PWHL Announces Detroit Expansion Team

In a press conference at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday morning, the worst-kept secret in hockey was officially announced: Detroit is getting a PWHL expansion team.

In addition to the team itself, Detroit will also host the league’s awards show and 2026 Entry Draft at the Fox Theater on June 16 and 17.

A team identity was not formally announced. As with last year’s expansion to Seattle and Vancouver, a placeholder logo appeared throughout the announcement.

That logo’s colors are black, silver, and white, with red highlights. For the Torrent and Goldeneyes, the colors of their placeholder logos were carried forward to their inaugural season logos.

The league’s ninth team will share LCA with the Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Pistons. The PWHL Detroit team will have a dedicated dressing room at the arena, per league requirements.

No news about additional expansion teams was announced but the expectation is that PWHL Detroit will be one of up to four new franchises.

There won’t be much time for the new teams to get up and running. The league’s expected five-phase expansion process – during which new teams will add ten players – is set to start on May 28.

Beginning in Phase One, Detroit and its expansion siblings will be able to negotiate with free agents but not sign them. Phase Two starts on June 1, at which point the new teams can sign a maximum of five players. In Phase Three, beginning on June 5, the expansion clubs will be able to sign up to three more players. The final two players can be signed in Phases Four and Five, starting on June 11. Each phase gives the existing PWHL teams a chance to retain a certain number of their current players.