During the 2025 PWHL expansion draft, I remember seeing my favorite team didn’t protect my two favorite players and waiting with bated breath to see if they would remain Sceptres for the 2025-2026 season. I was heartbroken when I saw the Sceptres didn’t protect Sarah Nurse, but I was relieved when their fourth protected player was my favorite player, Emma Maltais. Fortunately, it looks like some of that stress and uncertainty is becoming a thing of the past.
Last year was the league’s first ever expansion, which added two teams: the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The expansion draft worked by allowing each of the existing, or inaugural, six teams to protect three players each, and then the new clubs each picked twelve players from the unprotected players. Once each team relinquished two players to the expansion, the inaugural six were able to protect a fourth player on their current roster. As the league plans to add more teams, there are new conversations happening about what this expansion will look like. PWHLPA Executive Director Malaika Underwood wrote an email to its members on Sunday saying they “have been told the league intends to move forward with a four-team expansion.” However, in a statement to The Athletic, the PWHL claimed nothing is finalized yet.
It appears the PWHL plans to add four new franchises this off season. As of the writing of this article, the only confirmed expansion franchise is PWHL Detroit, which the league announced May 7th. According to a document obtained by The Athletic, the PWHL will not have a traditional expansion draft when it adds four new teams this offseason. Instead, there will be a 5-step process that will include multiple signing windows, which will give more autonomy to current players as the league grows. The league is making this change to protect player choice. It allows them to negotiate and make moves on their own accord. Here’s what that looks like and what it will mean for players:
Phase 1:
Like before, each existing club will have the opportunity to protect three players on its existing roster. However, there is one change being made to this system: Last year, free agents were automatically exempt from the draft. Meaning, players whose contracts were up did not need to be protected in order to remain with their current clubs. This year, clubs will need to resign players (both free agents and restricted free agents) in order for them to be automatically protected.
Phase 2:
This year, each of the expansion teams will submit an “Exclusive Negotiation Target List” of twenty current players whose contracts are expiring or who were unprotected by their teams. Players on these lists will be notified as such to avoid surprises later on in the process, more on that later. These players can be offered one of two contracts, an Expansion Franchise Offer (EFO) or a Foundational Player Offer (FPO).
Expansion teams will each be permitted to have just one EFO. An EFO is a guaranteed tender, meaning a player must accept it if it’s offered to them. However, if a player receives EFOs from multiple teams, she can pick where she wants to go. It’s worth noting there are multiple perks to an EFO for the player. For example, their salary cannot be less than $100,000 or less than their current salary (whichever is greater), and the player gets to pick the contract’s duration. Additionally, players who sign for multiple years will receive an additional $20,000 up front. In a league where the minimum salary is $37,000 and teams are required to maintain an average salary of $58,000, that is some serious dough. Additionally, EFOs are entirely guaranteed; the player will receive their entire agreed-upon salary, even if they are traded, released, or unable to play due to injury.
The other kind of contract, a Foundational Player Offer (FPO), can be offered to any player who is on an expiring contract. Per the letter sent to players, an FPO contract must be for at least two years and be worth $80,000 in the first year and $82,500 in the second. FPOs differ in that a player is not required to accept the offer. However, if the FPO is rejected, that player must sign a new contract by the end of Phase 3.
Expansion teams are allowed to sign five players in Phase 2. If they don’t reach five, the team is allowed to select from unprotected players from its exclusive list. However, existing teams can lose no more than three players in Phase 2.
Phase 3:
Phase 3 allows time for existing franchises to get their team back in order by protecting another three players. Existing free agents can sign with any team at this point. This is also the time when players who rejected FPOs must sign with another team for at least 90% of the FPO base salary.
Phase 4:
At this point, unprotected players and players who are still unsigned after the first three phases can sign with an expansion franchise. However, expansion teams cannot sign players from their Exclusive List from Phase 2. The goal of this phase is to have ten total signed players on each expansion team. If an expansion team can’t reach 10 players, they can then pick unprotected players who are under contract or whose rights are held by existing teams. The details of this process have yet to be announced. However, existing teams will have lost no more than four players under contract during Phase 4.
Phase 5:
Pending free agents can resign with their current team at this time, or they can wait until the signing window opens (reportedly June 17). This is also when the entry draft will take place, allowing all teams to draft new players to fill their rosters.
So, what does this all mean for players? Some of the of the biggest differences are free agents no longer being protected, moving from a five-day signing window to multiple signing phases, and overall, more negotiations between players and teams. Last year, if players were chosen by Vancouver or Seattle, players had no choice in whether they wanted to go or not.
Previous attempts at a thriving professional women’s hockey league in North America eventually folded for, among other reasons, poor treatment of players. The PWHL taking its player’s expansion concerns seriously is a good sign for the league’s longevity. As we’ve seen with other professional women’s sports, the league expanding will lead to an increase in revenue. It’s reassuring to see that the league is taking player salaries and wellbeing into consideration and isn’t just focused on making money. Women’s sports are on the cusp of something great, and I love seeing my favorite sport doing things right.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7250455/2026/05/03/pwhl-expansion-rules-signing-windows/
https://www.thepwhl.com/en/teams/detroit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Women%27s_Hockey_League