Hilary Knight captained the U.S. women’s hockey team at the Winter Olympics earlier this year. Amber Searls / Imagn Images
June 8, 2026 Updated 6:23 pm EDT
American star forward Hilary Knight will play for the PWHL’s expansion team in Detroit as part of a sign-and-trade, a source briefed on the situation confirmed to The Athletic.
The Associated Press was the first to report the landmark transaction.
Knight will first sign a foundational contract with Las Vegas, as part of Phase 2 of the PWHL’s expansion roster-building process. Vegas will then trade Knight to Detroit in exchange for the team’s first-round pick in the draft next week, according to the AP. The trade will not become official until the PWHL’s trade freeze lifts on June 16.
The 36-year-old is a five-time Olympian and one of the most recognizable faces in women’s hockey. Knight won her second Olympic gold medal at the 2026 Milan Olympics, where she scored the game-tying goal late in the third period in Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win against Canada.
Detroit will be the third team Knight plays for in three seasons.
Last year, when the league added expansion franchises in Vancouver and Seattle, Knight signed with the Seattle Torrent after being left unprotected by the Boston Fleet.
While Knight had expressed her desire to play for Seattle for at least two more years, the Torrent opted to protect forward Alex Carpenter, defender Anna Wilgren and goalie Hannah Murphy from this year’s wave of expansion, leaving Knight exposed for a second straight year.
In Detroit, Knight will join a trio of her U.S. Olympic teammates: forwards Hannah Bilka and Britta Curl-Salemme and defender Cayla Barnes. American forward Jesse Compher signed a three-year deal with the team on Monday afternoon. Detroit also signed Daryl Watts to a historic four-year contract.
This story will be updated.
Jun 8, 2026
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