Montreal Alouettes Thread

[paulwoods13]

Montreal has released 2017 first overall draft pick Faith Ekakitie and seven year veteran International DB Joe Burnett who the Als signed as a free agent in 2018.

Ekakitie -- the guy Winnipeg selected with the first overall pick we traded, along with T.J. Heath, for Drew Willy. Five tackles in two years. There's a rumour on the CFL.ca boards that Heath has also been released, BTW.

[AngeloV]

Ekakitie -- the guy Winnipeg selected with the first overall pick we traded, along with T.J. Heath, for Drew Willy. Five tackles in two years. There's a rumour on the CFL.ca boards that Heath has also been released, BTW.

And all three finished the year with the Als last year. Crazy how things work.

[R.J]

Bombers still have Petermann. What exactly does Toronto still have out of the deal ?

[Argo57]

Bombers still have Petermann. What exactly does Toronto still have out of the deal ?

Some good memories👍

[argolio]

Some good memories

Very true. Even if it came thanks to some good fortune, one Grey Cup easily trumps the Bombers neverending unfinished business.

[jerrym]

The Als have new home and away uniforms.



https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/01/new-id...logo-uniforms/

[jerrym]

Long snapper Martin Bedard, an 11 year veteran, has signed for 2019.

[jerrym]

The Als have released National WR Josh Stanford.

Stanford played in three games with the Als in 2018, hauling in two passes for nine yards. Before being traded to Montreal, the 24-year-old spent three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2016-2018). In 24 career games, Stanford has caught 23 passes for 252 yards.

https://www.cfl.ca/2019/02/06/alouet...josh-stanford/

[jerrym]

The Als biggest off-season signings since the start of free agency have been two former Argos: RB Jeremiah Johnson and WR DeVier Posey. Surprisingly, 36 year old DE John Bowman has signed a two year contract after so many said he would retire following the 2018 season. They have also signed their top receiver, B J Cunningham, as well as five Nationals: FB Christophe Normand, OL Spencer Wilson, WR Stephen Adekolu, DL Jean-Samuel Blanc, and Felix Faubert-Lussier. IMO, they have improved but still have a way to go to be even a middle of the pack team.

[jerrym]

Montreal has added speedy International WR Chris Brown to the roster.

Brown (6’1”, 195 lbs.) signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 after playing four seasons for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The 25-year-old receiver had a brilliant collegiate career, helping the Fighting Irish reach the BCS National Championship game in his freshman year. The Hanahan, SC native completed his university career with 104 receptions good for 1,410 yards and six touchdowns. During his senior season at Notre Dame, Brown cumulated 597 yards on 48 receptions, while scoring four majors. A former member of the US National Junior track and field team, Brown was claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2017.

https://en.montrealalouettes.com/201...-brown-roster/

[jerrym]

Twelve year veteran Canadian OL Luc Brodeur-Jordain has signed a one year contract with the Als. He made the East Division All-Star team in 2012 and 2014. Last year he played in 13 games.

[jerrym]

The Als have resigned two Internationals: six year CFL veteran DB Jermaine Robinson who had 16 DTs and 10 STs as well as two interceptions in 2018, as well as WR T.J. Graham, who had six catches for 93 yards in 8 games.

[jerrym]

Former Argo, Tiger Cat and Alouette Eric Lapointe says that he has not been approached by the Als to buy the team, but is a phone call away from trying to make it happen.

However, the Montreal native, 44, said he could quickly assemble a potential ownership group if approached.

“I don’t think it would be hard to put a group together,” Lapointe said. “There’s a lot more Francophone business owners than back in the day … there’s a lot of people who’d like to be involved. Obviously I’m passionate about football but I’m not looking for a job. I love what I do. And I can’t say enough about the Wetenhalls and what they’ve done for our city.”

The five-foot-11, 208-pound Lapointe starred collegiately at Mount Allison in Sackville, N.B. He was named Canadian university football’s top rookie in 1995 before claiming the Hec Crighton Trophy in 1996 (after rushing for a record 1,619 yards) and ’98.

He was selected in the third round, No. 20 overall, of the ’99 CFL draft by the Edmonton Eskimos, but joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats later that season after being released. Lapointe was traded to the Toronto Argonauts in 2000, then joined the Alouettes as a free agent in 2001.

Lapointe remained with the Alouettes through the 2006 campaign. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Lapointe is currently a managing director with Stonegate Private Counsel in Montreal. His office assists high net-worth entrepreneurs with sustaining, growing and transitioning their wealth.

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-...e-of-franchise

[jerrym]

Eric Lapointe hit the nail on the head in calling the Als "a freaking nightmare". He's the kind of owner the team needs.

“It’s been such a freaking nightmare to look at all this and people fired after one year, it needs to be cleaned up. I said that 20 years ago and it’s still not fixed. Am I interested to fix it? Yes, for sure. I know exactly where to start. It’s an interesting business, but don’t get me wrong it’s not a passion investment for me. I believe there’s potential. I’ve seen numbers in the past and I’ve talked to many teams in the league also. It’s probably not a team that you could make 10 millions of profit every year… but as a group if we bring different type of people, different type of expertise, we can do great things for a small organization.” ...

“For us we need to build the team like it was back in the days around Quebecers. We need to make sure that we do like Larry Smith was doing – shaking hands, getting involved. It’s a different type of organization, but it doesn’t mean that it sucks. It doesn’t mean that it’s bad – I think it’s a fantastic business.” ...

“But since then after hearing the commissioner I guess something is going on, but what is it? I don’t know. Am I involved? Not yet. Should I be involved? Yes. Would I want to be involved? Yes. There’s many Quebecers that would like to do so. Even on the francophone side, in Quebec the money was not really on the francophone side 15 years ago. People are proud to be Quebecers, people are proud to be here in Montreal and there is a lot of people that would like to invest and be part of the next Grey Cup celebration on St. Catharine with 100,000 people.” ...

“If people are talking about money problems, why do you spend money on new uniforms instead of just trying to build a team? There’s been so many bad decisions over the years. We need somebody to be more vocal and bring more charisma to the team. The president and the GM needs to be involved with the people, they need to sell the tickets,” Lapointe said. “You always wonder why the people below you don’t work correctly but if you don’t do things correctly at the top, how do you want people to understand what’s going on?”

https://3downnation.com/2019/03/18/a...eric-lapointe/

[jerrym]

Montreal has signed National 2017 29th draft pick WR Alex Morrison who went back to UBC after TC and was out of football in 2018 due to injury, and International OL Jarvis Harrison, who played two games for the Riders last year after being a NY Jets fifth round draft pick in 2015 and also playing for Tampa.
The Als have also signed International DE Joby Saint Fleur who was with the Cowboys, Raiders and Dolphins the last two years.

[jerrym]

The rumours about the sale of the Als continue. Dan Ralph has reported that the league could assume ownership of the team while it looks for a new owner.

We've been hearing for weeks there's a second potential group interested in buying @MTLAlouettes. I can tell you that group's headed by Cote St. Luc's Clifford Starke. He's the chairman of Hampstead Private Capital and the director of Marigold Acquisitions LLC.

— Herb Zurkowsky (@HerbZurkowsky1) March 28, 2019

[jerrym]

The Als have signed International DE Gabriel Knapton who started 2018 with BC but was traded back to Montreal in the middle of the season.

They have also International CB Marcus Cromartie who played 22 NFL games over five years while on the rosters of seven clubs.

[jerrym]

Montreal has released National DE Jabar Westerman who has 88 DT in 109 CFL games since 2009.

[jerrym]

Former Argo, Tiger Cat and Alouette RB Eric Lapointe now says his group will not be buying the Als. There is one known remaining possible buyer so the league could end up owning the team for a while.

The CFL says American businessman Robert Wetenhall still owns the Montreal Alouettes but if the franchise goes up for sale, a group headed by former player Eric Lapointe won’t be in the running.

Lapointe said Friday his group of potential investors has decided against pursuing ownership of the troubled CFL franchise. He added that decision was made Thursday. Lapointe, a former Alouettes running back who’s now working in wealth management, offered no reason for the group’s decision. But it would appear to leave just one potential ownership group in the running, one reportedly headed up by Montreal businessman Clifford Starke.

For now, though, a CFL spokesman said Wetenhall continues to own the Als. But the real possibility exists that the league could be tasked with helping find a new owner.

For weeks, it appeared Lapointe would be a central figure in that pursuit. The two-time Hec Crighton Trophy winner as the top player in Canadian university football is currently a managing director with Stonegate Private Counsel in Montreal. His offices assist high net-worth entrepreneurs with sustaining, growing and transitioning their wealth.

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/sports-...bert-wetenhall

[jerrym]

Former Argo, Ticat and Als RB Eric Lapointe is now saying his group may re-enter the picture as possible Als owners after dropping out, providing they receive a telephone call. There may be other groups interested in taking over the Als besides Clifford Starkes' group.

The former Hec Crighton Trophy winner announced April 6 his potential investors had decided against purchasing the Alouettes. Just three weeks earlier, Lapointe said he was simply a phone call away from quickly assembling a potential ownership group to buy the troubled franchise but that call never came. ...

There were reports Monday that Lapointe’s group was back in the Als’ ownership picture, a claim Lapointe denied. However, the 44-year-old native of Brossard, Que., reiterated he could quickly re-assemble his investors if called upon. ...

The CFL has steadfastly maintained that American businessman Robert Wetenhall continues to own and operate the Alouettes. However, there are persistent reports the league has assumed control of the franchise and will broker any potential purchase agreement for the team.
So far, Montreal businessman Clifford Starke has been the only individual to publicly state his interest in purchasing the Alouettes, doing so formally in a statement Thursday. However, there are reports another two additional potential groups also exist.

https://globalnews.ca/news/5171192/e...rship-picture/