PWHL teams announce protected players during four-team expansion process

The PWHL’s eight existing teams have decided which players they’ll protect from its expansion roster-building process. Teams were permitted to protect three players from being signed — or selected, if necessary — by the league’s newest teams in Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose. Only players under contract for the 2026-27 season could be protected, which meant free agents needed to sign during Phase 1 of the six-phase process. Any signing automatically counted as one of the team’s three