Each team signed six players to three-year guaranteed contracts in the PWHL. With the sample size growing, how is each team's three-year group looking?
Each team signed six players to three-year guaranteed contracts in the PWHL. With the sample size growing, how is each team's three-year group looking?
Inevitably, handing 36 players three-year guaranteed contracts worth $80,000 or more, with some climbing to the $120-150,000 per year range, there was bound to be massive missteps. This is especially true given the fact none of these players had to earn their contracts in the league. Some have lived up to those dollar amounts and exceeded expectations, while some have stumbled to start, with the future of their contracts looking worse in the final two years.
While the sample size remains small, it's becoming more clear which of these contracted players are living up to their value. For others the true value will come next season as players like Sarah Fillier and Hannah Bilka enter the league making only a third of what these players are making.
For the time being, here's an early look at how the three-year guaranteed contracted players are performing.
Boston
Three-Year Contracts: Hilary Knight, Jamie Lee Rattray, Megan Keller, Alina Muller, Aerin Frankel
You counted that right, Boston has only five players on three-year guaranteed contracts. It was an important midseason move for Sophie Jaques who was struggling significantly in Boston. It also freed up some important cap space as Knight and Keller are two of the top paid players in the league. Knight has been an unequivocal underperformer this season, which should have been expected given her play outside of Team USA. As the league gets stronger next year, GM Danielle Marmer will need to find linemates like she has with the national team who can do all the lifting and feed Knight. She'll be cap space they wish they had back by the end of her deal, but her impact on the sport itself is still significant. This will be one of Knight's final years with Team USA, and as one of the absolute top paid players in the PWHL, her contract value will be harder to swallow the next two seasons unless she finds a second wind in her career. Alina Muller and Megan Keller have been Boston's two best players most of the year. Frankel is likely a little more streaky than Boston would hope, and Emma Soderberg behind her has yet to find her calm at the pro level. Jamie Lee Rattray has underperformed by nearly every metric, but her worth is measured in more than points.
Minnesota
Three-Year Contracts: Kendall Coyne Schofield, Lee Stecklein, Nicole Hensley, Taylor Heise, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, Sophie Jaques.
To Boston's five, there is Minnesota's seven three-year guaranteed contracts. No one will argue with the performance of any of Minnesota's six guaranteed players this year. Taylor Heise has been quieter since her return from injury, but she'll regain her top form and is one of the league's top stars. Grace Zumwinkle has asserted herself as a top power forward in the PWHL, Coyne Schofield continues to get better every game, Hensley has stolen games, and Stecklein is the steady forward everyone expected. There are no complaints in Minnesota, which likely gave GM Natalie Darwitz more confidence in rolling the dice on Sophie Jaques. Jaques still struggles with the speed, and has glaring issues in the D-zone, but she's markedly improved in Minnesota with Stecklein as her mentor, and that bodes well for the future. With blueliners being a concern across the league, Jaques true value and impact shouldn't be measured until next season. Many blueliners take longer to round out their game, and without a development league, she was put into situations she couldn't handle immediately. By next season, this deal could look good for Minnesota.
Montreal
Three-Year Contracts: Ann-Renee Desbiens, Erin Ambrose, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Kristen O'Neill, Maureen Murphy.
There are some bright spots here, and then there are some spots Montreal may want back. Erin Ambrose has arguably been the league's best blueliner, and she's helped elevate Mariach Keopple from a questionable seventh defender to a top pair constant on her flank. Marie-Philip Poulin has been everything fans knew she would be, and linemate Laura Stacey is one of the more feared power forwards in the game. The pleasant surprise has been their last three-year signing, rookie Maureen Murphy who has outperformed expectations to date. She may still be surpassed by next year's crop, but that will be on her to prove next season. While Ann-Renee Desbiens is unquestionably one of the best goalies in the world, she's looked human at points this season, and Montreal has arguably played better and with more confidence with Elaine Chuli in net, who has outperformed Desbiens. For Montreal, it's a good problem to have however, as there's no guarantee Chuli, who will be in demand, stays beyond this season. The real question mark of the bunch has been Kristen O'Neill. It took her 17 games to get her first goal, and it was a true surprise to see O'Neill remain on Canada's national roster. She just hasn't performed to her dollar value.
New York
Three-Year Contracts: Jamie Bourbonnais, Ella Shelton, Micah Zandee-Hart, Alex Carpenter, Abby Roque, Jessie Eldridge.
For the most part, New York is likely happy with this group. Jessie Eldridge is the only player in the PWHL who was made to earn her three-year contract, as New York waited until after the PWHL Preseason to change her two-year deal to a three year. Their defensive group has been underwhelming based on the fact they haven't defended well. But a large portion of that is the complete lack of structure on ice from their top two forward lines. Abby Roque has been disappointing in a number of ways for New York, from her scoring output, to her penalties, to the impact on their off-ice culture. Her removal from USA's national team was a microcosm that USA was able to deal with, but New York is not. For a player making well over $100,000 a season, New York will need Roque to take a team approach, one that doesn't include dictating her linemates, if this roster ever wants to move forward.
Ottawa
Three-Year Contracts: Emerance Maschmeyer, Ashton Bell, Savannah Harmon, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, Gabbie Hughes.
There's little to complain about here, despite the fact Ottawa has wrestled to stay out of the league's basement much of the season. Their six three-year deals have been the driving forward to their success, and once Ottawa can acquire support through the draft, these players will flourish. The only issue with the group in Ottawa, is they haven't produced as much as some would hope. They're the leaders on and off the ice, but they're still underperforming in terms of expectations. Emily Clark feels ready to explode offensively every time she's on the ice, Brianne Jenner is the veteran presence, Bell and Harmon have anchored the blueline, and Hughes is a budding power forward. Moving forward, Ottawa will hope for more consistency from Maschmeyer, who to her defense, they've overworked without a legitimate secondary push, or they'll be one of the few teams on the market for either Gwyneth Philips, Klara Peslarova, or another netminder to push her harder.
Toronto
Three-Year Contracts: Kristen Campbell, Jocelyne Larocque, Emma Maltais, Sarah Nurse, Blayre Turnbull, Renata Fast.
At the beginning of the year, this list was a mishmash of players who looked like they were destined to struggle. Fast forward and Toronto is the team to beat in the PWHL, and their three-year players are doing their part. Campbell started looking like a flop, but she's emerged as one of the more consistent goalies in the PWHL, partly due to finding her flow, and even more importantly, by Toronto cleaning up their net front and keeping point blank chances to a minimum. Larocque and Fast are playing too much, and Larocque at times this season has been inconsistent in a way a-typical to her game. But the duo remain the backbone of Toronto's d-corps along with Kali Flanagan. Blayre Turnbull remains an underperformer on the stat sheet, but her value has never been measured in goals and assists; still, Toronto could use her to arrive with timely scoring. Sarah Nurse has gotten better by the game, and Emma Maltais remains a two-way threat. Like other teams, the true test of this three-year group will come in the second and third years of these contracts, as more skilled players enter the league to receive a third of the pay.