The Vancouver Goldeneyes' Sarah Nurse, left, celebrates with Sophie Jaques after scoring a goal against the Minnesota Frost during the first period of their PWHL game in Vancouver, British Columbia, on April 25. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

Alex Carpenter is staying in Seattle, Sarah Nurse is not leaving Vancouver and defender Renata Fast and goalie Raygan Kirk will both stay with Toronto after they were protected from the PWHL expansion process by re-signing with their respective teams on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Carpenter signed a three-year contract with the Torrent, and Nurse signed a two-year deal with the Goldeneyes, with the Toronto Sceptres getting both their players back on three-year deals. All were on expiring contracts, with Carpenter making $90,000 last season, Nurse $85,000, Fast just over $106,000 and Kirk $37,200.

Financial details of the new contracts were not immediately available.

The moves came during the first phase of the expansion distribution process. Each of the eight existing teams has until Wednesday to protect three players who are under contract. The next phase opens on Friday, when the league’s four expansion teams — Detroit, Las Vegas, San Jose and Hamilton, Ontario — can begin signing so-called foundational players.

The 32-year-old Carpenter finished Seattle’s inaugural season with a team-leading 12 goals and her 20 points matched Julia Gosling for the team lead. The three-time U.S. Olympian led the PWHL with 440 faceoff wins.

Carpenter, who spent her first two seasons in New York, ranks third among PWHL players with 31 career goals and is tied for third with 63 points.

The 31-year-old Nurse scored the Goldeneyes’ first goal in Vancouver’s inaugural season, and she finished tied for the team lead with nine goals despite missing 11 games due to injury. She’s a three-time Canadian Olympian who spent her first two PWHL seasons in Toronto.

Fast, also 31, has spent all three seasons in Toronto and was the league’s 2025 defender of the year. From Burlington, Ontario, she’s a three-time Canadian Olympian, and her 45 career points (10 goals, 35 assists) rank second among PWHL blue-liners.

The 25-year-old Kirk had a breakthrough season in taking over the starting duties in her second PWHL season. With an 8-8-6 record and three shutouts, she ranked third among PWHL goalies with an 1.87 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.