The 2026 PWHL Expansion Player Distribution Process is entering its final week, and the league will gradually transition into a much more standard off-season. Before that happens, Phase 4, a 27-hour window that begins on Sunday, will mark the final stage centred around expansion teams, and the last point at which players whose rights are already held by a team can be moved without a trade.
Phase 3 was perhaps the most flexible of the initial stages, with expansion teams given the choice to sign anywhere from zero to three players on expiring contracts, and existing teams given three protection spots, with the option to use them on newly-acquired free agents. Because the players available to each of the 12 teams varied, it's also a challenging window to evaluate.
Not every existing team faced the same situation – all six players who were offered a Foundational Player Offer (FPO) in Phase 2 re-signed with their previous teams, and those teams did not have the luxury of waiting until a later window to retain them. Several teams are also understood to have used the Phase 3 window to negotiate tentative agreements that won't be finalized until Phases 5 or 6, and those will reflect upon how successfully they utilized this signing/protection period. Theoretically, the most optimal usage of Phase 3 for existing teams would have involved winning the trust of free agents in order to avoid making any unnecessary signings, so that as many players as possible could be protected.
To that effect, the New York Sirens stand out for having exclusively protected players who were at risk of being picked up involuntarily in Phase 4. Minnesota and Montreal, on the other hand, are the only teams to have done something that was, on paper, unnecessary, each sacrificing a protection spot to retain a pending free agent who could have instead agreed to decline other offers and re-sign during Phase 5 – a move that would've maximized their teams' ability to protect under-contract teammates.
Among the expansion teams, Las Vegas and San Jose both used the maximum three free agent signings available during Phase 3, while Detroit signed two players and Hamilton, one.
Protected Players
Boston Fleet: G Aerin Frankel, F Megan Keller, D Haley Winn, F Shay Maloney, F Abby Newhook, F Susanna Tapani
Minnesota Frost: F Taylor Heise, F Kelly Pannek, G Maddie Rooney, D Sidney Morin, D Lee Stecklein, F Grace Zumwinkle
Montreal Victoire: G Ann-Renée Desbiens, F Marie-Philip Poulin, F Laura Stacey, D Maggie Flaherty, F Lina Ljungblom, D Kati Tabin
New York Sirens: F Sarah Fillier, F Kristýna Kaltounková, F Casey O’Brien, D Jaime Bourbonnais, D Maja Nylén Persson, D Micah Zandee-Hart
Ottawa Charge: F Rebecca Leslie, G Gwyneth Philips, D Ronja Savolainen, F Gabbie Hughes, F Fanuza Kadirova, F Sarah Wozniewicz
Seattle Torrent: F Alex Carpenter, G Hannah Murphy, D Anna Wilgren, F Julia Gosling, F Mikyla Grant-Mentis, F Danielle Serdachny
Toronto Sceptres: D Renata Fast, G Raygan Kirk, D Ella Shelton, D Kali Flanagan, F Emma Gentry, F Natalie Spooner
Vancouver Goldeneyes: D Sophie Jaques, G Emerance Maschmeyer, F Sarah Nurse, F Izzy Daniel, F Jenn Gardiner, F Hannah Miller
Phase 4: How it works
A total of 11 players will be signed or selected by expansion teams in Phase 4, where the teams will have access to any pending free agents who were not on their respective 20-player lists from Phase 2, as well as all unprotected players whose rights are held by existing squads.
Each expansion team must exit Phase 4 with a total of 10 players. For Las Vegas and San Jose, that will require making two additions during this window. Detroit has three remaining places, while Hamilton carries four spots into the next stage. As with Phase 2, if a team does not sign enough players by the deadline, a selection process will ensue, and – unlike the process proposed for Phase 2, where any unprotected player whose rights are held for the 2026-2027 season could have been chosen – the rules state that only unprotected players already under contract with existing teams will be available for selection.
All of the free agents available in Phase 4 will also be eligible to sign in Phase 6, whereas this is the final opportunity for expansion teams to acquire players whose rights are already held elsewhere. Because of this, it's likely that some teams will focus on acquiring the players they can't get later, while negotiating with others in view of Phase 6. And since an existing team can lose a maximum of four players whose rights it holds, expect teams to move quickly on players in that category. Minnesota, Seattle, and New York can all lose just one more before hitting the maximum, so expansion teams vying for athletes whose rights are held by those teams will have to act fast.
Phase 4 opens at noon ET on Sunday and concludes the next day, with the signing period ending at 3 p.m. ET and the selection process, if necessary, beginning an hour later.
Phase 5 and onwards
The process will then move into Phase 5, which consists of two exclusive re-signing periods for existing teams, with the entry draft sandwiched between. The first Phase 5 window opens at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, and that also marks the end of the expansion roster freeze, meaning that trades – whether previously-negotiated or new – can be made official. The first re-signing window closes at 6 p.m. ET that evening, but the roster freeze is permanently lifted and will not resume.
The 2026 PWHL Draft will take place in Detroit on Wednesday, June 17, and Phase 5 then continues with its second part, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
During Phase 5, each existing team has an exclusive opportunity to re-sign players on expiring contracts who were part of its 2025-26 roster. There is no limit on how many players can re-sign during this period, and it's not a last-chance window: a player who does not re-sign during Phase 5 could still choose to re-sign during Phase 6. However, if a team holds the 2026-27 rights to an uncontracted player, the team must make that player a qualifying offer by the end of Phase 5 in order to retain their rights; if they don't, the player will become an unrestricted free agent.
Finally, the Phase 6 open signing period will begin at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, June 19, and continue throughout the off-season. From this point onward, there is only one limitation in place for out-of-contract players whose rights are not held by a team: a player who was listed on an expansion team's original 20-player list in Phase 2 cannot sign with that specific team (or teams, as the case may be).
In addition to free agents who have been available throughout the previous phases, the open signing period will include a much larger pool. Athletes who declared for the 2026 entry draft but were not selected will be able to sign with any of the 12 teams, as will any player with PWHL experience who was not on a roster to end the 2025-26 season, and anyone who was draft eligible in previous years.
Player Movement (after Phase 3)
Acquired
Detroit
- F Daryl Watts (EFO)
- D Cayla Barnes
- F Hannah Bilka
- F Britta Curl-Salemme
- F Jesse Compher
- D Sydney Bard
- F Taylor Girard
(3 spots remaining)
Hamilton
- F Brianne Jenner
- G Kayle Osborne
- F Alina Müller
- D Nicole Gosling
- F Emily Clark
- D Zoe Boyd
(4 spots remaining)
Las Vegas
- D Mae Batherson
- D Kendall Cooper
- D Erin Ambrose
- F Hayley Scamurra
- F Hilary Knight (EFO)
- D Megan Carter
- G Nicole Hensley
- F Maureen Murphy
(2 spots remaining)
San Jose
- G Corinne Schroeder
- D Rory Guilday
- F Anne Cherkowski
- F Kristin O'Neill (EFO)
- F Maddi Wheeler
- D Hadley Hartmetz
- F Maggie Connors
- D Mariah Keopple
(2 spots remaining)
Lost
Boston Fleet
- F Alina Müller
- D Hadley Hartmetz (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- D Zoe Boyd (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 3 more under-contract losses possible)
Minnesota Frost
- F Britta Curl-Salemme
- D Mae Batherson
- D Kendall Cooper
- G Nicole Hensley (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 1 more under-contract loss possible)
Montreal Victoire
- D Nicole Gosling
- D Erin Ambrose (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- F Hayley Scamurra
- F Maureen Murphy (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 2 more under-contract losses possible)
Ottawa Charge
- F Brianne Jenner (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- D Rory Guilday
- F Emily Clark
(maximum of 2 more under-contract losses possible)
New York Sirens
- G Kayle Osborne
- F Anne Cherkowski
- F Kristin O'Neill (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- F Maddi Wheeler
- F Taylor Girard (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 1 more under-contract loss possible)
Seattle Torrent
- D Cayla Barnes
- F Hannah Bilka
- G Corinne Schroeder
- F Hilary Knight (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- D Megan Carter (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- D Mariah Keopple (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 1 more under-contract loss possible)
Toronto Sceptres
- F Daryl Watts (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
- F Jesse Compher
- F Maggie Connors (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 3 more under-contract losses possible)
Vancouver Goldeneyes
- D Sydney Bard (expiring contract – does not count towards max losses)
(maximum of 4 more under-contract losses possible)
