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EXCLUSIVE! Negotiations between J-F Houle and the Rocket are well advanced

It’s May 27. Saturday is ALREADY June 1, NHL amateur draft month.

May and June are also the months when coaches are usually appointed and/or replaced in professional hockey. At least, those who haven’t lost their jobs during the season…

At the Montreal Canadiens, all indications are that there will be no change behind the bench, and that Martin St-Louis, Alex Burrows, Trevor Letowski, Stéphane Robidas and Éric Raymond will all be back next season.

Letowski took over from St-Louis when the latter was absent to care for his son.

But there will be changes at the Laval Rocket. We already know that Kelly Buchberger will not be back as assistant coach in 2024-25, which has given rise to much speculation about Jean-François Houle’s future.

However, I’ve gone to the source over the past few days and it seems that negotiations are well advanced between the Rocket and its head coach. Barring a last-minute turn of events, Houle should be back at the helm of the Rocket in 2024-25. An announcement to this effect could/should be made in the next 10 days, I’m told. Reminder: Houle’s current contract expires in just over a month.

Houle has managed the Rocket for the past three campaigns. He was appointed by the previous management team – Marc Bergevin’s – after the departure of Joël Bouchard.

Under his leadership, the Rocket was eliminated in the third round in 2022, fell in the qualifying round in 2023 and didn’t make the playoffs in 2024. Some would say that the Canadiens’ club-école hasn’t progressed under J-F Houle…

But the work of an AHL head coach must be assessed differently from that of an NHL head coach. The objective of a club-school is to develop… and when the big club is rebuilding, many of your good young players develop in the NHL, not the AHL.

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First, the Rocket missed the playoffs by a mere six points this year. That’s not much when you remember that Joshua Roy, Jesse Ylonen, Jayden Struble, Brandon Gignac, Mitchell Stephens and other key Rocket players spent part of the season up there.

And at the end of the season, when points were at a premium, J-F Houle had to play with a fourth line full of young players rather than a true fourth line. Some of the youngsters had to be given experience and some of the promises made by Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to certain agents had to be fulfilled…

Oh yes, it also took a relatively long time for Rocket management to give them a second quality goalie this season…

Secondly, all the guys who were recalled from Laval were ready to play in the show this year: Struble, Stephens, Mailloux, Condotta, Heineman, Barron…

J-F had prepared them well.

Third, Houle got Cole Caufield and Arber Xhekaj back on track when they were loaned out for a few games.

Fourth, Jean-François Houle is well liked by his players. He communicates well and makes sure that everyone has access to the answersthey need. There’s no doubt or gray area with Houle, and the guys love that; they want to play for him next.

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According to what I’m told, the Rocket will wait until the entire staff has signed a new contract before announcing Houle’s return. We can therefore expect a joint, global announcement for all coaches (head and assistants) in Laval. If the plan doesn’t change…

Barring a last-minute reversal, Martin Laperrière, Marco Marciano and Charles Juneau should all be back too.

But who will replace Kelly Buchberger?

Three options seem best to me:

1. Paul Byron: Byron is currently a player development consultant in the Habs organization. Anthony Marcotte said a month ago that he wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Paul Byron named assistant coach with the Rocket. Could it happen as early as next season?

Byron feels more at home in Laval than in Montreal right now, and the position of assistant to Jean-François Houle would suit him like a glove.

And while it might get Réjean Tremblay out of his depth, the presence of an English-speaking coach always helps to rally the club’s English-speakers.

Buchberger is gone; Houle and Laperrière have French as their first language.

But the question remains: is Paul Byron ready to face this challenge in September?

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2. Sylvain Favreau: he had quite a season at the helm of the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Even though his team lost its first two games at the Memorial Cup, that doesn’t take anything away from his excellent work.

His name was linked to the Rocket head coaching position last week. If the head coach returns, could Favreau be named his assistant?

The Voltigeurs are at the end of a cycle; they’ll have to rebuild next season. Not sure that excites Favreau…

A higher pro salary than in the QMJHL – in USD, not CAD – would certainly interest Favreau. That’s what Stéphane Julien agreed to do when he took the assistant coaching job in Grand Rapids…

And the fact that nothing has yet been announced at the Rocket would “fit” with waiting until after the Memorial Cup (Sunday)…

3. Someone under contract elsewhere: many coaches will see their contract with their current organization end on July 1. The Rocket could wait until after that date to hire Buchberger’s successor.

To be continued over the next few days…

Gossip

– Those who dream of the return of the Impact name need only pray at St. Joseph’s Oratory.

– The people of Prague celebrated their team’s victory at the World Cup last night.

– That was to be expected.