Report: Las Vegas trading Hilary Knight to PWHL expansion Detroit - ESPN

Hilary Knight is heading to the PWHL's expansion team in Detroit as part of a sign-and-trade deal involving one of women hockey's most recognized stars, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Monday.

The person said Knight will first sign a foundational contract with Las Vegas as part of Phase 2 of the league's expansion signing process. Las Vegas in turn has reached an agreement to trade Knight to Detroit in exchange for the team's first-round pick in the draft next week, the person added.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the trade. The deal won't become official until the PWHL's trade freeze lifts on June 16, a day before the draft.

The 36-year-old Knight is a five-time U.S. Olympian and one of the most decorated players in her sport. She is coming off captaining Team USA to a gold medal victory at the Milan Cortina Games in February, in which Knight deflected in the championship game-tying goal late in the third period of a 2-1 overtime win against Canada.

Though Knight said the Olympics in Milan would be her last, she planned on continuing her pro career.

Knight is on the move for a second straight PWHL offseason. After spending her first two PWHL seasons in Boston, she left the Fleet to sign with the expansion Seattle Torrent in a move to be closer to her offseason home in Idaho.

As much as she and the Torrent would have preferred Knight to remain in Seattle, the team under the expansion rules was restricted to protecting three players. The Torrent chose to protect forward Alex Carpenter, defender Anna Wilgren and goalie Hannah Murphy.

Knight at least gets the benefit of signing a foundational offer, which guarantees her