The Montreal Victoire will continue their battle for the league lead without their captain.
Marie-Philip Poulin was placed on long-term injury reserve retroactive to March 15 when she suffered a lower-body injury against the Boston Fleet, the team announced on Tuesday. The earliest Poulin could be available to return is April 5
In a corresponding move, the Victoire have signed Italian defender Nadia Mattivi to a standard player contract.
Mattivi just finished her season in the SDHL, the second-best women’s professional league, where she scored five goals and had 15 assists in 22 games. She was also named Defender of the Year in the league’s 2024-25 season.
The 25-year-old captained Italy at Milano-Cortina 2026, when she recorded two assists over five games.
The timing of this move works out well because the SDHL has just wrapped its season in Sweden. Many PWHL teams are shopping around overseas as they look to make additions to their squad ahead of the March 31 roster freeze.
Poulin has struggled with injuries over the past two months after a big hit from Kristyna Kaltounkova sidelined her for part of the Olympics and a few regular-season games. A defender was called up in place of Poulin, a forward, because key defender Erin Ambrose is also on the LTIR, so the Victoire seemingly chose to address their desperate need for added depth on the blue line.
According to the Victoire, Mattivi has joined the team in St. Paul, Minn., ahead of their game Wednesday against the Frost.
Montreal entered Tuesday in third place in the PWHL, two points behind the Frost and the Fleet.
— with files from the Canadian Press
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