Wildcats, Lacroix part ways after five seasons in Moncton

Article content

Through the various ups and downs of the past QMJHL season, the most telling aspect in the Moncton Wildcats decision to part ways with head coach Daniel Lacroix came to a head in the playoffs earlier this month.

The Cats, seeded No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, fell in four straight games to the No. 6 ranked Chicoutimi Sagueneens, far short of the team’s pre-season goals that followed a whirlwind off-season including the selection of No. 1 pick overall Caleb Desnoyers last June at the draft in Sherbrooke.

But the Cats fell victim to the Sags and their special team’s excellence, surrendering six power-play goals and another shorthanded in the sweep while Moncton’s league-best power-play that set a franchise record at 28.5 per cent effectiveness connected just once in 14 opportunities in the series.

“We had aspirations to do well in the playoffs this year,” said team president Robert Irving in an interview after the news was announced Tuesday morning. “To go out in the first round and go out in four straight was a major disappointment. That did not meet our expectations.

“Dan’s contract was up and based on discussing this situation, both of us agreed it was the right thing to move on after the year we finished off with.”

Lacroix, who was not immediately available for comment, said last week in an interview that despite the loss to the Sags, the future looked bright for the Wildcats.

“The team is going to be in good hands and has a great, great outlook for the next few seasons,” he said.

The decision followed a sluggish second half of the campaign for Moncton.

The Wildcats, who soared out of the gate prior to Christmas at 21-7-2-2, were 17-16-2-1 in the second half, which included a 2-9 slide in January and February and a final 20-game record of 10-9-1-0.

But the playoff loss, in which the team was outscored 17-8, were shutout 3-0 in Game 1 at the Avenir Centre and ultimately failed to follow up on an encouraging run to the second round of the post-season in 2023 were the telling blows.

“It was more the playoffs, that was the nail in the coffin,” Irving said.

The process in hiring a new coach begins immediately and Irving said that while the team is blessed with time before training camp opens in August, the organization hopes to have the new bench boss in place prior to the QMJHL draft, which is slated for June 7-8 at the Avenir Centre.

“We are open to listen to anybody that has a sincere interest in taking on the job,” Irving said. “We will listen to whoever wants to show an interest and we’ll take it from there.

Irving thanked the four-plus years of service by Lacroix, who became head coach in December of 2019, replacing John Torchetti, who had replaced Darren Rumble at the start of the 2019-20 season.

The Cats were dominant that first year after Lacroix’s arrival with a 26-5 record that had them in second place overall. But the pandemic wiped out the playoffs and left Moncton in a rebuilding mode.

That new process started to take a firm foothold last year, when the Cats finished seventh overall, despite a prolonged slump early in the second half of the season. They defeated Baie-Comeau in a thrilling seven-game series that included a league record five overtime games before falling to Halifax in five games.

In the off-season, the team, poised for a potential run at hosting the Memorial Cup in 2025, made several moves after winning the draft lottery and selecting Desnoyers. Among those moves were the addition of rookie forward Shawn Carrier as the No. 6 overall pick, veteran forward Vincent Collard, the former third overall pick from Baie-Comeau, overage free agent Olivier Boutin to anchor the blueline free-agent Julius Sumpf, a talented dual citizen who had been playing in Germany and added pop to the offence.

However, the organization pulled out of the running for the Memorial Cup after it was suggested to them by CHL officials that a Quebec-team would be the best choice to host and Rimouski ultimately was selected prior to Christmas.

The quick start was encouraging, especially their 12-1-2 record on the road before the holidays. The team opted to stand pat at the trade deadline in terms of acquiring players and the second half was a different story, at some points mirroring 2022-23, culminating with the defeat to Chicoutimi.

“Our expectation is to win and continue to improve the program,” Irving said. “We didn’t do that. We had to come to a decision, and it was best to move on.”

It was Lacroix’s second stint with the team. The former NHLer worked with the Wildcats in various coaching capacities from 2002-06, serving as an assistant for two and half seasons from 2002-04 and then finished the second half of the 2004-05 campaign as head coach before assuming the assistant coaching role under Ted Nolan in the team’s first QMJHL championship season in 2005-06,

From 2006-18, he was almost exclusively in the NHL, serving as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lighting and Montreal Canadiens as well as one season with the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.

He also coached Team Red at the CHL Top Prospects Game in Moncton this past January.

As a player, he skated for 13 professional seasons and suited up for 188 NHL games.

Irving said the organizational goals have not changed.

“The point is that we want to continue to improve,” he said. “That is the focus. Our aim is to continue to put together a strong program that can win a championship. The ultimate goal is to win the Memorial Cup.”