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Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast will be staying in Toronto.
The alternate captain signed a three-year deal to stay with the Sceptres through the 2028-29 season, the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.
She will be one of Toronto’s three protected players, meaning she can’t be signed by one of the PWHL’s four expansion teams. The eight existing teams must submit the list of protected players by Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
Fast was one of the most high-profile players set to hit free agency this off-season. She was one of Toronto’s original signings when the league launched in 2024, and is one of the best defenders in women’s hockey.
“There’s no place I want to be other than to be in Toronto,” Fast told reporters at the team’s end-of-season press conference. “The three of us [Fast, Blayre Turnbull and Allie Munroe] were here at the start in the inaugural season and the foundation that we’ve laid as players and as staff, it’s so meaningful, and we’re proud to be part of this organization.”
Fast was named defender of the year and a nominee for league MVP during the 2024-25 season, when she registered 22 points in 30 games.
She is the third-highest scoring defender of all time over the PWHL’s first three seasons, with 45 points in 80 games.
The PWHL’s first off-season signing window began on Tuesday afternoon. Only free agents could be signed during that time.
On Tuesday, forward Sarah Nurse re-signed with the Vancouver Goldeneyes for two seasons, while Seattle Torrent forward Alex Carpenter agreed to return to her team for three seasons. Both of those players will be protected by their teams from expansion.
Nurse had 15 points in 19 games with Vancouver, including the franchise’s first goal. That’s despite an injury that kept her out of play for almost half of the season.
Carpenter, meanwhile, is one of the best shooters in the game. Only two players have scored more goals than Carpenter since the PWHL’s creation.
The league has added four expansion teams in Hamilton, Detroit, Las Vegas and San Jose. Those teams can begin signing existing teams’ unprotected players on Friday.
The expansion teams must sign five players each during the window, which lasts until Friday at 1 p.m. ET. If they don’t have five players by that point, there will be a selection process for expansion teams to take players from existing teams.
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