"Expansion teams are usually bad because they're contingent on being bad. For narrowing the other teams' slices of the revenue pie, they can join the league only at a high cost and at some competitive disadvantage. If they do fashion something workable from everyone's leftovers, a la the Valkyries or Golden Knights, good for them, but that success wouldn't be by design."
"What if this pie doesn't get sliced at all? In October 2024, the PWHL announced its plans to expand from six to eight teams for the 2025-26 season, with new franchises in Seattle and Vancouver. The league is wholly owned and operated by a single entity, Dodgers owner Mark Walter's holding company. In this case, it's actually in the interest of the owner for any expansion teams to be good and competitive right away."
"Rather than let existing teams keep their rosters mostly intact, these expansion draft rules were unusually favorable to the expansion teams: The original six could protect only three players each. Real-deal superstars were up for grabs. Hilary Knight, long one of the faces of women's hockey, tied for the league lead in points last season. But the Boston Fleet used their three slots on younger talent and left Knight unprotected in the draft, where she'd be selected by the Seattle Torrent."
The PWHL expanded from six to eight teams for 2025-26 with new franchises in Seattle and Vancouver under single-entity ownership by Mark Walter's holding company. The expansion draft allowed existing teams to protect only three players, enabling expansion sides to access top talent. Hilary Knight was left unprotected by Boston and was selected by the Seattle Torrent. Five of last season's six first-round draft picks moved to expansion teams. By points percentage, Vancouver and Seattle sat fifth and sixth early in the season. Vancouver recorded a 4-0 shutout over the New York Sirens and later won 2-1 versus the Ottawa Charge.
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