Marchment, Whale renegotiate second year of her two-year deal

Connecticut’s Kennedy Marchment will be back with the Whale this season after renegotiating her contract.

Kennedy Marchment and the Connecticut Whale announced Tuesday that they have reached an agreement for a new contract for the 2023-24 season. Marchment, the 2022 Premier Hockey Federation MVP, will receive a salary of $130,000.

It is the second year of a two-year deal for Marchment, who didn’t release her salary last season. The league’s agreement with the players allows salary information to be released at the discretion of each athlete and with approval from the team.

In April, Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world champion Kacey Bellamy, 35, signed a one-year deal to play with Connecticut in 2023-24 for $122,000 and a signing bonus of $7,000.

The PHF’s salary cap was $750,000 last season and will rise to $1.5 million per team next season.

Marchment, who is from Courtice, Ontario, scored at least a point in a league-record 18 consecutive games and has scored over 30 points in the last two seasons for Connecticut. In just two years with the team, she has set team records for career goals (30) and points (68). She also owns single-season team records for goals (17), assists (20) and points (35), set during the 2022-23 season.

A two-time PHF All-Star, she led the league with six game-winning goals.

“Kennedy is tremendous for us both on and off the ice,” Whale GM Alexis Moed said. “We have seen her maintain her scoring dominance and she continues to grow as a leader in the locker room. She makes players around her better and her ability to read plays, set up offensive opportunities, and finish on a rush is amazing. She plays with composure and ease, truly a big asset for the Whale.”

“I am really excited to be back with the Whale for another season,” said Marchment. “We have built a very strong culture and I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue to be a part of that.”

The Whale finished third in the PHF and advanced to the Isobel Cup semifinals where Connecticut was eliminated by eventual champion Toronto Six in game 3 of the best-of-3 series.

Connecticut current has six players under contract for the 2023-24 season: Marchment, Bellamy, forwards Taylor Girard and Melissa Samoskevich and defenders Allie Munroe and Tori Howran.

Six Connecticut players revealed their yearly salaries last season. Howran made $49,500 and is scheduled to make that this coming season as well. Munroe had a yearly salary of $52,800 with a $10,560 signing bonus.

A PHF news release was used to prepare this report.