Last season ended painfully and the upcoming season its off to a brutal start.
Last season ended with a complete dud as the Fleet slowly sank out of the playoffs over the closing weeks capped off by a devastating blowout at the hands of the eventual champions, Minnesota.
The offseason has been highlighted with the expansion of the league to Seattle and Vancouver. Boston has lost their assistant GM Meghan Turner to the GM slot win Seattle and following the expansion draft last night and the initial signings have lost a total of four players that were signed to the team. GM Danielle Marner initially protected a goalie, Aerin Frankel, a defender Megan Keller, and a forward, Alina Mueller. The signing period saw Hilary Knight make her exit signing with Seattle. In the draft Hanna Bilka was taken by Seattle, this led to Shay Maloney being the final protection by Marner. Sydney Bard and Emily Brown were the final expansion picks.
What’s Next:
The Entry Draft format is yet to be determined. When Boston finished 5th and missed the playoffs the expectation was they would have the second pick in the draft. While this draft class is on the light side there were some players that could boost the team back up. With the expansion there is a lot of discussion of where the new teams will get to pick, whether that be the second and third spots or the seventh and eighth spots. Moving down to fourth after missing the playoffs and the dramatic loss of talent from expansion could spell a rough season for the Fleet.
During the first season there were questions about the coaching from Courtney Kessel, but an end of season run all the way to the Finals shelved that talk. Last season started off well enough but then the wheels fell off. At this point in the offseason it is probably too late to make a move, but the seat has to be warm for the coming season, and with a depleted roster she is going to have a steep uphill climb.
Another big question is who takes over the C from the departing Hilary Knight? There are a few good choices. Jaime Lee Rattray wore an A and would be an obvious choice to take over the mantle, but any of the three initial protections, Frankel, Mueller and Keller, should all be in the running for the honor. The new captain will have a lot of work to do to put together a locker room that has been dismantled after a devastating ending to last season.