Marie-Philip Poulin and head coach Kori Cheverie now face the same hard truth: Montreal's captain is heading to knee surgery and out for a long stretch.
That landed like a punch on Thursday.
Poulin appeared visibly shaken during a videoconference and confirmed she will undergo surgery in July after months of trying to manage the injury.
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This isn't a minor setback dressed up as a tough break. Poulin, 35, is dealing with a serious right knee injury that will require repair to both her ACL and her meniscus.
For Montreal, that changes everything around the room.
The Victoire don't just lose a top-line center. They lose the player who sets the tone on the bench, in practice, and in every big moment.
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The worst part is that this had been building for months. The injury traces back to the 2026 Olympics, and Poulin still tried to return with Montreal before her condition got worse.
That decision says plenty about who she is. It also shows how far this had already gone before the season finally came to a stop for her.
Montreal just lost its emotional center in Poulin
There's no real timeline yet. General manager Danièle Sauvageau said the team can't set one before the operation, and the next stage will only come after another evaluation.
That leaves Montreal staring at a brutal stretch of uncertainty. ACL recovery often runs from 6 to 12 months, and even that window can shift depending on healing and rehab progress.
This lands just weeks after the Victoire finished on top again and celebrated a Walter Cup championship. That should've been the start of another run built around Poulin. Now it feels a lot more fragile.
There's still belief she'll fight her way back. There always is with a player wired like this.
But the devastation is real, and there's no clean way around it. Montreal's captain is sidelined, the recovery will be long, and one of the sport's biggest figures is about to disappear from the ice for a while.
Will the Victoire stay on top without Marie-Philip Poulin?
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