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The league-leading Boston Fleet have added more goal scoring as the team looks to make a deep run in the PWHL’s Walter Cup playoffs.
The Fleet acquired goal-scoring forward Jessie Eldridge from the Seattle Torrent in exchange for two-way forward Theresa Schafzahl on Monday evening. Both players are on contracts that expire after this season.
The Fleet have earned most of its points this season through stellar performances by starting goaltender, Aerin Frankel, and solid puck moving from its blue line. The team’s last 12 games have been decided by just one goal.
Eldridge should help with that. She’s scored seven goals for the Torrent this season, more than anyone on the Fleet roster.
Over three seasons in New York and Seattle, Eldridge has put up 51 points (23 goals and 28 assists), which ranks eighth in the league all-time. She was selected by Seattle from New York in last year’s expansion draft.
Boston rallies with three goals in the third period then Ella Huber scores in overtime to defeat Montreal 4-3. The Victoire had their six-game win streak snapped and remain in second place, three points behind the Fleet.
“Jessie has been a proven goal scorer at every level and continues to produce throughout her time in the PWHL,” Fleet GM Danielle Marmer said. “She has a high hockey IQ and is a dual threat, capable of making key plays and creating scoring opportunities.”
On the other side, the Torrent get Schafzahl, a player who can chip in offensively but should also make the Torrent harder to play against. The Austrian forward has recorded 17 points in 69 games over three seasons with Boston.
She’s a player that Seattle Torrent GM Meghan Turner would be familiar with, having spent two seasons as an assistant GM with the Fleet, which drafted Schafzahl at the league’s first entry draft in 2023.
“Theresa is a veteran forward who is steady and reliable in all areas of the ice and all situations,” Turner said. “She lifts her teammates up with simple, gritty plays and we’re very excited to have her join us in Seattle. This trade was about what we believe is the best fit for our team and the identity we’re trying to build.”
Eldridge is expected to make her Boston debut at home on Tuesday night against Toronto.
The Fleet sit three points ahead of both the Minnesota Frost and Montreal Victoire for the top spot in the standings.
Torrent missing several top players
Meanwhile, a Torrent team that many people expected would be among the top teams in the league hasn’t quite performed as expected.
Seattle stockpiled talent at last year’s expansion draft, but the team has felt top-heavy at times. The Torrent sit in last place in the league, nine points back of the Ottawa Charge, which holds the fourth and final playoff spot.
The team is already without star forward Hannah Bilka, who will miss the rest of the season with an upper-body injury sustained at the Olympics, where Bilka won gold with the U.S.
Captain Hilary Knight is also on long-term injured reserve with a torn MCL, and the status of forward Mikyla Grant-Mentis is up in the air, after she sustained an upper-body injury off a hard hit from Minnesota’s Britta Curl-Salemme last week.
Losing Eldridge won’t help the Torrent, which has scored fewer goals than every PWHL team except the Vancouver Goldeneyes.
A win-now mentality
There is some incentive for the Torrent to win games, even if the playoffs seem out of reach.
Once a team is eliminated from playoff contention, they begin earning Gold points for winning games. It’s a system designed to discourage tanking.
This year, the prize for winning after being eliminated is a big one. University of Wisconsin defender and Olympic MVP Caroline Harvey is projected to be the first-overall draft pick, and she could be a franchise-altering defender in the league.
Trades in the PWHL tend to be player-for-player, with draft picks off the table. Further expansion is looming, which makes it difficult for GMs to envision what their teams could look like even a year from now.
It means teams have to operate with a win-now mentality, and for Boston, the best opportunity to win could be now.
“We’re excited about the offensive instincts and competitiveness [Eldridge] brings to our lineup,” Marmer said.
The PWHL’s trade deadline is March 30.
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