2024-25 PWHL Season Recap: New York Sirens
Despite receiving a savior in the form of rookie phenom Sarah Fillier, the Sirens were sunk by a lack of depth scoring and weak performance on home ice.
The New York Sirens entered this season with clear eyes and full hearts, hoping to put last season behind them and fight for a playoff spot this year. They got off to a good start, but a historic losing streak in February found them in a hole they just couldn't manage to dig out of. Although it wasn't without its bright spots, it certainly wasn't the season that the team or fans envisioned at the outset.
Record
8-4-5-13
6th in League
For the second season in a row, the Sirens ended the season in the basement of the league, 6th in the standings. Technically, this season was an improvement, with a .411 points percentage versus last year's 0.361. They may not have elevated in the standings, but they did win more of their games than they did last year. They also found a way to close games out in regulation more frequently: in the 2024-25 season, 66% (8 of 12) of the Sirens' wins came in regulation. Last year, that number was just 55% (5 of 9).
Their overall record, unfortunately, does not tell the whole story. The PWHL is a league where, in broad terms, you can't afford to lose at home. It is perhaps unsurprising that the Sirens finished at the bottom of the league when their record at the Prudential Center this season was an underwhelming 1-3-1-8 for a .256 points percentage. They would have needed to win approximately 75% of their away games in order to break even on the season with that kind of home record.
Best Rookie: Sarah Fillier
Well, this is an easy one. Sarah Fillier could not have delivered on the expectations that came with being selected first overall any better if she had scored a hat trick every game to single-handedly force the Sirens into the playoffs (and she did try). She was the best rookie in the entire league by a mile, and likely would have been in MVP contention if the Sirens had made the playoffs.
With 13 goals and 29 points, Fillier tied with Hilary Knight for the league lead in scoring, and the Sirens by 5 points. She also managed to finish the season with a +10 rating. Though plus-minus is a flawed statistic, being one of only three Sirens skaters to finish the season with a positive rating is nothing to sniff at. Fillier is (deservedly) practically a sho0-in for PWHL Rookie of the Year, so there could be no other choice for the Sirens' best rookie.
MVP: Sarah Fillier
It's Sarah Fillier. Again.
While Alex Carpenter might have competed for this title had she played the full season, the five games she lost to a broken jaw only allowed Fillier to showcase her talents even more. Any doubts, if they existed, about Fillier's ability to continue excelling when not playing with a fellow elite player like Carpenter were quickly quelled.
Fillier was simply an all-around juggernaut for the Sirens. She scored goals, she made plays, and she was defensively sound. She also lent a bit of grit to the Sirens game, clearly taking to the PWHL's heightened physicality well; Fillier led the Sirens with a whopping 35 penalty minutes, and was second on the team in hits with 38. She was also remarkably consistent throughout the season; three games was her longest pointless streak.
If the Sirens can build out a reliable bottom-six that can even break even in their ice time, Fillier's offense is enough to lead the team to success. She was stellar this year. The Sirens could not have asked for more.
Biggest Strength: Top Players
The biggest strength the Sirens had was their star players coming up big, consistently. This may seem like an overly simple answer, but I think it's not as much of a given as you would think. Last year, Knight struggled with the Fleet, and they very nearly missed the playoffs as a result. Other teams forego loading up with superstars in favor of having a very balanced lineup. But New York has elite players in the likes of Carpenter, Fillier, Ella Shelton, and even less flashy names like Jessie Eldridge or Micah Zandee-Hart.
The reason they had such a good start to the season, and why they still had an outside shot at a playoff berth even in the last weeks, was because despite not getting production from their depth, those top players often produced enough that it didn't matter. That's not a sustainable formula, which is why they ultimately fell short, but it's not for nothing either.
Biggest Weakness: Offensive Depth
Alas, star players cannot drag you to success kicking and screaming without at least a little help, and this season was just another reminder of that for the Sirens. They got next to no scoring from their bottom six players. That can be manageable as long as they're not giving up oodles of goals, but those two bottom lines were too often getting caved in.
Only six Sirens hit double digits in points this year, tied for the fewest among all PWHL teams. Their top four goal scorers – Fillier, Carpenter, Jessie Eldridge, and Ella Shelton – accounted for 57.7% of their goals. That is the highest percentage of any team.
Final Thoughts
This season is certainly not what the New York Sirens imagined at the outset, nor was it what they wanted. The future is uncertain as the expansion draft looms; they may say goodbye to their starting goalie and top-line center alike, as both Corinne Schroeder and Alex Carpenter were left exposed. The team will take into its third season another year of lessons, and will experience the brave new post-expansion world along with all of the other Inaugural Six teams. But with pieces like Sarah Fillier and Ella Shelton, plus another first overall draft pick, there is hope yet.
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