Captain Clutch is back.
The Montréal Victoire have activated captain Marie-Philip Poulin and forward Maureen Murphy off LTIR, the team announced on Saturday morning. Poulin and Murphy are expected to return to the lineup tonight, as the Victoire play their final game of the regular season against the Seattle Torrent at Climate Pledge Arena.
In corresponding moves, rookie defenders Nadia Mattivi and Tamara Giaquinto have been moved to the reserve player list, with Mattivi being immediately re-activated on a 10-day contract. Defender Kelly-Ann Nadeau and forward Sam Isbell have been released.
Poulin left a March 15th contest against the Boston Fleet after appearing to re-aggravate a knee injury suffered during the Winter Olympics. On March 24th, she was placed on LTIR retroactive to that date and has missed the team’s last ten games. Poulin was also absent for the Victoire’s first game coming out of the Olympic break due to the same injury.
This season, the 35-year-old has nine goals and 17 points in 18 games played. Despite missing 11 games this year, she sits tied for 12th in goals in the PWHL and remains fifth in points/game. Last season, she led the league with 19 goals and was subsequently named Forward of the Year and regular season MVP.
Murphy has been out since suffering an injury in a mid-March contest against the Torrent. In 20 games this season, she has four goals and three assists, all of which came in the latter half of her season.
Mattivi was signed in late March when Poulin was placed on LTIR. She’s made five appearances with the Victoire so far. Giaquinto was a 2025 sixth-round pick and signed to a standard player agreement when Erin Ambrose was placed on LTIR. She has now appeared in 12 games. Neither rookie has registered a point in the PWHL, both often playing as seventh defender.
Nadeau made six appearances with the Victoire this season, slotting in as a seventh defender. Isbell was brought in amidst a number of injuries, but never suited up for the Victoire.
The Victoire punched their ticket to a third-straight Walter Cup playoffs earlier this month. They currently sit second in the PWHL with a 16-5-2-6 record and can clinch first place in the league with a win over the Torrent on Saturday. Montréal kicks off its playoff run next Saturday at Place Bell, with the time and opponent still to be determined.