Marc-Andre Bergeron leaves organization. Promotions for Pascal Rheaume and Alex Cousineau. Trois-Rivieres' season ending roster. Cedric Montiminy signs contract.
Marc-Andre Bergeron leaves organization. Promotions for Pascal Rheaume and Alex Cousineau. Trois-Rivieres' season ending roster. Cedric Montiminy signs contract.
The Trois-Rivieres Lions tumultuous off-season continues as the team announced on Friday the departure of their Vice President and General Manager and acting head coach Marc-Andre Bergeron.
"We thank Marc-Andre Bergeron for his work with our organization," Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE) president Dean MacDonald said in a statement. "Marc-Andre's passion for the sport played an important role in the development of the team. We wish him the best of luck in his future projects."
Bergeron joined the club at its inception as the vice president and general manager. In November, he added the responsibilities of head coach after Eric Belanger left Trois-Rivieres to join the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs.
The Lions had a 63-69-8-1 record and lost the only playoff series they participated under Bergeron's tenure.
Promotion for Pascal Rheaume
Pascal Rheaume was promoted to the role of general manager and head coach for the upcoming season.
"We believe his experience as a player and coach, in addition to his tie to the city of Trois-Rivieres will significantly contribute to the success of our team. We are convinced that Pascal will lead the Lions towards excellence," MacDonald said.
"Being from the region, I'm very happy to accept this new challenge and continue what I have already started with the Trois-Rivieres Lions," Rheaume said.
Rheaume had originally applied for the coaching role that eventually was given to Belanger, but accepted to join the team as an assistant. Prior to joining the Canadiens ECHL affiliate, Rheaume spent seven seasons behind the bench in the QMJHL and one season for the AHL's Iowa Wild.
The 50-year old played 318 games in the NHL for six different teams in his career. In addition, he played 271 games in the AHL and also spent one season in Austria.
Rheaume's contract was expiring on August 1st and was in discussion for a coaching job for a QMJHL team when DSE reached out to offer a promotion. "Marc-Andre offered me a contract at the end of February, early March to come back as an assistant, but we couldn't come to an agreement," Rheaume said. "I told him if something happens and you find a little more money, you let me know and I will come back as an assistant."
Increased Responsibilities for Cousineau
As part of the changes, Alex Cousineau was promoted to Director of Hockey Operations in addition to maintaining his role of goalie coach.
"I'm very honoured to be back and continue with the Trois-Rivieres Lions as Director of Hockey Operations and goalie coach," Cousineau said.
Cousineau has been with the organization since it joined the ECHL in 2021-'22. Prior to joining Trois-Rivieres, he was Concordia University's goalie coach for three seasons.
The 26-year old will have a key role in management assisting the new general manager. Cousineau was Bergeron's right-hand man in terms of the rules and his experience will benefit Rheaume.
"I'm happy that Alex is still here with us and his promotion. It is earned. He works hard and I will use Alex to sign players," Rheaume said.
Vacancies
Rheaume will have the opportunity to build his own roster in his new dual role. He will collaborate with Cousineau to put the best team possible on the ice with a focus on adding size and physicality to the roster. The duo feels like the team lacked size when they faced rivals such as the Newfoundland Growlers.
There are still key vacancies in the organization. Rheaume will need to find an assistant to replace his role. Over the next couple of weeks, he will be searching for an individual to join his coaching staff.
The president role vacated by Mark Weightman at the of the season has not filled. DSE's Glenn Stanford is holding the position on an interim basis until someone is hired.
Ownership of the club is still up in the air. Rumors have persisted that DSE is negotiating with Steve Leal, owner of Fix Auto. The organization has a debt of nearly $600,000 with the city of Trois-Rivieres for unpaid rent.
Season Ending Roster
On Friday, the ECHL unveiled the season ending roster of the league's 32 teams. Each team was able to include up to 20 players that were in their protected list submitted earlier in the month.
The Lions season ending roster consisted of 11 forwards and nine defencemen.
Each team can retain the rights to up to eight players from their season ending roster by presenting a qualifying offer by July 7th.
Captain Returns
Rheaume did not waste any time and signed Cedric Montminy to a contract for the 2023-'24 season. The forward has been the franchise's only captain.
In 2022-'23, Montminy scored 19 times and added 27 assists in 65 games. He was used on the power play and the penalty kill units.