The work is just beginning for the Toronto Sceptres

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Any advantage the Toronto Sceptres enjoyed in having just one of its established veterans taken in the expansion draft is going to be a short-lived one.

All six existing clubs gave up four players in the expansion draft process that stocked each of PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle with their first 12 players.

Toronto lost one of its first building blocks in the process with Sarah Nurse signing with Vancouver during the exclusive signing window both expansion clubs had in the five days priors to the actual draft.

But on draft night all three of the Sceptres names called were coming off their rookie seasons. Julia Gosling, Izzy Daniel and defender Megan Carter were Toronto’s first, second, and third round picks a year ago at the entry draft.

Because of their lack of tenure in the league, all three were also on entry level deals which becomes a problem for GM Gina Kingsbury beginning Monday when she goes looking to fill their spots with the opening of free agency.

“It’s difficult to lose all four of those athletes,” Kingsbury said Tuesday. “They bring a tremendous amount of value to our organization and to our team. Three of those four came in just last season so more of an entry-level salary which doesn’t free up a whole lot of room for us in this (upcoming signing period).

“However obviously Sarah did carry a little bit of salary where we will have some space there, but it’s definitely all different factors that come into play during this period of time and definitely something we are going to have to navigate in the next couple of weeks and ensure we can re-sign some of our key players.”

First on Kingsbury’s list though is her own free agents and bringing as many of those back into the fold as possible. That list includes Natalie Spooner, Hannah Miller, Jesse Compher, Kali Flanagan, Hayley Scamurra and Maggie Connors and that’s just the beginning of the list. It’s actually 11 deep and while the goal is to bring them all back, again the economics of the situation likely won’t support that.

You have the money they earned in their final years of the contract coming off the books but signing them for the same or less doesn’t seem likely. Yes the salary cap increases to $1.34 million this year, an annual 3% bump as per the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but that won’t offset the raises some of these free agents negotiate.

“I do think we have a chance at re-signing them, from what they are telling me, where Toronto has been home for them,” Kingsbury said. “They love our market. They love our fans. They love the city and enjoyed our staff and entire organization. So, I do think the familiarity of our market and how we have been operating over the last two years will definitely be a factor as well. We will try to be as competitive with the salaries as we possibly can and hopefully retain as many of those great athletes as we can here in the next couple of weeks.”

One area the Sceptres have totally within their own control is the goaltending situation with neither Kristen Campbell nor Raygan Kirk chosen in the draft. Both are under contract although No. 3 goalie Carly Jackson and No. 4 Kassidy Sauve are pending free agents.

It’s no secret the goaltending situation was a major concern certinaly in the playoffs with Kirk injured and Campbell struggling to find her form.

Kingsbury didn’t rule out returning next season with the same three, but she didn’t commit to it either.

“I think it would Irresponsible if we didn’t have conversations and try to figure out what the best formula is for us moving forward,” Kingsbury said relating to the team’s goaltending situation. “We have to look if there are other options or if this is the best option and how to move forward. There is going to have to be some attention in that area to ensure that we are putting our organization in the best possible position.”

Expansion ensured change was coming, but the Sceptres as an organization have come up short of their goal of a Walter Cup in each of the first two seasons and that alone, without the league expanding and insisting on league-wide parity even for the newcomers, was going to ensure change within the Sceptres’ organization.

“There is no scenario where we were going to be happy after the expansion draft,” Kingsbury said. “There is not a scenario where we would feel we dodged a bullet or were in a better position than we were in. Losing those four athletes is a big hit to our roster. We knew this was coming and we’ve been preparing for it.

“I will say from a depth perspective we were somewhat equipped to handle expansion and losing athletes,” Kingsbury said. “Now it will be piecing together (a plan to fill) the holes we have and ensuring our expiring contracts remain in our market and if we have the opportunity to extend an offer to other expiring contracts (beyond our roster) that will help us rebuild our team.”

The signing window for expiring contracts (free agency) opens Monday, June 16 at 9 a.m.

The entry draft follows on June 24^th in Ottawa.

mganter@postmedia.com