The 2025 PWHL Draft saw three significant trades take place. Two of those deals involved a factor new to the PWHL, which could enable more trades in the future: salary retention.
In the NHL, a team retaining a portion of a contract in a trade is common. In fact, moving salary is sometimes it's the entire purpose of a trade. At the 2025 PWHL Draft, the ability to retain salary in a trade was a first.
It also explains a question that was on nearly every fan’s mind, leading to confusion and a fair share of conspiracy theories. That question was, ‘how could PWHL Vancouver afford another contract valued at well over $80,000 for next season?’
The answer is, they couldn’t. Instead, to make the deal work, Toronto retained a portion of Kristin Campbell’s salary which expires following next season. Vancouver had acquired many of the biggest names available not only in the exclusive signing window and expansion draft, but also signed nearly every top free agent on the market including Hannah Miller, Tereza Vanisova, and Michela Cava.
Campbell’s trade however, wasn’t the only deal to involve salary retention on draft day.
The trade between the New York Sirens and Montreal Victoire involving Abby Roque and Kristen O’Neill also involved salary being retained as New York had to carry a portion of Roque’s deal. Without the ability to retain a portion of Roque’s prohibitive contract, it’s unlikely the New York Sirens would have been able to move the forward, and it's unlikely Montreal would have been able to afford bringing her in even with O'Neill heading the other way.
The same could be said for Toronto who without the ability to retain a portion of Campbell's contract, would have struggled to find a trade partner capable of adding a second high priced goalie.