MONTRÉAL (June 10, 2026) – The Montréal Victoire announced on Wednesday that defender and three-time Walter Cup Champion Maggie Flaherty has been re-signed to a two-year Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Standard Player Agreement through the 2027-28 season. With the signing, Flaherty is one of the team’s three protected players as part of Phase 3 of the PWHL’s Expansion Player Distribution Process ahead of the 2026-27 season.
Flaherty played a crucial role in the Victoire’s path to its first Walter Cup title, contributing four points (3G, 1A) in nine postseason contests. Her three playoff goals were the second-most among all defenders and tied for the second-most among all Victoire players. In the regular season, the Lakeville, MN, native and University of Minnesota-Duluth alum posted career highs in goals (four), points (nine) and games played (30) while matching her career high in assists (five). Across three seasons with Montréal and Minnesota (2024, 2024-25), the 26-year-old has totaled 17 points (6G, 11A) in 76 regular-season games and five points (4G, 1A) in 25 postseason games. Her five game-winning goals between regular season and playoffs are the most by a PWHL defender all-time, and she is the only three-time Walter Cup champion in PWHL history.
In Phase 1 of the expansion process, the Victoire used its three protections to secure forwards Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, as well as goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens, each with current contracts through the 2027-28 season.
During Phase 3, existing PWHL teams may protect three players under contract for the 2026-27 season, and/or players on expiring contracts signed during this phase. At the end of this phase, each existing team’s total protected list will consist of six players, and expansion teams will have up to eight total players, each signing a maximum of three players on expiring contracts during this phase. The Phase 3 signing period continues until Friday, June 12 at 3 p.m. ET, followed by a 5 p.m. ET deadline for existing teams to submit their protection lists.
A complete list of player signings and transactions is available on the official PWHL Transactions Page. To see the full overview of the status of PWHL player contracts, visit the PWHL Contract Guide here.