Montreal Victoire captain and reigning PWHL playoff MVP Marie-Philip Poulin will have surgery next month to repair a torn right ACL and meniscus, the team announced Thursday.
General manager Daniele Sauvageau did not provide a specific timeline for the 35-year-old Canadian center’s return, saying she would be back on the ice “in due time.”
Poulin sustained the knee injury in February at the Milan Cortina Olympics. She aggravated it in Montreal’s March 15 game against the Boston Fleet and missed 10 games.
She wore a knee brace in the playoffs as the Victoire won their first league championship, earning MVP honors with eight points (four goals, four assists).
“I played as best I could with a torn ACL and meniscus because I wanted to be part of this journey that led us to hoist the Walter Cup. … It has become clear that if I want to continue playing at a high level, surgery is necessary,” Poulin said Thursday at a news conference.
“In the short term, it’s a difficult choice, but if I take a step back and think about the years ahead, the decision is obvious. I’m going to focus all my energy on my recovery once the surgery is done so that I can return to the game in the best physical form possible.”
Poulin has accumulated 67 points (38 goals, 29 assists) in 70 games through Montreal’s first three PWHL seasons. She was named the league MVP in 2024-25.
Internationally, “Captain Clutch” has won three Olympic gold medals and four world championships with Canada. She has served as captain of the Canadian national team since 2015.
–Field Level Media
