CHICOUTIMI, Quebec — Hushed murmers rumbled in the acoustically-challenged Centre George Vezina.
“We have a trade to announce,” came the echo from the microphone in front of Shawinigan general manager and head coach Denis Francoeur.
“The Shawinigan Cataractes announce a trade with the Lewiston Maineiacs.”
A knowing glance from Maineiacs’ coach Clem Jodoin to the rest of his staff revealed almost as much as the next sentence from Francoeur’s lips.
“The Shawinigan Cataractes cede to the Lewiston Maineiacs their first-round pick in 2005, their third round selection in the 2006 draft and the player Stefano Giliati.
“In return, the Lewiston Maineiacs cede to Shawinigan the player Alex Bourret and their fourth-round pick in the 2006 draft.”
The crowd barely heard the fourth-round pick announced, too electric already about the Bourret trade.
One general manager went to Jodoin following the first round and said simply, “You stole the show.”
“We knew what we needed,” said Jodoin. “We had offers from a few teams for Alex, and we had to pick the one we thought was best for this organization.”
The deal, although it includes one of the better players in the league in Bourret, may work out to Lewiston’s advantage. Giliati is only 18 and a power forward. He also played with Maineiacs’ forward Stefan Chaput in Midget AAA.
“We were in competition with two other teams for Bourret,” said Francoeur. “We paid the price that the seller was asking us to pay. They wanted Giliati, that is the player they asked for, so that had to be part of the deal.”
Across the floor, the murmurs continued as Lewiston selected its second first-rounder, Patrick Cusack.
“We didn’t have anything going for Bourret,” said Quebec Remparts’ GM, former Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy. “I think he did expect to leave Lewiston, and if that is what he wanted, good for him.”
Roy smiled when reminded he will now see Bourret eight times instead of twice.
“Oh well, it is better for the fans and he will add good competition,” said Roy.
The Cataractes, who lost in four games to the Maineiacs in last season’s playoffs, have beefed up their front line and added some scoring punch with Bourret.
“We needed an impact player to give us more punch opn the attack,” said Francoeur. “He can play everywhere on the ice well. It was tough for us to do this, but we think it was best for us.”
At the Maineiacs’ table, there was an air of satisfaction.
“It’s not that we wanted to see him go,” said Jodoin. “He is a very, very good player, but he was not happy here. His agent kept calling, so hey, when a player is not happy, there is nothing you can do about it. We would rather have a player that might be less talented right now but that is happy than one who is unhappy.”
Jodoin said he had spoken to Bourret’s father, who had expressed disappointment, but had not spoken to Bourret himself. Jodoin will likely be reunited with Bourret at the World Junior Championships this Winter, though. Bourret is almost a lock to make the team, and Jodoin will be the assistant coach.
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