Hilary Knight is heading to the PWHL’s expansion team in Detroit as part of a sign-and-trade deal involving one of women hockey’s most recognized stars, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person said Knight will first sign a foundational contract with Las Vegas as part of Phase 2 of the league’s expansion signing process. Las Vegas in turn has reached an agreement to trade Knight to Detroit in exchange for
the team’s first-round pick in the draft next week, the person added.
The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the trade. The deal won’t become official until the PWHL’s trade freeze lifts on June 16, a day before the draft.
The 36-year-old Knight is a five-time U.S. Olympian and one of the most decorated players in her sport. She is coming off captaining Team USA to a gold-medal victory at the Milan Cortina Games in February, in which Knight deflected in the championship game-tying goal late in the third period of a 2-1 overtime win against Canada.
Though Knight said the Olympics in Milan would be her last, she planned on continuing her pro career.
Knight is on the move for a second straight PWHL offseason. After spending her first two PWHL seasons in Boston, she left the Fleet to sign with the expansion Seattle Torrent in a move to be closer to her offseason home in Idaho.
Now, it’ll be the Chicago-area town where she grew up that she’s closer to.
As much as she and the Torrent would have preferred Knight to remain in Seattle, the team under the expansion rules was restricted to protecting three players. The Torrent chose to protect forward Alex Carpenter, defender Anna Wilgren and goalie Hannah Murphy.
Knight at least gets the benefit of signing a foundational offer, which guarantees her making at least $100,000 per season. She made $106,090 last year.
Each of the PWHL’s four expansion teams were allowed one foundational contract offer. Las Vegas still had its foundational slot open, while Detroit previously used its offer to sign Toronto forward Daryl Watts last week.
In Detroit, Knight joins a team that already features three U.S. gold medal-winning teammates in forwards Britta Curl-Salemme, Hannah Bilka and defender Cayla Barnes, who were signed in the expansion process. She also is reunited with newly hired Detroit coach Josh Sciba, who was an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team.
Earlier in the day, Detroit filled its maximum fifth expansion spot by signing Toronto forward Jesse Compher to a three-year contract. Compher won a silver medal representing the U.S. at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Knight finished last season with five goals and 14 points in 22 games, while missing the final two months of the season with a lower body injury. A year earlier, she finished tied for the league lead with 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists). Overall, she ranks 12th in the PWHL with 54 career points (26 goals, 28 assists) in 76 games.
The trade caps an eventful stretch for Knight. A day before winning gold, she became engaged to American speedskater Brittany Bowe. Her goal against Canada was her 15th and 33rd point of her Olympic career, setting U.S. records for both categories.
Knight has won two Olympic gold and three silver medals since making her Team USA debut at the 2007 world championships. She’s won 10 gold medals at the worlds and holds the career tournament records for goals (67), assists (53) and points (120).
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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
