On Thursday, Montréal Victoire GM Danièle Sauvageau confirmed every fan’s worst nightmare: captain Marie-Philip Poulin is set to undergo knee surgery in July and will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Poulin confirmed to media that she tore her ACL and meniscus on March 15 against the Boston Fleet, causing her to miss the end of the season. She managed to return for the playoffs, battling injury en route to Montréal’s first Walter Cup win. Sauvageau did not confirm a timeline for return, sharing that more updates will come from Montréal’s medical team once the surgery is complete. But given the gravity of the procedure, it’s safe to say she will miss at least a good chunk of next season.
So what does that mean for the Victoire? Beyond just being team captain, Poulin is the top-line centre, consistently leads the team in points, and plays a major role on special teams. She’s a dominant two-way player who contributes in every area of the ice. Naturally, her loss is no small thing.
At the same time, despite the league’s recent expansion, Montréal is entering next season with arguably their strongest offensive group yet. Losing Poulin is a major hit, but there’s good reason to believe they have the pieces to contend even in her absence.
Forward Depth
While expansion saw Montréal lose two top defenders in Erin Ambrose and Nicole Gosling, Sauvageau put the work in to bolster the team’s offensive group. Over the past weeks, Montréal re-signed Abby Roque, then brought in free agents Emma Maltais and Jessie Eldridge from the Toronto Sceptres and Boston Fleet, respectively.
Roque’s extension was crucial business for Montréal. This past season, Roque finished tied for the team lead in points in the regular season (22) and playoffs (8). She put up career-best numbers, becoming a staple of Montreal’s top line alongside Laura Stacey and Poulin. She typically plays on the wing, but can jump to centre if needed.
Maltais has also been a spark alongside Stacey and Poulin, albeit on Team Canada. The 26-year-old put up 19 points in 24 games in her first PWHL season, but has only tallied 19 total in the two seasons since then. That being said, Toronto’s offence as a whole suffered during that time, and a fresh start may be just what she needs to get going. Maltais will be another solid option for top-line centre to start next season. Eldridge, meanwhile, is coming off her best season yet. Splitting her year between the Seattle Torrent and Boston Fleet, she finished tied for second in the league with 14 goals in 30 games. Her natural goalscoring talents will serve Montréal well in Poulin’s absence.
The Victoire also added offensively in the draft, selecting Petra Nieminen at 12th overall. Nieminen was the top scorer in the SDHL last season with Luleå HF, tallying 24 goals and 45 points in 27 games played. Her addition bolsters Montréal’s strength down the middle. In addition, keep an eye on second-round pick Avi Adam. The 21-year-old had 12 goals and 29 points with Cornell last season and is a versatile piece on the wing who could potentially play a role on Montréal’s second power-play unit.
New-look blue line
With so much focus put on rebuilding Montréal’s forward group, the Victoire’s blue line has suffered somewhat. The losses of Ambrose and Gosling are massive, as two players who ate some of the most minutes for Montréal. Without Poulin, those losses may feel even bigger. Still, the team managed to hold onto Kati Tabin, Maggie Flaherty, Jessica DiGirolamo, and Nadia Mattivi, while also signing 2026 reserve player Tamara Giaquinto to a standard-player agreement.
Tabin is poised to evolve into a real leadership role, as she’s continued to grow each year in this league. Flaherty and DiGirolamo, meanwhile, have proven their value in shutdown roles. Mattivi had a strong playoff run, and is in good shape to step into a consistent bottom pairing role for the Victoire. There’s also 2026 draft picks Zoe Uens and Erica Rieder. Montréal may still add to the blue line in free agency, but overall the pieces are there for the Victoire.
And of course, that defence is backed up by none other than Ann-Renée Desbiens. The 32-year-old is coming off a career-best season, in which she posted a 19-4-2 record, a .955 SV%, and seven shutouts. In the playoffs, she managed an equally impressive 6-2-1 record with a .944 SV% and two shutouts. She has her work cut out for her this season with the Victoire’s blue line thinned somewhat, but the veteran goaltender has proven time and again that she’s the kind of player who can rise to the task.
