Montreal Victoire players pose for a team photo after defeating the Ottawa Charge to win the PWHL Walter Cup final in Ottawa on May 20, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

By The Canadian Press

PWHL establishes Eastern and Western conferences, expands to eight-team playoffs

Oct 2, 2026 | 6:01 AM

TORONTO — The Professional Women’s Hockey League has established a conference structure for the upcoming season and will increase the number of playoff teams from four to eight.

Four expansion clubs will join the league this season, which begins Dec. 5 and continues through April 18, the PWHL announced Friday as it released its 2026-27 schedule.

“With 12 teams, new conferences and more games than ever before, this schedule reflects the PWHL’s monumental growth as anticipation builds for our fourth season,” PWHL executive vice-president of hockey operations Jayna Hefford said in a statement.

“The introduction of conferences and an expanded playoff format will deepen rivalries and fuel the competitiveness that makes PWHL action so exciting from the very first puck drop until the Walter Cup is raised.”

Eastern Conference teams will include the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, the Montreal Victoire, the New York Sirens, the Ottawa Charge and the Toronto Sceptres.

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Western Conference clubs include PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, the Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, the Seattle Torrent and the Vancouver Goldeneyes.

Each team will play 30 regular-season games, including 18 within its conference and 12 interconference games. Expansion team names are expected to be announced next month.

The top four teams in each conference will qualify for the playoffs. Best-of-three first-round series will be followed by best-of-five conference finals and then a best-of-five league final for the Walter Cup.

The two first-place teams will have the opportunity to select their first-round opponents, choosing between the third- or fourth-place teams within their respective conference.

In the regular season, every team will visit the primary or secondary home venue in all 12 PWHL markets at least once. The PWHL used a four-team, two-round format in each of its first three post-seasons.

In Canada, TSN, Sportsnet, Prime Video and the CBC are returning as domestic broadcast rights-holders. Montreal Victoire rights-holders include RDS, Radio-Canada on ICI TÉLÉ and ICI TOU.TV and Prime Video.

All 180 regular-season games will be available to an international audience on the PWHL’s YouTube channel and via the league’s website. Canadian viewers can access games on those platforms when they’re not being carried domestically.

The PWHL’s “Takeover Tour” will expand from 16 to 24 games this season, the league said. Additional details are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.

Each team will play in four Takeover Tour games, which are currently marked as TBD on the schedule.

All teams will observe a one-week break around the debut of the PWHL All-Star event in Toronto on March 7.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press