Things were very much on an upswing as far as Nicole Haught was concerned. Clearing things up with Waverly had been like a breath of fresh air for her lungs and a weight off her shoulders. She'd meant what she'd said to Wynonna about initiating the break—their relationship could've ended up toxic and detrimental to everyone's wellbeing. She loved Waverly, of course she did, but she also knew that they hadn't been Waverly and Nicole for a long time, not with how overwhelming her recovery had been. It wasn't the relationship that she knew and recognized and treasured and she'd figured a pause and reset would be the best way to fix things.
The second she and Waverly…reunited for the first time after that month apart, Nicole knew first that she was an idiot for ever suggesting any time away from that angel, and second that they were going to be absolutely fine.
She and Waverly had agreed to set time aside in their days for themselves to just connect with each other—no talk about doctors, pain meds, workouts with Wynonna, stat reports or anything remotely work related. It quickly became a favorite time in her day, especially when she convinced Waverly to rewatch Golden Girls with her from the beginning again.
Another product of the destressing was the rate at which her recovery progressed. As a part of getting herself back on track, she made more of an effort to be in the locker room with the team. There was a period of time where she ignored the room like the plague, still crushed under the reminders of how far she was away from being a part of the team again. However, once she made the leap to step foot back in there, she became a vocal presence for the team, whipping them up before games.
Physically, she'd graduated from being confined to the weight room to getting out onto the ice again. Not in pads or even with a stick, but skating nonetheless. Nicole had convinced herself that she'd be able to jump right into full skating, but she'd been sorely mistaken. As it turned out, skating was not like riding a bike, at least not when you've had your entire leg rebuilt. (It had taken her nearly two and a half weeks to get used to the feeling of her knee brace while skating).
The skating drills she'd started with made her feel like she was back in a learn-to-skate program, but Rosita and Kate made it abundantly clear that they were necessary. Starting essentially from scratch would allow her to apply the basics and fundamentals so as not to put unnecessary strain on her muscles. Nicole was frustrated at first, especially when she'd have to cut sessions short because of soreness or have to take long pauses when she was especially winded from a drill, because she'd never not been good at something (even after putting her mind to it). Lucky for her, Waverly Earp was there at every session she could be, showing her support from the bench. Less lucky for her, the other Earp was also there.
At Every. Single. Session.
Wynonna, naturally, was there to be her own brand of supportive—taunting and challenging and baiting her into competition with every drill.
("I didn't waste so much of my very valuable time for you not to be the second greatest hockey player in Purgatory history," Wynonna had told her.
"Second behind you, I'm assuming?"
Of course Wynonna had meant that, and nodded proudly as Nicole strode back to one of the circles to work on backwards c-cuts).
In the long run, Nicole supposed she was grateful to have someone so interested in her success.
By the time the regular season found itself winding down, Nicole was still a ways out from being able to play, but she had finally graduated to skating in hockey equipment and after most sessions she stayed after Kate and Rosita had left, getting some stickhandling and passing in with Wynonna.
The Devils had a rare four days in between games as the team waited for the playoff matchups to sort themselves out. They hadn't had the season they did last year, Nicole figured that that was a feat that would prove difficult to duplicate again, but they still sat comfortably in a playoff spot at the end of 82 games. The extended break between games meant that Nicole shouldn't have been surprised when Powers and Finning invited her out for drinks at Shorty's after they finished practice. And the thing about an invitation from either of those two was that you couldn't refuse it even if you wanted to.
"RED!" She couldn't even make it three whole steps into the bar before hearing her name shouted across the room. She rolled her eyes when they landed on Vic Powers practically standing on her chair to get her attention, immediately followed by Shan tugging on her arm to get her to sit down.
"God damn it Victoria," she heard Finning say to Powers as she neared her friends, thinking she'd been scolding the woman. "I told you we were gonna do the whole Prodigal Son Returneth bit."
"And I told you that that was lame, and ineffective, Shannon," Vic spat back, crossing her arms. "At least my method got her attention."
"I don't think she'd've had any problems finding us, not with that ridiculous shirt you're wearing."
"You take that back," Powers gasped, offended on behalf of her navy blue short-sleeve button down adorned with bright pink flamingos that was admittedly a bit much, even for her.
"Uh, hey guys," Nicole said, interrupting their bickering.
"Well, well, well," Shan drawled and looked at Nicole as if she were sizing her up, "the prodigal son returneth."
She rolled her eyes at her teammates but did as she was instructed when the pair simultaneously motioned for her to take a seat.
"What're you talking about, prodigal son?" Nicole questioned. Last she checked, she hadn't gone anywhere.
"We're talking about how you've completely ignored us for like a whole year."
(She realized only then that they were about ten days out from the anniversary of her injury).
"Come on, you know that's not true," Nicole reasoned. Sure she hadn't spent as much time with the pair as she once had, but to say she completely ignored them would be unfair.
"Well let's look at the evidence, shall we," Shan made a motion with her hands like she was laying her findings across the tabletop. "April 22, you go to the hospital; April 24, you wake up, we chat, things are fine; then once you get out of the hospital, you're busy—we get it, you're relearning how to be a person or whatever; but then once you're relatively back to normal, we only see each other in passing at the arena. So…"
Nicole bit the inside of her cheek. She'd failed to consider the impacts of her laser focus on recovering and rehabbing her injury on her friends. She knew that she, Waverly, and Wynonna were fine (for the most part) because she'd been living in their home for the majority of the last year; and the same could be said for her friendship with Doc, Rosita, and Kate because of the time they spent together in the training and weight rooms. But, she hadn't done much else other than rehab and spend time at the homestead and her friendships with two of her closest friends suffered more than she had previously considered. Something akin to guilt washed over her when she realized that she'd gotten rather chummy with the new girl in town, leaving the other two essentially tossed to the side like last year's toys.
"The point of all that," Vic interjected before Nicole could rebut, "is that we miss you, Red."
"I'm…I'm sorry guys," Nicole sighed, offering her regrets. They hadn't mentioned it, but Nicole was reminded of how she had pushed them away in a moment of self-pity—a low point in her recovery where she'd resigned herself to the fact she'd never play again. She couldn't bring herself to talk to, look at, or even think of her teammates knowing that she wasn't one of them anymore, never would be. "I never meant to make you guys feel that way."
"We know," Vic answered; Shan, who looked like she was fighting it, nodded her agreement. "Just, if you do it again..."
"I won't," she said, catching the serious eyes of the women on either side of her.
"You better not," Shan pointed her finger sternly at Nicole. "Because if you do, I will not hesitate to kill you."
"I've already almost actually been murdered," Nicole joked. It was a joke she and Wynonna shared, but Waverly hated. "So your threats don't really scare me."
"You underestimate my murderous capabilities, Haught." (Nicole swore she heard Vic's neck physically crack with the speed she whipped her head over, like she was discovering a new, unsettling side of her friend).
When a waitress approached their table with a tray of drinks and Nicole realized that it really had been a long time since she's done anything remotely social, considering the staff upgrade at the establishment. Vic distributed the beverages amongst the three of them, Nicole pulling a sour face when she got a taste of something that vaguely resembled beer in the worst possible way. Vic, from beside her, pulled a similar face.
"Nic, I think I got your gross excuse for a beer," she gagged, pushing her glass away.
"Says the woman who drinks blueberry beer," Shan said, sipping her own choice of beer—a safe, unassuming, middle of the road Molson Dry. Vic's Wachusett Blueberry was the exact thing Nicole just about choked on; it came from a brewery somewhere in New England and she wasn't even sure how Powers managed to find it here. Nicole's choice was the Black Rock beer she'd stayed true to since the first time she set foot in the joint—she'd asked Shorty to give her whatever he had on tap and found it potable enough to make it her go-to.
"You just don't have the refined taste buds that I have," Vic said, swapping her glass and Nicole's.
"So…what's new? You know, since apparently I've been ignoring you two for a year?" She asked, knowing more than anything that the three of them needed to catch up.
"I just bought a new car," Shan told her proudly.
"Ooh, what kind? Is it pretty?"
"She's gorgeous. Sexy midnight blue Mustang GT, that," Shan put her hand up to stop the comment both of them clock on the tip of Powers' tongue, "for the last time, I will not be making any modifications to."
"Okay," Powers interrupted anyway, because when Vic has something on her mind, there's no stopping her. "But hear me out, Nic, tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it wouldn't look even sexier with a nice racing stripe right down the middle."
"Vic, you know I love you, but…" Not wanting to say it outright, Nicole opted to shrug as she took a sip from the glass in front of her. She didn't think the car would look better with a racing stripe, and actually would probably make Finning look like some type of high school douchebag who claims to be a motorhead. Vic appears only mildly offended at the lack of support for her response.
"Whatever, you two lack the vision anyway."
"Anything new with you, or just daydreaming about ruining Shan's car?"
From the way Vic sat up with an air of importance (more so than her natural state, which is saying a lot), Nicole can tell she'd been waiting for the question all night.
"Oh nothing," Powers answered through a faux-casual smirk, contradicting the mannerisms of just a second prior.
"Nothing?"
"Nope."
"I find that hard to believe. You once called a linemate meeting to tell us about the new book you bought."
"To be fair, most of the time I'm convinced she can't read," Shan interjected, "so that was important, ground-breaking news."
"Victoria Powers, you're telling me there hasn't been even one newsworthy thing that's happened to you in a whole year?"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying," Vic doubled down, "unless you count this as newsworthy."
Powers held out her left hand to show to the two at the table, and Nicole notes that this is news even to Finning by the way she gasps from beside her. She wondered how neither of them noticed before now.
"Oh my god, Vic!" Nicole exclaimed, admiring the sizable, shimmering rock placed delicately in the silver band. "When?"
"Gen popped the question last week, casually, in between Kraft Dinner and starting a Back to the Future marathon." Vic divulged with a dreamy look on her face, one not often seen by Nicole. She was more accustomed to the confident, cocky sunavabitch, but had caught glimpses of it from time to time—though she now realized only really occurred when the woman was talking about Gen. "She's perfect and she gets me."
Nicole can't help but laugh internally. From the moment she'd met them, Nicole just assumed that Powers and Finning were a thing. It made sense—the pair were essentially attached at the hip, knew a relationship-level number of details about each other, and Nicole still to this day has quite literally never seen one without the other. It was only when Powers introduced her to Genevieve that Nicole gave up her suspicions; even over one dinner she could see that Vic and Gen were perfectly matched for each other. Vic and Shan laughed in her face when they figured out that Nicole thought they were a couple. As it turned out, they weren't, nor had they ever been, romantically involved. Just really good friends. Just a couple of queer lady pals, if you will.
"This is so exciting! I'm so happy for the both of you," Nicole clapped her hands before raising a glass to toast her friend. "To the happy couple. If Vic Powers can get married, then there's hope for the rest of us yet."
The three clinked their glasses together and drank to that.
"Speaking of weddings," Shan said, mischief in her voice, "when're you gonna sack up and put a ring on your girl, Red?"
Nicole, still mid-sip of her beer, choked on the liquid, half of it coming out of her nose as she spluttered. Apparently she was stupid to dismiss Finning's murderous capabilities because she was certain the woman was trying to kill her. The other two at the table laughed as she tried to regain her bearings.
"What?" She croaked, wiping away the beer that had dribbled over her chin.
"You heard me. When are you gonna pop the question to Waverly?"
"I-i-i…" Nicole stammered, unable to find an answer.
"T-t-t-t-today, junior," Vic teased.
"I…pffft…I mean, not that I don't love Waverly, I do—of course I do—but don't you think it's a bit early to even think about that?"
Finning's unimpressed look said more than any words she could've used.
"Look, Rook," Shan said.
"I'm not a rookie anymore."
"You'll always be Rook to me. But regardless, I've seen you with Waverly, and I've heard Waverly talk about you far too much for my liking—I can't think of two people who should get married more than the both of you."
"Yeah," Vic seconded, "and she knows me and Gen, so you know it's legit."
"I don't know," she sighed. It's not like she hadn't thought about it; the idea of Waverly Earp in a long white dress walking down the aisle to her, Nicole Rayleigh Haught, made her heart race in all the right ways. That being said, she still wasn't sure if it was the right time. "I mean…we just got back together and on the same page. What if a proposal undoes all of that because she's not ready?"
(She didn't need to add that it had been three whole months since she and Waverly reconciled).
"But what if she is ready?"
Nicole smiled at the thought, but still couldn't bring herself to imagine herself being so bold to ask for Waverly's hand just yet. Some days she still tried to wrap her head around the fact she'd been dating Waverly at all.
"We're not gonna push you if you're not ready, just think about it." Finning said and Nicole could feel the subject being dropped entirely as the woman drained the rest of her beer. Vic didn't add, but internally Nicole thought that the woman was definitely a little glad to not have to share the wedding spotlight.
"Anything else new that I've missed? Any news around the team that Waverly can't tell me?" Nicole asked after a moment.
"She hasn't made it official to Dolls or anything yet, but Lecie's hanging 'em up at the end of the playoffs," Vic answered, and Nicole felt a bit sad that she'd missed out on her last possible season playing with the woman. Wilson was one of the veterans that she connected with best, and between losing Kym last season and now Lecia, an alternate captain, Nicole knew that the locker room would be very different next season.
"Oh my gosh, what a bummer," Nicole lamented, "but good for her, she deserves it."
"I just hope we go far for her."
"It would be nice to go out on top, wouldn't it?"
"Mhm," Shan nodded, "it's gonna be a bitch replacing her though."
Lecia Wilson was one of the best wingers Nicole had the honor of playing with and in terms of leadership she knew that hers were big shoes to fill. She'd hate to have to be in charge of finding a replacement for someone like that. They had people on their roster who she thought might be able to step up and get the job done, but Nicole knew that they'd miss the presence she brought to the locker room more than anything else.
"Especially because the free agent market is looking drier that the Sahara Desert and we have a grand total of no draft picks this year," Powers brought up the crucial point. The Devils had used their draft picks as bargaining pieces in the rebuild that sent them from worst to first in the span of one season, leaving them with zero for the upcoming draft in June.
The conversation flowed and shifted, declining in coherence as they drank, but when all was said and done, Nicole walked out of Shorty's that night with a whole lot of new information and the seed of an idea growing in her head.
"Nicole Haught flies down the wing, she takes the gorgeous saucer pass from Earp and…OHH! She misses the net spectacularly and the Devils lose…" Wynonna narrated, finishing her dramatic commentary with a series of boos and jeers.
They'd been playing around after one of their sessions, an all-in-all good one. Though she was hardly flying down the wing, she was considerably faster than she had been at the beginning of the month, which she took pride in, even if Wynonna was right to say she missed the net spectacularly. She'd only been back to shooting for a couple days now and she was Rusty (though to say it with a capital 'R' would still be an understatement).
Looking at the FitBit she wore on her wrist, Nicole noticed that she had only a small window of time to catch Dolls before he left for the day, and she really needed to talk to him.
It had been weeks since she spoke to Shan and Vic at Shorty's, the calendar now approaching mid-June, the draft passing just a few days before. The Devils found themselves no match for the reloaded Calgary Outlaws, going out in six games in the first round. Lecia made her retirement official to upper management a week later, and Waverly couldn't help but bring up the team's struggles to find a suitable replacement. Apparently, despite their recent success, the Blue Devils weren't a desirable prospect in the eyes of the league's free agents.
Perfect for my plan, Nicole thought.
"Hey, I gotta cut this short, Dolls needs to talk to me," Nicole said, making her way to the bench.
"What, you finally gettin' canned?" Wynonna snarked. "Boss man finally shipping you out for some decent talent?"
She narrowed her eyes at the woman, and for a second, debated on whether or not she should actually go through it. The debate is short-lived of course, because Nicole knew that Wynonna Earp had never been serious about a damn thing in her life, and especially not when it came to putting her friends down.
"No, he just needs to talk," she said, though she knew she'd be the one talking.
"Okay," Wynonna gives her a skeptical look, but follows her off the ice to remove their skates. "You good to get back to the homestead yourself, then? I'm gonna go see if Doc wants to hang."
"Yeah, I'll be fine." She wasn't going to say anything that jeopardized her newfound prospects of the house alone with Waverly.
She found herself outside of the GM's office with the offer in her head, with a solid argument for her case and everything. She knocked on the closed door with the appropriate level of apprehension. She didn't necessarily fear Dolls, per se, but the guy's incapacity for human connection made her a little uneasy.
"Enter," his voice came flatly from across the door. His face remained stoic as he extended his arm, an invitation for her to take a seat. "You wanted to speak with me?"
"Yeah, uh, well," she said, words failing her for a moment. Doubt crept in for just a moment.
Just ask, Haught. Worst he can say is 'no', she reasoned with herself. Or he could laugh in your face and tell you you're an idiot for even suggesting such a thing. There's always that possibility.
With Dolls just sitting there, blinking at her expectantly, Nicole realized that she actually had to buck up and make the offer.
"How's the search for a new forward going?" She asked.
"I'm sure Waverly's told you all about it."
"Not anything that she can't tell me," she knew there were boundaries between her (a member of the team) and her girlfriend (a member of the management) that restricted Waverly from telling her certain details of team affairs. Nicole figured Dolls was testing her to see if Waverly was respecting those boundaries.
"Right, so then I think you know it's going terribly."
"You don't have any leads?"
"Nope, not a one," he sighed, tossing his pen down on top of his desk. "Did you have anything to add or did you just come here to remind me of how poorly I'm doing my job? Because believe me, I hear that enough from Bunny Loblaw every day."
"N-no, of course not," she stammered. She hadn't meant to insult Dolls in any capacity.
"No, you don't have anything to add?" Dolls quirked and eyebrow.
"No, I do. I actually think I might have a solution to your problem."
"If it's another one of your exes then I don't think we'll need the drama." Nicole narrowed her eyes at the man, offended by his comment. "I'm kidding, obviously."
"Right, obviously. Has anyone told you you're terrible at jokes?"
"Pretty much everyone," he admitted, a hint of a breathy chuckle to his voice. "Alright, who is it?"
"Wynonna Earp."
That got Dolls laughing. (A sound Nicole was certain she'd be hearing in her nightmares).
"Whew, that's a good one Haught," he said, still calming down his laughter. "Wynonna Earp? The woman who's barely motivated enough to run the ticket office? Nicole, you can't be serious."
"And what if I am?"
Dolls' amusement disappeared immediately.
"What on earth makes you think Wynonna Earp could play for this team?"
"Didn't Bunny Loblaw say she'd rather have Wynonna on the team than me?" She challenged, calling back to the meeting that ended with her getting benched.
"You and I both know that she was not serious. And even if she were, she's nowhere near sound enough mind to make a suggestion like that."
"Look, just hear me out," she pleaded her case as Dolls gave her a look to proceed, "Wynonna's good. She knows the game and she's been working out with me every step of the way."
"Okay, but when was the last time she even played competitively?"
"High school, but—"
"—Jeez, Haught, you can't be serious about this. We can't just take on a washed-up high school hockey player who hasn't seen the ice in the better part of a decade, who happens to be the sister of one of our Assistant GM—who's already dating one of our players, I might add. Do you understand what that looks like?"
"Look, Waverly doesn't need to be involved. She doesn't need to know, that way there's no bias whatsoever." Dolls only looked at her, and she struggled to decipher what he was thinking. The thought of how much she should never get into a poker match with that guy floated around somewhere in the back of her mind. "Just a chance, please. She might surprise you."
He looks deep in thought as he runs his hand along his chin, mulling over Nicole's botched proposition. Every argument she'd had was lost to the sheer nerves of essentially being in the principal's office, but she'd hoped it would still be enough.
"While I appreciate you looking out for your friend," he said after a beat, "we are nowhere near that desperate yet. For now it's a no."
"But—"
"No buts, Nicole, and that's final." he said. "Anything else I can help you with?"
"No," she muttered and stood up to leave when he returned to his files on the desk. She paused once she reached the door, pondering whether or not to burst back into the room, but decided not to risk her good standing.
Two weeks later, when Dolls catches her in the hallway and hands her a letter, she can't help but smirk. She doesn't need to open it to know its contents.
"Guess you were that desperate after all," she chirped at him.
"It's just a workout, and it's just the chance you asked for. No guarantees we sign her—and Waverly knows nothing about this, understood?"
"Gotcha, boss," she saluted the man who rolled his eyes despite his smirk. "She has an actual shot, right? If she impresses, you'll seriously think about it?"
There'd been the faintest hint of a nod on Dolls' part as he walked away. It wasn't much, but it was as good as a written promise in her book.
She ran her thumb across the corners of the envelope, reading the official team return address in the top left, the words To: Wynonna Earp written neatly across the center (even from the handwriting, Nicole can tell it killed Dolls to address a letter like this to Wynonna).
Perfect timing as always, Nicole hears Wynonna Earp jogging toward her, skates slung over her shoulder holding her stick in her right hand.
"Icy Haught!" She called as she caught up to her best friend. "Dude, you should def see if you can't get yourself a sponsorship deal with IcyHot."
"I'll be sure to look into it," Nicole said, knowing sometimes it was easier to appease the woman than get into a discussion on the matter.
"Hey, whatcha got there? Pink slip? Walkin' papers?"
Nicole pulled a mocking face at the brunette, extending the letter to Wynonna. "Actually, it's for you."
The woman tore into the envelope cautiously, eyes skimming over the words. Nicole's smile grew exponentially the moment she saw Wynonna's jaw drop onto the floor.
"I…I don't understand…I—"
Nicole had done it. She'd rendered the great Wynonna Earp speechless. (She'd pat herself on the back later for it).
"Nicole, what is—why—how?"
"You have been to virtually every single thing I've done to get back onto the ice since the second I got out of the hospital. You might be the only reason I have a shot in hell at even thinking about playing again. Wynonna, this is the only way I could think of to repay you for what you've done for me."
"Haught," Wynonna breathed, tears barely evident in the corners of her eyes.
"It's not much—just an amateur workout, but I have Dolls' word that you'll be given a fair shot."
"I…don't know what to say," the brunette said, eyes still glued to the paper in her hands.
"You could start with thank y—"
Before she can finish her sentence, Wynonna wrapped her arms around her, squeezing tightly in a rare outburst of physical affection.
"Thankthankyouthankyou," she squealed, "I could kiss you right now but I wouldn't wanna move in on my sister's girl."
"Probably for the best," Nicole replied, thinking out loud. "Speaking of, Waverly can't know about this. That way there's no conflict of interest."
"A tryout for a pro team and I have to keep a secret from Waverly? Seriously, this is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me, Haught," Wynonna looked her dead in the eye for a moment, but just as quickly as things got sentimental, they shift to the normal Earpier tone when Wynonna jumps up to her feet. "Come on, let's get a move on."
"What?"
"The ice. We've got work to do. I have…" Wynonna trailed, re-scanning the letter, "T-minus nine days to the workout and Wynonna Earp doesn't not impress."
Nicole planned to sit in the stands during Wynonna's workout, just to be there for moral support. But when the day came, Nedley insisted that Nicole be there to help with the drills. She wasn't necessarily sure how much help she'd be, but she knew she couldn't just turn down the Sheriff.
The plan Dolls had put together was no joke—definitely harder than any of the preseason workouts that the coaching staff put together for the actual players on the team, and she was certain Nedley was judging her with a heightened degree of scrutiny. Sometimes Nicole forgot about the kind of reputation Wynonna carried around town, but she knew Nedley certainly hadn't.
To her credit, Wynonna passed all of the drills with relative ease and a certain swagger about her that only she could pull off. She took every pass from Nicole, good or bad, and made the play that the coach asked of her. Her shots were accurate enough, though not completely spot on, and her skating was crisp enough that it left Dolls and Nedley with no choice but to give her an invitation to work out with some of the girls on the team.
For that event, scheduled just a month before preseason was set to kick off, Nicole was not invited to facilitate, still (annoyingly) not cleared for any team activities. From the stands, however, Nicole could tell that this team workout was a mere formality. Wynonna had impressed, and the team needed another forward. The day after, Wynonna got a phone call from Dolls asking for a meeting in his office.
The meeting, which Nicole tried her best to eavesdrop on from the hall, consisted of Dolls, Wynonna and Nedley. There was a distinct lack of Waverly Earp, which told Nicole all she needed to know. Nedley smirked to himself leaving the office as the meeting adjourned and she saw her best friend walk out the room, her expression giving nothing away. Her first confirmation came from the glimpse she caught of Dolls' face—an expression that said, "I can't believe we're actually doing this."
"I believe congratulations are in order," Nicole said, producing a bottle not of champagne, but the good whiskey that Wynonna only enjoyed on special occasions.
CEWHL (CEWHL)
#CEWHLFREEAGENCY: Free Agent forward Jolene DiMoni signs 3-year, $390K contract with blackwidowsCEWHL
10 Aug—12:00 PM EST
CEWHL (CEWHL)
#CEWHLFREEAGENCY: Former (powerCEWH)L netminder Mikaila Perkins signs 2-year, $400K contract with (blackwidowsCEWHL)
10 Aug—12:05 PM EST
CEWHL (CEWHL)
BREAKING: Purgatory Blue Devils (bluedevilsCEWHL) ink amateur forward Wynonna Earp to a 1-year, $70K contract. More details to follow. #CEWHLFREEAGENCY
10 Aug—3:35 PM EST
Purgatory Blue Devils (bluedevilsCEWHL)
HOMEGROWN TALENT— With our newest signing, the Blue Devils' Wynonna Earp becomes the team's first hometown player and becomes just the second professional athlete to be born in Purgatory (the first being Head Coach, Randy Nedley).
10 Aug—2:00 PM MST
TSN: Who's Going Where? A Comprehensive Breakdown of CEWHL Free Agency
(Story from Jeremy Chetri, Purgatory Gazette)
The CEWHL free agency pool may have been small this year, but it has been full of excitement. So-called league "bottom feeders" have made big moves to help boost their ceilings, while playoff contenders have added pieces in hopes of bolstering their squads for deeper runs.
Free agency opened up on July 1st, and teams were fast out of the gate to sign the top prospects. Saskatoon Rush signed arguably this year's most valuable free agent, defender Sam Shay, who opted not to re-sign in Toronto and looks poised to add much needed production to the Rush blue line. Toronto quickly filled the vacancy on its own defensive end by signing Caroline Higgs-Benson from Victoria.
Defense wasn't the only thing on the market this summer as forwards found new homes all across the country. Emily Crandall, rookie of the year just four seasons ago, has moved from Calgary to Edmonton and looks to bring her playmaking to the other side of the Battle of Alberta. Quebec Capitales dipped their toes into the free agent market with their signings of checking forwards Meghan Amaya and Katrina Sanderson.
Goaltenders looking to make big splashes in their new homes include Lyndsey Phillips (making the move from Charlottetown to Halifax), Francesca D'Angelo (Moncton to Winnipeg), and Kiersten Eckert (defending Stratford's net now after spending seven years in Kelowna).
There are two major storylines to come out of this period, however.
The first comes out of the Eastern Conference, where Sherbrooke made two big signings and look to take a leap into Conference supremacy. Filling the hole left behind the retirement of Alanna Pierce and the decision of former All-Rookie goalie Marie Williams to leave for the Minnesota Whitecaps (NWHL), the Black Widows swooped in and signed Mikaila Perkins, a goaltender who flew under most teams' radars. Sherbrooke will certainly be hoping to get immediate production out of the 27-year-old as they make a run at the McCallion Cup. Their second signing comes as more of a shock, and with a lot more controversy. After serving a 41-game suspension for an incident that hospitalized Purgatory Blue Devils forward, Nicole Haught, and resulted in Haught missing the entirety of this past season, Jolene DiMoni was released by the Brandon Bobcats and has not played since. Questions circulated if the 30-year-old would find another home in the league after what certainly was not her first interaction with Player Safety. Those questions appear to have been answered with her signing of a 3-year, $390K contract with the Sherbrooke Black Widows. DiMoni's play will add a level of grit that the team has been missing, and Coach Clootie hopes that that will push the Black Widows over their in-province rivals in Trois-Rivieres in a battle for the Eastern Conference.
And finally, a CEWHL story would be incomplete without news out of Purgatory. The Blue Devils shocked everyone across the league last season with their signing of NWHL Star Hannah Hastings, and many believed that to be the bar for noteworthy signings. That bar was immediately surpassed when GM Xavier Dolls announced Monday that the team would be signing 28-year-old amateur forward Wynonna Earp, who previously worked in the team's home arena. The Devils, desperately needing to fill a roster spot vacated by winger Lecia Wilson, sent out feelers to much of the free agent pool, all of which came up empty. Shortly thereafter, Earp was given an amateur tryout by Dolls and Head Coach Randy Nedley, and after impressing at the tryout and in a runaround with some of the members of the Devils squad, was offered a one-year contract for $70K—the minimum league salary. The signing of the forward marks just the second time in league history that a player entered the league via amateur tryout, but if Earp suits up for the team in just one game, she will make history as the first to accomplish the feat.
As we approach the start of preseason, and are just six weeks out from opening day, anticipation is building for the new season to see how these players fare in their new homes.
Tuesday, August 11
Timing was more than on their side when Wynonna's signing officially went through. Waverly had been out of town on an errand for Dolls on Monday and only arrived back in Purgatory late Tuesday afternoon. Nicole knew her girlfriend had definitely heard the news and would definitely not be pleased to find out they'd been hiding this under her nose. It was necessary, she knew (hell, even without Waverly's involvement people had been calling it nepotism and an unfair deal on Twitter), she just hated having to keep such a big accomplishment from someone they both loved so deeply.
Nicole and Wynonna were lounging on the sofa in the den with a couple of cold ones when they heard Waverly's Jeep pull into the driveway. Not even a moment later, the small brunette burst through the door with enough force to shake the homestead.
"Nicole! Wynonna!" The woman bellowed. Nicole looked at Wynonna and her best friend looked back at her, the both of them looking like two middle schoolers who got caught starting a food fight in the cafeteria.
"Yes?" Wynonna answered, asking like it was the most casual thing in the world.
"Is there anything the two of you would like to tell me?" Waverly said, standing in front of the two of them with her arms crossed. Decked out in her glasses and pantsuit (that had no business looking that good on her, Nicole digresses), Waverly looked a bit like a middle school teacher about to give the pair detention.
"I-I, well—" Nicole stammered, knowing Waverly was her weakness and confrontation was not her strong suit.
"No, not really," Wynonna shrugged again, clearly not fazed in the slightest.
"You're sure about that?"
"Yup."
"Mhm, Nicole?"
"Yeah?" She answered, about to crack under Waverly's stare.
"Anything the two of you haven't thought to tell me about?"
Nicole turned to Wynonna and mouthed a sorry to the woman who rolled her eyes and muttered "Whipped" under her breath.
"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about Wynonna's tryout. It was the only way to convince Dolls to do it," she explained. "We didn't want it to look like you abused your power to get Wynonna on the team."
Waverly's face softened, realizing that that was actually a pretty valid reason to keep her in the dark.
"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. I just wish I could've been a part of it," Waverly shrugged, "this is huge Wynonna."
"It's alright," Wynonna said coolly, "it's really no big deal."
"Of course it's a big deal, Wynonna. You're a professional athlete," Waverly reminded and then almost in real time realized something, taking in a sharp breath, "My sister and my girlfriend are professional athletes!"
"And you're working for the team that we play for," Nicole quickly added.
Waverly smiled softly at the thought, taking a seat down in between the two of them and resting her head on Nicole's shoulder.
"I guess life is good," her girlfriend said, leaning up to press a kiss to her lips.
When they break apart, Nicole finds herself lost in the ethereal being that is Waverly Earp and can't help but agree.
Yeah, life really is good, she thinks to herself.
(There may or may not have been a certain conversation with a certain pair of teammates floating around in her head).