VANCOUVER, BC - It’s no secret that the price of gold continues to rise. Everyone wants a piece of gold and that’s no different for PWHL teams that have been eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs. Seattle, Vancouver, and New York have all been shutout from playing postseason hockey this year, but there’s a plan in place - a Gold Plan. And the winner of that plan will earn the 1st overall selection in the 2026 PWHL Entry Draft.
The Torrent currently lead the race with four points following their 5-4 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night and overtime loss to Vancouver last Saturday. The Goldeneyes have accumulated three points thanks to their 4-3 regulation win over Montreal on Tuesday night.
Three golden points secured 💰💰💰 pic.twitter.com/oF1Z21A7wa
— Seattle Torrent (@PWHL__Seattle) April 23, 2026
Seattle and Vancouver both have one game remaining. Vancouver will host Minnesota and Seattle will host Montreal on Saturday. The Torrent control their own destiny and can secure the top pick with a regulation win over the Victoire. If Seattle and Vancouver are tied on Gold Plan points, the first tie-breaker is regulation wins following playoff elimination.
New York was just eliminated from the playoff race on Tuesday. As they have only one regular season game remaining, they cannot earn enough points to win the Gold Plan.
“[It’s] definitely an interesting wrinkle,” Vancouver coach Brian Idalski said.
“I don’t know how much that will play into player motivation to be honest with you. With expansion and whatever that looks like, nobody really knows what’s going to be two months from now.”
Expansion will almost certainly throw a spanner into the draft process. It is unclear how many expansion teams will join the PWHL next season, where they will draft and how that will impact the three teams that miss the playoffs and don’t win the Gold Plan. The team that finishes second for the Gold Plan could potentially draft anywhere from 2nd to 6th overall.
While nobody sets out to miss the playoffs, the Gold Plan provides something to play for.
“I think it’s fairly new for a lot of us,” Jenn Gardiner told reporters in Vancouver earlier this week.
“We want to be playing for the Walter Cup, that was our original goal and still is the standard that we hold ourselves to in this organization. It’s still very important for us to show up every single day and I think everybody in our locker room knows that. We’re going to show up for each other, for ourselves, our staff and fans that have been there for us all season.”
The Gold Plan is meant to incentivize teams who are no longer in playoff contention and end the practice of “tanking” (purposely losing in order to finish last) in order to receive the first pick.
“I have seen a lot of discourse about how it prevents tanking,” Sarah Nurse told reporters following practice on Thursday.
“I do think it’s pretty cool. I think this year's the first year we’ve actually seen it kind of play out properly.”
While Nurse understands the formula for the Gold Plan and what it incentivises, she was not entirely up to date on the standings and which teams have accumulated Gold Plan points.
“I actually don’t know where we’re at with the Gold Plan,” Nurse said. The reporters at the scrum filled her in.
“We have three points, amazing. I don’t know who else has any, ohh Seattle has four, incredible. That’s really cool to be able to see that play out. It adds a level of competitiveness. We want to win so that the franchise gets the best possible opportunity for a first overall draft pick. I think it’s great.”
At the other end, Montreal is in a battle to clinch top spot ahead of the PWHL playoffs. The Victoire remain in top spot with a one point lead over Boston. Although they will soon be competing for The Walter Cup, Abby Roque and Laura Stacey have Gold Plan thoughts.
“I get the concept of what it’s trying to do. I will say in our league I don’t think anybody, even if they were out, would try to lose to get the pick. I do think every team would try to win, but I do understand the concept of not letting teams kind of tank once they’re out to get it. It is what it is,” Roque told The Victory Press in Vancouver.
PWHL Players Association President Laura Stacey is fully on board with the Gold Plan. Stacey recognizes the excitement that the Gold Plan can offer. Fans of Seattle and Vancouver can get behind their team in the final week of the season as they cheer for top spot at the PWHL entry draft.
“I think it’s a really cool rule to see in the league in a sense of allowing teams to still have a purpose, still have competitive games down the stretch when they’ve already been eliminated. Now Vancouver and Seattle get the opportunity to still play some meaningful games to get the first overall draft pick. I think it adds a little bit of fun to the league. It’s a cool change of rules that this league has done to do something different.”
There won’t be any PWHL playoff action on the west coast this year, but the future will look a lot brighter for one Pacific Northwest team that’s able to secure the top draft selection. The Gold Plan has added another chapter to the growing rivalry between Seattle and Vancouver.
(Photo: PWHL)
