Toronto Sceptres General Manager Gina Kingsbury confirmed Thursday that star forward Daryl Watts will not be returning to the club, ending weeks of speculation surrounding one of the biggest pending free agents in the PWHL.

After Watts was not among the players signed by the Sceptres during Phase 1 of the expansion process, Kingsbury revealed that Toronto had been working toward a new contract and believed an agreement was close before plans changed at the last moment.

"We had long conversations throughout the year," Kingsbury said. "Leading up all the way into the last day, we were pretty confident that we were going to have an agreement with Daryl. And that changed."

The timing left the Sceptres scrambling. According to Kingsbury, she learned of Watts' decision at 4:30 p.m. on the opening day of the exclusive signing window, leaving Toronto with roughly 24 hours to adjust its expansion strategy.

"I found out at 4:30 on the first day of signing. So I had about a 24-hour window to somewhat pivot," she said.

Watts' decision ultimately played a significant role in Toronto's protection choices. The Sceptres elected to protect defenders Renata Fast and Ella Shelton along with goaltender Raygan Kirk rather than using one of their three protection slots on a forward.

Kingsbury indicated that protecting Watts had been a priority.

"When it came down to protection, we really tried hard to protect Daryl," she said. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to."

While Kingsbury stopped short of explaining Watts' reasoning, she suggested the team's leading scorer the last two seasons believed another destination offered a better fit.

"She felt that another market was better for her," Kingsbury said. "I thought we were close on an agreement and was a little bit surprised by the decision, but fully understand and support that."

The comments appear to confirm that Watts' departure was driven by player choice rather than Toronto's willingness or decision not to retain her.

Watts led the Sceptres in scoring this season with 19 points in 27 games and has been one of the league's most dynamic offensive players since joining Toronto. Her exit leaves a significant hole in a lineup that already struggled to generate offense during the 2025-26 campaign.

Although Watts remains unsigned entering Phase 2 of expansion, her future may not remain unresolved for long. Beginning at noon on June 5, expansion teams will have the opportunity to issue Exclusive Free Agent Offers (after submitting a list of four candidates each to the PWHL).

For Toronto, however, Kingsbury's comments left little doubt about one thing: the organization expected Watts to remain a Sceptre, and now must move forward without her.

Notable:

Kingsbury said that she found out "two weeks ago" about the opportunity for Troy Ryan to become coach and GM of PWHL San Jose, and confirmed that if not for that, he would "100%" be back as Sceptres coach... Kingsbury also said that the leadership group of Turnbull, Fast, and Munroe have been part of the protection and expansion process since it was announced...Assistant coaches Jim Midgley and Rachel Flanagan will have the opportunity to return once the Sceptres' new head coach is in place and conversations occur between them.

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