'Only one Captain Clutch': Marie-Philip Poulin fans defend the hockey champ's nickname

Olivia Huffman has made it her mission to call out NHL teams who claim hockey champion Marie-Philip Poulin's "Captain Clutch" nickname for less deserving players.

Poulin, captain of the Montreal Victoire and long-time Team Canada star, earned the moniker for her history of scoring game-winning goals in high-stakes moments, including during three separate gold-medal Olympics matches.

"In hockey, especially, like, this generation, she's really earned that title more than almost any other player I can name," Huffman, a hockey fan in Ottawa, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.

So when Huffman saw the New Jersey Devils claim the title on X when its captain scored a goal in the first period of a regular season game — on March 1, the first day of Women's History Month, no less — she wasn't having it.

"Captain Clutch?," she replied. "But I didn't see Marie-Philip Poulin on the ice."

She made similar comments a few days later when the Buffalo Sabres claimed the nickname during a game they ultimately ended up losing to the Montreal Canadiens. 

She also called out the Ottawa Senators for labelling their captain, Brady Tkachuk, "Tkaptain TKLUTCH" for scoring the goal that pushed the team into overtime against the Washington Capitals.

"They're Canadian. You would think they would know better," Huffman said. "And they lost that game, too. So, you know, not so clutch."

Ironically, the famously modest Poulin is reportedly not a fan of the nickname, preferring to share her success with her team. Her teammates told Sportsnet they dare not utter the words "Captain Clutch" in her vicinity.

But that hasn't stopped Poulin fans and hockey commentators, alike, from defending the Victoire phenomenon's nickname from would-be usurpers. 

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