Looming expansion, close standings made for a quiet PWHL trade deadline

Karissa Donkin · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 6:54 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The PWHL's 1 and lone swap connected commercialized deadline time came down to the wire.

Toronto Sceptres GM Gina Kingsbury was successful nonrecreational improvement sessions each day, stepping retired to instrumentality calls from Montreal Victoire GM Danièle Sauvageau, who was travelling.

At the past minute, the brace completed the lone woody of the time by exchanging 2 extent players: the Victoire got seasoned guardant Kaitlin Willoughby, portion the Sceptres bolstered their antiaircraft extent by adding Swedish defender Anna Kjellbin.

It was 1 of lone 3 trades each play successful the PWHL, the merchandise of trades being other tricky for GMs to propulsion off. Teams can't commercialized draught picks this season, nor bash they person a bevy of prospects to propulsion from the mode NHL GMs do. Any commercialized needs to beryllium one-for-one to work.

With enlargement connected the horizon, teams are besides preparing for the anticipation of an enlargement draft. Should that happen, teams don't cognize yet what specified a draught would look like, including however galore players they tin protect.

On apical of each that, the standings are tight. The Sceptres, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and Ottawa Charge are each wrong six points of each different successful the mediate of the pack. Four of the six teams volition marque the playoffs.

WATCH | Mic'ed Up with Toronto's Daryl Watts:

That meant nary 1 was truly a seller, and GMs chose a much blimpish path, not wanting to radically alteration their lineups.

"You're inactive trying to spell for a Walter Cup this year," Kingsbury said connected Friday. "There's not that separation that forces radical to marque bigger and bolder decisions due to the fact that they cognize wherever they beryllium either positionally from a ranking perspective, but besides conscionable aboriginal wise."

The bully quality is that each GM recovered themselves successful the aforesaid vessel with the aforesaid acceptable of rules to run with.

"I'm beauteous definite that each of america did the aforesaid thing, to look astatine what are those possibilities wrong those facts and wrong that situation," Sauvageau said. "We were capable to person treatment astir however could we, if that was possible, bring antithetic changes connected our squad to beryllium capable to beryllium prepared for the adjacent situation, if needed." 

Ottawa places Maschmeyer connected LTIR

The Victoire's newest forward, 29-year-old Willoughby, has 7 nonrecreational seasons connected her resume crossed the PWHL, Canadian Women's Hockey League and Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. She registered 1 constituent for Toronto past season.

Montreal has been without third-line centre Alexandra Labelle, who is connected semipermanent wounded reserve. The squad has lone 1 guardant connected the reserve database to telephone successful lawsuit of wounded (Gabrielle David), and Willoughby should adhd immoderate other insurance.

The Victoire gave up Swedish nationalist squad skipper Kjellbin, who was drafted 35th wide by Montreal past year. She recovered herself connected the extracurricular of the team's lineup erstwhile defender Dominika Lásková was activated from semipermanent wounded reserve successful February.

But Kjellbin was precisely what Toronto needed, aft New York signed 2 of its extent defenders, Lauren Bernard and Olivia Knowles, disconnected the reserve list. 

Kjellbin is idiosyncratic Kingsbury said the squad was funny successful past year, aft the GM had a 90-minute speech with her anterior to the draft. Kjellbin spent years successful the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and arrived successful the PWHL with a coagulated consciousness of the nonrecreational women's hockey landscape, positive a batch of drive.

"I decidedly spot her perchance successful that five-six [defender] spot, perchance 7 spot for us, but decidedly would privation to springiness her the accidental to travel successful and showcase what she tin bring," Kingsbury said. "From determination [we'll] marque a determination connected the 6th oregon 7th D we'll beryllium playing each night, and I think she'll beryllium competing for that."

The Ottawa Charge didn't marque immoderate deadline trades, aft pulling disconnected a blockbuster successful December that saw the squad prime up guardant Victoria Bach and seasoned defender Jocelyne Larocque from Toronto.

On Friday, Ottawa besides announced it had signed goaltender Lucy Morgan disconnected the Minnesota Frost's reserve list. She appeared successful 1 crippled for the Frost this season, allowing 5 goals from the New York Sirens.

The Charge's starting goaltender, Emerance Maschmeyer, near Tuesday's triumph implicit Minnesota with an injury. She was placed connected semipermanent wounded reserve, though GM Mike Hirshfeld said the squad is "cautiously optimistic" to spot Maschmeyer instrumentality by the extremity of the season.

In the meantime, Ottawa volition trust connected rookies Gwyneth Philips and Logan Angers. Philips has looked coagulated successful 7 games with the Charge this season, registering a shutout and a 2.29 goals against average.

Ottawa sits successful 5th place, 5 points down Minnesota for the past playoff spot. The squad has 2 games successful manus connected the Frost.

"We judge powerfully successful this radical and are excited to conflict for a playoff spot implicit the adjacent 8 games," Hirshfeld wrote connected X.