The ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers and Trois-Rivières Lions are at risk of folding before the 2023-24 regular season draws to a close, per a report from Matthew Vachon and Paule Vermot-Desroches of Le Nouvelliste. The clubs, which are the second-tier affiliates of the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens, respectively, are majority-owned by Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which is nearing bankruptcy and owes the city of Trois-Rivière more than $600K.
According to Vachon and Vermot-Desroches, the ECHL has set a deadline for DSE to sell the clubs by April 2. However, the sale of both franchises is unexpected to happen in time. The ECHL’s board of governors, led by commissioner Ryan Crelin, will meet Tuesday to decide whether to allow them to play out the season. Regardless, the league will absorb ownership of the two franchises after the April 2 deadline.
Both teams have 10 or fewer games remaining on their regular-season schedule. The Growlers and Lions are both in the league’s North Division and are part of a tight race to claim the final two playoff spots available with Maine, Reading, and Worcester – all five clubs are within five points of each other. As Vachon points out, it’s worth noting that each team will have a representative at the board of governors meeting that will decide the Growlers’ and Lions’ fate, and it’s fair to assume those in the playoff hunt could help swing a vote toward not allowing the clubs to finish the season.
The Growlers have been one of the league’s most successful teams since their inception in 2018-19, winning the Kelly Cup in their inaugural campaign and making it to the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2023. The Lions are only in their third year of existence and their lone playoff appearance, coming in their inaugural season, was cut short in the first round at the hands of Newfoundland.
No players under contract with the Canadiens are currently on assignment to Trois-Rivières, but they hold the exclusive signing rights of three players on the squad: forward Jakov Novak, a 2018 seventh-round pick of the Senators whom they acquired last offseason; defenseman Miguël Tourigny, a 2022 seventh-round pick; and goaltender Joe Vrbetic, a 2021 seventh-round pick.
However, two NHL-signed players are on assignment to Newfoundland. Maple Leafs 2021 sixth-round pick Vyacheslav Peksa is the team’s current backup netminder, posting an .890 SV% and a 5-10-1 record in his first season in North America. Panthers defense prospect Nathan Staios was loaned to the club late last month.