PWHL Rumblings: An NHL Rink For Playoffs, Draft Info, & Free Agent Negotiations

PWHL playoffs and the PWHL Draft will start and finish over the next six weeks...which will also include the opening of free agency. It will be a busy time. Fans can expect a mid-week draft in Minnesota this year, likely on either June 9 or June 10, although even teams in the league remain unsure of the date with only a month to go. That hasn't stopped their preparations for the draft, or free agency for that matter. First though, it's playoff time. 

Here's what we're hearing and seeing around the league.

While PWHL Ottawa fans have packed the house at TD Place Arena regularly this season with more than 8000 strong filling the rink, there's a strong chance the league will be moving PWHL Ottawa to the Canadian Tire Centre for their first home game in PWHL playoff history...if they make the playoffs. Ottawa's potential opponents, Montreal and Toronto, have already scheduled their home games for the PWHL semi-finals with games running from May 8 to May 11 at Place Bell in Laval and Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. Ottawa has yet to play a home game this season in the Ottawa Senators' home venue, but it sounds as though that's the plan for a May 13 game. Canadian Tire Centre features a capacity of 18,655, which if sold out, would be Ottawa's largest crowd of the year. Canadian Tire Centre is often criticized for being too far outside of Ottawa's core unlike TD Place Arena, but the opportunity to pack the house with 10,000 extra fans will be an exciting moment for the city.

The tune has changed quickly in the last few weeks overseas after Jayna Hefford communicated to members of the SDHL that players with an opt-out clause for their European clubs are eligible for the PWHL Draft. Signing has since heated up in Europe as we've seen players like Emma Bergesen ink deals with a known clause. She isn't alone either. Speaking to SDHL general managers and coaches, it's expected almost every SDHL team will have multiple players signed with opt-out clauses who still have intentions to compete for a PWHL roster spot. They also know there will be a wave of players looking for spots following PWHL training camps in the fall. Speaking to a pair of SDHL teams who finished in the final four last year, along with PWHL clubs, there's some expectation PWHL teams may opt to house some late round draft picks in Europe to give them development time rather than burying them as reserves or fourth line players. While formal agreements aren't likely for this season, teams on both sides of the Atlantic are now talking, and it seems as though, after a bumpy few weeks following the World Championships, global growth and partnership is on the mind of most.

When draft declarations close on May 8, don't expect the league to share the list the same day. It could take time for the PWHL, and potentially IIHF, to confirm the status of players. It has become clear that some contracted players in Europe have declared themselves eligible for the draft. Question 11 of the PWHL's Draft Declaration form asks for "Contract Status" if applicable for the upcoming season, but no where on the PWHL's draft declaration does it state a player is ineligible if they are currently contracted. That decision, it appears, will be up to the PWHL and IIHF behind closed doors. The home screen of the PWHL's declaration form simply states "By completing and submitting the following form prior to May 8, 2024 you are considered eligible for the 2024 PWHL Draft." 

The PWHL's collective bargaining agreement was the first of its kind for women's hockey, but it's also still a living document. One aspect not mentioned in the CBA is free agency. The term does not appear, nor do any terms for when signing or negotiations can begin. With that in mind, teams are certainly already negotiating with players on their teams, and there is interest being shown from teams for players on other clubs who are set to be unrestricted free agents next season. With so many players set to hit the open market, and the draft coming only days before, the opening of free agency will be furious, and could see recently drafted players being swapped in trades as teams will needs via free agency.

There was a group of players this season who weren't eligible to sign full standard player agreements. That list includes Claire Thompson, Abby Boreen, and Melodie Daoust. Because these players removed themselves from last year's draft to stay in their respective markets, they need to re-enter the draft should they want to play. This despite the fact Boreen and Daoust both spent significant time in the league this season. The same goes, it's believed, for other reserves who did not sign full contracts this season. Boreen and Thompson have already declared for the draft, as has PWHL New York reserve Carley Olivier, who also appeared in a game this season. The same would go for players like Lauren MacInnis and Kelly Babstock. It's unclear who from the league's reserve list is planning to re-enter the draft, or how other players like Caitrin Lonergan whose rights were exclusively PWHL Boston's after being acquired by Boston from Ottawa before signing as a reserve. It's unclear whether her rights will remain Boston's, or if she'll also need to re-enter the draft now that she signed as a reserve. None of these items, including who needs to re-enter the draft and who doesn't, were outlined in the league's collective bargaining agreement, meaning the league will decide these items along with player representatives on the fly.