Ahead of the 2026 PWHL trade deadline (March 30th) and roster freeze (March 31st), the Montréal Victoire have already made a couple minor adjustments.
Last Sunday, the Victoire signed reserve player Maya Labad to a standard player agreement (SPA). Then on Tuesday, they inked SDHL defender and Italian captain Nadia Mattivi. Later, the Victoire signed former Ottawa Charge forward Samantha Isbell to a reserve contract.
Montréal’s moves came as the team placed Marie-Philip Poulin and Maureen Murphy on LTIR. The two forwards joined Erin Ambrose, who has been sidelined since the Olympic break.
Dealing with injuries to key players, the Victoire have been creative with their roster moves. But they’ve yet to get in on the (limited) action on the trade market. Given the success they’ve had recently and the looming threat of expansion, the best thing they could do at this year’s trade deadline is nothing.
Replacing Captain Clutch
The loss of Poulin in particular is a tough one for the Victoire. She leads the team in goals (9), and sits second behind Abby Roque in points (17). She anchors the top line with the best faceoff percentage in the PWHL at 63.5%. She’s also one of the team’s most important special teams pieces, playing a big role on the power play and the penalty kill.
To put it simply, there’s no replacing Poulin. But in her absence, the Victoire are managing well so far. Poulin was out for the team’s first game following the Olympic break, and they pulled off a decisive 4-1 win over the New York Sirens. Now, Poulin has been out the last three games, and Montréal has posted two wins and an overtime loss.
Across her four total absences, the Victoire are averaging three goals/game. In the past, they’ve been a team that relied on Poulin to spark the offence. Now, they’re finally seeing consistent production from their depth pieces. With Poulin sidelined, Abby Roque has moved to her top-line centre position. Playing on her wing, Catherine Dubois is beginning to produce. Defenders Nicole Gosling and Kati Tabin both have double-digit point totals. Over the last three games, the team boasts six unique goalscorers, and they’ve improved to second in the league with 56 goals for.
Earlier in March, Pat Laprade reported that rookie Natálie Mlýnková was being “shopped around” by the Montréal Victoire. But since then, there has been no word on anything in the works. Mlýnková may not be scoring right now, but her gritty style fits the Victoire well. She’s already shown this season that with enough minutes she can be an asset to the team. At this point, it would be best to hold on to her, and hold off on any other changes to this functioning forward group.
Holding down the blue line
Another big loss for the team is veteran Erin Ambrose on the blue line. The 31-year-old eats some of the biggest minutes on the team, playing a top-line role on special teams.
But in her absence, the blue line has stepped up. Tabin and Gosling are leading the team in TOI/game, and the rookie Gosling in particular is really starting to shine. The 23-year-old has five points in her last five games, and played a team-high 23:14 minutes in this week’s win over Minnesota. She’s taken over Ambrose’s role as quarterback of the top power-play unit, helping improve it to second-best in the league (21.4%). She’s also taken on a key role in killing penalties.
The addition of Italian captain Nadia Mattivi provides even more flexibility in divvying up the defensive minutes in Montréal. Now, the team is running with a seven-defender unit once again.
Since Ambrose has been out, the Victoire have allowed only 11 goals in seven games. They continue to have the fewest goals against on the season (32) and the league’s best penalty kill (92.1%). Again, no reason to change what’s already working here.
A dead deadline?
Beyond the well-oiled roster, there’s one more reason to avoid making moves this year. As the threat of another expansion looms over the league, there’s uncertainty about how many rostered players will even remain beyond this season. Additionally, teams cannot currently trade draft picks, meaning all deals require losing a player.
Overall, there isn’t too much action expected at this year’s trade deadline, and Montréal shouldn’t go looking for it. Given their recent success in the face of tough injuries, the best course of action for the Victoire over the next few days is to just sit tight.