Trade Talks Take Over As PWHL Free Agency Continues

PWHL free agency continues, albeit quietly at the moment, while trade talk has also ramped up between teams over the weekend.

Teams are in full roster building mode before they shut down for the offseason in the PWHL. While the PWHL Draft and free agency got teams started, it sounds as though trade talks may be taking over.

Abigail Boreen entered the PWHL Draft this season to become a full time player in the league. Still, it's presumed everyone, including Boreen, believed Minnesota would select the forward who helped them win a PWHL title last season. The problem is, Minnesota waited too long. They chose Claire Thompson in the first round, Britta Curl in the second, and Klara Hymlarova in the third. When Minnesota passed on Boreen in the third round, Montreal stepped in and took who they believed was the best player available. But Boreen is still in school, enrolled in a pharmacy program at the University of Minnesota. It was what kept her from joining the league last season, but she was able to balance both, not missing Minnesota practices, and being able to travel to games without significant interruptions to her PWHL, nor school commitments. The issue now is, Montreal is trying to find schooling options for Boreen in the city, looking at programs at McGill, but programs like pharmacy where credits can be transferred between USA and Canada.

After several signings on the opening day, it's been radio silence since Friday. That doesn't mean deals haven't been signed over the last 48 hours, it means deals aren't being announced. There remains contracts signed prior to the June 21 start to free agency that have yet to be announced publicly. Some of the top remaining names include Claire Dalton, Gabrielle David, Mellissa Channell, Mikyla-Grant Mentis, and Kaleigh Fratkin. With the injury to Hadley Hartmetz in Boston, don't expect Fratkin to go anywhere, but she may not be signed until training camp either. It's likely Montreal's delay in re-signing Dalton, David, and/or Grant-Mentis is related to their ongoing discussions around the future of Boreen and Amanda Kessel with the organization. As previously reported, Kessel was asking for a significant payday that most teams could not accommodate, coupled with the expression that she only wanted to play for one team, which is why she continued to slip through the draft. Coincidentally enough, the one team that could have accommodated her financial requests was Boston, where she wanted to land. If Montreal can convince Kessel to play, which would also result in Kessel taking less money than she desired, it would be a tremendous boost to Montreal's chances. While it's been radio silence over the weekend, expect multiple deals to be announced Monday.

Cayla Barnes was the first 2024 PWHL Draft pick to have her signing announced, inking a guaranteed three-year deal with PWHL Montreal. Next up were Minnesota picks Britta Curl and Klara Hymlarova. That equates to only one pick from each of the first three rounds signing. The delay may be the fact that although contract minimums were set for picks - $50,000 for first round picks, $42,500 for second rounders, and $40,000 for third round picks - these turned out to be minimums. It's the same confusion that many had surrounding the initial three year guaranteed contracts teams were handing out that were signed for a minimum of $80,000, but that we now know cost some teams in the realm of $150,000 for certain players.

Yes. Significantly. According to the PWHL, all mutli-year contracts signed prior to season two are fully guaranteed. This is in direct opposition to what is stated in the collective bargaining agreement, which at this point is not being followed. According to the CBA, "A multi-year SPA that begins in the initial League Year (2023-2024) may not be terminated during its term based on a Player’s on-ice performance, pregnancy, maternity leave, parental leave, or on-ice and/or off-ice training injuries (where such training is pursuant to a Team-provided or approved training program). Any multi-year SPA that begins after the initial League Year is not fully guaranteed..." 

The last line of that stated is where current practices deviate from the CBA. Similarly, no where in the CBA does it state that contracts signed during the exclusive negotiation period prior to the opening of free agency will be guaranteed. The league confirmed to The Hockey News this week however that "All multi-year agreements signed in advance of Season 2 are guaranteed" and "One-year deals signed during the exclusive window are also guaranteed."

The PWHL nor PWHLPA released any updates on these changes publicly, nor has an updated of the collective bargaining agreement been made public.

There may be a small handful of undrafted free agents who earn contracts before training camp. Germany's Laura Kluge is one name to watch on this front following her strong performance at the World Championships, and teams' desire to add size, veteran character, and two-way players to the bottom half of their lineups. Talks continue for other undrafted free agents as well, although most of those conversations at the moment are revolving around training camp invitations. It's a precarious position for players who will be fighting for a small handful of spots across the league, perhaps bypassing chances to play in Europe. Many veterans have told The Hockey News that if they go unsigned, their choice will be to retire rather than heading to Europe.