Rebecca Leslie of the Ottawa Charge and Ann-Renée Desbiens of the Montreal Victoire are among the players protected by the existing eight PWHL teams. Troy Parla / Getty ImagesJune 3, 2026 Updated 7:21 pm EDTThe 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 protections.Next, the four expansion teams will begin to build their inaugural rosters from the remaining pool of eligible players. Phase 2 of the expansion process begins on Friday and allows each expansion team to build the foundation of its roster by acquiring five players through signings and, if necessary, a player selection process.Existing teams can lose a maximum of three players who are under contract for the 2026-27 season during this phase.Montreal VictoireProtectedMarie-Philip Poulin (F)Laura Stacey (F)Ann-Renée Desbiens (G)Boston FleetAerin Frankel (G)Megan Keller (D)Haley Winn (D)Minnesota FrostTaylor Heise (F)Kelly Pannek (F)Maddie Rooney (G)New York SirensSarah Fillier (F)Kristýna Kaltounková (F)Casey O’Brien (F)Ottawa ChargeRebecca Leslie (F)Gwyneth Philips (G)Ronja Savolainen (D)Seattle TorrentAlex Carpenter (F)Hannah Murphy (G)Anna Wilgren (D)Toronto SceptresRenata Fast (D)Raygan Kirk (G)Ella Shelton (D)Vancouver GoldeneyesSophie Jaques (D)Emerance Maschmeyer (G)Sarah Nurse (F)Jun 3, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms