The Whale have made historic splashes in free agency but will this core be good enough to win an Isobel Cup?
The Whale have made historic splashes in free agency but will this core be good enough to win an Isobel Cup?
When the PHF announced that they’d be doubling their salary cap to $1.5 million it was a big step in the right direction for the league and professional women’s hockey. The rising salary cap has made PHF free agency interesting between big signings from the NCAA and six figure contracts being signed for the first time in league history.
The Connecticut Whale have made the biggest splashes in free agency in terms of the six figure contracts after restructuring the contracts of Kennedy Marchment, Allie Munroe, and Taylor Girard and adding three-time Olympic medalist Kacey Bellamy to their blueline.
All of these signings are historic moves for the Whale and the PHF. Bellamy’s resume speaks for itself: the nine time gold medalist between the Olympics and World Championships has been a leader and a winner everywhere she’s gone. She was compensated properly with a $122,000 contract and despite being 36-years-old she will be an important piece to their defence core both on and off the ice. The only question mark that surrounds her is how she’ll play after serving in a front office role with the PHF last season and last playing in 2021.
Girard and Marchment were the two leading scorers for the Whale last season with the latter scoring 35 points in 24 games. The two carried their strong play into the playoff despite losing their series to the eventual Isobel Cup champions, the Toronto Six. Both forwards got deserved raises with Girard now making $110,000 and Marchment at $130,000.
Meanwhile, Munroe is one of the premier defenders in the PHF. The Whale’s general manager Alexis Moed described Munroe as the anchor of their blueline in a press release. She was nominated for defender of the year and led the team's defence in scoring while playing a steady game at both ends of the ice.
The Whale have a great core to build around as they try to capture their first Isobel Cup. The Whale currently have six players under contract, three forwards and three defenders, for next season with four of them making over $100,000.
Despite the great core there are still holes on the Whale’s roster. Shannon Turner’s lack of presence will be felt both on the backend and in the locker room, even with Bellamy being on the team. Emma Keenan, who was second in defensive scoring for the Whale won’t be back either after signing a one year contract with the Montreal Force.
Bellamy, Munroe, Marchment, and Girard combine for 31.1% of the teams salary cap and even with Tori Howran and Melissa Samoskevich also under contract for next season, they have the cap space to make additions that can get the Whale over the hump.
“I had the benefit of watching each PHF team in depth this year within my scouting role, and I believe Connecticut has all the pieces in place to win an Isobel Cup,” Bellamy said when she signed with the Whale in April.
It’ll now be up to the Pod to figure out how they’ll fill out the rest of their roster. Will there be another big signing? How many players will return from last year's third place team? But one of their biggest question marks is who will play in net as both Abbie Ives and Meeri Raisanen struggled in 2023 despite the former being third in the PHF in goals against average.
They’re plenty of goaltending options available if they chose to upgrade, especially with NCAA free agents Emma Soderberg and Sandra Abstreiter, two goalies who shined at the IIHF World Championships.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Whale do to fill out their roster. They have a great core but the lack of depth scoring hurt them during last year's playoffs so finding quality depth to support their star players should be a priority for them.
The team’s goal is to win their first Isobel Cup and the core of Marchment, Girard, Munroe, and Bellamy is a great start to achieving it.