Montreal Victoire to raise Walter Cup banner and open season on December 5

Montreal Victoire will begin their Walter Cup title defence on December 5 at Place Bell, hosting expansion Hamilton in their 2026-27 PWHL season opener. The game is already sold out and will feature the raising of the franchise’s first championship banner in the Laval arena, with national broadcasts on Hockey Night in Canada and French-language coverage on Radio-Canada.

New PWHL conference format and schedule details

On Friday, the league released the full 2026-27 schedule. Even with four expansion teams joining, the regular season remains at 30 games per club. Montreal will play 12 of its 15 home dates at Place Bell, with three additional home games at alternate venues still to be confirmed. One is expected to be staged at the Bell Centre, with two more likely designated as Takeover Tour events, potentially including a stop in Quebec City.

The PWHL is also introducing a conference structure for the first time, splitting its 12 teams into two groups of six. The Eastern Conference features the Boston Fleet, PWHL Hamilton, Montreal Victoire, New York Sirens, Ottawa Charge and Toronto Sceptres. The Western Conference includes PWHL Detroit, PWHL Las Vegas, Minnesota Frost, PWHL San Jose, Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes. Each team will play 18 games within its conference and 12 against the opposite conference, with every club visiting at least one home venue in all 12 markets.

Walter Cup Playoffs will expand following the 2026-27 regular season. Eight teams will qualify, the top four from each conference. The opening round will consist of four best-of-three series, leading into best-of-five conference finals and a best-of-five Walter Cup Final presented by Scotiabank. A signature PWHL twist is also being extended: the first-place team in each conference will be allowed to choose its first-round opponent, selecting between the third- and fourth-place finishers in its own conference.

Victoire regroup around revamped roster without Poulin

Montreal’s schedule starts with a second home date on December 12 against San Jose before the team heads out for road games in Boston and Minnesota. Six of the Victoire’s 15 home games fall on Saturdays and three more on Fridays, positioning the club to draw strong weekend crowds throughout the season.

On the ice, the challenge is significant with captain Marie-Philip Poulin expected to miss essentially the entire regular season as she works through an estimated nine-month recovery from knee surgery performed in July. The club also saw several key players depart through the expansion process, forcing management to retool a championship roster.

Montreal has retained Abby Roque and moved aggressively in free agency, adding Emma Maltais and Jessie Eldridge, identified among the premier options on the market this off-season. The Victoire further bolstered their attack by signing Finnish star Michelle Karvinen and drafting forward Petra Nieminen to deepen the group up front.

On defence, the club re-signed Nadia Mattivi and Maggie Flaherty while drafting Zoe Uens and Erica Rieder to fortify the blue line. Training camp opens November 18, with two pre-season games scheduled in Boston on November 24 and 25 against the Fleet and New York Sirens. Full camp rosters are expected to be released next week, as Montreal’s bid for a repeat Walter Cup title formally gets underway.