PWHL's Fleet, Sirens swap players in league's 2nd trade of season

Boston Fleet GM Danielle Marmer needed some time to mull over the trade proposal before saying yes.

American forward Taylor Girard, who Marmer drafted 51st overall in 2023, had been one of the team's top penalty killers when in the lineup. But Girard had slipped down the team's depth chart. She was a healthy scratch for Boston's last game on Jan. 11 against Ottawa.

Coming the other way from the New York Sirens would be Canadian Olympic gold medallist Jill Saulnier, a 32-year-old veteran who has experienced just about everything in her pro hockey career. That includes big tournaments with Team Canada, several years in the Canadian Women's Hockey League, and after that folded, joining the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association to try to create something new.

About a week after her New York counterpart — Pascal Daoust — first got in touch, Marmer told him she was on board.

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She felt the trade would provide more opportunity for Girard, who Marmer has known and believed in for a long time, while Saulnier could help add perspective for younger Fleet players who "haven't had to grind the way that some of these older players have."

"This means something to her in a way that I think it's hard for our rookies to understand, to have somebody in the room every day who can let them know to be incredibly grateful for this and to be so appreciative for this opportunity and to leave it all out on the ice," Marmer said.

The trade was announced Tuesday morning.

'We want to play with a lot of heart'

Saulnier has dealt with injuries over her two PWHL seasons, including stints on long-term injury reserve this year and last. The Halifax native doesn't have any points over five games with the Sirens this season, and registered two points in 18 games last year.

Her only goal came in the league's first game on Jan. 1, 2024 in a 4-0 New York win over Toronto.

Before she was drafted to New York 40th overall in the 2023 PWHL draft, Saulnier competed in two Olympic Games for Team Canada, earning a silver medal in 2018 and gold in 2022. In the latter Olympics, Saulnier was a staple on the team's fourth line, adding energy and a two-way presence.

She also won a world championship with Canada in 2021 and an Under-18 world championship in 2010.

Saulnier won an Olympic gold medal with Canada at the 2022 Winter Games. (Heather Pollock/PWHL)

"Part of winning hockey games is evoking a certain emotion to get players to play a certain style on the ice, and we want to play with a lot of heart," Marmer said.

"We want to play with a lot of compete and we want to be gritty and that's the type of player Jill is. If that can rub off on some of our maybe more skilled players or younger players or players who maybe don't always have to play that style — I think in this league, to be successful, everyone has to play that way."

Players debut with new teams this week

Girard, 26, played two seasons with the Connecticut Whale of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). After being the now-shuttered league's first-overall draft pick, she was named newcomer of the year in 2021-22.

Girard has yet to register a point over five games with the Fleet this season, but had six points in 23 games in the last campaign before her season was cut short due to injury.

Beyond offensive ability, it was Girard's size — she stands 5-foot-10 — and what she brings defensively that excited Daoust.

Taylor Girard, who was traded to the New York Sirens on Tuesday, recorded six points in 23 games during the 2024 PWHL season with Boston. (Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/PWHL)

"She described herself as a big body that can play the game physically," the GM said on Tuesday. "She also can skate at a pace where we all know that the league is going fast. So Taylor is definitely bringing physicality."

Marmer said teams aren't able to trade draft picks this season with expansion on the horizon as early as next season. That means trades must be player for player, and the numbers have to work under the salary cap, too.

Both Saulnier and Girard were in the final year of two-year contracts. Per an agreement with the players' association, the league doesn't reveal financial terms of contracts.

"We have to be open minded and to be creative when we trade players, and we found an agreement together to go with that trade where I just hope for both to find a win," Daoust said.

This is the second trade of the PWHL season after a blockbuster swap between the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge on New Year's Eve involving four players. It's the first trade in the New York franchise's history.

Saulnier is expected to be in the Fleet's lineup on Wednesday when the team hosts the Sceptres. As of Tuesday, the Fleet sit fifth in the league with 12 points.

Girard will make her Sirens debut on Saturday when the team travels to Toronto for a game at Scotiabank Arena. The Sirens are in third place with 16 points, but have two games in hand on second-place Minnesota (20 points).

You can watch the Sirens and the Sceptres game on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. ET on CBC TV, CBC Gem and CBCSports.ca.