Story of the Week

#knight2mtl: Hilary Knight Joins Les Canadiennes

‘I’m just excited to contribute in any way I can’: Hilary Knight talks about joining Les Canadiennes - Eyes On The Prize

Hilary Knight’s whirlwind season sees Olympic champion join CWHL’s Les Canadiennes

The Hilary Knight story was so big this week we almost didn’t want to make it story of the week. After all what more can we say?

More than one piece written after her Thursday evening scrum made it clear this wasn’t some last-minute decision — Knight’s been planning to come to Montréal for a while. Whether or not this is some sort of move against the NWHL (it’s probably not, Knight isn’t usually particularly subtle when she has something on her mind) Kirsten Whelan hits the nail squarely on the head when she says that Knight is “in Montreal because it’s where she wants to be”.

When Alex Carpenter chose to sign up for the CWHL draft this past offseason, one thing that was pointed to as a possible explanation was that with the new USA Hockey contracts, US national team players don’t have to worry as much about how much their club teams are paying them. As a gold medalist, Knight also gets an extra bonus from the US Olympic committee. All this plus the sponsorship money that being “the face of USA Women’s hockey” pulls in gives her the freedom to move to the team that is (for now) paying a little less if she feels that it’s the more attractive league for other reasons.

Speaking of Alex Carpenter, Hilary Knight’s not the first former NWHLer to come to the CWHL over the last two seasons. It’s true that a fairly minor player like Erin Zach moving from the Buffalo Beauts to the Toronto Furies in the 2016 offseason didn’t attract much attention, nor did it probably deserve much. On the other hand, Kelli Stack was once the highest-paid player in the NWHL. She’s now just won the Angela James Bowl as the CWHL’s highest scorer for the 2017-18 season. The CWHL playoffs will feature five former NWHLers on Stack’s team, Kunlun Red Star, three on the Markham Thunder, and now Knight on the Canadiennes de Montréal. If there is any kind of movement away from the NWHL, it wasn’t Hilary Knight that got the ball rolling.

That said, Knight is the only member of the USWNT to join a professional league post-Olympics. She might be a big name but she’s not the only name, and if she chooses not to rejoin the NWHL next season (note she has not committed to Montréal past the 2018 playoffs), there are several who still might bring some star power back to that league. Amanda Kessel, for instance, has already mentioned she’s interested in rejoining the Metropolitan Riveters next season.

In the meantime, Knight and the Canadiennes will be taking on the Markham Thunder in a best-of-three series this weekend in Montréal. Montréal went 4 and 1 against the Thunder this season but every game went to overtime and two needed a shootout. Markham is also the hottest team in the league right now. Their last loss was January 20 against Kunlun Red Star, and their last regulation loss was also against Kunlun on their trip to China on November 24.

For the other semi-final series Red Star will take on the Calgary Inferno this weekend here in the GTA. Generally considered a juggernaut of a team, Kunlun has a losing record against Calgary, although some of those games were played without their top goalie, Finnish Olympic bronze medalist Noora Räty. Both series promise to be exciting, so if you can go in person, you very much should. Otherwise games 2 and 3 (if necessary) of both series will be streamed on the CWHL site.

As to what Hilary Knight in particular can bring to a hockey team, check out the highlights package that our friends at Eyes on the Prize have compiled.

Highlights: What Hilary Knight can bring Les Canadiennes - Eyes On The Prize

International hockey

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Para hockey

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CWHL

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CWHL Recap: Markham Thunder roll over the Boston Blades and into the playoffs - Pension Plan Puppets
Four points from returning Olympian Laura Stacey and a shutout from Erica Howe clinched the final playoff spot.

Les Canadiennes clinch regular season title on final day of the season - Eyes On The Prize
Montreal sweeps final weekend series against Calgary to secure number one spot in Hilary Knight’s debut.

CWHL Recap: Markham Thunder edge Boston Blades to end regular season - Pension Plan Puppets
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NWHL

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NCAA

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U Sports

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European league hockey

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AWIHL (Australia)

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Women's HockeyCanadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL)