The Ottawa franchise has its first three signings, the Professional Women's Hockey League announced Tuesday. Forwards Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner, and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer have all agreed to terms on three-year deals that will run through 2026. Clark (26) knocks Switzerland defender Sarah Forster (3) off the puck during first period IIHF Women's World Hockey Championship semifinal hockey action in Brampton, Ont., on Saturday April 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

OTTAWA - A trio of Canadian Olympic gold medallists were the first players to sign with the Professional Women's Hockey League's team in Ottawa.

Forwards Emily Clark and Brianne Jenner, and goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer agreed to terms on three-year contracts that will run through the 2026 season, the PWHL announced Tuesday.

Salary figures were not disclosed. The PWHL's annual salaries will range from US$35,000 to $80,000.

The PWHL has stated that six players on each of the six teams will be signed to three-year contracts of not less than $80,000.

The league opens its inaugural season in January with teams in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul and New York City.

Team names and head coaches have yet to be announced, but the business of the PWHL has begun moving quickly with city locations and general managers unveiled last week.

Each team can sign three players to contracts during free agency.

Clark, Jenner and Maschmeyer were the first signings announced by the PWHL, but a flurry of transactions are expected before the 10-day window closes Sunday.

"Everything opened up on at one o'clock on Friday afternoon. We wanted to land these three players," Ottawa general manager Mike Hirshfeld said. "There's lots of negotiation. Our organization really did our best to sell ourselves to them."

The PWHL's first draft Sept. 18 will be 15 rounds. Minnesota earned the first pick in a lottery with Toronto selecting second. Training camps open Nov. 13.

As NHL players do when unrestricted free agency starts July 1, Jenner, Clark and Maschmeyer were in the novel position of weighing team location, contract terms and salary in choosing a team.

"When I was growing up in the game, I dreamed of playing for Team Canada, because that's what I saw on TV. I didn't think something like this was possible," Jenner said during a conference call with media.

"It's so exciting that's never going to be a thought for any other younger player. They're going to dream of playing for Ottawa, New York or Ottawa.

"It just feels so surreal that we got here. It was a challenging road, but we believed from the get-go this was possible."

The 32-year-old from Pickering, Ont., was named tournament MVP of the 2022 Beijing Games where she tied a single-tournament record for goals scored with nine. Jenner has 45 goals and 70 assists in 156 career games for Canada.

Saskatoon's Clark was Ottawa's first signing when free agency opened before Maschmeyer and Jenner came aboard.

Clark finished second in scoring with 23 points in 20 games in 2022-23 for the Professional Women's Hockey Players' Association (PWHPA). The 27-year-old totalled 21 goals and 21 assists in 104 career games for Canada.

"This is just such a monumental day in women's hockey," Clark said. "A lot of history has been written over the past couple of weeks and will continue to be over the next season."

Maschmeyer, a 28-year-old from Bruderheim, Alta., has a 21-11 record for the national women's team with a goals-against average of 1.40.

She's been Canada's No. 2 goalie in recent years behind Ann-Renée Desbiens, but will start the season as Ottawa's No. 1.

"I'm thrilled to be signing before the draft of course, and having that security," Maschmeyer said.

"There's a great depth of goaltending. You can look down the line in Canada and the U.S. and it's incredible, so it really is an honour to be a goalie that's been chosen in the free-agency period."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023