Understanding Ann-Renee Desbiens' Injury, Timeline For Return, And World Championships Outlook

On Monday, many wondered why Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens was placed on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) despite skating at the morning practice.

Others wondered if her presence at the World Championship was in question and if so, who would replace her.In fact, the situation surrounding Ann-Renée Desbiens' injury is much less serious than it seems. In fact, her place on the LTIR is not only related to her injury.

But first, let’s recall the facts.

On March 18, during a game against Boston, the Victoire starting goalie fell backwards after a contact with an opposing player, injuring her left knee at the same time. She was taken out of the game and replaced by Elaine Chuli.

Three days later, after the team's practice, head coach Kori Cheverie mentioned that Tricia Deguire would soon sign a 10-day contract to compensate for Desbiens' absence. The team couldn't take the risk of going on the road and having one of the other two goalies gets hurt. But curiously, no official announcement had been made regarding this.

On the same day, Hockey Canada released its roster for the World Championship to be held in Czechia from April 9 to April 20 and, to the surprise of many, Desbiens' name was still on it.

On March 23, after the game against Toronto, Cheverie mentioned that it was unlikely that Desbiens would make the trip to Minnesota for Wednesday's game.

And after Desbiens missed her team's last two games, including the one in Minnesota, the Victoire confirmed Monday that she had been placed on the long-term injured reserve, retroactive to March 18. In addition, the team announced that Deguire had signed a standard contract with the team and not a 10-day one.

In a statement, general manager Danièle Sauvageau said she is confident that Desbiens will return in the near future. As for the goaltender's presence in Czechia, Sauvageau remained vague in a press conference, indicating that nothing in her progress indicates that she will not be able to be at the camp before the Worlds. 

Now that the retrospective of the events is done, let's talk about Ann-Renée's health.

The situation is not as dramatic as her place on the LTIR would suggest.

Desbiens was back on skates on Monday morning's practice. Dressed in all her goalie equipment, she took part in a short warm-up with the other goaltender, even making lateral moves, and then returned to the locker room when the rest of the team arrived.

It wasn't the first time she put on her skates. Danièle Sauvageau confirmed that Desbiens skated last Friday and Saturday. She was also present, without skates, on Saturday practice with season ticket holders. She walked in plain sight without crutches. Same thing on Monday after practice.

Without making a diagnosis here, considering all these elements, let's just say that it doesn't look like someone who is about to have surgery or who will miss the remainder of the season.

Although Hockey Canada informed the media on Monday that Julia Gosling will replace Hannah Miller at the World championships, an announcement released after the one Montreal did for Desbiens, the national team did not mention anything about the goaltender's status. It would have been an opportunity to do it, wouldn't it?

The reason is quite simple. My understanding of the situation is that Desbiens will travel to Czechia and will be ready to return when the tournament kicks off for Canada on April 10 against Finland. They don't bring her to Europe to watch the games from the stands. 

That said, it’s not impossible that she won’t get the start against Finland in order to send her into the fray the next day against Switzerland. Or they could wait until the 13th for the game against the United States. It all depends on whether they want to give her a warm-up game before the confrontation with the Americans.

It also means that barring a disaster, she will be in the Victoire lineup on April 26 when the season resumes.

And that's when a question arises: why did Montreal place Desbiens on the LTIR if she's going to return in ten days?

The answer lies in the arrival of Tricia Deguire.

For a player to sign a 10-day contract, she must first be on the team's reserve list. According to PWHL regulations, each team is allowed a maximum of three reserve players. So, in order for Deguire to sign a 10-day contract, Montreal would first have to release a player from the reserve list. 

Which wouldn't have been well received, given that Montreal has had the same three reserves – Gabrielle David, Kelly-Ann Nadeau and Catherine Daoust – since the beginning of the season.

It’s for this reason that there has never been an official announcement regarding a 10-day contract for Deguire. It would have been illegal for the team to do so.

The solution was to place Desbiens on the LTIR, retroactive to March 18, not because of the severity of her injury, but to free up a standard contract to replace her. That way, Deguire signed a more lucrative contract, paid in proportion to the minimum salary, with insurance and the monthly housing stipend, without having to change the status of another player on the team.

The 27-year-old Quebecer will take part in Montreal practices for the duration of the World Championship, given the absence of Desbiens and Sandra Abstreiter, who will play for Germany.

In addition, everything was done within the limits of the PWHL rules.

Indeed, the rule stipulates that a player placed on the long-term injured reserve must be on it for a minimum of 21 days. But this rule only applies to the PWHL and is not recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The team therefore does not break any rules.

The Victoire management deserves praise here, because they could have chosen the easy solution, which was to temporarily release a reserve player and give Deguire a lower salary for showing up at practice.

In the end, this is good news for everyone involved.