PWHL notebook: Sceptres, Charge make major early-season trade

With the Professional Women’s Hockey League season underway, NHL.com staff writer Anna Kulesa will be filing a biweekly notebook on all the happenings in the league. Today, a look at some of the top storylines, including the league’s first trade of the season and 100th game milestone.

First blockbuster trade

The Toronto Sceptres traded defender Jocelyne Larocque and forward Victoria Bach to the Ottawa Charge in exchange for defender Savannah Harmon and forward Hayley Scamurra on Monday. Larocque, a three-time Olympian with Canada, was drafted second overall by Toronto in the inaugural PWHL draft in 2023. The 36-year-old defender is in the second year of the three-year contract she signed before the 2024 season. Harmon, who won a silver medal for Team USA in 2022, was Ottawa’s first PWHL draft pick at fifth overall in 2023.

The trade comes as a surprise with Larocque, an alternate captain, who was one half of Toronto’s top defensive pair. Sceptres general manger Gina Kingsbury said upgrading the power play was an important part of the trade with Harmon providing a more offensive talent to the team’s defense.

"You have to be able to sacrifice something to make your lineup better and at times it hurts and it stings, and in this case it does," Kingsbury said in a media call after the trade. It was the league’s first trade of the season.

Montreal moves to top of standings

The Montreal Victoire moved into first place in the PWHL standings after 3-1 win against the Boston Fleet at Place Bell in Montreal on Monday. It was the Victoire’s fourth straight win. The Victoire killed five penalties and forward Kristin O’Neill’s short-handed goal in the second period was the game’s winner. Montreal has 13 points (3-2-0-1) and sits just one point ahead of the second-place Minnesota Frost.

PWHL Takeover Tour kicks off Sunday

The PWHL’s nine-game Takeover Tour at neutral sites will start on Sunday when the Victoire take on the Fleet at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Both teams will hold open practices at the Kraken Community Iceplex, the Seattle Kraken’s practice facility, on Saturday. Players from each team will sign autographs for fans after the skates. The league is also holding a girls youth ice hockey clinic after the practices.

100th PWHL game milestone

The PWHL played its 100th game on Dec. 27 when the Sceptres and Fleet faced off in Toronto. The game count included the 72 inaugural regular season games, 13 playoff games and 15 games from the 2024-25 season. Through the first 100 games, over 560,000 fans have attended.

Bigger than hockey

On Dec. 21, the Sceptres and Victoire honored former Toronto goalie Erica Howe during their Cancer Awareness Game at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. Howe was diagnosed with breast cancer over the summer and retired from the league in the offseason. The game raised over $20,000 and the Mississauga Fire Department sold more than 500 “Howie” toques to surpass the $27,000 goal set by Howe’s Hockey Fights Cancer fundraiser. After the game, Howe received stick taps from the players and gave an emotional speech thanking the crowd. A bra toss was also held on the ice and the PWHL, in partnership with Bravado Designs, donated $60,000 worth of bras to shelters across Toronto.