Breaking Down PWHL Boston’s History-Making Trade

The PWHL announced its first-ever trade Sunday, with Boston and Minnesota completing a historic deal that could prove to be mutually beneficial.

Boston acquired defender Abby Cook and forward Susanna Tapani from Minnesota in exchange for defender Sophie Jaques.

Let’s jump in and see what that means for both sides.

Minnesota and Boston are in similar positions coming out of the break, sitting in second and third place, respectively. Minnesota’s advantage in the league standings essentially comes down to semantics, as it played two more games than Boston before the PWHL paused for international play.

Minnesota did have the better offense prior to its layoff but struggled to find any sort of consistency defensively. Boston’s been pretty disappointing on the offensive end — securing the league’s worst scoring output — but had enough defensive depth to feel comfortable making a win-now move.

That’s what this is for both sides.

Boston selected Jaques with the No. 10 pick in the inaugural PWHL Draft but didn’t see much production from her to this point in the season. The 23-year-old was outstanding at Ohio State, scoring 156 points in 172 games and winning the Patty Kazmaier Award in her final season, but likely needs time to develop at the next level.

Minnesota can afford to give her that opportunity, while her offense-first style provides something different on its blue line.

Cook is essentially a one-for-one swap with Jaques at this stage of their careers. They’re still developing their defensive game, but Boston’s edge in this move came by acquiring Tapani.

Tapani is one of the best skaters in the PWHL and has an international résumé that’s hard to beat. The 30-year-old took time off from hockey to focus on ringette, a similar sport that’s popular in Europe, but has transitioned back pretty well. It’s expected she’ll provide some scoring to Boston’s deep forward group that hasn’t quite figured everything out yet.

It’s likely been an interesting few days for the women who’ve been traded, but they’ll hit the ice with their new teams when the PWHL returns from international break Wednesday.