PWHL Expansion Updates

        The PWHL announced on Wednesday, May 6^th , that it would be expanding to Detroit.[1] This announcement marks the first of four teams that the PWHL plans to announce in the coming months. Detroit is an optimal location for a PWHL team because it had one of the highest attended Takeover Tours. The team will share an arena with the Detroit Red Wings, which makes it one of the only PWHL teams to do so.[2] The only other teams that share arenas with NHL teams are the Seattle Torrent, the Minnesota Frost, and the New York Sirens. The team’s name and logo have not been revealed yet, but it is expected that they will play the first season with Detroit diagonally across the jersey.[3] This is a tradition that started with the original six teams in the league when it was first created.

        In addition to the announcement of the newest expansion team, the PWHL appears to be getting rid of the expansion draft. [4] The players received a memo from the PWHLPA outlining the new procedures going forward. The elimination of the expansion draft is a result of the push by the players. Last year, when the PWHL added Seattle and Vancouver, teams could only protect three players from the draft. The players did not have a say in whether they were drafted away from their team. The agreement is still subject to change, but it appears similar to a free agency in the NFL.

        Teams will still be able to protect three players who are under contract. However, in the expansion, the new teams can reach out to existing players before they determine a 20-player list to negotiate with. [5] The prospective teams can offer new contracts to players on that list. After the first signing period is over, teams can then add three more players to their protected list. [6] The new teams will then be able to try to fill up their 10-person roster over the following 48-hours.[7] This new process seems to give the players more say in how the expansion will work. It will also allow them to decide whether they want to stay where they are at, or if they wish to play somewhere else. It is also important to note that following the negotiation period, the new teams will be able to take part in the PWHL draft.

        The PWHL is also considering splitting into divisions. With the expected four additional teams being added this year, an even divisional split would be six teams each. This would be interesting if they were to split up the powerhouse teams. This would hopefully make the playoff odds more competitive each year.

        While expansion is imminent, the league is staying static in its ownership status. The Walter Group will continue to own all of the PWHL teams, while working with new sponsors. This is an interesting move because expansion by 4 teams is an expensive endeavor. This ownership style could also give rise to claims for anti-trust violations as the league grows.

        The expansion of the PWHL is an exciting thing. Women’s hockey has never been bigger in the United States. It will be interesting to see which cities are granted expansion teams in the next couple of weeks. It will also be interesting to see if the PWHL keeps the teams even by country. As it currently stands, there are five US teams and four Canada teams, but there are still up to three teams to be announced.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7257077/2026/05/06/pwhl-expansion-detroit-draft/

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] https://apnews.com/article/pwhl-expansion-rules-womens-hockey-95cc07835c3e92385de4887d1d2afa39

[5] Id.

[6] Id.

[7] Id.