Free agency has slowed to a halt, at least in terms of deals the PWHL has announced. We know Katerina Mrazova signed more than two weeks ago, the night before the PWHL free agency period opened on June 20, but that deal and likely several others remain unannounced.
With what we do know, here's a look at the early winners and losers from PWHL free agency.
Loser: PWHL Boston
Boston wasn't able to add, but maybe they don't need to. One aspect that hurt their depth down the stretch was the injuries to Taylor Girard and Loren Gabel. Boston has a deep and versatile blueline that only got stronger by GM Danielle Marmer's biggest offseason move: trading up in the draft to take Daniela Pejsova. Pejsova could turn out to be the best blueliner in the draft for her skating, size, physicality, and ability to quickly transition pucks up ice. Along with Hannah Bilka, Boston got substantially better via the draft, and still has a number of depth forwards like Amanda Pelkey and Taylor Wenczkowski, who if they want to play, can handle their fourth line and as they showed in the playoffs, step up in big moments.
Loser: PWHL Minnesota
Coming off a Walter Cup title, Minnesota's offseason started with a public relations disaster with the dismissal of Natalie Darwitz at the hands of coach Ken Klee and captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. Minnesota also lost Sophia Kunin and Brittyn Fleming to retirement. They managed to re-sign Michela Cava, Liz Schepers, and agree to terms with two of their top three draft picks, but they didn't move the dial as much as other teams. Will Minnesota remain a difficult team to beat? Certainly. Could they challenge for another Walter Cup title? Probably. But they didn't keep pace with Toronto, nor draft well, and their fourth line remains a question mark. The biggest signing yet to come from Minnesota is that of a general manager. Considering no one outside the league knows who is in charge of PWHL Minnesota right now, it's a situation the league must address.
Loser: PWHL Montreal
There are a few concerns here. Montreal still hasn't addressed their depth needs up front, needing a line of forwards to join the mix. They brought back Mikyla Grant-Mentis on a one-year deal who showed she's capable of stepping up when needed. Montreal was also able to sign Lina Ljungblom on a three-year sliding scale contract. This could turn into a significant winning offseason for Montreal if they can find a way to get Amanda Kessel into the mix, or even to turn her into a top six forward from another team. The fear here is, there's not much to rest on should Marie-Philip Poulin or Laura Stacey get injured. Where they are deeper and stronger is on the blueline, where they overloaded at the draft. With eight defenders in the organization, it would not be surprising to see Montreal try to swing a trade, or to bring Dominika Laskova up front allowing them to shift Maureen Murphy into the middle full time.
Winner: PWHL New York
You could call this losing, because PWHL New York didn't add any players in free agency and saw Emma Woods leave for Toronto. You could also call it winning because PWHL New York needed to clean house on a number of players who didn't pan out, or were completely misused under Howie Draper. When you look at New York's roster following the draft, it's got good depth and a mix of skill sets. The biggest signings however, that turn this from a loss to a win, are the signings of Greg Fargo as head coach and Josh Sciba as assistant coach. It's two NCAA Division 1 head coaches joining the mix, and good ones to boot. They'll squeeze more out of the players they have, and that should be enough to get New York out of the basement and playing the exciting brand of hockey many expected prior to the inaugural season.
Winner: PWHL Ottawa
Some might say losing Daryl Watts is a subtraction Ottawa can't handle, and it's true, the deletion of talent from Ottawa's roster hurts. That said, it wasn't top end talent nor scoring that Ottawa lacked last season...it was depth. Ottawa went to work on the opening days of free agency bringing in Rebecca Leslie and Alexa Vasko, and re-signing Shiann Darkangelo, Katerina Mrazova, and Natalie Snodgrass. They also brought in Quinnipiac starter Logan Angers as a third goalie, and got a deal done for draft pick Anna Meixner. If Ottawa comes to terms with their remaining unsigned draft picks, they'll already be sitting with 13 forwards, 8 defenders, and 3 goalies before ever sending out a free agent invite. It's depth the organization didn't possess last season, and the skill they've added through the draft in players like Danielle Serdachny and Ronja Savolainen makes them a better team already.
Winner: PWHL Toronto
It's hard to argue with the ability to add a player of Daryl Watts calibre to Toronto's already talent laden roster. Watts is a former Patty Kazmaier winner and last year showed she can be one of the top players in the league with Ottawa. Toronto then added right shot forward Emma Woods for two seasons who will add veteran scoring with the ability to move up and down Toronto's lineup. She could start high with Toronto if Natalie Spooner is unable to return for the start of the season. Adding two players of this level without giving up any assets is a huge victory for Toronto who lost Brittany Howard to retirement, and saw Rebecca Leslie and Alexa Vasko sign in Ottawa. After the signings of Watts and Woods, it's likely Toronto wouldn't have been able to bring back Leslie or Vasko anyway. Toronto also locked in first round pick Julia Gosling, who will be a difference maker.
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