PWHL Detroit signs Taylor Girard to two-year contract
A native of the Mitten is returning home.
On Thursday, PWHL Detroit announced that the team has signed forward Taylor Girard to a two-year contract. The Macomb, Mich. native is the first player from the Great Lakes State to join the new franchise in Hockeytown.
Girard becomes the seventh player signed by Detroit, and the second in Phase 3 of the Expansion Roster Distribution Process. Defender Sydney Bard was signed on Wednesday, with the two players joining the organization’s signings from the second phase – Daryl Watts, Britta Curl-Salemme, Jesse Compher, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes.
The 28-year-old has spent most of the past two seasons with the New York Sirens. However, injuries have kept her from completing a full season in the PWHL. On March 15 of this past season, Girard suffered a freak knee injury against the Minnesota Frost in a TakeoverTour game in Denver. The ailment ended up knocking her out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, which saw the Sirens miss the Walter Cup Playoffs for the third year in a row. In 17 games, she scored seven goals and eight points, including posting a hat trick in the first game of the season against the Ottawa Charge.
Girard is familiar with playing at Little Caesars Arena. In the first two years of the PWHL, she appeared in the first two Takeover games at the home of the Detroit Red Wings with both Boston and New York.
The former member of the Connecticut Whale was originally taken by Boston in the ninth round of the league’s inaugural draft in 2023. She was traded to the Sirens in January 2025 for Jill Saulnier. In 63 career games, Girard has posted 12 goals and five assists for 17 points.
Detroit can sign one more player during this phase. Phase 3 of the expansion process continues through 3 p.m. ET on June 12.