's married to Poulin and completes the PWHL's premier scoring duo. Stacey's 40 points over two seasons rank fourth in the league's growing history book. But GM Daniele Sauvageau shouldn't put two elite defenders on the block, and the expansion teams may steer clear of Stacey as a one-year rental if they assume she'll promptly return to Montreal.
The Victoire will probably lose Jennifer Gardiner, the breakout rookie from the Vancouver area who bagged 18 points this season while riding shotgun with Poulin and Stacey. In their best-case scenario, Gardiner and a depth player leave during the signing window. That would activate Sauvageau's fourth protection slot and let her save Stacey from the draft. - Nick Faris
Toronto Sceptres
Key injuries lowered the Sceptres' ceiling this season. They entered the playoffs on a cold streak, and the collapse of their goaltending and defensive structure stopped a potential championship run.
3 players to protect: Renata Fast, Emma Maltais, and Daryl Watts. Fast is a sublime all-around defender. Expansion GMs would race to snap up the agitating Maltais or slick Watts, two forwards with scoring touch in their mid-20s.
Toughest decision: Maltais over Julia Gosling, Sarah Nurse, and Blayre Turnbull. These four Team Canada mainstays were Toronto's centers in the playoffs. They're different ages, possess varied skill sets, and are worth protecting for assorted reasons.
A two-goal effort from Gosling, the hotshot rookie with significant upside, led the Sceptres to their only postseason win. Maltais skates in all situations and paced the team with four playoff points. The 30-year-old Nurse weathered a quiet, injury-plagued year, but she's a face of the league and supplies offensive flash. Opponents hate facing Turnbull, Toronto's 31-year-old captain and a dogged, intelligent checker.
Pending free agent Hannah Miller - Toronto's second-leading scorer after Watts - seems destined to sign in Vancouver, her hometown. GM Gina Kingsbury could ultimately protect Fast and three forwards, or she may shield Kristen Campbell to maintain continuity in net, but Campbell was shelled in the PWHL semifinals, plays at a deep position, and seems relatively expendable. - Faris
Ottawa Charge
The Charge put together a gutsy playoff run to cap last season, becoming the first Canadian team to reach the Walter Cup final and pushing every game to overtime before falling to Minnesota in four games. With rookie goaltender Gwyneth Philips earning playoff MVP honors and the core showing true contender mettle, Ottawa's likely looking to retain key pieces and turn its near-miss heartbreak into a championship breakthrough next season.
3 players to protect: Philips, Emily Clark, and Ashton Bell. Philips established herself as a franchise goaltender in her rookie season and the team can lean on her moving forward. Meanwhile, Clark's one of the team's most reliable offensive weapons, with 19 points in the regular season and five in the playoffs. Bell's the Charge's best chance at retaining a defender they can build around.
Toughest decision: Exposing goalie Emerance Maschmeyer is a move that would have probably been unthinkable months ago. But when she went down with a lower-body injury in March, Philips took over the crease and proved she's a No. 1 goalie. Her performance caught the attention of the entire league, and Philips was named playoffs MVP despite Ottawa's losing effort.
The two are at different stages of their careers. Maschmeyer will be 31 next season, while Philips turns 25 in September and is heading into her sophomore year with plenty of development ahead of her. As emotional as it'll be to let a key piece like Maschmeyer go, it makes sense for the Charge to stick with a young star with lots of runway ahead of her. - Jolene Latimer
Minnesota Frost
The Frost pulled off back-to-back Walter Cup titles with trademark resilience, sneaking into the playoffs as the fourth seed both years and this season winning multiple overtime thrillers to edge Ottawa out of the final. Minnesota heads into the expansion draft looking to preserve its identity and roster while cementing its status as the league's first dynasty.
3 players to protect: Taylor Heise, Sophie Jaques, and Kendall Coyne Schofield. Heise was the PWHL's first overall draft pick in its inaugural draft and has since become an irreplaceable superstar. Jaques is one of the league's leading defenders and the team can build around her if it loses Claire Thompson. Meanwhile, captain Coyne Schofield's a veteran who can steady the team as it adjusts to what will surely be major changes to its championship roster.
Toughest decision: Leaving Lee Stecklein exposed seems cold, given her veteran locker-room demeanor and outstanding playoff performance. She's been a cornerstone of the Frost's blue line - steady, smart, and reliable in all situations. She also brings invaluable experience as a two-time Walter Cup champion and an Olympic veteran. Stecklein anchors the team's defensive identity and losing her would mean parting with not just shutdown ability but a calm, offensive-minded defender who can set the tone in big moments.
That said, protecting Jaques over Stecklein is a strategic bet on the future. While Stecklein offers steady leadership, Jaques is younger, more dynamic, and represents the kind of high-ceiling talent teams build around in a fast-evolving league.
You can argue the PWHL has a league-wide win-now mentality, but I think protecting Jaques allows the Frost to do both: win now and build the future. - Latimer
Boston Fleet
The Fleet's season ended in heartbreak: they were blown out 8-1 by Minnesota when all they needed was a single point to clinch a playoff spot. Boston needs more consistency in high-stakes moments and will need to recalibrate its roster without losing the high-end skill and leadership that made it competitive throughout the year.
3 players to protect: Aerin Frankel, Hilary Knight, and Megan Keller. Protecting Frankel is a no-brainer - she's Team USA's starting goalie, virtually unstoppable when she's healthy, and is invaluable with the league relying so heavily on goaltending. Knight provides veteran leadership in addition to being Boston's points leader by a long shot. Keller anchors the blue line; she's a poised, two-way defender who logs big minutes in every situation, and is strong enough to build a defensive core around should other key components be lost.
Toughest decision: Protecting Knight over younger top forwards like Hannah Bilka or Alina Muller is a bit of a quandary. Knight is captain of both the Fleet and Team USA, and exposing her would seem drastic. However, Keller's also a strong leader and could flourish with the captaincy, so there wouldn't be a leadership vacuum in Knight's absence.
Knight's 35 and already announced the 2026 Winter Olympics will be her last. Strategically, it could be smart to leave her unprotected, and Vancouver and Seattle may pass as she'll likely be a one-season rental.
That said, Knight was the league's regular-season scoring leader with 29 points. Her offensive firepower may prove too tempting in the PWHL's win-now environment, and she'd be a significant loss for Boston. It's probably better to protect her and lose one of the younger forwards, while using the fourth spot to protect the second and hope the offensive-minded defenders pitch in on scoring. - Latimer
New York Sirens
The Sirens are the only PWHL franchise to never reach the postseason. They risk being leapfrogged by Seattle and Vancouver as the expansion process depletes a thin roster.
3 players to protect: Alex Carpenter, Sarah Fillier, and Ella Shelton. Fillier, the Rookie of the Year lock who tied for the league points lead, is a restricted free agent with the right to leave New York in the summer of 2026. Convincing Fillier to stay and laying the groundwork to contend begins with keeping her and Carpenter linked on the first line.
Toughest decision: Shelton over Corinne Schroeder.
With a .924 career save percentage against the most shots faced per game (31.1) in league history, Schroeder mitigates the Sirens' defensive shortcomings. But she'd be easier to replace than Shelton, a top defender and prolific scorer who quarterbacks a quality power play, one of New York's strengths.
Schroeder's rookie backup, Kayle Osborne, owned a .916 SV% over 10 games and could assume a larger role as part of a balanced tandem. The PWHL goalie carousel brims with proven and unsung talents who could be signed or acquired this summer to plug a hole. Drafting a top college netminder is another option for GM Pascal Daoust.
Forward Jessie Eldridge, one of the league's most improved players from Years 1 to 2, will head west unless she rounds out Daoust's protection list. - Faris
Nick Faris and Jolene Latimer cover the PWHL for theScore.