QMJHL, Titan to hold press conference

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

The future of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan could become clearer on Friday.

Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League commissioner Mario Cecchini and two of the Titan's current shareholders – Marc Guignard and Serge Thériault – will hold a virtual press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. The subject of the press conference wasn't included in the invite, but it's almost certainly about the club's future in Bathurst.

Rumours and speculation about the franchise being sold and relocated to St. John's have been circulating all season. In recent weeks, those rumours have turned more into facts and, at this point, it would be a surprise to not see the team move to Newfoundland in time for next season.

The league is in a tough spot here and it will be interesting how they choose to handle this sale. On the one hand, you'd like to get the news out soon to help generate some excitement in Newfoundland. On the other hand, it's generally not a good idea to create a "lame duck" team that knows its days in the city are numbered, which we recently saw with the Oakland Athletics baseball team.

RDS reported this week that the Titan were sold to a group from Newfoundland for more than $5.5 million. RDS also reported that draft schedules are already in the works for next season, which includes travel to St. John's.

The Titan have been publicly up for sale since January. The franchise has been at or near the bottom of league attendance for the last 15 years.