Forward Sarah Nurse is expected to sign with PWHL Vancouver, a source briefed on the situation told The Athletic.
The league’s expansion rules allow players in Nurse’s position — as well as unrestricted free agents — to negotiate with either of the new franchises in Seattle and Vancouver during a five-day signing window that opened on Wednesday morning.
The Toronto Sceptres, where Nurse spent her first two seasons in the PWHL, protected No. 1 defender Renata Fast, captain Blayre Turnbull and forward Daryl Watts. Watts was Toronto’s prized free-agent signing in the offseason and led the Sceptres in scoring, so it’s reasonable that general manager Gina Kingsbury didn’t want to let her go.
Still, leaving Nurse exposed was always going to be a risk. For Vancouver, locking her up during the signing window was a no-brainer.
Nurse, 30, is one of the most recognizable faces in women’s hockey. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she broke a record for points in a single tournament (18) and became the first woman to appear on the cover of an EA Sports hockey video game with NHL 23. She was a key figure in the launch of the PWHL as a member of the player-led bargaining committee that struck a first-of-its-kind CBA.
She was second in league-wide goals (11) and points (23) in the…
