With a huge number of free agents, the Toronto Sceptres are vulnerable to losing many key players to expansion. However, their lackluster offensive performance might keep some important names safe and give GM Gina Kingsbury the opportunity to reset.
For the Toronto Sceptres, the calculated risk of having only five players under contract heading into this off-season is about to be tested as the PWHL’s complicated expansion process unfolds. The good news is that their underwhelming performance in 25-26 might keep teams from signing or taking players that otherwise might seem like reasonable targets.
If the four-team expansion plan that we’ve seen is implemented in the phases that the league has outlined, there will need to be some strategic decisions and quick action by general manager Gina Kingsbury to keep the talent that they have.
Phase 1: Lock Up the Top Three
In Phase 1, where teams will protect (or sign) three players, this means prioritizing top scorer Daryl Watts, defender Renata Fast, and goaltender Raygan Kirk. After struggling to find consistency in net throughout their history, Kirk’s breakout season to become one of the top five (and statistically top three) goalies in the league means Toronto simply cannot risk losing her to an offer from an expansion team.
Keeping those three isn’t a given, however. With the possibility of an Expansion Franchise Offer maximum deal, someone like Watts might be tempted to sign and make a minimum of $100,000 even though it means leaving her hometown team. Kingsbury has to make sure that Watts is compensated as a top offensive player, even though this past season was a down one for her (along with the entire team).
Phase 2: Keeping Your Own Free Agents
If they can keep those three, the second phase allows expansion teams to sign any other free agents or to acquire signed players, which puts the focus squarely on the next tier of unrestricted free agents like Blayre Turnbull, Emma Maltais, and Kali Flanagan. Presuming that Kingsbury would have had conversations with the UFA’s, the pathway to keeping the captain and other free agents should be fairly straightforward, assuming they want to stay. If they aren’t close in bargaining, they might choose to leave during this phase.
None of the Sceptres after the top three are likely candidates for an EFO, since Turnbull is older than other targets and there are other more likely players, given that expansion teams can only have one each.
The team's rookies were among the lowest-scoring of any team's, but there might be offers made to the talented Kiara Zanon, and perhaps veteran Sara Hjalmarsson, both RFA's.
Sceptres who are under contract (Shelton, Compher, Spooner, Gentry, and McPherson) are vulnerable to being taken in this phase, and the first two are highly likely to be selected. Shelton had a less than ideal season, but she’s sure to draw attention as the four new teams try to build a solid blue line. Compher also had subpar numbers but is a versatile and still young player. Spooner is probably safe.
It’s possible that the Sceptres don’t lose the maximum three players in this phase, again, a product of their mediocre offensive season. Still, free agents like Claire Dalton and Maggie Connors might would be appealing at the right price. Sophomore Emma Gentry might be of interest to the new team in Detroit since she hails from Michigan.
Phase 3: Re-Evaluating The Middle of the Pack
Phase 3 opens up the entire market for teams to sign free agents, but also for Toronto to protect three more players from (whether there is a prescribed timing or if it’s a free-for-all is unclear). This is where Turnbull, Maltais, and Flanagan, as well as Munroe, should be priorities. The defense is vulnerable but is also where the Sceptres might have miscalculated, and if they keep some money under the cap, they’ll have the opportunity to reset. The ‘foundational player offer’ might be extended to one of the UFA’s in this period but the final choice still belongs to the player if the Sceptres match it.
Teams can only lose four signed players but an unlimited number of free agents, so the marketplace will be open for Kingsbury to allocate money for more scoring which is sorely needed. Middle-six players like Claire Dalton, Maggie Connors, rookies Kiara Zanon and Clara Van Wieren can be evaluated alongside other free agents in the league. Both Dalton and Connors made valuable contributions and it’s likely the Sceptres will attempt to re-sign them along with Emma Woods, Sara Hjalmarsson, Savannah Harmon, and Anna Kjellbin.
The Bottom Line
The focus needs to be at the top of the Sceptres’ lineup in order to start building next year’s team: their franchise goalie, defender, and forward. The middle and bottom is where strategic choices and realistic evaluations have to be made in order to come out of expansion with a playoff-calibre roster.