The 2026 PWHL expansion process will consist of five phases. It features longer contracts, free agents being available to expansion teams, more protections for contracted players, and much more. Here are the highlights.
The PWHL expansion process will begin May 28. It’s a five phase process that will involve various waves of player signings and protections, culminating with an open free agency period. This year’s PWHL expansion teams will be permitted to take fewer contracted players from existing teams, while existing teams will also be permitted to protect a greater number of players.
But the process is complex, and will change in many ways with each phase for general managers, agents, and players.
Six Players Can Be Protected By Each Existing Team
In last year’s expansion process, PWHL teams were permitted to initially protect three players, followed by a fourth player after they’d lost two players in the process.
This time around, that number will increase to six players, albeit in two phases.
In Phase 1, “Existing teams will protect (players on existing contracts) or sign (players on expiring contracts) to reach a total of 3 players in Phase 1.”
In Phase 2, existing teams can lose a maximum of three contracted players to expansion teams.
In Phase 3, “Existing teams will protect (players on existing contracts) or sign (players on expiring contracts) to reach a total of 3 players in Phase 3” bringing the total number of players protected to six per team.”
But between Phase 1 and Phase 3, the expansion teams will have the opportunity to sign players, both contracted and not, from existing teams. In particular, this group of acquisitions will be related to another unique feature to this process, expansion teams’ “Exclusive Negotiation Target List.”
Teams Can Lose Up To Four Contracted Players
Similar to the 2025 expansion, teams can lose a maximum of four contracted players during the process, but they are not guaranteed to lose four players if expansion teams utilize the pending free agent pool more actively.
The number of players lost by each team, whether as pending free agents or under contract will vary.
Expansion Teams To Submit An Exclusive Negotiation Target List
At the beginning of Phase 2, which runs from June 1-4, “expansion teams will submit a 20 player Exclusive Negotiation Target List (ENTL).”
The proposed plans state that “Expansion teams must have a bona fide interest in negotiating with players on their list.”
During Phase 1, expansion teams will be able to negotiate with pending free agents, but will not be able to sign them until Phase 2. During Phase 2, expansion teams will name their ENTL’s and have the opportunity to sign up to five players from this list.
But, there are additional stipulations that come with new contract types. Those new contracts will be called “Expansion Franchise Offer” and “Foundational Player Offers.”
Expansion Franchise And Foundational Player Offers
In Phase 2, the real movement gets underway, and in this Phase, money will be put on the table to provide players with raises to lure them to expansion teams.
It’s also an opportunity for an expansion team to sign an unrestricted free agent…whether that player wants to sign or not.
As part of the Expansion Franchise Offer, each expansion team can sign one unrestricted free agent. The offer to any player is binding.
Players receiving this offer must receive an offer of $100,000, or their 2025-26 salary, whichever is greater. Players however, will have the choice of the length of the contract, which can be between one and four years. If a player chooses to agree to a multi-year deal, with a guaranteed minimum of at least a 3% annual increase, they’ll also receive a $20,000 signing bonus.
This is the first time the PWHL is permitting four year contracts.
Expansion teams can also sign one pending unrestricted free agent to an offer known as a Foundational Player Offer. This type of offer, unlike the Expansion Franchise Offer, is not binding.
In these offers, which are for two year contracts, players must be offered $80,000 for the first year and $82,500 in the second year, similar to the contracts players in the PWHL received three seasons ago as foundational signings. Players are not required to sign with an expansion team who tenders an Expansion Franchise Offer, but if they don't, they are required to sign for no less than 90% of the Expansion Franchise Offer, $73,125, with another team during Phase 3 of the expansion process.
Expansion Teams Will Have Only 10 Signed Players
Last year expansion teams exited the process with 12 players, and added six more through the draft. This year expansion teams will reach 10 players by the end of the dispersal process.
This is where the process can in part revert back to an expansion draft-like procedure.
During Phase 2, expansion teams are expected to sign five players.
If expansion teams cannot sign five players from their 20-player Exclusive Negotiation Target List during Phase 2, "the team will be allowed to select unprotected players either under current contract or with their rights held by existing teams." These players however, must be contracted. They cannot be pending free agents.
Following this period, expansion teams will be permitted to sign up to three additional unrestricted free agents during Phase 3, scheduled for June 6-9.
In the next Phase, Phase 4 which will occur from June 11-12, any remaining unprotected player can sign with an expansion team.
Expansion teams are required to reach 10 players by the end of Phase 4. If this cannot be done by signing players, expansion teams "will be allowed to select unprotected players under current contract or with their rights held from existing teams."
