Kohanchuk, Tougas to Sweden

An already rough offseason for the Toronto Furies got a little worse on Monday with the news that veteran forward and alternate captain Jenelle Kohanchuk has signed in the SDHL with MODO Hockey.

Kohanchuk is the latest big-name to leave Toronto this offseason. Natalie Spooner, Erin  Ambrose, and Renata Fast are centralizing with Team Canada. Kelly Terry retired. Michela Cava signed with MODO earlier in the summer. Add to this the uncertain future of franchise goaltender Christina Kessler, and Toronto's success in the upcoming season starts to look tenuous, barring a smart draft by new general manager Nicole Latreille.

That's 4 out of 5 top scorers gone for the Furies. Really rough for them. #CWHL

— Meredith Foster (@fosterwrites) July 31, 2017

Of course, Toronto's loss is MODO's gain. After an underwhelming 2016-2017 season that saw MODO knocked out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals, the team has spent the summer making smart acquisitions to boost scoring. Team captain Erika Grahm is always dangerous; she led the team in goals last season, but having reinforcements like Kohanchuk and Cava along with former Minnesota-Duluth defensive standout Sidney Morin should help spread the workload around.

Also coming to MODO from the CWHL is forward Kaitlyn Tougas. Her dismal rookie season numbers with the Brampton Thunder, just one point in 23 regular-season games and none in the playoffs, left a lot to be desired after a successful college career at Bemidji State.

There's still plenty of time for the 22-year-old Tougas to return to form, and there will be plenty of upside for MODO if she can do it next season. Tougas had eight goals and 21 assists in her senior season at Bemidji State.