When general managers of the four PWHL expansion teams begin signing players later this week, they’ll have plenty of high-profile names to choose from.

The league began a complicated, six-phase process of filling out four new expansion teams earlier this week, the first step in what promises to be a franchise-altering off-season for all of the PWHL’s teams.

In the first phase, which ended on Wednesday, the eight existing teams could protect three players each. All protected players had to be under contract or have their rights held by the team by Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, just a couple of hours before the teams submitted their lists to the league.

Unprotected players included Hilary Knight, Daryl Watts, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Blayre Turnbull and Brianne Jenner, who are all free agents.

PWHL teams’ protection lists:

• Boston Fleet: Aerin Frankel (G), Megan Keller (D), Haley Winn (D)
• Minnesota Frost: Taylor Heise (F), Kelly Pannek (F), Maddie Rooney (G)
• Montréal Victoire: Ann-Renée Desbiens (G), Marie-Philip Poulin (F), Laura Stacey (F)
• New York Sirens: Sarah Fillier (F), Kristýna Kaltounková (F), Casey O’Brien (F)
• Ottawa Charge: Rebecca Leslie (F), Gwyneth Philips (G), Ronja Savolainen (D)
• Seattle Torrent: Alex Carpenter (F), Hannah Murphy (G), Anna Wilgren (D)
• Toronto Sceptres: Renata Fast (D), Raygan Kirk (G), Ella Shelton (D)
• Vancouver Goldeneyes: Sophie Jaques (D), Emerance Maschmeyer (G), Sarah Nurse (F)

Expansion teams in Hamilton, Detroit, San Jose and Las Vegas will begin play next season.

The general managers from each of the new teams can sign five players each, beginning on Friday at 12 p.m. ET. That’s the league’s second expansion signing phase.

“That’s the end goal [of the six-phase process], is to allow the expansion teams to build a competitive team, but also allow the players to have a bit of a say and to have the [players’ association] happy with the process,” PWHL Hamilton GM Meghan Duggan told reporters last week.

WATCH | PWHL Hamilton announcement:

PWHL Hamilton expansion announcement

The PWHL announced the addition of Hamilton, Ont., to its expanding league. Hamilton will join Detroit and Las Vegas as expansion teams that will compete in the 2026/2027 PWHL season.

If the teams don’t have five players by the end of the second phase, there will be a selection process for expansion teams to acquire players from other teams.

Each expansion team has one big card to play: an expansion foundational offer.

These are binding offers, but the player gets to determine whether the contract lasts between one and four years. An expansion foundational offer is worth at least $100,000 US per season.

Stars signed to new deals

The protection lists sparked several free agent signings this week, as teams scrambled to get stars under contract so they could be protected.

In Toronto, defender Renata Fast and goaltender Raygan Kirk both signed deals to stay with the Sceptres on Wednesday.

Fast was one of Toronto’s original signings when the league launched in 2024, and is one of the best defenders in women’s hockey. She is now signed through the 2028-29 season.

“There’s no place I want to be other than to be in Toronto,” Fast told reporters at the team’s end-of-season press conference last month. “The three of us [Fast, Blayre Turnbull and Allie Munroe] were here at the start in the inaugural season and the foundation that we’ve laid as players and as staff, it’s so meaningful. We’re proud to be part of this organization.”

Fast was named defender of the year and a nominee for league MVP during the 2024-25 season, when she registered 22 points in 30 games. She is the third-highest scoring defender of all time over the PWHL’s first three seasons, with 45 points in 80 games.

Kirk emerged as the team’s starter last season, when she posted a 1.87 goals-against average over 23 games played, third league-wide behind Boston’s Aerin Frankel and Montreal’s Ann-Renée Desbiens.

Her two-year deal cements the 25-year-old as Toronto’s goaltender of the future, giving the Sceptres some stability at the position.

Toronto’s protection list was the most intriguing across the league, with more pending free agents than any other team.

It leaves the Sceptres in a position to potentially lose its captain (Turnbull) and top scorer (Watts). One possible destination for both could be San Jose, where their former head coach, Troy Ryan, is now both GM and coach.

Nurse back with Vancouver

The Minnesota Frost also locked up two key pieces of its back-to-back championships on Wednesday, re-signing forwards Taylor Heise and Kelly Pannek to three-year deals.

Heise was the playoff MVP during the Frost’s first run to the Walter Cup championship in 2024.

The 2023 first-overall pick has become a premier playmaker in the game. She put up a point per game this past season en route to a nomination as the league’s top forward.

Also nominated for that award is Pannek, an elite two-way centre who had a breakout offensive season. Pannek led all players in both goals (16) and points (33), which also earned her an MVP nomination.

Pannek might one of the most consistent players in the league. She’s an ace in the faceoff circle, and over three seasons in the PWHL, has yet to miss a game.

Protecting Heise, Pannek and goaltender Maddie Rooney means the Frost will look very different next season, compared to the group that won back-to-back titles. Among those left unprotected were captain Coyne Schofield, alternate captain Lee Stecklein and 2024 rookie of the year, Grace Zumwinkle.

“That’s pro sports,” Coyne Schofield said at the team’s end-of-year press conference, before the Frost revealed which players would be protected. “I think that’s the reality for every team.”

On Tuesday, forward Sarah Nurse re-signed with the Vancouver Goldeneyes for two seasons, giving Vancouver a forward to build around in the team’s sophomore season.

Nurse had 15 points in 19 games with Vancouver, including the franchise’s first goal. That’s despite an injury that kept her out of play for almost half of the season.

That same day, the Seattle Torrent signed forward Alex Carpenter to a three-year deal. One of the best shooters in the game, only two players league-wide have scored more goals than Carpenter since the PWHL was created.

Elsewhere in the league, the Montreal Victoire opted to protect captain Marie-Philip Poulin, forward Laura Stacey and Desbiens. That wasn’t surprising, even if there are still questions around what next season might look like for Poulin and Stacey.

“There are definitely going to be some decisions to make in the coming weeks,” Poulin told The Canadian Press last week. “I’m just thinking about coming back and rehabilitating the right way. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to play out, but I think I’ll take it one day at a time.”

In Ottawa, the team opted to protect its starting goaltender, Gwyneth Philips, as well as defender Ronja Savolainen and hometown star, Rebecca Leslie.

It means the Charge’s captain, Jenner, could be a target for expansion teams. Jenner, who’s nominated for forward of the year, has long been one of the most underrated players in women’s hockey.

She was a key part of the recipe for success for the Charge’s top line, leading the team with 26 points in 30 games and back to the Walter Cup final for the second season in a row.