3 Takeaways from the PWHL this week: Is the Gold Plan format right?
The penultimate week of PWHL action is in the books, and the race for the final spot in the Walter Cup Playoffs will come down to the last week of the season.
With the Vancouver Goldeneyes failing to win in regulation against the Seattle Torrent on the weekend, it sealed the playoff-less fate for both expansion teams. At the same time, each of the Ottawa Charge, Toronto Sceptres and New York Sirens remained in contention for the fourth and final postseason berth.
In the wake of the start of the Gold Plan and Jenn Gardiner’s four-goal game, here are Daily Faceoff’s takeaways from the latest week of the PWHL.
Should the Gold Plan Switch?
In just its third season and its first with eight teams, the PWHL is an ever-evolving product and has shown to be groundbreaking in many of the rules across the competition. However, might it be time to slightly adjust the Gold Plan, which determines the top draft picks based on team performance after being officially eliminated from the playoffs?
This weekend, the Goldeneyes pulled off a chaotic 6-5 overtime win against the already-eliminated Torrent. For the Torrent, pushing the game to overtime meant that they claimed a Gold Plan point. Yet, for Vancouver, which was officially eliminated from the postseason after failing to claim all three regulation points, the two points from the victory prove meaningless — and the playoff system, combined with the Gold Plan, is meant to make every point matter, unlike Vancouver’s two in this win.
It is no doubt a unique circumstance for the team to be eliminated after a tied 60 minutes, and it will be even rarer for a team to face that already-eliminated franchise in that game. Still, it’s worthwhile to clarify in the future, given that the current style could keep Vancouver from earning the top pick even after winning the game.
Tick Tock. Where’s Expansion?
The rumors of PWHL expansion are at a fever pitch, with The Athletic reporting that each of Hamilton, Detroit, Chicago and potentially others could be in the mix for as soon as next season. Previously, the PWHL’s Amy Scheer shared that two to four teams could enter the league as soon as 2026-27.
While the PWHL has become infamous for its short runways leading to team launches, the timeline is getting incredibly short, even by the league’s standards. For the inaugural season, the league officially merged the PWHPA and Premier Hockey Federation in June, before dropping the PWHL puck in January. This season, the Goldeneys and Torrent were unveiled on April 23 and April 30 — this week — before dropping the puck with logos, albeit no branded jerseys, in November.
Timelines can be short, but how short is too short and has the league gleaned any lessons from such timelines? As of now, there have been no credible reports that the PWHL will certainly play in a new market next season, and that time is quickly ticking away.
The outstanding finish we’re in for
With the race for the fourth and final playoff spot down to three teams, it’s going to come down to two games for each over the next week. Yet, the level of difficulty and intensity in the games might matter just as much as where teams currently sit in the standings.
By glancing at the schedule, it seems as though the Sceptres might just have the inside edge, despite being two points behind the Charge. The Sirens, meanwhile, will need some luck, as well as wins against both Toronto and Ottawa, to have a chance of playing spoiler to one or both teams.
For Toronto, the week starts with a home clash against the Sirens. The Sceptres will have home ice in the matchup and sit higher in the standings, despite having lost two of the three clashes between the two teams this season.
Ottawa’s first game of the week, however, comes with a visit to the Boston Fleet, who are contending for the top spot in the regular season and a chance to pick their opponent in the first round of the playoffs. Both teams will play at peak intensity, with the Fleet holding home-ice advantage and having a far better team.
Should Toronto win and Ottawa lose in regulation early in the week, things get exceptionally complicated heading into their matchup, where the Sceptres would need at least a point to take the final spot. If both teams match results earlier in the week, then the final game would likely require Toronto to win in regulation, with any overtime result being enough for the Charge to clinch the final spot.
Either way, bravo to the schedule makers. This is going to be a thrilling end to the season.