It's another week of PWHL rumblings with news on the Rivalry Series, concerns over Toronto's Hockey Canada ties, jersey and team name discussions, the league and PWHLPA discussing draft pick pay, and more.

The PWHL playoffs are underway, but behind the scenes there is a lot going on. The Rivalry Series has changed, negotiations related to the draft are occurring between the PWHL and PWHLPA, and much more. Here's what we're hearing and seeing from around the PWHL this week.

Rivalry Series Changes, Hints At PWHL Opening?

The 2024-2025 Rivalry Series will go from three stops to two, and from seven games down to five. It's the first impact of the PWHL on the annual Canada versus USA national team series. USA Hockey announced the first stops, which will take place November 6 and November 8 at still to be determined locations, and November 10 in Boise, Idaho. These games could also be a hint of the PWHL's season opening timeline. Many believe the PWHL schedule will open next season in early November. Could the Rivalry Series be the final preseason event with the league starting in the weeks that follow? Canada's Rivalry Series will be in February according to the USA Hockey website.

Pay Tied To Draft Position?

The PWHLPA and PWHL have been discussing tying minimum salaries for incoming players to the round they are drafted in. The WNBA utilizes a program like this where the top four picks will make $76,535 next season, players 5-8 making $73,439, 9-12 make $70,344 and second picks making $67,249. Those types of salaries are not possible under the current salary conditions (more on that later), but the PWHLPA is discussing tying salary to pick. The main issue will be that the PWHLPA's CBA does not have enough money left following the three-year guaranteed contracts to do this, without teams cutting loose returning players who made above league minimum, or offering pay cuts to returning players down to the league minimum. In a PWHL world, salaries tied to picks could look like $45,000 for first round picks, and $40,000 for second round picks. This would also temper expectations for incoming rookies who saw their peers including Alina Muller in the first round, second round picks Ashton Bell, Sophie Jaques, and Emma Maltais, third round picks Grace Zumwinkle and Maureen Murphy, and fourth round pick Gabbie Hughes all sign contracts worth $80,000 or more directly out of the NCAA last season. Those types of salaries will not be available to incoming players like Sarah Fillier, Danielle Serdachny, Cayla Barnes, or Hannah Bilka, and the PWHL and PWHLPA likely need to find a way to suppress incoming salaries as this year's picks, many who are better than last year's, will need to make, in many cases, 50% less than last year's. 

Don't Expect Massive Movement In Free Agency

Free agency, as hockey fans know it in a league like the NHL, comes with players being lured from their current teams with bigger salaries. That won't be possible in the PWHL, at least to any significant degree. Until the three year guaranteed contracts paying 36 players in the league at least $80,000 and many well over $100,000 a year are up, there is no additional money to give any returning veterans who were on one year deals, or to any highly skilled newcomers in the league. It means two things. First, rookies like Sarah Fillier will probably end up making less than $40,000 a season and won't sign for more than two seasons because they'll want to have an opportunity for a raise when the three-year deals end. That means players from almost every team in the league will be making upwards of three times what Fillier can receive. The bigger impact as it relates to free agency,  is teams won't have the money to offer more than a few thousand more per season. Could $3000 or $5000 sway a top player on a one-year deal away from their current deal? Perhaps. Or will they stay in a place they know they can be successful and wait to make 10x that when three-year deals are up. A prime example would be Daryl Watts in Ottawa. There are certainly teams who would love to acquire the skilled forward, but with only pennies to give. Most GMs expect to do the bulk of their additions through the draft, and then look for the handful of players who are looking for a change of scenery to fill in the gaps.

How many goalies will go in the draft?

Most people anticipate the answer to that question to be two: Gwyneth Philips and Klara Peslarova. In the end, there might be more than two roster spots available for goalies. At first glance, it looks as though Ottawa, Toronto, and New York are all in the market for another netminder, but that could shift as there's expected to be a market for Elaine Chuli, who was the league's top backup netminder who is coming off a one year deal. Some teams could look to poach Corinne Schroeder from New York, but there aren't starting jobs available elsewhere unless Schroeder feels she can steal the crease from someone else. Outside of Philips and Peslarova, there are goaltending options. There was initial excitement by the declaration of Switzerland's Andrea Brandli, but MoDo, her club in Sweden says she is under contract and committed to playing for the team next season. According to conversations between the PWHL and IIHF, the league intends to only draft players eligible to play this season, but this was not stated in the PWHL's Draft Declaration form, nor is it a rule agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement, as the document mentions the draft in Section 27.6, but not rules for eligibility. If Brandli isn't eligible, the next best goalies become players like Raygan Kirk and Ena Nystrom from the NCAA.

Concerns over Toronto?

Toronto certainly had success this season. They had the most favorable draft conditions being gifted Natalie Spooner in the fourth round, and the second overall pick in the draft. But there's been vocal concern among other teams in the league that Toronto has leveraged information that could be considered a conflict of interest in having access to medical records, fitness testing, and scouting reports collected by Hockey Canada for Team Canada. Toronto's staff obviously utilizes this information for the formation of Team Canada, but that knowledge being transferred to Toronto is the concern from other teams. It was noted at the 2023 Draft that Toronto staff were using laptops with Hockey Canada insignia on them. It's a concern making its way around the league among staff.

Difficult Exit Meetings

New York and Ottawa both held their exit meetings this week before sending players and staff home for the year. There was word out of New York that the future of their staff may be uncertain. There was, as we've reported many times, unrest among players and the coaching staff in New York. When the coaches left their meetings this week in New York, there was reportedly a palpable feeling of uncertainty. 

New Jerseys, Team Names, and Logos Coming

The announcement of Bauer becoming the league's official jersey partner was the first step toward new jerseys, logos, and team names in the PWHL, which was a major point of contention leading into the season. Those concerns have since faded as fans have embraced their teams without names, but it remains a hot topic online among those fans. Bauer will be able to provide pro calibre jerseys moving forward for the league, and it's an excellent first step for the league prior to unveiling names and logos.