 | Today we're covering the PWHL's second expansion announcement in the span of a week. Plus, NHL playoff pressure, a vintage Jamal Murray performance, and the Vancouver Whitecaps' chance to eliminate Lionel Messi. | | | The PWHL added another expansion team
| | | One week after announcing a new Vancouver franchise, the Professional Women's Hockey League continued its westward expansion today by confirming that Seattle is getting a team too. Both clubs will begin play next season, joining the original six of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Minnesota, New York and Boston.
The PWHL launched just 16 months ago, but it signalled before the start of its second season in November that it wanted to add two teams for the 2025-26 campaign. Vancouver, Edmonton, Quebec City, Seattle, Buffalo, Denver, St. Louis, Detroit and Raleigh, N.C., each had a chance to audition when they hosted a neutral-site game in an NHL (or at least NHL-sized) arena as part of the PWHL's nine-city Takeover Tour.
Vancouver impressed the league by drawing 19,038 fans for a Jan. 8 game between Toronto and Montreal at the Canucks' arena, and 12,600 attended a Montreal-Boston game three days earlier at the Seattle Kraken's Climate Pledge Arena.
Though Denver and Detroit both drew more fans than Seattle, the PWHL's decision to pick the Emerald City makes sense. It's a wealthy town with a state-of-the-art arena (the team will play at Climate Pledge), a lot of hockey fans (the Kraken regularly sell out) and a strong track record of supporting women's pro sports (the WNBA and National Women's Soccer League both have a Seattle franchise). Plus, there's a natural geographic rivalry with Vancouver, and the PWHL could save on travel costs by having teams swing through both of the new West Coast locations on a mini road trip.
Neither team has a nickname yet (for now, they're known simply as PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle) and they'll also need to hire business and hockey-operations staff to prepare for free agency and their two upcoming drafts. The date and rules for the expansion draft are still TBD, and it's also unclear where the new clubs will pick in the entry draft this June in Ottawa.
Of course, creating teams on a tight timeline is nothing new for the PWHL. Its launch on Jan. 1, 2024 came only six months after billionaire Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter bought out and folded the old PHF and quickly struck a labour deal with the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association to form a brand-new league. Walter continues to own every franchise in the PWHL, including the new ones.
Expanding the league by 33 per cent just 18 months after its inaugural game might seem like an aggressive move. But the business of women's pro sports is booming, with new teams and even new leagues popping up all the time.
The WNBA, more popular than ever amid the rise of Caitlin Clark, is set to welcome a new Golden State franchise when the regular season tips off next month, with Toronto and Portland teams to follow in 2026. The NWSL has added six clubs since 2021, with two more coming next year. And the six-team Northern Super League launched earlier this month, giving Canada its first women's pro soccer league.
Given how fast things are growing these days, the better question isn't "why is the PWHL expanding so soon?" It's where will it expand to next?
For more on the new Seattle team, read this piece by CBC Sports' Karissa Donkin. | | |  | PWHL exec VP of hockey ops Jayna Hefford said Seattle has been "incredible in supporting women's hockey." (Cole Burston/Canadian Press)
| | | Quickly…
| | | Some other things to know:
1. The pressure is on the Jets — and now the Leafs too.
Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg is on the ropes after losing its last two games in St. Louis by a combined score of 12-3 to even its series with the Blues at two games apiece. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who's a lock to win his third Vezina Trophy and is in the hunt for MVP after a stellar regular season, has an ugly 4.24 goals-against average and .817 save percentage in these playoffs after being pulled from both losses. Game 5 is tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET in Winnipeg.
Two series could end in five tonight. Montreal faces elimination on the road against top-seeded Washington at 7 p.m. ET, while the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers can put away Tampa Bay at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Panthers will be without defenceman Aaron Ekblad, who received a two-game suspension for elbowing the Lightning's Brandon Hagel in the head. Hagel will not play tonight.
Last night, Ottawa dialed up the pressure on the Maple Leafs by blanking them 4-0, sending the Battle of Ontario back to the nation's capital for Game 6 on Thursday after Toronto led it three games to none. Leafs star Auston Matthews has just one goal in the series, and his weak pass during a third-period power play led to a shorthanded goal by Dylan Cozens that put the Senators up 2-0 last night.
After falling behind 2-0 in its series, Edmonton is now on the verge of advancing to the second round after beating Los Angeles 3-1 last night for its third straight win. The Oilers can close out the Kings at home on Thursday night.
Also last night, Carolina became the first team to move on to the second round by beating New Jersey 5-4 in overtime to take their series in five, while Vegas went up 3-2 on Minnesota with a 3-2 OT win.
In the PWHL, the Ottawa Charge can clinch their first-ever playoff berth with a win tonight against visiting Minnesota. The Frost, who won the inaugural Walter Cup championship last year, need a victory to avoid elimination. League-leading Montreal and second-place Toronto have already secured post-season spots, and Boston would get in if Minnesota doesn't win in regulation tonight.
2. Jamal Murray had a huge game last night.
The Canadian guard exploded for 43 points and seven assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 131-115 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers and a 3-2 lead in their opening-round series.
It was Murray's best playoff performance since the 2020 Disney World bubble, where he rattled off 50, 42 and 50 points in a three-game stretch against Utah in the first round and helped Denver reach the Western Conference final. During the Nuggets' run to the NBA title in 2023, Murray topped out at 40 points.
A win in L.A. tomorrow night will give Denver a second-round matchup with Canadian MVP favourite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-ranked Oklahoma City Thunder.
Also last night, Canada's Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and six assists to help Indiana advance to the second round with a 119-118 overtime win over Milwaukee. The father of the Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton caused a stir by taunting Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo after Haliburton made the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left in OT. Indiana will face top-seeded Cleveland in the second round.
Defending champion Boston advanced last night too, bouncing Orlando in five. The second-seeded Celtics await the winner of the Knicks-Pistons series, which is headed for a Game 6 after Detroit staved off elimination last night in New York.
A pair of big Game 5s are on tap tonight. The Golden State Warriors can eliminate the second-seeded Houston Rockets, while the Minnesota Timberwolves can finish off Luka Doncic and LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers.
3. Canada is on the verge of a playoff spot at the mixed doubles curling world championship.
The married couple of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant improved to 6-1 in group play by crushing Finland 13-2 this morning in Fredericton, N.B. The top three teams in each group make the playoffs, and Canada sits second in Group A behind reigning Olympic champion Italy (7-0), which handed the Canadians their only loss on Monday.
Canada faces China (2-5) today at 5 p.m. ET before wrapping up the round-robin stage against Scotland (5-2) on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
Qualifying for the playoffs will likely secure a spot in next year's Olympics for Peterman and Gallant, who won the Canadian trials in January, but it will depend on how other countries finish. Here's the latest from the mixed doubles worlds.
4. The Vancouver Whitecaps can take out Lionel Messi tonight.
After beating Messi's Inter Miami 2-0 last week in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal in front of more than 53,000 fans at BC Place, the Whitecaps will advance to the final with a win, a draw or even a one-goal loss tonight at 8 p.m. ET in Miami.
Under new head coach Jesper Sørensen, Vancouver sports a Major League Soccer-best 7-2-1 record this season. To reach the Champions Cup semis, the Whitecaps defeated Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa and a pair of Mexican clubs in Monterrey and Pumas.
The winner of the Vancouver-Miami series will face Mexico's Cruz Azul or Tigres in the final on June 1. | | | That's it for today. Talk to you tomorrow.
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