Avril Lavigne once sang: “Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?” 

And that’s exactly what went through my mind when I read the Front Office Sports interview about the next PWHL expansion with executive vice president of business operations Amy Scheer. 

To be honest, I couldn’t believe what Scheer said in that interview. 

“We’ve proven that time is overrated,” she said. “In Year One, we launched six teams in just a couple of months. This year we launched two teams in about seven months. We’ll stick to that timeline.” 

I read that and I was like, “you gotta be kidding, right”?

Time is overrated? Really? 

I kept reading. 

“She (Scheer) believes last year’s April announcement gave the PWHL plenty of time to conduct an expansion draft, develop brand identities, get jerseys made, and build out rosters. Her goal for the next round of expansion is to stay within that six- to seven-month window between the time a team is announced and its debut.”

Say that again? Plenty of time?

There is such an arrogance coming from the league with that statement. It’s like “we got away with it twice already, so we’re good!” 

Of course. Scheer is right. You can actually build an expansion team in six or seven months. Those are facts. We’ve seen it with Vancouver and Seattle. 

But you know what else we’ve seen? 

Dissatisfaction. 

Public dissatisfaction from the fans. Behind-the-scenes dissatisfaction from people working for the original teams. And a lot of critiques by the media. 

I mean, sure, you can do an expansion draft in a half-year. But not if you want to do a proper one. Not if you care about your fans. Not if you care about your current staff. 

Time To Do Things The Right Way

The part about getting jerseys made and building out rosters amused me. 

Because one of the reasons why the names and logos are not on Vancouver and Seattle’s jerseys right now is that there wasn’t enough time to make those before the season. 

Therefore, why the league is not giving itself a chance to do things properly? 

With more time, they wouldn’t have to rush as much. They could start the next expansion teams with names and logos on their jerseys. They would have more time to book venues, find the right people to work with. Just small things that make your league more professional. 

And while Seattle and Vancouver were able to get a roster and a team ready for opening night, it’s not like the league gave its new general managers plenty of time to prepare and do their homework properly. Meghan Turner and Cara Gardner Morey were announced in their positions barely two weeks before the expansion draft. 

Also, what Scheer doesn’t mention is the impact this has on the current teams and players. 

There’s not one GM or coach I spoke to who wouldn’t want more time to prepare for expansion. There’s not one GM, coach or player I spoke to who wouldn’t have wanted to know before the season started what would happen next year. 

Knowing how many teams and how the expansion draft will occur would change so many things. It would impact how GMs and coaches choose their roster and offer contracts. It would change the decisions players have to make about their career, such as declaring for the draft, attending a PWHL camp, signing a reserve list contract or going to Europe. 

Of course, in front of a camera or a hot mic, none of them will criticize the league. And I get it. It’s a single owner company. You don’t want to rock the boat publicly. 

But it doesn’t change the fact that all of them would want more time. Scratch that. Would need more time. 

Feels Like Groundhog Day

Danièle Sauvageau said it best when she said it was a short-term league. In the sense that you’d better win now or else, you never know what your team is going to look like the following year. 

The expansion draft, and especially only protecting three players per team, rubbed fans the wrong way. For example, in Montreal, four of the first five draft picks from 2024 left the Victoire for one of the expansion teams.

Fans were invested in those young players.

Now that the team has lost Cayla Barnes, Jennifer Gardiner, Abby Boreen, and Anna Wilgren to either Vancouver or Seattle, fans have another group of young players to cheer for such as Nicole Gosling, Natalie Mlynkova, Skylar Irving, and Maya Labad. 

What will happen if once again, two or three of these young guns have to leave for Denver, Edmonton, Detroit or wherever the expansion teams will be?

Would fans be that patient? Would the support be different? How many players can a team lose to make new teams better without fans rebelling about it?

One could say that the league learned from their mistake and won’t do another expansion draft like the first one. My reply would be, “what makes you say that?”

Why would the league keep the same period between an expansion team being announced and its debut, and be so open and confident about it, but do other things regarding the expansion differently? 

I’m not saying that they won’t change it, but I’m certainly not confident that they will. It could very well feel like Groundhog Day. 

Taking Example From the WNBA

Don’t get me wrong here. I don’t mind another expansion. 

Scheer mentioned a few weeks ago that her intention is to bring two to four expansion teams as soon as next season. Talking with CNBC Sports this week, she added that if she were a betting woman, she would bet on four teams being added. 

I’m not sure if four new teams the same year is really the answer, but I do understand where they are coming from with that. 

But why can’t those decisions be made already? 

The WNBA announced in May of 2024 that Toronto would get a franchise starting in May of 2026. Not one year before. Not six months before. But two full years. 

Why is that?

To give the owners time to prepare and hire their staff, to give GMs, coaches, players, and agents time to be ready, to give the league time to book venues and welcome that team properly, to give the team a chance to penetrate the market, to build a marketing strategy, etc. 

And you know what? Toronto already has a name, a logo, a full jersey, a GM, a coach, and we are still six months away from the start of the season. 

When Passable Is Enough

I used to work in a fast-food restaurant. It was my first job when I was still in high school. 

Frozen fries had to be in an oil fryer for 2 minutes and 50 seconds. If you were in a hurry, you could get them out at 2 minutes 10 seconds and serve them. But they would not be as crispy and taste as good. It was passable, not good and even less great. 

That’s what the PWHL is doing here. 

Yes, you can serve one or four expansion teams within a six-or-seven-month period. But the whole process will be passable. Not great. Not even good.