MONTREAL (AP) — The Walter Cup champion Montreal Victoire signed Emma Maltais to a two-year contract on Tuesday in adding another Canadian Olympian to their lineup.
The 26-year-old forward is a two-time Olympian and signed with Montreal in free agency after spending her first three PWHL seasons in Toronto.
Maltais had three goals and 10 points last season centering Toronto’s second line. Overall, she has 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists) in 84 career
games.
Though born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Maltais' parents are Canadian and she grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and played collegiately at Ohio State. She won gold at the 2022 Beijing Games and silver at the Milan Cortina Games in February.
Maltais joins a team led by Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin, and national squad teammates in forward Laura Stacey and goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens.
Her departure further depletes a Toronto team that lost leading scorer Daryl Watts and forward Jesse Compher in the expansion process. The status of Sceptres captain Blayre Turnbull is also uncertain for next season. The 32-year-old on Monday announced she is pregnant, with the baby due in December.
Montreal also re-signed defender Tamara Giaquinto and third-string goalie Megan Warrener to one-year contracts.
In another free-agency move, the Seattle Torrent signed defender Noemi Neubauerova — a two-time Olympian for Czechia — to a one-year deal. The 26-year-old split last season between the PWHL Fleet and EV Zug of Switzerland. She also appeared in 20 games with Toronto in 2024-25.
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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
