Photo Credit: @thePWHLofficial on X/Twitter
On Wednesday, the Professional Women’s Hockey League announced the framework and timeline for its 2026 Expansion Roster Distribution Process.
The league intended to support roster construction for the four expansion teams— Las Vegas, Detroit, Hamilton, and San Jose— while maintaining competitive balance and roster continuity for the existing teams— Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Seattle, and Toronto— and this six-phase process does just that. No existing team will be devastated by loss, but all eight will lose key players.
Everything officially begins on May 28th at noon PT, when teams must submit a list of 10 players they’d like to enter contract negotiations with. For existing teams, this includes the players currently under contract that they plan to protect.
On June 1st at noon PT, all 12 teams may begin speaking with the 10 players on their respective lists. However, contracts may not be signed until Phase 1 officially begins.
Phase 1: June 2-3
Beginning in Phase 1, an Expansion Roster Freeze takes effect and runs until the end of Phase 4. During this time, existing teams may not make trades, sign players outside of the expansion process, or negotiate contract extensions outside of the permitted phases.
In Phase 1, existing teams may protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season. They may also sign free agents— but if they do, the newly signed player will automatically count as one of their three protected players.
Existing teams may lose only one UFA to another existing team.
Phase 2: June 5-8
Finally, the expansion teams are allowed to join in on the fun. Phase 2 is where PWHL Las Vegas, along with Detroit, Hamilton, and San Jose, will acquire five players through signings.
Prior to the start of Phase 2, PWHL Las Vegas and the other expansion teams must submit an Exclusive Negotiation Target List identifying the 20 players they wish to pursue. All unprotected players from 2025-26 rosters are eligible for inclusion. Expansion teams cannot sign any player not included in their Exclusive Negotiation Target List during Phase 2.
Each expansion team will receive one Expansion Foundational Offer (EFO). An EFO allows expansion teams to “pursue a cornerstone player through a premium multi-year contract opportunity.” The EFO salary must be no less than $100,000, with a minimum 3% raise on multi-year contracts.
Expansion teams may also issue Foundational Player Offers (FPOs) to eligible players on expiring contracts. The FPO deals must be for a minimum of two years, with a minimum salary of $80,000 the first year and $82,500 in the following year.
If an expansion team fails to sign five players, a selection process will be used to complete its five-player roster. They may then select players to fill the remaining available spots, provided those players were included in their Exclusive Negotiation Target Lists.
Existing teams may lose no more than three players under contract for the 2026-27 season during Phase 2.
Phase 3: June 10-12
In Phase 3, unsigned players and unprotected players on expiring contracts become available to negotiate with all 12 teams.
Expansion teams may sign up to three additional players, bringing their total of signed players to eight by the end of Phase 3.
Existing teams will add three additional protections, increasing their total of protected players from three to six. These protections may consist of players already under contract for the 2026-27 season, as well as players on expiring contracts signed during Phase 3.
Players who received a Foundational Player Offer (FPO) and remained unsigned after Phase 2 must sign during Phase 3.
Phase 4: June 14-15
In Phase 4, expansion teams will continue building their roster. They’ll add two more players, bringing their total to 10.
All players who were left unprotected by their teams in Phases 1-3 are eligible to sign with expansion teams. This includes players under contract for 2026-27 as well as UFAs.
If expansion teams have not signed 10 players by the end of Phase 4, an additional player selection process will be used to complete their roster (see Phase 2).
Existing teams can lose a maximum of four players between Phases 2-4.
Phase 5: June 16 & 18 (Break for PWHL Draft on June 17)
Existing teams may negotiate with and sign their own remaining players who were not signed during Phases 1-4. Those players may choose to re-sign with their existing team or wait until the Open Signing Period to sign elsewhere.
During Phase 5, existing teams must extend qualifying offers to players selected in the 2025 PWHL Entry Draft to retain their rights. If the teams fail to do so, those players become UFAs after the 2026 draft.
All 12 teams are allowed to trade draft picks on June 16th.
2026 PWHL Entry Draft: June 17
All 12 teams will participate in a six-round draft. The Vancouver Goldeneyes secured the first overall pick through the league’s Gold Plan; the remaining draft order has not yet been announced.
Phase 6: Beginning June 19
All remaining eligible players on expiring contracts may sign with any of the 12 teams in the league. Teams will also be allowed to sign any undrafted players.
PWHL rosters consist of 23 active players and up to three reserve players.
KnightWatch
Glad Ken was smart enough to bring you aboard.
Thanks for the great breakdown.
Looking forward to your coverage and hopefully some future VGK articles on the main site.
Perhaps some co-host pods to balance well the Ken,, ya know, style. 🙂