Marie-Philip Poulin says she’s determined to return to the ice after torn ligaments and a meniscus injury in her right knee. She will undergo surgery in late July, with a recovery expected to keep her out for an undetermined time, while the Montreal Victoire p
When Marie-Philip Poulin spoke Thursday, her voice caught—and then steadied—after months of injury and hard recovery work. She was blunt about the reality ahead: surgery in late July, and an absence measured in months, not days.
“It is emotional. Hockey, it is my life,” Poulin said during a virtual press conference, choking back tears. “It’s the journey of an athlete where you give your 100 per cent every day, things can happen, and that’s part of it.”
Poulin said she isn’t looking forward to what comes next, but she is focused on the work inside the recovery room and training room. “Not that I’m looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to (stepping) up in that recovery room, in that training room, to go one day at a time and come back.”
The Montreal Victoire are preparing to support their captain through an uncertain stretch. General manager Daniele Sauvageau said the team will provide updates as they become available and added the Victoire are “very confident” Poulin will return to play “in due time.”
Poulin’s injury story has moved in stages. She battled through a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in her right knee while leading the Victoire to a Walter Cup championship this past spring. But the damage began earlier: she first injured her knee in preliminary-round play against Czechia at February’s Milan Cortina Olympics. A more serious re-aggravation followed on March 15 against the Boston Fleet.
The consequences were immediate and difficult. The 35-year-old from Beauceville, Que., missed the next 10 games, then returned to lead the Victoire to their first Walter Cup title. She earned playoff MVP honours with two goals and six assists in nine games.
“I won’t lie, yes, it was painful. Mentally and physically, it was difficult,” Poulin said. “It was hard, but to be honest, I knew the team we had was very special. I knew we were in a position to put ourselves in a very good spot to win the Walter Cup. It was one of our goals, and it was one of my goals. It was worth it.”.
She said she understood the risks before pushing through. and that commitment is part of what made the decision feel clear in the moment. “I knew all the risks, what was for it and what was against it, and what I had to do. At the end of the day, I was 100 per cent committed. And I was very happy to lift that Cup at the end of the day.”.
The surgery is expected to keep her away from key competitions as well. Sauvageau said she would not say whether Poulin would miss the 2026–27 PWHL season. but the team’s captain was presumably ruled out of the women’s world hockey championship in Denmark this November. The typical recovery timeline for ACL surgery is nine to 12 months.
Aware of the time she would likely be losing, Sauvageau said the Victoire bolstered their offence this off-season. The team signed forwards Jessie Eldridge and Emma Maltais in free agency and added centre Petra Nieminen at the draft.
Still, Sauvageau drew a line between strengthening the lineup and replacing Poulin’s role in it. There is “no replacing the Victoire captain,” and the symbolism is already set inside the arena. “And when the time is right, that jersey will be exactly where it belongs — ready for her return,” she said.
The injury does not only change a schedule. It changes a team’s heartbeat. Poulin is widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all time. She has won three Olympic gold medals. scoring the winning goal in all three of those gold-medal games to earn the nickname “Captain Clutch.”.
Her resume is matched by numbers that mark her as a long-term benchmark for the sport. She is a five-time Olympian and Canada’s all-time leading goal scorer at the Winter Games with 20.
In the PWHL, she has been the league’s early standard-setter since it began play in 2024: she is the PWHL’s all-time leading scorer with 38 goals and 67 points in 70 games. She was named league MVP in 2025. This past season, she recorded nine goals and nine assists in 19 games.
Sauvageau described what she has been watching inside the uncertainty—especially the moment when a return to the ice was never guaranteed. “I don’t think there’s any words to describe Marie. to start with. and what she had decided following this injury. ” Sauvageau said. “It was not a ‘for sure’ to be back during the playoffs. To go through this process. not knowing if it’s gonna work. it was unbelievable to watch … This is what Marie-Philip is all about. a person of [few] words. but so much more action. And this is how she leads.”.
The plan now is endurance and patience. “The goal is to be back as long as possible. We love watching her, we love having her around, she’s bigger than the sport itself and the sport needs her.”
For Poulin, the next step is a surgery scheduled for late July, followed by an unknown stretch of recovery. Her message, delivered through emotion and resolve, was simple: she knows the work will hurt, but she is already moving toward the moment she can step back onto the ice.
Marie-Philip Poulin knee surgery Montreal Victoire Walter Cup ACL surgery Beauceville PWHL Daniele Sauvageau Denmark world championship