The New York Sirens had hoped for a different fate in 2024-2025 than what they had experienced in 2023-2024, but unfortunately it appears that the team will need to go back to the drawing board in the summer of 2025. With a 7-4-4-12 record with a 0.407 points percentage at the start of the IIHF break, the Sirens see themselves 6 points out of a playoff spot with three games remaining. Though not yet mathematically eliminated, the Sirens have little control over their ability to make the playoffs based on their remaining schedule. Despite the bleak outlook, it’s still worth looking at how they got here.

               At the top of New York’s lineup, they had two of the league’s top 10 (2^nd and 9^th) most efficient scorers in Sarah Fillier and Alex Carpenter, while Jessie Eldridge and Abby Roque both showcased strong scoring ability as well as they were above the league average scoring rates (PPG) this season. Additionally, Ella Shelton, after returning from injury, returned to form as one of the top 5 scoring and goal creating defenders in the league. Unfortunately for the Sirens, the rest of their skaters were below average at creating offense, tying them for last in the league in Goals For this season with the Ottawa Charge. All things considered, the New York forward group has more Star Caliber players than a year ago, but Jaime Bourbonnais dropping from 0.54 PPG to 0.26 PPG has hurt their scoring depth tremendously. New York’s defensive play did not seem to improve under Greg Fargo in 2024-2025, and Corinne Schroeder has been unable to replicate her 2023-2024 heroics. Schroeder has posted a 2.50 GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average) this year which is 3^rd in the entire PWHL for goalies with 6+ appearances; however, the drop from her monolithic 8.46 from a year ago (2^nd in the league to Elaine Chuli) was more than New York’s scoring depth could overcome. New York had hoped for more from their rookie class outside of Fillier, but despite having the best spot(s) in the draft, Montréal, Minnesota, and Ottawa were able to yield better impact players outside of the first round.

               Looking to their remaining schedule of Minnesota, Toronto, and Montréal, the Sirens only game against an opponent they can pass is Minnesota; however, a Charge win of any kind the rest of the season would spell the end of the Sirens. Moving to the next season, I’ve seen enough of the Sirens (and Fleet) and their system that demands elite goaltending and elite production from their top line to win games. It doesn’t work in the PWHL. It works in the NCAA for topflight programs like Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Minnesota because their rosters are better than 90% of their opponents from the top to the bottom. The PWHL has more parity than any other professional hockey league on Earth due to the number of teams, and the inability to utilize highly talented depth players effectively to score goals is a fatal flaw that New York has let capsize them twice. I didn’t even mention the 10 game losing streak earlier because it was a consequence of their playing style, rather than the cause of their inevitable postseason miss.