Scamurra, Harmon traded to Toronto Sceptres from Ottawa Charge in major PWHL trade

Competing philosophies emphasizing the importance of offense versus toughness led to the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge completing the PWHL's most significant trade a month into the league's second season.

Competing philosophies emphasizing the importance of offense versus toughness led to the Toronto Sceptres and Ottawa Charge completing the PWHL's most significant trade a month into the league's second season.

The trade completed Monday night involved four players with a combined six Winter Games appearances and featured a swap of 2023 first-round draft picks.

Physical defenseman Jocelyn Larocque was dealt to Ottawa for play-making blue-liner Savannah Harmon. The teams also traded forwards, with Ottawa landing Victoria Bach, and Toronto acquiring the versatility and grit of Hayley Scamurra.

Harmon, 29, and Scamurra, 30, are current U.S. national team members, who won silver medals at the 2022 Beijing Games. The 36-year-old Larocque is a three-time Olympian and a blueline fixture for Canada for 14 years. The 28-year-old Bach was also part of Canada's Olympic gold medal-winning team in 2022, before taking the following year off to pursue a teaching degree.

"Mixed emotions, I guess this morning," Sceptres general manager Gina Kingsbury said during a Zoom call Tuesday of having to part ways with two players she's familiar with in her other role as Team Canada GM. "But I'm excited for what's to come, so I have a positive outlook right now."

In Ottawa, difficult as it was losing two core leaders, Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld was elated adding Larocque's leadership and physical presence, and Bach's offensive upside in believing she was underused the past two seasons in Toronto.

"For us, it was a really tough trade ... but one we think moves our organization forward as a whole," Hirshfeld said.