Regardless of who each of the PWHL's six teams protects and exposes, a few teams in the PWHL will feel a greater impact when they return to the ice for 2025-26 than others. The two teams who advanced to the PWHL finals this year, the Minnesota Frost and Ottawa Charge will certainly feel the sting with Minnesota's blueline potentially being picked apart as the team will lose multiple players at the position, while Ottawa's offensive depth could take a ding.
Neithe of these teams however, are at the greatest risk for impact. Neither is Toronto where their forward depth will help soften the blow, and the city knows they'll have an annual cohort of players wanting to compete close to home.
Last place New York will be hurt, but their roster needs a shake up, and it's equally likely they come out of this as a stronger team, even if they have less talent.
That leaves the Montreal Victoire and Boston Fleet. While the impact while be spread equally across the league Boston and Montreal look like they'll face potentially even harsher impacts than their PWHL counterparts.
Boston Fleet
It didn't matter who Boston protected up front. If you protect Hilary Knight, you lose Alina Muller and Hannah Bilka. If you protect Muller, you lose Bilka and Knight. If you protect Bilka, you lose Muller and Knight. None of those scenarios seem appetizing and for a team that struggled to score, and needed two of these three in their lineup to consistently find success in the win column, it's a daunting prospect. The hurt for Boston could run deeper if they lose pending free agent Susanna Tapani to another market. Boston will need to go all-in during free agency chasing players like Jesse Compher, a former Boston University star, and perhaps take a few shots at players like Chloe Aurard who they can attempt to reconnect with Alina Muller for a little Northeastern chemisty.
It's particularly punishing of the PWHL if they slot the expansion teams into the second and third draft positions as Boston would no longer have the opportunity to add a player with the potential to make a similar impact. They could add a good player like Natalie Mlynkova, or reach for a veteran like Michelle Karvinen in hopes it attracts Tapani to return.
If Boston loses defensive depth, it won't help either unless the team is given their rightful second overall draft slot where they could target Haley Winn. At fourth overall they could still take Nicole Gosling or Rory Guilday. As long as they can re-sign pending free agents Sidney Morin and Jessica DiGirolamo, they'll survive, but expansion is going to be a harsh hit to the Fleet.
Montreal Victoire
Montreal fans understood the assignment. There was no easy way to do this. You protect Laura Stacey, you lose your entire top pair of blueliners in Erin Ambrose and Cayla Barnes. You protect a defender, you potentially split up Stacey and linemate/wife Marie-Philip Poulin.
The problem for Montreal however, is that given their lack of depth which again became all-too evident in their second straight first round playoff exit, there is no right answer. Other teams were simply looking to avoid the completely wrong answer, but in Montreal, there is no way to avoid the impact.
If Montreal does lose their top pairing of Erin Ambrose and Cayla Barnes, they'll likely need to overpay to keep other components of their blueline as Kati Tabin, Mariah Keopple, and Dominika Laskova are all free agents. And this is assuming the team finds a way to protect Anna Wilgren who could be a low priced, high value pick in expansion. If the perfect storm hit, Montreal could be entering the offseason with only Amanda Boulier under contract on their blueline, and it will be no easy task to keep Keopple and Laskova.
Up front, Montreal's scoring dried up quickly this season beyond their top line of Poulin, Stacey, and Jennifer Gardiner. Gardiner is another player at risk in this process too. Montreal will likely be able to keep Maureen Murphy and Kristin O'Neill up front, and they'll need to do everything possible to ensure these two can flourish offensively after Murphy struggled in year two, and O'Neill, a member of Canada's national team, has yet to find her way in the PWHL and fell as low as Montreal's fourth line this year. Between those two, and whoever survives the process between Abby Boreen and Lina Ljungblom, Montreal will need significant internal growth to find a way out of this pickle.
The draft holds hidden gems, and Montreal has never been averse to risk, so they could be a team that takes swings at incoming Russian and European players for their experience and upside.