The bookends of the Olympic break have not been kind to the New York Sirens, to say the least. After their thrilling Jan. 18th win in Washington and forward Taylor Girard’s subsequent three-game suspension, the Sirens have a record of 1-0-2-4 and have allowed an average of 3.43 goals a night. In the most recent of those four regulation losses, Girard, who had scored twice in the sole New York victory, was stretchered off the ice after going down holding her right knee.
The team has not given an update on Girard since Sunday’s game. But, the need for the stretcher and her immediate reaction following the play tell a sobering story. Factor in Girard’s history of season-ending knee injuries, and it’s easy to see major cause for concern.
The Sirens aren’t exactly well-prepared to lose Girard for any length of time, much less long-term. Anne Cherkowski and Casey O’Brien are also missing time in the aforementioned stretch. With no forwards on their reserve list defender Olivia Knowles is getting some reps at left wing as a result. Now, with their hand all but forced, let’s look at New York’s options to patch their holes up front.
Signing – North America
PWHL teams have the ability to sign players from other teams’ reserve lists. New York has taken this avenue before in the case of defender Lauren Bernard. Originally a Sceptres draft pick, Bernard joined the Sirens off of Toronto’s reserve list around this time last season. She’s since carved out a nice spot for herself on New York’s blueline.
This time around, though, the Sirens need a forward, and they have limited but clear options to find one through this route. The Vancouver Goldeneyes currently have forwards Malia Schneider and Darcie Lappan on reserve. Both of them have seen PWHL time this season. Alternatively, they could go back to the Toronto well. Forward Lauren Messier now has a pro goal under her belt, and Kristin Della Rovere is an Olympian.
Signing – Europe
With the postseason well underway in Sweden and Switzerland’s top divisions, players whose seasons have already concluded can become depth options for the PWHL stretch run. Beginning with the familiar options for New York, there’s training camp attendee Kira Juodikis. She scored four goals in three SWHL playoff games, but her ZSC Lions failed to advance past HC Fribourg-Gottéron. Fellow camp participant Alexis Paddington, however, left with an injury in MoDo’s Game 3 2OT loss to SDE. She didn’t dress for what would be the final game of the season as her team bowed out in four.
Speaking of SDE, they have two of the most intriguing options available in former PWHLers Gabrielle David and Samantha Cogan. David and Cogan finished second and fifth in league scoring, respectively. SDE managed to stave off elimination on Monday with a Game 3 win over Frölunda, though, so they aren’t on the table just yet. Their season could very well end as soon as Wednesday (at 2 p.m. EST on the SDHL YouTube channel, of course), or run all the way until the final day of March.
Deadline Deal
Let me preface this much longer section by saying that it is very, very difficult to speculate on potential player trades as things currently stand in the PWHL. With the inability to trade future draft picks at this time and only educated guesses on the salary implications of those involved, finding something that checks absolutely every box for both parties is an exercise in futility. What we do know, however, is how those players perform on the ice, and it’s clear that this course of action would move the needle the most for the Sirens at a time where they desperately need that needle to get somewhere.
Thankfully for me, a very enticing option has reportedly emerged to provide a clear starting point for this exercise: Montréal Victoire forward Natálie Mlýnková.
Mlýnková has four goals and four assists in 19 games in her rookie season thus far. While her most frequent place in the lineup has been alongside Shiann Darkangelo and Maureen Murphy in the Victoire top six, she’s often found herself as the extra forward of late. Mlýnková’s failed to eclipse the ten-minute mark in three of her last four games, despite recording points at even strength in two of them.
The Upside
Back to the Sirens’ perspective, where there are reasons aplenty to try to strike this deal. Mlýnková’s points-per-60 rate (1.93) is comparable to that of Girard (2.01), who she’d ostensibly be replacing. She’s yet to make a trip to the penalty box this season even with a tenacious reputation on the forecheck. Such clean play is a breath of fresh air for a team with by far the PWHL’s most combined penalty minutes. Mlýnková’s also coming off a very strong Olympics where she registered a point in all but one of Czechia’s games.
The last point might suggest easy chemistry with countrywoman Kristýna Kaltounková as another benefit of acquiring Mlýnková. Surprisingly, that may be the flimsiest rationale of the bunch. Dating back to Kaltounková’s U18 debut in 2016-17, I found just two instances of her listed alongside Mlýnková on the lineup card, both in the November leg of the 2025-26 Euro Hockey Tour. However, they have combined on three power play goals in the last calendar year, two as part of Mlýnková’s hat trick against Switzerland at Worlds, as well as on Czechia’s lone goal against Canada in Milan. Any shot in the arm to a frustratingly inconsistent Sirens power play would be a welcome addition.
The Flip Side
Alas, it takes two to tango, so we must move on to everyone’s least favourite part of trade speculation: the return. Montréal has an overabundance of forwards made clear by their willingness to explore a Mlýnková trade in the first place. They also have an an equally apparent need on defense, with the team often playing 13F/6D even before Erin Ambrose was placed on LTIR. New York can afford to make sacrifices on defense, with seven blueliners plus bronze medallist Nicole Vallario on reserve.
Micah Zandee-Hart and Maja Nylén Persson are likely untouchable. Jaime Bourbonnais is part of New York’s leadership group. Bernard, Jincy Roese, and Dayle Ross are likely unable to get a deal for Mlýnková done on their own, therefore the odd defender out appears to be Allyson Simpson. Simpson’s averaging 18:13 a game this season, slightly down from an impressive 20:22 in her rookie year. She would fit nicely into a Victoire defensive system that heavily emphasizes shot blocking as she’s tied for third on the Sirens in the category. Additionally, her two power play goals make her a good special teams stopgap in Ambrose’s absence.
Of course, Mlýnková certainly won’t be the only player the Sirens look at, nor will the Victoire be their only potential trade partner. There are numerous safer options, options that wouldn’t cost them an Ally Simpson to pull off. However, this moment feels like a crossroads for New York. They made a flurry of offseason moves prompted by two consecutive playoff misses, and have a promising young team sitting just a single point out of a postseason spot. It seems unbecoming of the Sirens not to swing for the fences just one more time, and Mlýnková’s their best shot at a home run.