Montreal Canadiens: In Other News… Lions Sign Five, Bouchard Leaves Rocket

As disappointing as it may be, the Montreal Canadiens 2020-21 Playoff Run ultimately ended with a whimper, not a bang. Though if you’ve been paying attention to recent Twitter developments or the Canadiens post-mortem news conferences, you were already aware of that. After a 1-0 loss in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Canadiens’ quest for the Cup ended, with the Lightning emerging as Cup champs for the second consecutive year.

In the end, Montreal put together one heck of a run, and gave the city an experience like no other, in spite of the bitterness that seems to have lingered even in the aftermath of that Game 5 loss. With a new affiliate coming into town in the form of the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions (who had a busy Friday afternoon, to say the least) and the Laval Rocket receiving some developments of their own, there’s a lot to look forward to for 2021-22. So, with that being said, here’s a special affiliates edition of what’s been going on recently, in other news… for the Montreal Canadiens.

Trois-Rivières Lions Sign Olivier Archambault to One-Year Deal

Well after a drawn-out past few months, the Trois-Rivières Lions have officially entered the ECHL after making their first roster additions on Friday. While I would normally group all these signings into one section due to the rather unassuming nature of most ECHL-contracted players, Olivier Archambault is a bit of a different story. As I’ve discussed in the past, most of the players that I choose to follow more closely, are usually bizarre and or obscure picks, from former Hab Kenny Agostino to former Rocket farmhand Anthony Beauregard. In that same sense, Archambault’s career is not too dissimilar to any other ECHL regular, though he’s seen his fair share of travels along the way, to say the least.

For certain Canadiens fans, Archambault’s name might ring a bell, as he’s often brought up when discussing the Canadiens’ limited success with home-grown talent, being a fourth-round pick of the Habs in 2011. After a relatively solid junior career in the QMJHL, Archambault got into a 10-game audition with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 2012-13, which constituted his entire time with the Canadiens organization. Since signing with the Iowa Wild as a free agent in 2014-15, Archambault has fought and fought hard to secure a full-time role in the AHL, with limited success, barring in mind a briefly successful run with the Syracuse Crunch in 2017-18.

After posting 18-36-54 totals with the Allen Americans in 2019-20, Archambault went unsigned through the entire 2020-21 season after being suspended and subsequently removed from the Americans roster. At 6’00 and 190 pounds, Archambault possesses solid size, but his skill set is more akin to a smaller, offensively oriented sniper than anything else. While he’s dealt with injury troubles here and there, when healthy, there are few players in the ECHL as skilled as Archambault, and with a chance to play his first full professional season in Trois-Rivieres, I say skies the limit for the La Gardeur native. With solid skating, a decent shot, and unbelievably soft hands for an ECHL forward, Archambault should be the Lions star attraction and something to put fans in the seats night after night.

Lions Sign Mathieu Gagnon, Mathieu Brodeur to One-Year Deals

Leading on from Archambault’s addition, the Lions have managed to sign a few more notable defensive options, in ECHL and AHL veterans Mathieu Gagnon and Mathieu Brodeur. Gagnon, a Montreal native is, like Archambault, a former member of the Canadiens organization, though a very brief one, having signed a one-year deal with the St. John’s IceCaps prior to the 2016-17 season. A veteran enforcer with a number of notable bouts under his belt, against the likes of Jon Mirasty and Trevor Gillies, the introduction of David ‘Brolldozer” Broll to the IceCaps that season rendered Gagnon expendable.

In spite of serving a role and serving it well for the Brampton Beast that season, Gagnon is known moreso for his fists than anything else, though when needed, can serve as a reliable stay-at-home defenseman. After bouncing around a few lesser leagues overseas over the past few seasons, Gagnon found his way back to the ECHL in 2020-21 with the Wichita Thunder, and should be a crowd-pleaser like Archambault with his hard-fought, never say die approach.

For Brodeur, another Montreal native, experience is the name of his game, and in my mind, is a perfect candidate for the Lions’ first Captain, being a journeyman in every sense of the word, even as Trois-Rivieres begins to add more options. A former third-round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008, Brodeur spent five seasons as a reliable defensive defenseman in the AHL with three different clubs, along with three seasons in the ECHL.

Since making his pro debut in 2009-10, Brodeur has played the role of a journeyman through and through, at times serving key leadership roles on some more than capable AHL clubs. After getting into 8 games with the Syracuse Crunch (as a brief teammate of Archambault) and Utica Comets in 2017-18, Brodeur drifted around some overseas leagues as well as the LNAH, before finding his way back to the ECHL in 2021, earning a Kelly Cup title with the Fort Wayne Komets. At 6’05 and 215 pounds, Brodeur should be the rockets No. 1 defensive option, and the anchor of their backend.

Lions Sign Alexis D’Aoust, Guillaume Beaudoin to One-Year Deals

Finally (at least in terms of the Lions) the team has picked up two more less-heralded options, who regardless should serve solid depth roles for the first-year team. Alexis D’Aoust, a Trois-Rivieres Native, is a former product of the Shawinigan Cataractes, where he managed a 98-point season in 2015-16. At 5’11 and 205 pounds, D’Aoust brings a lot of offensive upside to the table, though Archambault went unsigned through all of 2020-21. For the most part, D’Aoust has bounced between the AHL and ECHL, having two full AHL seasons under his belt with the Utica Comets and Manitoba Moose, in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. While he’s yet to get a full season in the ECHL, D’Aoust numbers show some offensive ability that head coach Eric Belanger could further develop. With a solid frame and net-driving mindset, D’Aoust could become a useful depth offensive option.

On the opposite side of the coin, Guillaume Beaudoin is about as untested an option as they come, having just concluded his first professional season with Anglet in France. A former teammate of current Rocket forward Joel Teasdale with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Beaudoin is a solid defensive defenseman, albeit a slightly inexperienced one. After concluding his junior career, the Becancour native spent four seasons with the University of Trois-Rivieres, getting a quick shot of espresso in a one-game stint with the Florida Everblades in 2019-20. He’ll likely serve as a third-pairing option and possible fallback option on the penalty kill, should Belanger and his staff be able to hone his skills further.

Canadiens, Rocket’s Joel Bouchard Named Head Coach of AHL’s San Diego Gulls

In some more unfortunate news, former Laval Rocket bench boss Joel Bouchard has decided to take his services elsewhere with his contract expiring, being named head coach of the San Diego Gulls, AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. Following the axing of long-time Hamilton Bulldogs and St. John’s IceCaps coach Sylvain Lefebvre after the Rocket’s dreadful 2017-18 season, which ended with a 12-game losing streak, Bouchard (former head coach of the Armada) was brought in to try and fix what was looking like an increasingly nightmarish situation in the Habs farm system. Instituting a new team-oriented approach that rewarded hard work and effort over pure skill, the Rocket fought valiantly in their three seasons under Bouchard, holding playoff spots in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, both of which had the Calder Cup Playoffs cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

With the Ducks in the middle of a continuing identity crisis as they juggle their numerous talented prospects with an ageing, weakened veteran core, theirs been discussion as to whether Bouchard will ultimately replace former Gulls head coach Dallas Eakins in Anaheim. Eakins, a former journeyman defenseman who managed just over 100 NHL games, is most infamously known for his disastrous stint behind the Edmonton Oilers bench, which has unfortunately carried over to Anaheim.

With numerous talented rookies like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale waiting in the wings, it remains to be seen whether Bouchard will ultimately assume the head coaching mantle in Anaheim, whether it be in 2021-22 or beyond.