The confusion surrounding Clair DeGeorge's move from Toronto to New York was called a trade, then not, then a release and sign. It was a bizarre situation as the teams involved navigated the CBA and inevitably, made roster moves.
Regarding the Clair DeGeorge situation, here’s some context about what happened.
Following Taylor Girard’s injury, New York was obviously looking for a forward. At this time of the season, there are very few options. It’s either players who have just ended their season in Europe, as long as they are able to get to North America and work in the United States right away, or someone from another team’s reserve list.
Referring to the collective agreement, a team can sign a reserve player from another team only if they offer her a standard contract.
Among forwards available on reserve lists, Italian Kristin Della Rovere was probably the best option out there. She had a strong Olympic tournament with four points in five games and developed a lot in recent months under the guidance of Italy head coach Eric Bouchard and his staff, Alexandre Tremblay and Pier-Alexandre Poulin.
According to what I’ve been told, New York was interested in Della Rovere and contacted Toronto about signing her. Therefore, Toronto GM Gina Kingsbury had 24 hours to respond. Her options were to let Della Rovere sign with New York, or to match the offer, meaning signing her to a standard contract herself.
And that’s what she decided to do.
But since Toronto had already 23 players under contract, they had to let a player go.
And that player was Claire DeGeorge.
At the end of the day, there was no trade between Toronto and New York. But that situation allowed the league to confirm that future considerations can’t be traded.
Ever.
Not even on draft day, when draft picks can actually change hands.
What Was Toronto Waiting For?
It’s also important to note that DeGeorge signed a one-year contract with Toronto last June and a source close to the situation confirmed to The Hockey News that it was not a guaranteed contract.
One-year guaranteed contracts could only be signed under certain conditions.
If a player signed a one-year deal with the same team she was already in, before a certain date (somewhere in June 2025), it was automatically a guaranteed contract.
But it was only limited to that period of time and wasn’t an option for a player signing with a different team. If someone, for example, who was playing for Montreal in 2024-25 had signed a one-year contract with Ottawa, no matter when that contract was signed, it was non-guaranteed.
The difference is that if a team wants to release a player from a guaranteed contract, the player must agree to it. When it’s non-guaranteed, the team can just release the player.
Now, here’s the million-dollar question.
Would Toronto have signed Della Rovere if New York hadn’t called?
It’s a legitimate question, and I have my doubts.
Della Rovere hasn’t played one single game in Toronto this season. Three weeks ago, when Emma Gentry got injured, the Sceptres signed Lauren Messier to a 10-day contract instead of Della Rovere.
But when a team showed interest, Toronto decided to keep her.
She was really needed in New York. Will she be needed as much in Toronto?
We’ll have a better idea once she starts playing. Toronto’s next game is only on March 27 against Boston.
Was DeGeorge the best option?
Now, one could say that signing DeGeorge is questionable.
She only has three points in 66 career games in the PWHL, but not one in 17 games this season with Toronto.
She was let go by Minnesota after the first season. She didn't impress anyone in Montreal last season. And Toronto decided to sign someone who has only played a total of nine games in the PWHL instead of her.
The options were very limited as there are not a lot of forwards available on reserve lists, but I’m actually surprised that GM Pascal Daoust didn’t try to sign Maya Labad in Montreal. Especially since he’s known to give Quebecers a chance in the PWHL, such as Alexandra Labelle, Jade Downie-Landry, Elizabeth Giguere, and Emmy Fecteau.
On the flip side, DeGeorge played at Ohio State and won the national title in 2022 with a couple of New York players, Paetyn Levis and Lauren Bernard, and played with Kristin O’Neill last season in Montreal. Having an already established bond with a few players can be important at this time of the season.