One Question Mark Facing Each PWHL Team This Offseason

The first PWHL season is in the books, and the first PWHL offseason is in the making. From the draft to free agency, venues, team names, and figuring out a solid set of rules that changed and were created on the fly in year one. 

There are question marks on all these topics, but here is one specific question facing each PWHL team this offseason.

The influx of talent joining the PWHL through the draft should see a minimum of 3-5 players per roster replaced. For some it will be the full seven from the draft, and then some. Boston looked to be a team who would replace heavily, but perhaps not after the playoff run they had. This is where teams will begin to question what type of player and specific roles are they looking to fill through the draft. Heading into the international break, it seemed like Taylor Wenczkowski and Amanda Pelkey would be one and done players. In the postseason, they were difference makers for Boston, and the team might not be in the finals without them. Can Boston balance incoming talent with the veteran savvy and big game experience of these players? It's not going to be as easy for rookies to make these rosters as some think. 

Minnesota will want Abby Boreen, their top line left wing from the first round of the PWHL playoffs back. It seems farcical that Minnesota, or another team, can draft a player who spent nine games in the league in the regular season, and played five playoff games. But it's the reality. If Minnesota wants to keep Boreen, they might have to dive into the draft early to claim her, but at what cost? Boreen certainly played a role for Minnesota this year, an important one, but can she replicate it over a full season, and can she do it better than prospects coming out of the NCAA or Europe? There are a lot of questions to consider for Minnesota, but they'll certainly try to grab Boreen in the draft, and to ensure they get her, it might need to be in the first three rounds unless they make a few friendly handshake deals with other teams.

Entering the PWHL playoffs, Montreal looked like a team well built, who found surprise contributions from depth, and with star power leading the way. Fast forward to a rapid first round sweep that saw one line play nearly half the series, and what Montreal had, and what they will have now seem like two vastly different topics. It's hard to see Montreal's bottom lines wanting to return if they are offered new opportunities elsewhere after they were planted on the bench without hope in the postseason. It cost Montreal the series, regardless of the spin they want to put on it, and it might cost them players.

Had New York not moved on from Howie Draper, the real question may have been, where will they play? It will be hard to recruit free agents without a coach, and without a rink. The rink issue is larger than just choosing a game day venue as the league spent money to lay down roots at a Connecticut practice facility, so unless the team also changes that, players are signing up for a longer commute than any other PWHL team...for home games. Back to the the head coach, Howie Draper was a beloved U Sports coach, but it did not turn out well for him in New York as the coach was just not a fit. There are plenty of talented coaches on the market, although few unattached to a team as head coach already. Answering this is top priority for New York general manager Pascal Daoust.

This one doesn't seem that difficult. With limited money available across the league, it's almost certainly in Daryl Watts' best interest to return to Ottawa. Why risk jumping to a new team where she may not click or find the chemistry she did in the second half with Ottawa? Watts ended her season on the verge of not just stardom, but superstardom in the league, and changing scenery now, when big money remains two seasons away, is a risk. Still, Watts put it into the universe that she would like to examine the market, and that's completely fair. Will she find a deal significantly better than the one Ottawa can offer? Likely not. A two year deal in Ottawa could be in the works bringing Watts through to a payday.

We know it was a knee injury, but what we don't know is the true severity. Was it an MCL or ACL sprain? A partial tear? A full tear? Was it something else completely? Does it require surgery? There are a lot of questions within a question, but it was clear, without Spooner in the lineup, Toronto was a different team. They will obviously already know the answer to these questions, and we might glean the answers to some by watching what Toronto does at the draft. We know they need more defensive depth, but if Toronto jumps early at a power forward like Julia Gosling rather than defender Claire Thompson or one of the other high end blueliners on the market, it could be a sign of what they expect Spooner's timeline to look like. Even on a six month recovery, Spooner should be ready for the season, but the severity of the injury could impact her long term effectiveness.