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Cataractes could be forced to get chummy with Trois-Rivieres if veto is pulled from QMJHL constitution

The Shawinigan Cataractes have held a territorial veto over their surrounding 40 km, but that veto is expected to be taken away next month at league meetings. (Ghyslain Bergeron/The Canadian Press)
The Shawinigan Cataractes have held a territorial veto over their surrounding 40 km, but that veto is expected to be taken away next month at league meetings. (Ghyslain Bergeron/The Canadian Press)

The Shawinigan Cataractes have long believed that, since 1992, they owned the Mauricie region, including control over the neighboring, larger, Trois-Rivières.

Apparently, if they still think that, the team will get a rude awakening, as it’s expected that the territorial veto will be waived in the QMJHL’s constitution during the upcoming league meetings in September in Quebec City.

The current rule is that teams have the right to veto another team wanting to set up shop within 40 km. Shawinigan and Trois-Rivières are 27 km apart.

This is particular interest to the Cataractes, as they have maintained a team in Trois-Rivières would sink the team financially and kill the inroads the team has made in the market since the Draveurs left.

Trois-Rivières is the only real market possibility, barring a major surprise, for the league to rescind this rule and it seems like this change would be made to facilitate a team moving or starting up there.

Investors like Réal Breton have been trying to set up a major junior team in Trois-Rivières since the Cataractes hosted the 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup. Supporters include NHL hall-of-fame defenceman and former QMJHL owner Serge Savard, who has said that if Trois-Rivières were able to build an arena, the market couldn’t be ignored by the league.

Two of the four teams practiced and stayed in Trois-Rivières doing the 2012 tourney, to give an idea of how close the two cities are.

While Shawinigan holds a veto today, the league wants to change the process to leave no stone unturned.

Starting mid-September, if the league is approached by a serious buyer for an expansion team, or moving a team to another city, commissioner Gilles Courteau will give the two parties, the existing market and the intruding one, 30 days to negotiate a deal.

If there’s no deal in place by the time the month is up, or the two groups reach an impasse, an external group will look at the details of the market, and evaluate the lost and gained revenue to see if the league should support a move of that magnitude. This commission will look at the possible fan base won and lost, the potential and actual revenues, the potential sponsors and media, and the quality and capital of ownership among other things.

Then it’s up to the league to look at what the commission recommends and say yay or nay to a new team or a move.

This is a big win for investors in the Mauricie region like Breton, who have been trying in vain the last few years to gather investors and put together a plan. The closest he came was a group featuring Montreal Canadiens co-owner, president and CEO Geoff Molson and Calgary Flames bench boss Bob Hartley, dependant on a 5,000-seat arena project in Laviolette, Qc, that hasn’t been mentioned again since 2013.

However, two years after the Laviolette project came to light, it may still be an option.

The Cataractes also look at a team moving into their backyard as a possible financial windfall, in the millions of dollars, according to team governor Justin Darchen.

He added that showing the league the money they would lose in sponsorships wouldn’t be too hard to prove, and that a dollar amount would be simple to predict, if it came to that.

Not to mention, Shawinigan and Trois-Rivières are already rivals in everything they do. They would now add a junior hockey rivalry to the mix. That has the potential to get heated real quick.

It’s worth noting the abolition of the territorial veto was expected to happen in June, but it hasn’t come to pass yet, and commissioner Courteau has said he’s worked on a new plan for territory protection for at least the last two years. So if any team is truly surprised by this turn of events, they shouldn’t be.

Window for Gatineau to move if need-be

If the Olympiques were looking for an out from the city of Gatineau, they could have one in Trois-Rivières.

Breton could be looking for a team that may need a new home and soon, and the Olympiques, who will have to deal with Robert-Guertin Arena renovations and the city isn’t being favourable to the team.

I don’t think the Olympiques or the city have any interest in ending their partnership at all. They have too much history, with the Olympiques franchise playing out of the Bob since 1973. However, business doesn’t listen to tradition, and this could be a case where Breton could fly in at the 11th hour, steal the team and fly out before either side blinks.

Several things need to happen first before that’s a possibility. Both the city of Gatineau and the team would need to reach an impasse, official or obvious, that would stop them from coming to the table to talk, and one that would make the team feel desperate.

Breton would need to find a permanent place to play that isn’t the Colisée de Trois-Rivières. That barn barely held the Draveurs and would not be suitable now. It’s the home of the UQTR Patriotes of CIS hockey.

It’s a far-reaching possibility, but not out of the picture, and not too difficult to use it as leverage by the team against the city. Things got interesting in Gatineau real quick.