With Phase 2 of the PWHL Expansion Player Distribution Process coming to a close, here's a look at what's happened so far and what to expect this week as Phase 2 wraps up and moves into Phase 3.
Fifteen players have signed as of publication, meaning that five more players will be acquired by expansion teams on Monday to complete this phase of the process. Teams have until 1 p.m. ET to complete their remaining signings, and if any team still has not reached the required five players, then a selection process, dubbed the Foundational Roster Completion, will begin at 3 p.m. ET. Only unprotected players whose rights are held by existing teams (including players already under contract) will be available for selection, and expansion teams cannot select from teams that have already lost three under-contract players during this process. As of Monday morning, that means no players from the Seattle Torrent or Minnesota Frost could be selected.
According to the rulebook, if the Foundational Roster Completion becomes necessary, its procedures — including the order of selection — will be established by the league during the two-hour window between the signing deadline and the selection process.
It’s possible, however, that the contract for the final Las Vegas player isn’t known until Tuesday: if Las Vegas used its EFO (which is not a certainty — Hamilton opted not to), the player who received it has until 12 p.m. ET on June 9 to decide the agreement’s term.
Once the four expansion teams have acquired their five foundational players, the process will move on to Phase 3, which begins at noon ET on Wednesday. Unlike in Phase 2, all 12 teams are involved and players already under contract will not be available.
Each team will be able to sign up to three players on expiring contracts, though existing teams will also have to take into consideration that any player signed during this window automatically takes up one of the three protection spots available at the end of the phase. Expansion teams, meanwhile, are only permitted to sign free agents who featured on their initial 20-player lists, and it’s their last chance to do so: if a player on an expiring contract was on an expansion team’s list, that team cannot sign them at any point after Phase 3.
The EFO and FPO contract formats are also off the table going forward. If a player received and declined an offer meeting the FPO criteria (essentially, at least two years with a starting salary at or above $80,000), Phase 3 will be their last chance to sign in the league for the 2026-27 season. But no new EFOs can be issued (even if a team didn't use theirs in Phase 2), and there are no conditions attached to new contract offers meeting the FPO threshold.
Given that 12 of the first 15 signings were players already under contract elsewhere, expect expansion teams to be active during this window. It's likely that some free agents already have agreements with expansion teams in place, but opted to wait until Phase 3 to make it official so that the team could acquire top under-contract players during the only period when most were available. However, unlike Phase 2's requirement that all teams acquire five players, Phase 3 features only a maximum — no minimum. If an expansion team doesn't max out its three possible signings during Phase 3, it will carry those spots forward to Phase 4, where each expansion team will acquire as many players as it takes to get to a total of 10. That means each expansion team will acquire at least two, and at most, five, players in Phase 4, depending on what they do in Phase 3.
Phase 4 doesn't open until next week, but because the carry-over option will affect teams' approaches to Phase 3, it's important to know the basics. Players already under contract will once again be available to expansion teams during Phase 4, but before that, existing teams will each make three more protections. There are a lot of moving pieces with Phase 3 because of this. It's possible that some expansion teams will be adjusting their strategies on the fly based on existing teams’ signings, since those will impact how many under-contract players will remain unprotected in Phase 4 (and therefore, how many spots an expansion team may want to leave open).
Meanwhile, existing teams might tailor their approach to re-signing their players on expiring contracts based less on their value than on the perceived risk of losing them. Since expansion teams no longer have any mechanism to force a free agent to sign with them, a player and their existing team could preemptively agree to re-sign during the Phase 5 re-signing period instead of Phase 3, and to reject any other offers in the meantime. This would enable the team to focus on acquiring new players and/or protecting players already under contract, who might otherwise be tempted (or required) to go elsewhere. It would take trust on both sides, but for a player who wants to stay where they are and maximize their team's chances at building/maintaining a competitive roster, staying on the sidelines of Phase 3 may be the best move.
Once Phase 4 hits, it will likely be largely reminiscent of Phase 2, with only the expansion teams in action. This time, an expansion team will only be permitted to sign free agents who were not on that team's original 20-player list, but all unprotected players whose rights are held by existing teams (including those under contract) will be available for signing or selection, regardless of whether or not those players featured on an expansion team's list.
In light of all this, some key things to watch for during Phase 3:
- With just three protection/signing spots to work with, how will existing teams, especially those with major departures, strike a balance between adding free agents to fill some of the gaps left by Phase 2, and preserving what remains of their roster?
- Will we see free agents who wish to remain on their existing teams strategically forego re-signing in Phase 3, in order to maximize their teams' protection spots?
- After focusing primarily on players already under contract during Phase 2, will expansion teams use Phase 3 to go all-in on their target free agents, or will some aim to maximize their access to under-contract players in Phase 4?
Player Movement (as of 8 a.m. EDT on June 8)
Acquired
Detroit
- F Daryl Watts (EFO)
- D Cayla Barnes
- F Hannah Bilka
- F Britta Curl-Salemme
Hamilton
- F Brianne Jenner
- G Kayle Osborne
- F Alina Müller
- D Nicole Gosling
- F Emily Clark
Las Vegas
- D Mae Batherson
- D Kendall Cooper
San Jose
- G Corinne Schroeder
- D Rory Guilday
- F Anne Cherkowski
- F Kristin O'Neill (EFO)
Lost
Boston Fleet
- F Alina Müller
Minnesota Frost
- F Britta Curl-Salemme
- D Mae Batherson
- D Kendall Cooper
Montreal Victoire
- D Nicole Gosling
Ottawa Charge
- F Brianne Jenner (expiring contract – does not count towards max 3 losses)
- D Rory Guilday
- F Emily Clark
New York Sirens
- G Kayle Osborne
- F Anne Cherkowski
- F Kristin O'Neill (expiring contract – does not count towards max 3 losses)
Seattle Torrent
- D Cayla Barnes
- F Hannah Bilka
- G Corinne Schroeder
Toronto Sceptres
- F Daryl Watts (expiring contract – does not count towards max 3 losses)
Vancouver Goldeneyes
- N/A
