{"time":1782441636156,"blocks":[{"id":"iOdNqsGBkc","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The\nMontreal Victoire revealed that captain Marie-Philip Poulin will be undergoing\nmajor knee surgery this offseason. Captain Clutch has a torn anterior cruciate\nligament and a damaged meniscus. While the team stopped short of providing a\ntimetable for her return, it’s clear that she fully intends to be back. "}},{"id":"46WJNrIwzg","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"On\naverage, that kind of operation involves at least nine months of rehabilitation.\nIn other words, she could potentially miss most, if not all, of the season."}},{"id":"M8R2X96YUO","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Following\nthe news, some have raised questions about Daniele Sauvageau’s decision to\nprotect the captain ahead of the Expansion Player Redistribution Process. Going\nas far as saying that the GM should have elected to protect Erin Ambrose\ninstead of Poulin. That wouldn’t, however, have worked. "}},{"id":"YdyZVYsQK_","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Of course,\nPoulin could have pulled a Carey Price ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights’ expansion\ndraft and let it be known that she was injured, but given the fact that she\nwants to come back, she could hardly say she didn’t think she would ever play\nagain. That would have been dishonest, and that’s one thing Poulin definitely\nisn’t. "}},{"id":"ZeVnMIR-mn","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The captain’s situation is quite different from Blayre Turnbull's, who\nhas decided to start a family and had let it be known to the expansion teams.\nFurthermore, Turnbull was on an expiring contract and therefore didn’t need to\nbe protected, on top of having assured GM Gina Kingsbury that she wouldn’t be\nsigning anywhere else. It’s a similar situation in Minnesota with Kendall Coyne Schofield, who continues to ponder her own future as well."}},{"id":"WiGXjqOHXu","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Had Poulin\nbeen left unprotected without saying that she didn’t think she could play\nagain, chances are that an expansion team would have picked her up. How could\nfour teams be expected to pass on a player who is arguably still the best in\nthe game? While she was skating on one leg in the Walter Cup playoffs, Poulin still won the Playoff MVP title. Who better to sell women’s hockey in a new\nmarket?"}},{"id":"j6q-x3uN-P","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"By\nprotecting Poulin and letting Ambrose go, Sauvageau knew what she was doing.\nLosing the blueliner helped give her the cap space needed to make a splash in\nfree agency to soften the blow of Poulin’s long-term absence. Given the fact that\nPoulin wants to be back in the PWHL, there was no other way Sauvageau could\nplay her hand. "}},{"id":"1mA2FS6Mv3","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"At the\npress conference on Thursday morning, the captain said:"}},{"id":"eD6bD5sIE9","type":"quote","data":{"text":"I played as\nbest I could with a torn ACL and meniscus because I wanted to be part\nof this journey that led us to hoist the Walter Cup. It was with\nthis goal in mind that I worked tirelessly to return to the game this season.\nIt has become clear that if I want to continue playing at a high level,\nsurgery is necessary. In the short term, it’s a difficult choice, but\nif I take a step back and think about the years ahead, the decision is obvious.\nI’m going to focus all my energy on my recovery once the surgery is done so\nthat I can return to the game in the best physical form possible.","caption":"Marie-Philip Poulin","alignment":"left"}},{"id":"vFJW7QXMUN","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In the\nstatement released by the team, she also added:"}},{"id":"SnFFXiFZsg","type":"quote","data":{"text":"My goal is\nto play hockey for as long as I can, in the best possible health.","caption":"","alignment":"left"}},{"id":"Lv5mwrLemK","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That doesn’t\nsound like a player who’s getting ready to call it quits; leaving her unprotected\nwould have been a huge gamble and one that Sauvageau understandably wasn’t\nwilling to make. "}},{"id":"rxvW7ld93J","type":"delimiter","data":{}},{"id":"7kA4PK7gDe","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains. "}}],"version":"2.31.6"}

Japan First Team Through, Punches Ticket To 2026 Olympic Games