The matter dragged on for a bit, but was eventually resolved: Jean-François Houle will be back at the helm of the Laval Rocket next season.
The Canadian’s school club has in fact announced that it has reached an agreement with Houle on the terms of a new contract lasting several seasons.
Assistant coach Martin Laperrière, goaltending coach Marco Marciano and video coach Charles Juneau also agreed to multi-year contract extensions.
Houle, 49, will therefore begin a fourth season behind the Rocket bench. He led the club to the Calder Cup semifinals in 2022, the qualifying round last year. This season, the Habs subsidiary finished last in its division and missed the detail by six points.
The collective results have been nondescript for two years, but the school club has provided significantly more players in recent years than previous regimes. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Joshua Roy, Jayden Struble and goaltender Cayden Primeau all spent time in Laval before settling in Montreal, although Roy’s permanence will have to be validated next fall, he who has not played only 23 matches with CH.
The issue of Houle’s future in Laval was in the news at the end of the season. The driver was hired in the summer of 2021 to succeed Joël Bouchard, in what was one of Marc Bergevin’s last hires. His three-year contract therefore expired this spring.
Questioned in the last weeks of the calendar, Houle recalled that “if it is not here with the Montreal Canadiens, it will be with someone else. But I like the organization, I like where I am in Laval. I think we are treated very well. We’ll see in due time. »
During the Rocket’s end-of-season review, he said he was “very happy” in Laval. However, he also admitted that “like any other coach, everyone wants to go higher. I would definitely listen to this [qu’une équipe de la LNH] would have to offer. One day I want to be an NHL instructor. »
Houle will now have to find at least one new assistant since Kelly Buchberger left the team to work in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.