The Vermont Green women’s team is predominantly a home for college players to play in a professional atmosphere during the summer. Yet there are a trio of seasoned overseas professional soccer players who are playing for the Green this summer to help them find their next stop.

Two members of that trio, defender Chloe Gorman and midfielder Brenna Connell, are both over the age of 30, playing with teammates nearly a decade younger while defender Hannah Kroupa graduated college in 2023. Yet, rather than taking time away from the pitch, they are spending the summer in Vermont.

Here’s why these professional soccer players opted to play for the Green, a short two-month season where the players don’t get paid.

Vermont Green is a launching pad to finding a new team

All three players learned about the team the same way — the Player’s Network, which is a group to share opportunities and resources among female soccer players around the world. Head coach Abby Carchio sent out a message in the group publicizing the Green. The trio all jumped on the opportunity.

Both Connell and Gorman have spent the last few months training and thought the Green was a great opportunity to get some minutes and film to help them sign with a new team later this summer.

“The desire of the club to truly provide a professional-level atmosphere and resources and the community is so behind the club, it seemed like a super unique opportunity,” Connell said.

A 13-year-old boy was flown to a Boston hospital after he was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home in Beverly on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Police and firefighters were called to a home on Parramatta Road after bystanders pulled the boy from the pool, the Beverly Police Department wrote in a press release.

Bystanders administered CPR until first responders arrived, according to police. First responders continued CPR and other “life saving measures,” police said.

An ambulance took the boy to Beverly Hospital where he was stabilized. He was then taken by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital, police said.

The incident is currently being investigated by Beverly police, the department said.

Two years ago, in his postseason press conference, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas specifically cited the Washington Capitals as one of two teams that were models for rebuilding without using the hockey equivalent of gasoline and matches to first burn it down.

On Wednesday, Washington completed their second big trade in two days, significantly bolstering their top two lines when they acquired Alex Tuch from the Buffalo Sabres in a sign-and-trade that netted Tuch an $84 million payday and Buffalo a mere third-round pick.

To this point, the Penguins and Washington rebuilds have followed similar paths, though Washington had a good head start.

In the last 24 months, each team has made the playoffs, and each team has seen its AHL affiliate go on an extended AHL playoff run. Washington surprised most by making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024-25, and the Penguins surprised most by making the playoffs in 2025-26.

However, it’s in the various states of rebuild that this week, Washington showed the advantage of that head start.

While Dubas stated he wanted to acquire a player aged in his later 20s who was an impact player, it was Washington who pulled the trick by acquiring high-scoring winger Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues.

Then, with their impact player in hand, Washington doubled down by executing a sign-and-trade with Buffalo for free-agent-to-be Tuch. Washington then lavished an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $10.5 million on the player who turned 30 last month.

A gritty winger, Tuch has scored at least 33 goals in three of the last four seasons as he found a greater role in Buffalo than his bottom-six duty in Vegas.

For those who remark that Tuch’s contract is expensive, don’t forget that the salary cap is going to spike again next season to something close to $113 million, and probably keep going up for years after that. Some estimates say it could be over $130 million in just a few years.

Today’s $10 million is tomorrow’s bargain, just like Rickard Rakell’s $5 million AAV Penguins contract was hefty when he signed it four years ago. Whether or not Tuch’s deal will age well is beside the point–half of the contract will be prime years, and a couple more should be quite serviceable. Washington can worry about 2034, many years from now, when that contract is less than 7% of the salary cap.

Indeed, Dubas had hoped to be able to acquire a Kyrou type. And if he did, a Tuch type would have made sense, too, because the Penguins have nothing in the middle. They have a bevy of 25 and under players, a few players who are at least 33, and still more three players who are 38 and older.

Jason Robertson remains unsigned in Dallas, and perhaps Dubas can leverage the farm for him, though plenty of teams are interested. The simple truth is that Washington was able to go big this year because they started a couple of years ahead of the Penguins. Dubas can play catch-up, but he’s not yet there.

And now Washington has made the huge leap forward. Their top nine is impressive with only two players 30 and older (Tom Wilson, 33, and Tuch, 30). They have four players who are 25 and under (and three were draft picks) with big-time potential who have already had some success in the NHL (Alieksai Protas, Ilya Protas, Ryan Leonard). And 24-year-old Justin Sourdif had 15 goals from the third line this season, too.

Oh, and they have Cole Hutson, thought to be a stud defenseman ready to make the leap. He had 10 points (3-7-10) in 14 NHL games at the end of the season after his Boston U campaign ended.

If Dubas tries to make the big splash, he very likely does not have enough trade capital to acquire a big name and have anything left. Yes, the Penguins have young players like Rutger McGroarty on the way, with Ben Kindel already here, but the depth and quality are not similar.

Yet.

It’s OK that Washington is ahead. It proves that Dubas is on a plausible path and lights the way. Penguins fans should also note that Washington didn’t spend assets too soon, and now they are packed with players under 30, most of whom are 25 and under, and they could easily (and should) send Alex Ovechkin’s call to voicemail when he wants to return.

Dubas was right to emulate Washington, and he would be right to do so when the time is right.

Tags: kyle dubas nhl trade Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals

Categorized:NHL Trade Rumors Penguins Trade Talk