Susanna Tapani is staying put in Boston, and the Seattle Torrent re-signed forward Julia Gosling in opening the next phase of the PWHL’s expansion process on Wednesday.
Tapani is a four-time Olympian representing Finland and signed a two-year contract to return to the Fleet for a third season. Gosling made her Olympic debut representing Canada in February and also signed a two-year contract.
The Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire re-signed defender Maggie Flaherty to a two-year contract.
The trio now count as their respective team’s fourth protected players. Each of the eight existing teams are allowed to protect three more players - totaling six overall - in Phase 3 of the expansion process.
Meantime, the league’s four expansion teams are allowed to sign three players during this phase, after each added five in Phase 2.
Las Vegas added a sixth player to its expansion roster by signing Seattle defender Megan Carter to a two-year contract.
Carter had a goal and four assists last year, and is on the move for a second straight offseason. She was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft last year following her rookie season in Toronto. The 25-year-old is from Milton, Ontario, and played collegiately at Northeastern, where she was a two-time Hockey East defender of the year.
Detroit signed second-year PWHL defender Sydney Bard, who became the first player Vancouver lost to an expansion team.
Tapani’s re-signing was key for a Boston team that lost top-line center Alina Muller to Hamilton this past week. Tapani is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist. She ranked second on the Fleet with nine goals, and fifth with 18 points.
The 25-year-old Gosling finished last season tied for the Torrent lead with 20 points (six goals and 14 assists). She’s from London, Ontario, and was selected sixth overall by Toronto in the 2024 draft out of St. Lawrence University.
The 26-year-old Flaherty carries the distinction of being the league’s only three-time Walter Cup champion after spending her first two seasons in Minnesota. From Lakeville, Minnesota, she had three goals and an assist in nine playoff games and scored a career-best five goals and nine points in 30 regular-season outings.
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