If the adage of 'where there's smoke, there's fire' stands true, it won't be long before the PWHL lands in Detroit permanently. And what about the rest of the markets the league is looking at?
Another announcement of PWHL expansion is imminent. It's likely that announcement will come as soon as next week. Like last season, the league is likely to announce new markets one at a time as they did with Seattle and Vancouver.
Vancouver's announcement came April 24, with Seattle being announced one week later on April 30.
When the PWHL begins their expansion announcements to add teams ahead of the 2026-27 season, it could be two teams, it could be three, or as the league has long targeted, it could be four teams.
Detroit The Leading Contender
The buzz around the Motor City is that the PWHL is coming to town, not simply for another Takeover Tour event, but permanently.
This week, Denise Ilitch, a member of the Board of Regents at the University of Michigan, who has been leading the charge to bring NCAA Division 1 hockey to Michigan, and a member of the Ilitch family who owns the NHL's Detroit Red Wings and Little Caesars Arena said she believes the PWHL is comnig.
"I believe we'll be getting a team in Detroit soon, which really excites me," Ilitch said on her podcast.
General managers across the PWHL, although not directly involved in the expansion process, also believe Detroit is a done deal. The sentiment is that the American market, which was home to the PWHL's first ever nationally broadcasted game in the United States this season, and twice broke the American professional women's hockey attendance mark is a perfect fit for the league.
It's another market that moves slightly west from the league's concentration in the east, and it opens a gateway to millions of Canadians in Southwestern Ontario.
While Little Caesars Arena is heavily used, the PWHL has experienced success in drawing strong crowds to Detroit this season for double-header games both before and after the Detroit Red Wings.
Who Is In, And Who Is In Trouble In Western Canada?
The PWHL has always considered how they'd get along as shared tenants in NHL buildings, but it's never been a deciding factor, at least not until now.
There are three markets in Western Canada - Winnipeg, Calgary, and Edmonton - and the belief is the league wants to add another team in the west. Each market in Western Canada however, has significant usage at the venues, including multiple hockey teams. Recently the PWHL spoke on considering how they'd work with NHL teams in venues, and it's believed that not every NHL team is willing to work with the PWHL to ensure viable dates are available.
One potential issue that's been speculated, is that owners of certain teams and venues also want to own a PWHL team if they're going to allow them into the venue and market. That's not where the PWHL is at, and there's been chatter that one of the western Canadian markets may have talked their way out of a PWHL team based on these stipulations. That however, could just be chatter as market's across North America make their final pitches to the league.
As PWHL Advisory Board member Stan Kasten said, "there is a line of cities eager to have" the PWHL.
Canada Versus USA, Will The Split Remain?
At some point, the PWHL is going to diverge from their 50-50 split of Canadian and American franchises, and this round of expansion could be the time.
The PWHL needs more footprint in the United States to land their coveted national broadcasting deal which is a key factor to achieving long term financial success and stability.
Canadian markets like Quebec City, Hamilton, and Halifax have quietly put themselves into final conversations for PWHL expansion, with Hamilton seemingly moving to the front of that list.
But there's no guarantee the PWHL is going to do a two team expansion in the USA, and another two teams in Canada. After maintaining an even split to date, it's believed a shift could be coming that may see three American teams and one Canadian.
The best answer to that question however, is that the PWHL is going to pick the four (or three or two) markets they believe are best for the league at this point, without feeling pressure to maintain a balance between the nations. It's not about maintaining a split between Canada and USA, it's about taking the league's revenue, and popularity to new levels.