The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) is restructuring for the season by creating Eastern and Western conferences and increasing its playoffs from four teams to eight. The league also expands to a 12-team format, adding four expansion clubs.
Across the reports, the change is tied to the league’s schedule and postseason format. Play begins Dec. 5, with Seattle playing Vancouver to open the season. Expansion teams Hamilton and San Jose (as reported) are part of the slate of new clubs joining existing franchises, bringing the league to 12 total teams. The newly defined conferences set up the way teams qualify for the larger postseason field.
While the outlets largely agree on the key structural changes—two conferences and an eight-team playoff field—coverage emphasizes different elements such as the league’s overall expansion size and specific opening-week matchups. Together, the reports describe a league that is growing both in team count and in the number of teams competing for the championship.
