Another mailbag for The Ice Garden as Director of Hockey Operations forย Cook Stark Hockey! If you have any questions you want me to answer, comment below, or message me on X at strongforecheck. Make sure to follow Cook Stark Hockey on X, TikTok and Instagram to keep up with the agency as well!
Why was there so much more movement in free agency this past offseason compared to year 1? And do you expect that to happen again next summer?
I think there are a few different reasons why there was more movement this offseason. For one thing, after two years teams are starting to see what has and hasnโt been working for them in the long run. In any league itโs pretty rare to see a GM look at their core group after one single season (especially a relatively short season) and say that they need or want to make major changes, but after two, especially if they start to notice certain patterns, theyโre likely to be more confident making some targeted moves.
I think players were also much more willing to consider moving teams this year than before. Some of that is probably a subconscious (or in some cases maybe conscious) feeling of being able to relax into the idea that this league is sticking around for a few years and there is infrastructure that will allow you to move across the country or to another province or state and make it work.ย
But the biggest reason was the expansion teams. Suddenly youโre not just bidding against the other five teams who are known quantities–for example, your star forward knows people playing in this other market and knows what the drawbacks would be to moving there (maybe the cost of living is higher, or their facilities arenโt as nice). Youโre facing two complete unknowns with no track record at all, positive or negative. And then, when players move to those new markets, they leave voids at comparatively higher-value positions than the voids that were left after year 1. For example, if youโre a fourth line winger youโre way less likely to want to look for a new team, but if a top-four defender signs away from Montrรฉal to an expansion team, youโre probably willing to hear them out on what theyโre going to offer you to fill that spot. We really didnโt have a ton of turnover in those high-value roles last offseason, so nobody was particularly jonesing to move.
As far as predicting next summer, I have to say that predicting much of anything with this league is pretty impossible with such a small sample size and the rules changing pretty rapidly/regularly. I will say that if we see expansion again this offseason I expect at least as much movement, if not more. In general, when we get to the point where there are ten or twelve teams for longer periods of time, I think weโll see cycles of busier/quieter offseasons like any other league, but any time thereโs an expansion I expect the offseason to be (comparatively) busy.
How are the players and agents thinking about the potential for another expansion round next year? More jobs obviously is a good thing, but it seems like basically anyone in the league could be moving again.
Well, for starters, we donโt have any idea what the expansion process or rules would be like if they do expand again this summer. It was made pretty clear on the back end, even before the league got pushback from the fans (and even GMs), that the process this offseason wouldnโt necessarily be the process we saw for a future expansion. And I would guess that it wonโt be the same next time around, though I canโt start to predict what would be differentโฆwhat I would change the answer to a different question.
But more generally, I think most players are not thinking about it much and theyโre focusing on the season ahead. As someone who has represented both a player who signed for an expansion team as a FA and a player who was selected in the expansion draft, I think itโs really the nature of pro sports that for the most part itโs not something players spend a ton of time dwelling on (except when itโs imminent). Thereโs a whole season to play and a Cup to win before this is even a conversation. I do think that they all have thoughts about what they would or would not want the process to look like, and I think the PWHLPA has been doing a good job keeping in the loop on that and Iโm sure will be engaging with the league about it if and when they expand again. It helps that the longest contract anyone is signing at the moment is three years, so itโs not like youโre signing a six-year deal in Montrรฉal and then getting selected by an expansion team where you now have to live for over half a decade in a place youโve never been to.
For agents, I canโt speak for anyone else, but I just try to be as flexible and adaptable as I can be. I donโt want to make hard predictions on what the process would look like and I try to help my players feel like we collectively have the ability to pivot when we need to. Depending on the player, when youโre signing a deal, you might have it in the back of your mind–what happens if I sign a multi-year deal and then thereโs another expansion?–but without knowing the rules ahead of time, being flexible and being present in the current season are the things we try to focus on. Luckily, every city theyโve put an expansion team in so far has been a city thatโs really cool and not a place where I think a large chunk of players would be opposed to moving for a year or two. Hopefully that trend continues.
For a brand deal, is it understood and expected that there will be free swag?
It really depends a ton on the deal and the player. Depending on the player, getting paid cash for an endorsement deal may be a bit of a stretch. Lots of things play into that, like how active the player is on social media, the market they play in, whether or not they represent their national team, etc. I also think that the PWHL not having a real media rights deal in place makes a big difference here; being able to say that youโll be on national TV in Canada or the US is a big selling point and is something thatโs really attractive to brands about Olympians, for example.ย
Generally what happens when youโre doing a brand deal is that you sign some kind of contract with them that tells you what you get and what they get in return. Some of these (for example a lot of NIL deals are like this) might involve the brand sending product directly to the player in exchange for the player making a certain number of posts on social media. Some might instead provide the player with a credit, or basically a gift card, where they can get up to a certain value of product of their choosing by texting their brand rep and saying hey, I want this particular product, which then gets sent to them–again usually in exchange for some work on socials, or designating themselves as a partner of the brand, or something similar.
Do players get paid to play in Europe?
They definitely can. It depends on the league of course, but the SDHL (Sweden top-level) and the PFWL (Switzerland top level) leagues do pay salaries. In many cases youโre also provided with furnished accommodations, and some teams in Switzerland might provide you with a car to use as well, since public transport isnโt always super present depending on where youโre playing. Salaries can range pretty widely, but with your accommodations and flights and equipment covered, anything youโre making in salary is essentially pocket money.
Noora Tulus! ๐ pic.twitter.com/qzcNqq13EO
โ Brynรคs IF (@Brynas) July 30, 2025
It can be hit or miss with other leagues. There are EWHL (Europe generally) teams that pay, in fact some pay quite well, but some of them donโt pay at all. The same is true in the NDHL (Sweden second level), for example.ย
Bold Olympics predictions?
Tough to say without rosters. I think Japan could make some noise this time around, though. My other bold Olympic prediction is that I will eat my body weight in polenta (I will get to attend for about ten days).
Whatโs up with all the unsigned draft picks less than a month out from camp?
It depends on the team and the pick, but a couple different things are happening. If the pick youโre thinking about was in the first three rounds of the draft, it may just be that the sides are negotiating vigorously. Thereโs still not a ton of flexibility on the money side for most teams which can make it hard when youโre talking about a top pick signing. This was never announced officially but teams can and do retain salary on trades now in some cases, which makes it even more complicated to sign players (since youโre carrying that โdeadโ cap space).ย
For mid-late round picks, on some teams theyโll have to really earn their spots. Even with the expansion, a lot of teams are looking at depth roles for anyone picked in the fifth round or later. Generally youโre not signing someone to a depth position before camp–what if one of your camp invites outperforms your last pick in the draft and now you have to cut the draft pick you signed by terminating that contract? You can do it, but the optics are bad.
Other teams simply may not have the appetite to sign anyone–even their high round picks–until they see everyone at camp. Some of that is a money game (ie: I will sign you, but Iโm not sure if youโre getting $43,000 or $45,000 yet, it depends on how these other three players perform). If you look at a particular team it starts to become a little clearer what the plan might be (at least to me). For example, Ottawa didnโt really have a big free agent signing so they had a lot of money to work with, which Iโm sure made it easier to sign their draft picks than someone like Montrรฉal, who had a bunch of free agent signings, or Toronto, who made a couple of trades that would have had to involve retaining or moving money.