Lacroix thankful for his experience in Moncton

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Now that the book has closed on his second tenure with the Moncton Wildcats, Daniel Lacroix is grateful for the opportunity and thankful for the confidence placed in him by the organization and its president Robert Irving.

On Tuesday, Lacroix, who had wrapped up his contract, and the organization mutually agreed to part ways following a playoff loss to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens earlier this month, ending his stint with the club that began in December, 2019.

“It means the world to me that Mr. Irving gave me this opportunity,” said Lacroix, upon returning to the organization where he held various coaching positions from 2002-2006, culminating in the team’s first President’s Cup QMJHL championship title.

“It’s a privilege to coach at this level and for him to give me this opportunity to work with such a great organization, I’m grateful for the opportunity to do that. I’m grateful for the commitment that the players have shown and the fans’ support for four and half years was tremendous.”

His latest Cats role started with a 26-5 record in the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season, one where Moncton was poised to take another run at a title before the playoffs were wiped out. And it transferred to a rebuilding program that appears ready to peak in the coming years but fell short this past playoff season.

“There’s been a lot of challenges starting with COVID in our first year. That’s a regret the whole team from that season will have, but you can’t do anything about it because it was out of our control,” Lacroix said.

“Rebuilding after a year like that was a challenge and being the coach of a rebuilding team is a challenge. You have to do a lot of things right if you want to get back to the top in a short amount of time. We are getting there slowly but the team is going in a good direction now with a lot of solid guys coming back. They will be a great team moving forward.”

Lacroix took some time to reflect after meeting with Irving following the series against Chicoutimi and now looks forward to his next coaching role, wherever it may be.

It will allow for a more consistent connection with his family, including his wife, a health-care professional who is working in the United States.

“We’re in this game because we have a passion,” he said. “I’ve got a passion to coach. I’ve got a passion to teach and also a passion to win. In doing that, there’s a price family wise, being away from my wife. I think it is time for us to find a new challenge where she can come and we can spend more family time together.

“We made it work really well, she was here often and Mr. Irving was very understanding. We made the best of it and it ended up being good. Now it is time to try something else.”

There were many highlights for him, ranging from the excellence of the 2019-20 squad down the stretch to the thrilling seven-game playoff victory over Baie-Comeau last year that featured five overtimes.

He also pointed to the squad’s work ethic and development in the shortened 2020-21 campaign, where not much was expected.

“The feedback that we had was that we were always a hard team to play against….I thought we showed up every night and I was extremely proud.”

He joined the team in 2002 and served as an assistant and head coach during the next three years before serving as an assistant to Ted Nolan for the 2006 run to the Memorial Cup final.

After that, he enjoyed assistant coaching roles with the New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lighting and Montreal Canadiens as well as one season with Hamilton in the AHL.

His 142 regular-season wins with Moncton rank third in franchise history.

“I’m just looking at the opportunity to change and to find something new,” he said. “This life is usually a three-year cycle as a player and as a coach. I’m a bit of a nomad and I always look at the door that will open and I’m very optimistic and very excited about what may lie ahead.”

The Wildcats made a number of roster moves in the off season and then invested in their youthful lineup as they gained experience in the second half of the current season. The Cats were solid in the first half but were just 10-9-1 in their last 20 games and fell in four straight games to Chicoutimi.

“It is just disappointing because our players have worked so hard all season,” he said. “We have some really great kids that are committed and engaged and it hurts to see these kids not get what they wanted and not advance. That is the most difficult part.”

He will miss the city, his colleagues, friends and the entire organization, he said.

“With change comes a new energy and so I feel a little bit of that,” he said. “I feel a little bit of excitement. Turning the page, the emotional side is with the players. So when you see kids that you’re not going to coach anymore – that’s the emotional side, as is leaving friends, leaving neighbours. That’s what’s harder.”

The organization said the process to find a replacement is underway and Irving said the team would like to have a new coach in place in time for the 2024 QMJHL draft in June at the Avenir Centre.