Statistically speaking, the New York Sirens showed a marginal improvement from year one to year two, but it wasn't enough to get them out of the PWHL basement, nor into the playoffs.
Where the Sirens improved was in their winning percentage. In year one they finished with a 0.361 winning percentage, which they improved to 0.411 in year two. They also improved on their goals for / goals against differential finishing year one -14 and year two at only -9.
Special teams remained a strong point for the Sirens finishing second in the league in power play percentage, and sitting tops in the PWHL on the penalty kill.
Individually, the chemistry between Sarah Fillier and Alex Carpenter was unmistakable, and it also resulted in a significant boost in output for Jessie Eldridge. While this connection serve the Sirens well moving into 2025-26, the offensive punch Fillier added was slightly mitigated by reductions in output from Carpenter and Ella Shelton, and the fact no other rookie made a noticeable offensive impact.
The return of Micah Zandee-Hart to full form was a welcomed boost to New York's blueline, and Corinne Schroeder remained one of the league's best in net.
That's the good news.
Time For The Bad News
The New York Sirens looked like they had a draft to remember. They loaded up on talent beginning with Fillier, picking Maja Nylen Persson, and Noora Tulus. Nylen Persson had a good season and will take another step next year. She ended her year on long term injured reserve missing the World Championships as well. Tulus was underutilized and was never able to fully adapt to North American ice in her first season outside Europe. She's a likely candidate for a break out season next year whether it's with New York, or an expansion team.
New York signed most of their draft picks from last year to multi-year contracts, but not all. The team may choose to move on from Gabby Rosenthal who despite being picked high, going 19th overall to New York, only managed four points and was unable to elevate her role beyond a bottom six role. Elle Hartje played well for New York, but didn't score a goal.
New York will have a chance to sprinkle in new talent, but they also have the most players under multi-year contract in the league with 14. It will minimize their ability to make a significant impact on their roster especially considering Fillier and defender Ally Simpson are among their unsigned players, who New York still has their rights. That means there are only five spots, four for skaters open on the Sirens' roster. New York should be able to get 2-3 forwards who can step into their roster in the opening rounds of the draft, and add another defender somewhere else.
If there's one blessing to these roster spots being locked up, it's that New York will lose a group of them in the expansion draft, and they have fewer cornerstone players worth protecting. The biggest area of loss New York can expect is on their blueline where they look destined to lose a quality blueliner.
Is there hope in New York?
Despite the poor finish, New York was a tougher team to play this season. They showed moments of brilliance, and looked like they were on the verge of finding their way. In the end, their forward depth just couldn't keep up with the rest of the league.
Greg Fargo now has a year under his belt with the Sirens, which should help, and it's likely New York will be able to add either Kristyna Kaltounkova or Casey O'Brien through the draft, which will make an immense difference up front.
New York also showed positive signs