Four new teams are set to open the 2026-27 PWHL season, but before Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas, and San Jose can hit the ice, they need players.

The expansion process begins June 2 with the eight existing teams able to sign or protect three players. During that period, the four expansion teams will also be able to negotiate with free agents, although none will be able to sign with an expansion team, yet. 

When Phase 2 rolls around, each of the four PWHL expansion teams will be required to submit a 20-player Exclusive Negotiation Target List. These will become the only players each expansion team can sign or select in Phase 2, a period when they can sign or select up to five signed and unsigned players from the existing eight teams.

Who will appear on those 20 players lists? It's a discussion that involves knowing exactly who each team will protect. 

The wild card is which pending free agents want to test the market for more money. Could this be the year Daryl Watts gets paid? It certainly will be. The question is, will it be in Toronto? Will it be in Hamilton? Or will it be with the coach that brought her to Toronto and onto a scoring line with Canada in San Jose? 

Toronto's one hope to sign her is to go well over $100,000 in their offer. Otherwise she'll be an instant Expansion Franchise Offer, which itself comes with a $100,000 minimum offer, and she'll be gone.

Without explicitly knowing who wants to stay, and who wants to go, here's a look at what players each team could protect.

*free agents who the team would need to sign.
(potential fourth option to choose from in brackets for each)

Boston Fleet: Megan Keller, Aerin Frankel, Haley Winn - (Alina Muller)

Minnesota Frost: Taylor Heise*, Kendall Coyne Schofield*, Lee Stecklein* - (Kelly Pannek*)

New York Sirens: Sarah Fillier, Casey O'Brien*, Kristyna Kaltounkova - (Maja Nylen Persson)

Montreal Victoire: Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Renee Desbiens, Laura Stacey - (Nicole Gosling)

Ottawa Charge: Gwyneth Philips, Ronja Savolainen, Rory Guilday - (Rebecca Leslie)

Seattle Torrent: Hannah Bilka, Cayla Barnes, Hilary Knight* - (Alex Carpenter)

Toronto Sceptres: Renata Fast*, Daryl Watts*, Ella Shelton - (Raygan Kirk)

Vancouver Goldeneyes: Sophie Jaques, Sarah Nurse, Ashton Bell - (Emerance Maschmeyer)

Predicting this list is a mix of choosing players who could receive the binding Expansion Franchise Offer or non-binding Foundational Player Offers to get a raise. The binding EFO is a tool the expansion teams will likely use on 1-2 of Minnesota's unsigned free agents, meaning players like Kelly Pannek and Grace Zumwinkle. It could also be used by a team like Hamilton on a Canadian star like Brianne Jenner, who is from the area, or Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull. Perhaps Detroit eyes Michigan product Abby Roque who proved she can be a star in the Walter Cup finals, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Troy Ryan use his EFO on one of Canada's veterans, or perhaps even a younger Canadian star like Julia Gosling. 

Beyond that signing, and perhaps one more in Phase 2 however, this is the main opportunity for expansion teams to target unprotected, signed players, from existing teams. This is where any new GM worth their weight grabs Alina Muller, Kendall Cooper, Nicole Gosling, Anne Cherkowski, Maddie Rooney, Jesse Compher, Kati Tabin, Rebecca Leslie, and whoever else they put on their list. With the chance to continue signing free agents, targeting up to three signed players in Phase 2 is highly likely, and certainly the most probable route the new GMs will take.

Here's a look the top unsigned players who could end up on the four 20 player lists, as well as the top signed signed players.