Torrent lose Olympians Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka to expansion Detroit

A pair of Torrent players - maybe even three - are leaving Seattle together.

Expansion team PWHL Detroit announced Friday that it signed both defender Cayla Barnes and forward Hannah Bilka to Professional Women's Hockey League standard player agreements. Barnes signed a three-year contract through 2028-29 and Bilka agreed to a two-year contract through 2027-28.

PWHL San Jose then made Torrent goalie Corinne Schroeder its first-ever player.

Both Bilka and Barnes were gold medalists from the U.S. Olympic team in 2026 and both were expected to be on Seattle's list of three protected players. The Torrent protected goaltender Hannah Murphy, forward Alex Carpenter and defender Anna Wilgren instead.

Captain Hilary Knight was also not protected and while the rumor mill is churning, her departure has not been announced. Matchups with Detroit could get very interesting next season - on Friday, The Hockey News connected Knight to Detroit as well.

Barnes, 27, appeared in 30 Torrent games after signing a three-year contract during the foundational signing window for the 2025-26 PWHL expansion teams, Seattle and Vancouver. She chipped in three goals and five assists.

Bilka, 25, had nine points (four goals) in 14 games with the Torrent before suffering an upper-body injury at the Winter Games. That sidelined her for the rest of the PWHL season.

Bilka and Barnes have a history of moving around together. They both played at Boston College before transferring to Ohio State for their final years of collegiate hockey. Bilka led the Buckeyes in scoring during a run to the national championship in 2024.

Phase 2 of the complicated expansion player distribution process is underway and continues until Monday. Each expansion team will build the foundation of its roster by acquiring five players through signings and, if necessary, a player selection process, after submitting a 20-player target list it must stick to.

Existing teams can lose a maximum of three players who are under contract next season during this phase. Bilka, Barnes and Schroeder were all under contract, so the Torrent are already done there.

Knight is not under contract, signing a one-year deal with the Torrent last summer.

Detroit has been active on the first day of Phase 2, signing the Seattle pair after inking Daryl Watts to the first four-year contract in PWHL history. That's a new option during this expansion process.

PWHL Hamilton (Ontario) signed a pair of players, but PWHL Vegas and San Jose were fairly quiet most of Friday. Then San Jose signed Schroeder to a two-year standard player agreement. Schroeder handled most of last-place Seattle's outings last season and made 17 appearances in net, but the Torrent chose to protect Murphy, whom they drafted.

Since their team lost three contracted players on the first day of Phase 2, Seattle's Lexie Adzija, Jenna Buglioni, Mikyla Grant-Mentis and Danielle Serdachny, all of whom are signed for next year, are staying put for now.

The Torrent can protect three more players in Phase 3, which begins Wednesday. These protections may consist of players already signed to the 2026-27 roster and players on expiring contracts that are re-signed.

There is no conventional expansion draft this year.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 4:56 PM.