Two Goalies Blew Up the PWHL MVP Race, And Nobody Is Ready For What They Did

Alright, Emerald City, listen up! You wanna talk about history in the making? The PWHL just dropped their finalists for the 2026 Billie Jean King MVP award, and it's not just big, it's unprecedented. For the first time ever, we've got not one, but two goaltenders in the running for the league's top individual honor. Ann-Renee Desbiens from the Montreal Victoire and Aerin Frankel of the Boston Fleet are making waves, alongside Minnesota Frost forward Kelly Pannek. This isn't just about who wins, it's about redefining what 'most valuable' even means in hockey!

The Brick Wall from Montreal

Seriously, Desbiens has been an absolute brick wall out there. The 32-year-old from Montreal set PWHL single-season records that are just ridiculous: a 1.11 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage. Think about that for a second! She also snagged a record-tying 19 wins in just 25 games, sharing the league lead, and was second overall with seven shutouts. This isn't just good, it's all-time legendary stuff. She's not just a finalist for MVP, she's also up for Goaltender of the Year, and you can see why. Her team's success? Yeah, she was invaluable.

Boston's Shutout Machine and Minnesota's Scoring Star

But hold up, Desbiens isn't the only netminder making history. Aerin Frankel, the 26-year-old phenom from Boston, is right there with her. Frankel set a league record herself with eight shutouts. EIGHT! She matched Desbiens with 19 wins, posted a 1.17 GAA, and a .953 save percentage. Oh, and get this: she had a shutout streak that stretched for 226 minutes and nine seconds. That's almost four full games of pure brick wall action! These two goalies showing up as MVP finalists, it just tells you how much they carried their squads. It’s wild.

And let's not forget the offensive firepower. Kelly Pannek, the 30-year-old forward for Minnesota, is definitely in the mix for a reason. Pannek put up a league-record 33 points this season, with 16 goals and 17 assists in 30 games. She tied for the league lead with three multi-goal games and even matched a PWHL record with seven power-play goals. That kind of production is exactly what makes a forward invaluable. She's also a finalist for Forward of the Year, no surprise there.

So, who takes home the hardware? Marie-Philip Poulin was the MVP last season, and Natalie Spooner took the inaugural award in 2024, both forwards. But with two record-shattering goalies in the mix this year, the script might just flip! We'll find out who truly gets crowned the most valuable player when all the PWHL awards are announced on June 16 in Detroit. You know we'll be glued to it. This season has been all about shattering expectations, and this MVP race? It's the perfect cap on that story. Can a goalie finally snag the ultimate prize? My money's on history getting made, Seattle!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.