Victoire sign Michelle Karvinen to one-year contract
One of the best players in international hockey is moving across the country.
On Thursday, the Montreal Victoire announced that the team has signed forward Michelle Karvinen to a one-year contract for the 2026-27 season.
Karvinen joins the reigning Walter Cup champions after spending her first season in the PWHL with the Vancouver Goldeneyes. The 36-year-old was the expansion team’s first-ever draft pick, as she was selected seventh overall in the 2025 PWHL Draft. There was a lot of expectation that her veteran experience and talent would lead Vancouver in its inaugural season.
However, things didn’t work out for Karvinen and company. She and the Goldeneyes struggled to come together, and ended up hanging around the bottom of the league standings for most of the season. In 30 games, Karvinen posted just three goals and six assists for nine points, with a plus/minus of -9. Vancouver ended up finishing sixth in the PWHL, but earned the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft by earning the most Draft Order points.
Karvinen became a free agent after she didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Goldeneyes. Joining a team with the likes of Abby Roque, Laura Stacey, Jessie Eldridge and captain Marie-Philip Poulin might be the spark that Karvinen needs to find that offensive spark in the PWHL.
Internationally, Karvinen is one of the best European players of all time. She has scored more points than any other Finnish player in the history of the IIHF Women’s World Championship (62), with her 24 points ranking her second in women’s Olympic scoring by a Finn behind Riikka Sallinen. Karvinen is a three-time Olympic bronze medalist, a one-time silver medalist at the Women’s Worlds, with another seven bronze medals in the tournament. She’s a four-time SDHL champion, and a three-time leading scorer in Sweden’s top professional league.
With the signing, the Victoire have 18 players signed to contracts for the 2026-27 campaign. General manager Daniele Sauvageau can sign one more athlete prior to training camp opening in the fall.