Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight is heading to the PWHL's expansion team in Seattle, while Vancouver landed the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost’s blue-line duo of Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques to start the league’s expansion signing period Wednesday.
Knight, one of the league's three MVP finalists, agreed to a one-year contract in becoming Seattle's first player. The agreement moves Knight closer to her offseason home in Idaho, and provides the team an immediate high-profile presence in a city that already features NWSL and WNBA franchises.
She leaves Boston following a season in which she had 29 points (15 goals, 14 assists) to tie for the league lead with New York rookie Sarah Fillier. And it comes as Knight, who turns 36 in July, is winding down her international career upon announcing the 2026 Winter Games will be her fifth and final representing the United States.
Knight is reuniting with Seattle general manager Meghan Turner, who spent the past two years as the Fleet's assistant GM.
“Signing Hilary Knight was an absolute no-brainer. She’s the heartbeat of any team she joins,” Turner said. “Hilary’s not just a game-changer on the ice, she’s the kind of person who defines a culture, and we’re incredibly proud to have her as the first-ever player to join PWHL Seattle.”
Vancouver struck first in opening the five-day signing period in landing two of among the league’s top-scoring defensemen. Thompson, Jaques and Toronto’s Renata Fast are finalists for the defender of the year honor, and the Minnesota pair represented Canada at the world championships in April.
The two expansion teams are allowed to sign up to five players who were either left unprotected by their current teams or eligible to become unrestricted free agents and then then take part in an expansion draft on Monday. After that, each team will have a dozen players. Then they will fill out their rosters during the PWHL draft on June 24 and during the league's free agency period.
Thompson was Minnesota's first-round pick in the PWHL draft last year. She will be reunited with her coach at Princeton, Cara Gardner Morey, who left the Tigers last month to become Vancouver’s general manager.
“Having had the privilege of coaching Claire at Princeton, I know how exceptional she is as a player and as a person and couldn’t be prouder to build our foundation with her contributions both on and off the ice,” Gardner Morey said.
Thompson had 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) to tie with Toronto’s Jennifer Gardiner for the PWHL lead among rookies.
She was a rookie at 27 after forgoing turning pro in 2024 to focus on her medical studies at NYU. Still undecided on when she’ll return to medical school, Thompson signed a one-year contract with Vancouver while preparing to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics in February.
Jaques, who signed a three-year contract, had seven goals and 22 points in 25 games to finish tied with Fast for the league lead among defensemen. She completed her first full season with the Frost after being involved in the PWHL’s first trade, a three-player deal that sent Susanna Tapani and Abby Cook to Boston in February 2024.
“I’m incredibly honored to sign with PWHL Vancouver and to help lay the foundation for something truly special in this city,” Jaques said. “I want to thank the Minnesota Frost for the opportunity the past two seasons, and I am so proud of the work we did to win two championships.”
After losing two players, the Frost added forward Britta Curl Salemme to their protected list, which already included captain Kendall Coyne Schofield, forward Taylor Heise and defenseman Lee Stecklein.
The league's six existing teams will lose four players each during the expansion process.
AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
Ottawa Charge forward Mannon McMahon (18) tries to get a shot off on Minnesota Frost goalie Maddie Rooney as she is pushed to the ice by defender Claire Thompson, left, during the second period of a PWHL hockey final game, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills fans arrived early and lingered long after the game ended to bid what could be farewell to their long-time home stadium filled with 53 years of memories — and often piles of snow.
After singing along together to The Killers' “Mr. Brightside” in the closing minutes of a 35-8 victory against the New York Jets, most everyone in the crowd of 70,944 remained in their seats to bask in the glow of fireworks as Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World” played over the stadium speakers.
Several players stopped in the end zone to watch a retrospective video, with the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” as the soundtrack while fans recorded selfie videos of the celebratory scene. Offensive lineman Alec Anderson even jumped into the crowd to pose for pictures before leaving the field.
With the Bills (12-5), the AFC's 6th seed, opening the playoffs at Jacksonville in the wild-card round next week, there's but a slim chance they'll play at their old home again. Next season, Buffalo is set to move into its new $1.2 billion facility being built across the street.
The farewell game evoked “a lifetime of memories,” said Therese Forton-Barnes, selected the team’s Fan of the Year, before the Bills kicked of their regular-season finale. “In our culture that we know and love, we can bond together from that experience. Our love for this team, our love for this city, have branched from those roots.”
Forton-Barnes, a past president of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, attended Bills games as a child at the old War Memorial Stadium in downtown Buffalo, colloquially known as “The Rockpile.” She has been a season ticket holder since Jim Kelly joined the Bills in 1986 at what was then Rich Stadium, later renamed for the team’s founding owner Ralph Wilson, and then corporate sponsors New Era and Highmark.
“I’ve been to over 350 games,” she said. “Today we’re here to cherish and celebrate the past, present and future. We have so many memories that you can’t erase at Rich Stadium, The Ralph, and now Highmark. Forever we will hold these memories when we move across the street.”
There was a celebratory mood to the day, with fans arriving early. Cars lined Abbott Road some 90 minutes before the stadium lots opened for a game the Bills rested most of their starters, with a brisk wind blowing in off of nearby Lake Erie and with temperatures dipping into the low 20s.
And most were in their seats when Bills owner Terry Pegula thanked fans and stadium workers in a pregame address.
With Buffalo leading 21-0 at halftime, many fans stayed in their seats as Kelly and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed addressed them from the field, and the team played a video message from 100-year-old Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy.
“The fans have been unbelievable,” said Jack Hofstetter, a ticket-taker since the stadium opened in 1973 who was presented with Super Bowl tickets before Sunday’s game by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “I was a kid making 8 bucks a game back in those days. I got to see all the sports, ushering in the stadium and taking tickets later on. All the memories, it’s been fantastic.”
Bud Light commemorated the stadium finale and Bills fan culture with the release of a special-edition beer brewed with melted snow shoveled out of the stadium earlier this season.
In what has become a winter tradition at the stadium, fans were hired to clear the stands after a lake-effect storm dropped more than a foot of snow on the region this week.
The few remaining shovelers were still present clearing the pathways and end zone stands of snow some five hours before kickoff. The new stadium won’t require as many shovelers, with the field heated and with more than two-thirds of the 60,000-plus seats covered by a curved roof overhang.
Fears of fans rushing the field were abated with large contingent of security personnel and backed by New York State troopers began lining the field during the final 2-minute warning.
Fans stayed in the stands, singing along to the music, with many lingering to take one last glimpse inside the stadium where the scoreboard broadcast one last message:
“Thank You, Bills Mafia.”
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White (27) remains on the field to watch a tribute video after the Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y.(AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans watch a ceremony after the Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the Bills' final regular-season NFL football home game in Highmark Stadium Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Fans celebrate after the Buffalo Bills scored a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Fans celebrate and throw snow in the stands after an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Aga Deters, right, and her husband Fred Deters, walk near Highmark Stadium before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Michael Wygant shoves snow from a tunnel before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Alec Anderson (70) spikes the ball after running back Ty Johnson scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
FILE - The existing Highmark Stadium, foreground, frames the construction on the new Highmark Stadium, upper right, which is scheduled to open with the 2026 season, shown before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New England Patriots, Oct. 5, 2025, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
Salt crew member Jim Earl sprinkles salt in the upper deck before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets at Highmark Stadium, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
