Ottawa Charge’s expansion setbacks are the cost of PWHL’s parity promise

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Parity may be one of the PWHL’s proudest achievements, but it’s come at a steep price for the Ottawa Charge as the league continues its expansion process to Seattle and Vancouver this month.

Even though all six of the league’s original franchises coughed up four players each during the exclusive free-agent window and expansion draft, the quality of Ottawa’s losses became evident on Monday night. 

In addition to losing a capable No. 1 goaltender in Emerance Maschmeyer and a potential offensive game-breaker in Danielle Serdachny last week in the signing window, the first two players taken off the expansion draft board were coveted Charge defenders Ashton Bell and Aneta Tejralová — foundational pieces who had anchored Ottawa’s blueline since Day 1.

The PWHL has heralded its competitive balance as one of its defining features and rightfully so after two seasons of slim-margin hockey and year-to-year unpredictability. Now, Ottawa and the other original six franchises are experiencing the intended consequences of that promise of parity. 

The Charge, fresh off a run to the PWHL final, lost key pieces at each position of the lineup and, with little immediate relief in sight, now face a daunting task to retool a roster that was given no favours by the league.

While their draft-night losses ended with Bell and Tejralová, having lost their maximum of four players, the damage to their defensive depth was done.

Ottawa only has two defenders under contract for next season in Ronja Savolainen and 37-year-old Jocelyne Larocque, whose minutes and matchups will be tougher without Bell beside her.

While GM Mike Hirshfeld said he considers restricted free agent Stephanie Markowski a lock to re-sign, there is certainly pressure to bring back free agents Jincy Roese and Zoe Boyd. Otherwise, the team’s biggest strength through the playoffs is going to become a liability.

And although the team’s forward group largely remains intact, it wasn’t a particularly potent nucleus to begin with, having tied with the New York Sirens for the fewest goals scored last season. Subtracting the club’s highest offensive-upside player in Serdachny only makes it more crucial that Hirshfeld ensures that leading scorer and free agent Tereza Vanišová stays in Ottawa.

Since the expansion process kicked into gear at the start of the month, Hirshfeld’s mantra has been about the long-term success of the league as a whole as it expands after just two seasons. Even as a GM witnessing Seattle and Vancouver pick his team apart, he has balanced the pain of losing foundational players with optimism for the league’s future.

“It’s a really exciting day for our league and our sport,” he said in a Tuesday morning media availability. “Two new markets in great cities with passionate fan bases. I think it’s just really exciting to have 52 new players in the league next year and have all these fans witnessing and watching our games.”

But is he feeling the frustration of standing idly by as two new franchises extracted two of his top three defenders one after the other?

“Obviously, it’s an emotional night,” he said. “(Bell) and Tejralová have been with us since Day 1, since our organization started, incredibly important pieces to what we built over the last two years. So it’s obviously difficult to see them move on.”

In defence of league parity, the Charge are hardly alone in their pain — the Minnesota Frost lost even better defenders in Claire Thompson and Sophie Jacques. New York lost No. 1 center Alex Carpenter, starting goalie Corinne Schroeder and a top-line winger in Jessie Eldridge.

The league’s stated goal was to “promote competitive balance” while ensuring Seattle and Vancouver had the “opportunity to build a strong foundational roster.” Both teams arguably have exceeded that bar — they already rank among the deepest teams in the league and frontrunners to lift the Walter Cup next season — but Hirshfeld said it’s too early to pan the league’s expansion format before rosters are filled out between free agency and the amateur draft later this month.

“You’ve got to let it settle,” he said. “Let it digest, see how this expiring contract signing window plays out … I’m sure there’s some tweaks that can be made, some things that we could do better. I’ll be honest, it’s really hard to answer that question the morning after the expansion draft.”

With continued expansion beyond eight teams in the PWHL’s plans, there will surely be adjustments made. The expansion process has been far from perfect. Aside from Ottawa’s plight, the original six teams as a group lost enormously over the past week and fans aren’t appreciative of their favourite players being ripped from their cities. 

The ability to protect just three players exposed a depth of talent unheard of in similar expansion processes and the lack of exemptions for young talent acquired in last summer’s draft essentially erased an entire year of development work for most teams.

But while it’s easy to make conclusions about the effect of the expansion process after the signing window and expansion draft, free agency and the amateur draft are two critical levers that could be hugely important in shaping the legacy of this expansion.

With a laundry list of free agents to negotiate with, including Boyd, Roese, Vanišová, Shiann Darkangelo and Rebecca Leslie, Hirshfeld is optimistic about bringing many back, as well as attracting new talent — he said the team has the salary cap flexibility to test the free agency waters. He spent the past week in conversations with his players on expiring contracts ahead of the PWHL’s league-wide free agency on June 16.

“The really positive news, from our perspective, was players want to play in Ottawa,” he said. “They saw what happened in the playoffs last year. They’ve seen our fanbase over the first two years of this league. They understand that the cost of living in Ottawa is very affordable. They understand it’s a cosmopolitan city.

“Now that we have certainty on what our roster looks like, when that window opens on June 16 to sign those players who are on expiring contracts, we feel like we have a great plan in place to add some players and really fill out our roster.”

Unfortunately, the coming amateur draft — seen by many as a chance to offset Seattle and Vancouver’s favourable expansion haul — isn’t expected to deliver a particularly deep talent pool. That and the eight-team draft order has yet to be determined, which could set off another wave of criticism if Seattle and Vancouver aren’t slotted at the bottom of the order as many have called for.

Once the off-season dust settles, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ottawa slip back into the PWHL’s basement — a harsh turn for a team that was just two wins away from a championship. On the other hand, Ottawa still boasts enough talent to be right back in the mix next season.

That volatility is part of what defines the league’s identity. The Minnesota Frost may be back-to-back champions, but they also nearly missed the playoffs both years.

Growing women’s hockey and preserving competitive balance are the league’s biggest concerns, and in that regard, they’ve succeeded. Now Ottawa is left to navigate its consequences.

“I think we all understand the bigger picture here and are really excited for where we’re headed,” Hirshfeld said.