QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau to retire in 2024

Gilles Courteau, commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) is pictured in his office in Boucherville , Que. on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Paul Chiasson/CP)

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League commissioner Gilles Courteau announced on Friday that he will be retiring in 2024 after 47 years at the helm.

Courteau will stay on as league commissioner for the first six months of the 2023-24 season. The search for the new commissioner will begin after the holidays and conclude with the nomination of the replacement in May. He will then hand over the keys to the QMJHL to his successor and be involved on a mentorship level until May 31, 2024.

By the same token, the QMJHL announced that the Presidents Cup will be renamed as the Gilles Courteau Trophy, starting in the 2023 playoffs.

Courteau started in the QMJHL in 1975 with the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs and moved to the league office in 1977 as a statistician. He took over as league president during the 1985-86 season after Dr. Guy Morissette resigned. His league president title was then renamed to league commissioner in 2000.

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