Seattle forward Hilary Knight, Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield and Boston winger Alina Muller join a list of unprotected stars as the PWHL prepares Phase 2 of its expansion. The league released protected rosters Wednesday, leaving each of the eight existing teams with three players they could lose. New franchises in Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose and Hamilton will each sign five foundational contracts from this pool.

Knight, 36, just added a gold‑medal finish at the Milan‑Cortina Games and will remain in the league, though Seattle protected Alex Carpenter and Hannah Murphy instead. Minnesota re‑signed MVP finalist Kelly Pannek to a three‑year deal after she posted 16 goals, and also kept Taylor Heise. Toronto locked in defender Renata Fast and goalie Raygan Kirk for three years and protected Ella Shelton.

Other teams kept their cores intact: Boston protected defenders Megan Keller and Haley Winn plus goalie Aerin Frankel; Ottawa held onto forward Rebecca Leslie, defender Ronja Savolainen and goalie Gwyneth Philips. Montreal retained Marie‑Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey and Ann‑Renee Desbiens, while Vancouver kept Sarah Nurse, Sophie Jaques and Emerance Maschmeyer. The expansion draft now determines which of the unprotected stars will reshape the new franchises.