With the addition of Seattle and Vancouver to the Professional Women’s Hockey League, each of the rosters of the original six clubs has sustained significant losses. Throughout the summer, PWHL writer Rob Del Mundo will summarize the impact to each team.
Few players can say that they have represented their country as ‘the face of women’s hockey’. In Canada, the torch was passed from Angela James to Hayley Wickenheiser to Marie-Philip Poulin. In the United States, the unofficial title has been held by Cammi Granato, Angela Ruggiero, and now, Hilary Knight.
Knight, a sure-fire future first ballot Hall of Famer, was Boston’s captain for the first two years of the PWHL franchise; one of its three initial signings upon the franchise’s incarnation in 2024. Last season, she was nominated for both the Billie Jean King MVP and Forward of the Year awards, finishing tied atop the leaderboard with 29 regular-season points.
And now, she’s no longer a member of the Fleet. The 36-year-old veteran, who still plays like she’s at least ten years younger, signed with PWHL Seattle during the league’s expansion window.
Knight’s departure from Boston is exemplary of how the league’s expansion rules have overcompensated the circuit’s newest members, Seattle and Vancouver, by not allowing the original six teams to protect enough players. The Fleet rightfully used their allotment of a mere three protections to ensure that rising star Alina Muller, defensive anchor Megan Keller, and goaltending workhorse Aerin Frankel stayed in Beantown.
Still, the team shouldn’t have been in a position to lose its MVP nominee. Just like Minnesota shouldn’t have had to lose two of its top defenders, or Toronto shouldn’t have been gutted up front. Yes, the list goes on.
Fleet Comings And Goings
Compounding Boston’s loss on the forward unit, Hannah Bilka was claimed by Seattle in the expansion draft, leaving the Fleet minus two of its top-five scoring forwards from last season. The good news for the team: once both Bilka and Knight were claimed, the franchise was permitted to add a fourth player to the protected list – Shay Mahoney – who was then extended to two years. Forwards Susanna Tapani and Loren Gabel were each inked to one-year deals.
On defence, the team’s biggest acquisition is undoubtedly Haley Winn, Boston’s first pick, second overall in the PWHL Draft. Just 22 years old, Winn – a graduate of Clarkson University – already has two gold medals with Team USA at the Women’s World Hockey Championship (2023, 2025). She and her new teammate, Megan Keller, appear to be locks to represent their country at the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
It’s only summertime, but no one should be surprised if Winn were to earn a 2026 nomination for Rookie of the Year. Winn – who signed a three-year deal with the Fleet on August 20 – is the biggest piece in a shuffle on the team’s blue line. Sydney Bard and Emily Brown were claimed by Vancouver and Seattle, respectively, in the expansion draft, and Sidney Morin signed with Minnesota as a free agent. Boston did acquire Laura Kluge from Toronto, inking the German defender to a one-year deal.
Aerin Frankel continues to be Boston’s top goalie, to no one’s surprise. Frankel, Keller, and Muller – the Fleet’s first three protected players – each signed two-year extensions in the offseason. With the departure of Emma Soderberg to her native Sweden, backup duty will fall to Abbey Levy, signed from the New York Sirens during free agency.
Knight is an irreplaceable loss for the team, but the departure of a veteran international star coinciding with the arrival of a new one in Winn symbolizes a changing of the guard in Beantown. Whether it’s enough to get the Fleet back into the playoffs after missing out last year remains to be seen.
