It was no longer a secret to anyone and was finally confirmed on Sunday morning: The Quebec Remparts acquired Justin Robidas from the Foreurs in a transaction that had already materialized in the last draft.
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Remparts and Foreurs had already traded picks at the last auction, then struck a deal that sent goaltender Mathys Fernandez to the Foreurs earlier in the season in exchange for a first-round pick returned to Val-d’Gold.
In the end, the transaction reads as follows: The Remparts received Robidas, goaltender Philippe Cloutier, two fourth-round picks and another fifth-round pick in exchange for selling their 2024 first-round pick Fernandez, a second-round pick in the draft 2022 and a third-round pick in 2024.
A productive dinner
The idea of acquiring Robidas came to Roy’s mind at a dinner with Remparts president Jacques Tanguay last summer. During the same dinner, they also considered the possibility of offering Simon Gagné the position of assistant coach to train him as the future driver of the Remparts.
“Initially, we didn’t want to trade our first-round picks in 2024 and 2025. It was in a cement block, non-negotiable. The only way we could accept was to get an important piece of our puzzle and we decided that Robidas was the piece we needed to complete it. »
Robidas comes to Quebec after scoring 42 points in 27 games with the Foreurs so far this season. Roy’s plan is to play him in the middle of the second row, complemented by James Malatesta on the left and Nathan Gaucher on the right.
“Off the ice he will bring work ethic and leadership, he believes. On the ice, he will bring intensity, raw talent and depth to our top six. Wherever he went, he was successful. He won the Midget AAA and with Team Quebec he made it to the junior finals with the foreurs. He’s a winner. »
Darcy and Agostino
The Remparts also added more depth to offense by confirming the acquisition of Daniel Agostino from the Shawinigan Cataractes in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the next draft. They also added Moncton Wildcats right-hander Thomas Darcy for a fourth-round pick previously acquired on the Robidas trade.
“We wanted to add depth at the back. Thomas had a bad injury at camp but he’s back and the games we’ve seen from him recently fitted well with what we wanted. »
Patrick Roy stays alert
Patrick Roy, who has been embroiled in many rumours, particularly about some of the best defenders available on the market, believes he is staying alert but doesn’t feel the need to attempt another breakout.
The Remparts have been involved in rumors involving Marc-André Gaudet of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Jérémy Langlois of the Cape Breton Eagles, as well as European players Lorenzo Canonica (Shawinigan) and Maxim Barbashev (Moncton). In Gaudet’s case, he was eventually sold to the Sherbrooke Phoenix.
As for the European players, despite the departure of Frantisek Ridzon, who decided to return to Slovakia after a difficult start to the season, Patrick Roy is not thinking of signing them. Being embroiled in a lot of rumours, particularly about some of the best defenders on the market, Patrick Roy believes he’s staying alert but doesn’t feel the need to attempt another breakout.
As for the defenders, it remains open.
“We had talks with some teams. For some we think the price is too high, for others we haven’t had a price yet. We are in conversation. All of that is welcome because it allows us to use our three games after the break to get an idea of where we are. We can study that and see where we want to go. »
The meaning of the core
He had already mentioned it a few weeks ago and he wanted to repeat it: It is important not to mess up his team’s hierarchy with transactions, especially at the back.
“It’s very important to us not to play too much with the role of the boys. Nicolas Savoie, he’s been here five years, Vsevolod Komarov and Evan Nause came at 17 and Charle Truchon at 16. Except for [Thomas] Darcy and [Édouard] Carrier, our defenders were all drafted by the remparts. We often try to build the back and guards internally and then add attacking parts afterwards. The base has to come from us. »
As for the menage à trois on the net, Roy doesn’t say he’s closed on continuing it unless a team shows interest in 19-year veteran Philippe Cloutier.
” [Quentin] Miller, our plan is that he doesn’t move. Next year William [Rousseau] may go back 20 years, but Miller is our future goalkeeper. »