Explainer
PWHL expansion 2026-27, explained
Less than three years after launching with six teams, the PWHL is doubling to twelve. We followed it on the show from the first leaked plan to draft night, across 11 episodes. This page puts it in one place: which cities got in and why, how the new teams built rosters without an expansion draft, the Hilary Knight trade, the draft, and the money behind it.
Key takeaways
- The PWHL grows from 8 to 12 teams for 2026-27, adding Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose. That gives the league seven U.S. teams and five Canadian.
- There was no expansion draft. New teams built their first rosters by negotiating directly with unprotected players, with guaranteed offers starting at $100,000, well above the $57,000 league average salary.
- Hilary Knight signed with Las Vegas and was traded to Detroit for the third overall pick, which Vegas used on Tessa Janecke.
- Wisconsin's Caroline Harvey went first overall to Vancouver in a 236-player draft, and five Badgers went in the first round.
- The league added its first outside investors and signed its first season-long U.S. national TV deal, with Scripps Sports.
The four new teams
| Team | Arena | GM | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | Little Caesars Arena | Manon Rhéaume | Josh Sciba |
| Hamilton | TD Coliseum | Megan Duggan | Kris Sparre |
| Las Vegas | T-Mobile Arena | Dominique DiDia | Kim Weiss |
| San Jose | SAP Center | Troy Ryan (GM and head coach) | |
The GM hires are deliberately different. Megan Duggan is a former U.S. captain and Olympic gold medalist who spent five years in player development with the New Jersey Devils. Manon Rhéaume was the first woman to sign a professional hockey contract and play in an NHL game. Dominique DiDia comes from CAA's women's hockey practice, which fits a Vegas market with some of the fastest-growing girls' hockey participation in the country. Troy Ryan left Toronto to run San Jose on both sides of the bench. (Episode 21, Episode 22)
Why these four cities
The league tested markets for two seasons with neutral-site "Takeover Tour" games, which drew about double the average home crowd (Episode 4). When it came time to choose, two things kept cities off the list: venue conflicts and revenue-sharing asks.
- Washington, Edmonton and Quebec City wanted a cut of PWHL revenue, which the league's centralized ownership model doesn't allow.
- Calgary's arena was already full. Denver and Dallas ran into NBA and NHL playoff scheduling conflicts.
- The four winners agreed to no revenue share, guaranteed venue access, and the PWHL game going first in any NHL doubleheader.
The U.S. tilt was intentional: going to seven U.S. teams and five Canadian made the league a much easier sell for a U.S. national TV deal. (Episode 19, Episode 21)
How the rosters were built, with no expansion draft
Instead of an expansion draft, the league sent the players association a plan built around negotiation, giving players a say in whether to move, where, and for how much (Episode 18):
- Protect. Each of the eight existing teams protected three players under contract. Some teams re-signed players first just so they could protect them.
- Target. Each expansion team negotiated exclusively with a list of unprotected players and signed five. It could make one Expansion Franchise Offer (minimum $100,000, one to four years, fully guaranteed, $20,000 signing bonus) and up to four Foundational Player Offers (minimum $80,000, at least two years). No existing team could lose more than three players.
- Free agency window. Existing teams protected or signed three more players, and players on expiring deals could sign anywhere.
- Roster fill. Expansion teams built out to ten players from the wider pool.
- Draft and open signing. The entry draft on June 17, then a league-wide open signing period from June 19.
Those offers were a real raise. When players voted to make salaries public just before expansion, the average PWHL salary was $57,000, the minimum $37,000, and about two-thirds of the league earned under $60,000 (Episode 22). Detroit's deal with Daryl Watts was believed to be the first four-year contract in league history. (PWHL announcement)
The big moves
- Hilary Knight to Detroit. Seattle didn't protect its captain. She signed a foundational contract with Las Vegas, which traded her to Detroit for Detroit's first-round pick, third overall. (AP, Episode 23)
- Detroit went all in on veterans: Watts, Jesse Compher, Britta Curl-Salemme, Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, then Knight.
- Hamilton signed Ottawa captain Brianne Jenner, who wasn't protected, plus Alina Müller, Nicole Gosling, Emily Clark and goalie Kayle Osborne.
- Seattle lost its core in its second season, including Knight, Barnes, Bilka and goalie Corinne Schroeder. (Episode 25)
The 2026 draft: first round
236 players entered the June 17 draft at Detroit's Fox Theatre for roughly 103 roster spots, including Olympian Meghan Agosta coming out of retirement at 39 (Episode 20). Five Wisconsin players went in the first round.
| Pick | Team | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | Caroline Harvey (D, Wisconsin) |
| 2 | Seattle | Abbey Murphy (F, Minnesota) |
| 3 | Las Vegas (from Detroit) | Tessa Janecke (F, Penn State) |
| 4 | San Jose | Laila Edwards (D/F, Wisconsin) |
| 5 | Las Vegas | Lacey Eden (F, Wisconsin) |
| 6 | Hamilton | Nelli Laitinen (D, Minnesota) |
| 7 | New York | Emma Peschel (D, Ohio State) |
| 8 | Toronto | Kirsten Simms (F, Wisconsin) |
| 9 | Minnesota | Sara Swiderski (D, Ohio State) |
| 10 | Boston | Grace Dwyer (D, Cornell) |
| 11 | Ottawa | Vivian Jungels (D, Wisconsin) |
| 12 | Montreal | Petra Nieminen (F, Luleå) |
Source: PWHL draft results. Our pre-draft predictions are in Episode 24.
The money behind it
Expansion came with the league's first outside investment: Kilmer Sports Ventures committed $100 million, and the Ilitch family's companies, owners of the Red Wings and Detroit's arena, came in too (Sportcal, Episode 25). In September the league signed its first season-long U.S. national TV deal with Scripps Sports: a Saturday Game of the Week on ION, two national games a week on Scripps Sports Network, and the Walter Cup Finals on ION (PWHL announcement, Episode 37).
Every episode where we covered expansion
- Episode 4 Recap: PWHL Deep Dive, Rodman’s Record Deal & USWNT’s New Era
- Episode 11: WNBA CBA Crunch Time, NWSL Is Back, and the PWHL Playoff Race Heats Up
- Episode 18 - PWHL Playoffs Heat Up, Expansion Plans Drop, WNBA Season 30 Arrives
- Episode 19 - Ottawa Upsets Boston, Detroit Joins the PWHL, NWSL Week 7, and WNBA Season 30 Is Here
- Episode 20 - PWHL Finals Heat Up, Four New Teams Confirmed, and the WNBA Has a Whistle Problem
- Episode 21 - Montreal Raises the Walter Cup, PWHL Goes to 12, and the WNBA Heats Up
- Episode 22 - Dense Week: Transfers, Transparency, and the Fever's Cracks
- Episode 23 - Hilary Knight's Sign-and-Trade, Olivia Miles MVP Watch, and USWNT Gets Schooled in Brazil
- Episode 24 - Marketing Women's Sports and the New Fan Economy
- Episode 25 - Serena Returns, NWSL Comeback, and a WNBA Heat Check
- Episode 37 - Team USA Sets the Standard, and the WNBA Playoff Math Gets Real
Frequently asked questions
What are the new PWHL teams for 2026-27?
Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose. They join Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver for a 12-team league.
Did the PWHL hold an expansion draft?
No. Existing teams protected players, and expansion teams then negotiated directly with unprotected players, offering Expansion Franchise Offers (minimum $100,000, one to four years, fully guaranteed) and Foundational Player Offers (minimum $80,000, at least two years).
Where does Hilary Knight play now?
Detroit. She signed a foundational contract with Las Vegas during expansion, and Las Vegas traded her to Detroit for Detroit's first-round pick, third overall.
Who went first overall in the 2026 PWHL Draft?
Wisconsin defender Caroline Harvey, to the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Minnesota's Abbey Murphy went second to Seattle.
How much do PWHL players make?
When players voted to make salaries public in 2026, the average was $57,000 and the minimum $37,000. Ten of 194 players earned over $100,000, led by Ottawa's Emily Clark at $127,000.
Where can I watch the PWHL in the U.S.?
Starting in 2026-27, Scripps Sports airs a Saturday Game of the Week on ION, plus two national games a week on Scripps Sports Network, with the Walter Cup Finals on ION.
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