Charge signs Elizabeth Giguere to one-year contract
A former decorated college player is moving north of the border.
On Thursday, the Ottawa Charge announced the team has signed forward Elizabeth Giguere to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season.
Giguere says one of the reasons she considered moving to the nation’s capital is because of the rabid fans.
“The absolute craziness of the fans in Ottawa came immediately to my mind when the opportunity to sign with the Charge was presented to me,” Giguere said in a release. “Let’s be honest, the fans are incredible. I’ve only heard good things about the team and the players. … I felt like I needed a new challenge and I’m ready for it. I want to help bring a championship to Ottawa.”
Giguere also admitted her chat with head coach Carla MacLeod helped sway her to sign with the Charge.
“I’ve spoken with [MacLeod] and it was a really good meeting. I can tell she loves hockey and wants to keep improving this team like they did last season.”
Giguere comes to Ottawa after spending the first two seasons in the league with the New York Sirens, the team that took her in the fifth round of the inaugural PWHL Draft in 2023. She entered the league with a lot of pomp and circumstance, thanks to winning the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2020 and having a fruitful career with Clarkson and Minnesota-Duluth.
Unfortunately, despite an exciting rookie season with the Boston Pride of the PHF, Giguere has not been able to find her footing in the PWHL. In year one, the Quebec City native scored just three goals and four points in 24 games. She followed that up with another four points in 29 games during the 2024-25 campaign, with New York finishing last in the league each season.
For a Charge team that has been fleeced of talent over the past couple of weeks, thanks to free agency and the expansion process, general manager Mike Hirshfeld has to start adding talent if the team wants to be competitive next year. With Giguere, Ottawa has 10 of a possible 23 players signed through next season.