Sarah Fillier Took a Calculated Risk, and It Will Pay Off

It's been almost a year since the New York Sirens (then PWHL New York) selected forward Sarah Fillier as the first-overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft – and my, what a year it's been for the 24-year-old.

Following the draft on June 10, 2024, the summer passed quickly and without any news of her signing her first professional contract. Days, weeks and months flew by, and the Princeton grad still remained unsigned. At the time, Hailey Salvian reported in The Athletic that the proposed length of the contract was a major stumbling block. She noted that the team wanted her to sign a three-year contract, but Fillier wanted a two-year deal.

The top draft pick remained unsigned until Nov. 1, finally coming to terms on a one-year standard player agreement.

As Elisha wrote at the time, the "arrangement balances short-term impact with long-term potential, benefiting both sides."

Fillier was betting on herself in a big way back then, and it could pay off (literally!) huge now after an impressive rookie season. Despite being on the worst team in the league - the Sirens finished in sixth, with 37 points - Fillier stood out among the top players in the league, showing just why she belonged among the best of the best and why New York made the right move in picking her first overall.

In her rookie season, Fillier notched 29 points in 30 games played. She shares the PWHL Points Leader Award with Boston Fleet forward Hilary Knight, who also had 29 in 30. Her 16 assists broke the league's single-season assist record, a marker she shares with Toronto Sceptres defender Renata Fast, and her 13 goals were fourth-most in the league among all players. She also led the league with five power play goals (multiple players recorded four) and became the first player in league history to score a goal in five consecutive games.

She has already been announced as one of three finalists for Forward of the Year, alongside the aforementioned Knight and Montréal Victoire forward Marie-Philip Poulin. That's some pretty good company after your first year playing pro hockey.

Of course, she also stood out among the rookies, leading her class across the board in goals, assists and points. Her 589:27 of ice time was third-most among rookies, behind only Victoire defender Cayla Barnes (654:21) and Sirens defender Allyson Simpson (611:14). Overall, Fillier set the standard for PWHL rookies, with ten more points than any other rookie in the league's brief history.

The question begs - now what?

It's hard to say. First & foremost, the Sirens still hold Fillier's rights. A league rule implemented last summer gives teams 'ownership' of the rights to their draft picks for at least two years. The simplest option, of course, would be for Fillier and the Sirens to come to an agreement before the opening of free agency, locking her up for one, two or three more years. If they can't come to terms on a new deal, the Sirens could trade her rights - and would certainly get a juicy bounty in return.

Then there's the matter of the expansion draft for both PWHL Vancouver and PWHL Seattle, too - even though we don't know all the intricacies of how that will work just yet, or how that could factor in here.

Last summer in The Athletic article linked above, Hailey Salvian wrote:

"Becoming a free agent in two years would allow Fillier to maximize her earning potential after significant money frees up across the league with those three-year deals set to expire after the 2025-26 season. By then, Fillier could have another Olympic gold medal on her resume and might be one of the very best players in the world — if she’s not already there. A two-year deal would also provide flexibility if the PWHL were to expand by 2026-27, and give Fillier time to see if New York is the right long-term fit."

Although it ended up being a one-year deal, Salvian wasn't far off. By signing a shorter-term deal, Fillier is now going to be able to boost the ask for her potential new contract - though the initial three-year deals do still remain in place. And with league expansion coming - and possibly more again in the following year - the door is wide open for potential.

It's challenging to get too into specifics and what a contract could look like, given the PWHL and PWHLPA's refusal of disclosure of financial terms. We can't speculate much on what New York's salary cap situation looks like, or what other teams might be able to offer, without knowing all the details. We also can't speculate on how happy Fillier is or isn't in New York, if she's interested in re-signing there or not - though the Sirens are certainly interested in keeping her.

(As Tyler noted in a follow-up Tweet, Fillier is not a pending UFA but a pending RFA. The Sirens still hold her rights, as previously mentioned.)

There are a lot of unknowns for the future, but one thing is certain: Sarah Fillier has absolutely earned the right to negotiate a new contract, and she's shown that she's worth both good money and term. She holds all the power, and that one-year deal signed last summer is looking like a pretty smart idea right about now as she should get a significant raise heading into her sophomore pro season.