The Professional Women's Hockey League's eight existing teams announced their protected players Wednesday as the league begins a six-phase expansion process to add four new franchises.
According to a report by The Athletic, each team was permitted to protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season. Any player who signed a new deal before a 3 p.m. ET Wednesday deadline automatically counted as one of those three protections. The four incoming teams are based in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose.
The protected lists feature some of the biggest names in the sport. Montreal Victoire locked up forward Marie-Philip Poulin, forward Laura Stacey, and goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens. Boston Fleet protected goaltender Aerin Frankel, defenseman Megan Keller, and defenseman Haley Winn. Minnesota Frost kept forward Taylor Heise, forward Kelly Pannek, and goaltender Maddie Rooney.
New York Sirens protected forwards Sarah Fillier, Kristýna Kaltounková, and Casey O'Brien. Ottawa Charge locked up forward Rebecca Leslie, goaltender Gwyneth Philips, and defenseman Ronja Savolainen. Seattle Torrent protected forward Alex Carpenter, goaltender Hannah Murphy, and defenseman Anna Wilgren. Toronto Sceptres kept defenseman Renata Fast, goaltender Raygan Kirk, and defenseman Ella Shelton. Vancouver Goldeneyes protected defenseman Sophie Jaques, goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer, and forward Sarah Nurse.
The decisions leave a significant pool of talent available. U.S. Olympic gold medalists Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka are both unprotected by Seattle. Swiss forward Alina Müller is available from Boston's pool. Canadian forward Daryl Watts is unprotected by Toronto. Other notable available players include Brianne Jenner from Ottawa, Kendall Coyne Schofield from Minnesota, and Erin Ambrose from Montreal.
The four expansion teams will have a three-day window beginning Friday to acquire five players each through signings and, if necessary, a formal selection process. Existing teams can lose a maximum of three players under contract during this phase.
Phase 1 of the expansion process began Tuesday.
