Hilary Knight to PWHL Detroit: Team USA star to be traded

The Professional Women’s Hockey League franchise in Detroit hit it’s Phase 2 expansion quota … and then kept going, reportedly adding superstar forward Hilary Knight in a sign-and-trade with the PWHL’s Las Vegas expansion franchise on Monday, June 8.

The grand dame of Team USA – no American woman has more career Olympic goals or points – Knight spent last season with the expansion Seattle Torrent, though a torn knee ligament (which she played through in Milan) cut her season in half.

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Knight will be 37 when the 2026-27 season starts, but she still has her scoring touch, with five goals and nine assists in 22 games for the Torrent, including two goals and two assists in eight games after returning from the MCL tear. She’s was considered unlikely to leave Seattle, however, having stated she wanted to play two more seasons there.

The regime in Detroit, led by trailblazing general manager Manon Rheaume, apparently won her over. The setup for the PWHL’s expansion process, in which the four new teams – Detroit, Hamilton, Las Vegas and San Jose – will mostly stock their rosters via free agency, likely helped.

The expansion teams were required to submit rankings of their preferred unprotected players for an “Expansion Foundational Offer” (aka, an EFO). Players claimed via EFO were required to sign with the expansion teams, but they could choose the length of the contract – from two to four seasons (one more than the league’s previous high) – and would be guaranteed a minimum of $100,000 per season.

With Detroit using its “Expansion Foundational Offer” on Toronto star forward Daryl Watts, Knight appeared headed to Las Vegas.

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But Rheaume and the Detroit squad will reportedly be sending its first-round pick – the slot of which is unknown, as the PWHL is yet to announce a complete draft order for the event slated to be held at the Fox Theater in Detroit on June 17.

The trade cannot be completed until June 16 – when many of the PWHL’s best and brightest will be in Detroit for the leagues award show – due to a roster freeze as the league sorts out its complicated expansion process, which has several phases.

This breaking news story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hilary Knight trade to Detroit PWHL, expansion team dealing 1st-rounder