The ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, the Trois-Rivieres Lions, have made a contract offer to Marie-Philip Poulin, who recently captained Team Canada to a gold medal. Poulin however, has refused the offer.
Marie-Philip Poulin, à laquelle les Lions de Trois-Rivières s’intéressent, n’a «aucune intention» de se joindre au club et poursuivra ses efforts pour qu’une ligue féminine professionnelle voit le jour. @pou29 pic.twitter.com/PGtyVxdLzs
— L.A. Lariviere (@L_A_theRiver) February 19, 2022
Marie-Philip Poulin made history recently being the only player, male or female, to score in 4 different Olympic gold medal games – 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. In Beijing this year, Poulin captured her third gold medal and scored the game winning goal for each of her three victories.
Marie-Philip Poulin: Big fan of big games. 🐐#TeamCanada | #Beijing2022 pic.twitter.com/sGoQeGFdLr
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 17, 2022
Is Marie Philip Poulin the most clutch hockey player of all-time !? 🔥🔥🔥
— Jackie Redmond (@Jackie_Redmond) February 17, 2022
Poulin has clearly carved herself a legacy as one of the greatest players Canada has ever produced on the international scene.
Captain Clutch with another GOLDEN GOAL for Canada at the Olympics 🥇
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 17, 2022
Marie-Philip Poulin made sure to point the spotlight on her teammates after the big win ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/FpsWvDcyxN
In a statement released by the Lions, it is said that Poulin has no intention on joining the Lions organization, but invites them to join herself and the hundreds of players who are working hard on promoting women’s hockey in Canada. Poulin has committed to continue her efforts to one day create a professional women’s hockey league equal to the NHL.
Lions GM Marc-Andre Bergeron might have seen a great marketing coup in trying to lure Poulin with the team, but in the end, the long-term vision of Poulin prevailed over trying to play in a men’s league.
With more and more women taking on administrative and coaching roles in all the major North-American sports leagues, and with the rise in popularity in women’s hockey, it would be no surprise to one day see the birth of at least a professional Canadian women’s league, or the absolute expansion of the current Premier Hockey Federation, formerly known as the National Women’s Hockey League.
It’s true that the women’s hockey olympics is often a showdown featuring Canada and the US followed by everyone else. However, you can’t ignore the fact that Canada has produced a powerhouse of a hockey program to a point where now 8 women are now part of the Hockey Hall of Fame – Kim St. Pierre, Hayley Wickenheiser, Jayna Hefford, Danielle Goyette, Angela Ruggiero, Geraldine Heaney, Cammi Granato, and Angela James.
You can bet that you can add the name of Marie-Philip Poulin to that list pretty once her playing career is done.