Well ahead of the March 30 trade deadline, the Torrent and the Flet completed a trade in which Seattle acquired forward Theresa Schafzahl in exchange for Jessie Eldridge. It was a little bit of a head scratcher as Eldridge was producing well for the Torrent with 13 points in 19 games. General Manager Meghan Turner said, “This trade was about what we believe is the best fit for our team and the identity we’re trying to build.”

On a virtual media availability on April 1, Turner was asked about the identity of the team. “We come into this year with a certain thought of what the team identity is going to be and then, as we all know, things don’t always go according to plans, so we got to adjust along the way and make sure our identity matches the situation on the ground.”

When asked about how the trade and how Schafzahl fits into that identity, Turner said, “That’s really what this trade was. We still have our foundations as to how we want to play, and I think we were getting away from that to be totally candid, just in the way we were playing. It wasn’t the disciplined hockey that we wanted to see across the board, so we wanted to bring Theresa in. She sets the example for that and we needed to get back to basics a little bit just as we figure out this year and all the challenges we’ve experienced. She has certainly done that. I think it’s been pretty obvious to everyone how she plays and we really love having her here.”

Another new piece to the Torrent offense is newly acquired Gabrielle David. David finished a successful season in the Swedish league and signed with the Torrent on March 22. David played 23 games with Montreal during the 2024 regular season and three during the playoffs. In the 2024-25 season, however, she only played three games.

“It was a tough year last year in terms of not playing and not being able to have that ice time,” David said. “Throughout the summer, I was looking to maybe either get signed in the PW[HL]. That was my first option, and then, towards the end, it was leading towards a training camp slash still being a reserve which was the grey line. I decided to go in Europe and have more ice time, more confidence. The biggest part was playing time.”

Injuries have plagued the Torrent, especially following the Olympics. With reserve players being signed and logging significant ice time, it makes sense that the organization would look for additional players to round out the roster.

“Gab has been an amazing pick-up. I’m really glad she’s here,” said Turner. “She came off a great season in the STHL. Obviously looking to kind of re-establish herself in the league too. She’s got speed. She’s got skill. You can see she wants to win battles so I think she fits right into that mold and is helping us down the middle a bit more where we had some injury. Mikyla Grant-Mentis went out, so we were trying to fill that hole.”

The season hasn’t exactly gone as the organization or fans would have liked from a standings perspective. However, there is a lot to celebrate from the fact that Seattle has a much-awaited team, or the often-broken attendance records, and the community that this team has brought together.

“I have a ton of pride, actually, in the players and the staff. It doesn’t always come out in the score sheet, but just the way that we’ve weathered storms together, and the way that we’ve been flexible when needed, and gone through some challenges and some adversity just as the year one growing paints of a new team,” said Turner. “Really proud of the way our group has handled it both from a mental and emotional perspective. Everyone really stayed together through all this and there’s a lot to be said for that. It’s easy to splinter and start pointing fingers, but the team has really come together both from the staff and the player’s perspective. There’s a ton to be proud of from that standpoint.”

With just seven games left in the regular season, what does the Torrent General Manager focus on? “The last month for the regular season, we want to end on a high note- whatever that looks like. If that’s a playoff spot, that’s obviously what we’re going for still at this time. We know that that’s going to take a lot in these next few games just in our position, so I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone what we need to do in the mission there,” Turner said. “There’s a ton of pride and belief in this group, and, at the end of the day, everyone knows we have each other’s backs”

With talks of expansion next season, there’s also a lot of uncertainty. The number of teams, the locations, and more details are unknown, which makes a general manager’s job especially difficult at this time in the season.

“I personally, tend to approach things is you do your best with the information you have at the time. Obviously, we know there’s certain constraints to what we can do just given the uncertainty with expansion and all. Most GMs understand the situation we’re in and we’re still only in year three of this,” said Turner. “We’re certainly on board with the league’s vision and, from that perspective, I think we take it as what can we do this season and set ourselves up for next season with what we have. I’m trying to make sure, at least going into the trade deadline, that we’re set up here, in April, to hit a good stretch. We know we need it.”