The Montreal Canadiens ECHL affiliate will be able to continue its playoff hunt as the owners finalize the sale of the team.

The saga surrounding the future of the Trois-Rivieres Lions is on hold for now. The ECHL had imposed an April 2nd deadline to Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE) to sell the team.

At the 11th hour, DSE reached an agreement for the sale of the Lions to an undisclosed buyer, pending league approval. As a result, the ECHL Board of Governors approved that the current ownership group continues operating the team until the official sale is completed. The league terminated the Newfoundland Growlers, also owned by DSE, effective immediately.

A group led by Steven Leal, CEO of Quebec-based Fix Network World, had negotiated to purchase both teams but recently withdrew from the process. Le Nouvelliste reports that DSE’s latest asking price for the Lions was $3.5-million.

On Tuesday, Francois Vaillancourt, the mayor of Trois-Rivieres, advised the municipal council that the city used the bank guarantee letter to collect $650,000 of the debt owed by DSE. The team’s debt is estimated at $1.1-million for unpaid rent of Colisee Videotron.

Playoff Push Continues

The ECHL announced that playoff seeding for the North Division will be determined by points percentage. Newfoundland’s cancelled games. including this weekend’s tripleheader against Trois-Rivieres will not be made up.

As a result of the Growlers termination, the Lions currently sit third in the division as they prepare to host the Maine Mariners on Wednesday at Colisee Videotron. The winner of the contest will grab a hold of third place. To thank fans for supporting the team, the Lions announced that tickets will be discounted by 25% on Wednesday. 

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