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On Monday afternoon, PWHL Boston trotted out the free-agent signings they have made so far. Five players have been signed by general manager Daniella Marmer. On the surface, it looks like all that has been done is putting last year’s band back together. Now to be fair, that band did get to a Game 5 of the championship series with a chance to win the Walter Cup at home. While that did not happen, maybe a little tweaking of the roster was in order.
Three forwards have been brought back to the squad. Hannah Brandt (5G, 5A 10 pts) on a 2-year deal, Lexia Adzija on a 1-year deal, and Sophia Shirley (3G 2A 5 pts) on a 2-year deal. They combined to score 13 goals among them. In Adzija’s case, not all of her six goals were scored with PWHL Boston as she was acquired in an in-season trade from Ottawa on March 19. She would play seven games in Boston during the regular season (1G 2A, 4 pts) in all playoff games adding one goal with no assists. Brandt and Shirley also played in all playoff games with each adding a goal and assist. These numbers, as well as numbers from other forwards, speak to the problem that PWHL Boston had all season and in the playoffs. Putting the puck in the net. During the regular season, PWHL Boston allowed 57 goals while scoring 50 themselves. In the playoffs, they scored 12 and gave up 17. They had no player that scored double-digit goals in the regular season. Six players never found the back of the net during the year, and let’s keep the power play out of this because it was a sore spot all season long. The question fans of this team may be asking is, has this team done enough so far to be a better offensive unit? Maybe the draft solved some of these questions but it could be said that PWHL Boston needs to do more with the forward lines.
On the back end, the re-signing of Emily Brown on a 2-year deal and Sidney Morin’s 1-year deal appear to be smart moves by the GM. Both players, along with the rest of the D-core, were solid all season long. They saved their best for the playoffs helping Aerin Frankel, otherwise known as the “Green Monster,” backstop this team to within 60 minutes of a title. What offense they gave is a bonus and they were brought back because of their work in their own zone. Brown was a +3 in the regular season. Morin was a -2 in the regular season. But in the playoffs, she was a +5.
Let’s not forget Frankel. She was good in the regular season (8-6-2, 2.00 GAA, 1 SO, 35 GA,) with 455 saves on 490 shots, 929%, but was better in the playoffs. She played eight games with a 5-3 record, a 1.45 GAA, 14 goals allowed, and one shutout. She stopped 286 out of 300 shots she faced for a save percentage of .953%. Simply put, PWHL Boston never sees a game five of a championship series or maybe even the playoffs themselves without her. This is why finding her some offense for next year is a major offseason key.
So too is finding a power play that works. In the regular season, PWHL Boston scored eight PPGs. Megan Keller, from the blue line, led the way with two. In the playoffs, they never scored on the power play going 0-for-15. It was a major problem that the coaching staff could never straighten out. In the playoffs, both PWHL Montreal and Minnesota had no fear of taking penalties, and why should they, both teams already knew how bad the power play was.
The good news is it’s early in free agency. There are still plenty of players that are still out there to be looked at. While it looks like the band has been put back together, it may not be set in stone. Stay tuned as] more moves could be on the horizon.
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