PWHL Detroit signs Daryl Watts to four-year contract
The longest contract in PWHL history has been inked.
On Friday, the expansion PWHL Detroit announced its first signing. Detroit and forward Daryl Watts have agreed to a four-year Expansion Foundational Offer, marking the first-ever contract in league history to go beyond three years.
Watts was one of the biggest fish heading into the Expansion Player Distribution Process, as she and the Toronto Sceptres failed to sign an extension prior to Wednesday night’s deadline. Sceptres general manager Gina Kingsbury stated that the team was “pretty confident we were going to have an agreement” with Watts, but the Toronto native decided she wanted to play the field and see what else is out there.
With the deal being an EFO, that means Watts’ new contract must have a cap hit of $100,000, along with a $20,000 signing bonus. It’s a hefty pay raise for the 27-year-old, who only made $59,000 in 2025-26, the final season of a two-year contract she signed with Toronto as a free agent in 2024.
Despite being on a poor Toronto team last year, there’s no question about the amount of skill and tenacity Watts brings to the game. After giving a glimpse of what she could do with Ottawa in the league’s inaugural season, she has been able to shine in the spotlight in Toronto. In 2024-25, she posted 12 goals and 27 points in 30 games. This year, she was the lone Sceptre to reach 10 goals. In fact, she’s the only player to reach double-digits in goals in each of the PWHL’s first three seasons.
In 81 career PWHL games, Watts has scored 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points, with another two points in the 2025 Walter Cup Playoffs.
On top of her pro career, Watts has made her way onto the senior international stage in recent years, taking home the silver medal with Canada at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship and 2026 Winter Olympics. In Milan, she led the team with eight points in seven games.
Detroit has one of the five roster spots filled for Phase 2 of the Expansion Player Distribution Process. The second phase ends on June 8 at 1 p.m. ET.