Fleet GM Danielle Marmer Explains 'Hardest Decision' Not Protecting Hilary Knight
The former Boston captain joins PWHL Seattle next season
By the end of the PWHL’s exclusive signing period and the expansion draft on Monday night, the Boston Fleet lost forwards Hilary Knight and Hannah Bilka and defender Emily Brown to Seattle and defender Sydney Bard to Vancouver.
While all four players were key contributors in Boston, Knight was not only the captain but literally the heart and soul of the original six franchise.
For the initial three protection slots, Fleet general manager Danielle Marmer opted to save goaltender Aerin Frankel, defender Megan Keller and forward Alina Müller from the expansion process. Unfortunately, that decision left Knight ripe for the picking.
“Not protecting Hilary Knight was the hardest decision that I made in my professional career to date,” Marmer said Tuesday during a virtual media availability, per team-provided video. “I think the world of her. I think she's an incredible player, an incredible leader. That's a void that we're not looking to fill.
“I'm not expecting anybody to rise up and become Hilary Knight. I think we're going to have to come together as a group to fill that void...and I'm excited for the opportunity for some of these players to get to step up. But that was a decision [where] how I personally felt and what I felt was best for the team and with my GM hat, opposed each other.”
Knight is a legend in the sport of hockey, and despite her age (35), Knight has shown no signs of slowing down or being ineffective in games. She tied for the league lead in points last season by amassing 29 in 30 games. However, Knight did announce the 2026 Olympics would be her fifth and final Games.
Those factors ultimately led to Marmer protecting Müller instead of Knight.
“I had to strike a balance between performance, longevity, and salary cap,” Marmer said. “I think Alina is somebody who it doesn’t matter who we surround her with or what she has to work with, she’s going to find a way to do a really nice job and be productive and be impactful.
“She’s proven that she can do a lot and can do a lot without much. … She makes players around her better in a way that I really haven't seen many other players do…Alina is somebody who doesn't matter who we surround her with or what she has to work with. She's going to find a way to do a really nice job and be productive and be impactful.”
After scooping up Knight in the exclusive window signing, Seattle general manager Meghan Turner, who served as Boston’s assistant GM last season, elected to pick another forward she was familiar with — Bilka.
Bilka finished sixth in rookie scoring and registered four goals and five assists for 11 points in her first 13 games for the Fleet. It’s unknown how many more points Bilka would have amassed had she not suffered a lower-body injury while representing Team USA in the Rivalry Series against Canada and been placed on long-term injured reserve in February. During her last collegiate season, Bilka led the Ohio State Buckeyes in scoring with 48 points in 39 games.
Marmer used her last protection slot on Shay Maloney to prevent the Fleet’s forward group from losing another skater.
“Knowing that we were losing two really impactful forwards, we wanted to reprotect Shay,” Marmer said. “She's somebody who just embodies how we want to play hockey in Boston. She's big, she's tough, she's physical, she's really detailed.
“I think at this age, it gets harder and harder as they're professionals to build and add the detail, the habits. And she has that in her; it's who she is as a player, and it's proven to provide her with a ton of success, as we saw this past season. She is someone who is only going to continue to get better.”
Despite losing four talented players from the roster, Marmer is optimistic about how expansion will affect the remaining players in Boston.
“The exciting thing is, with change comes opportunity,” she said. “There are going to be players who are going to rise to the occasion and step up in a way that they maybe wouldn't have had the opportunity to had some of these players remained in our market. I'm confident that we have some of those in our locker room right now, and I'm really excited to see who it is and how it goes and how those players show up and maybe take on some of that responsibility.”
Marmer and her fellow GMs will continue to build their rosters for the PWHL’s third season when the signing window for players on expiring contracts opens at 9 a.m. ET, on June 16, followed by the entry draft on June 24 in Ottawa, ON. The league has not yet announced the draft order, except for the New York Sirens earning the first overall pick.