Former Acadie-Bathurst Titan owner Léo-Guy Morrissette dies at 79

Léo-Guy Morrissette, the former owner of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, died Saturday at the age of 79 after a short illness.

Morrissette acquired the Laval Titan team alongside his brothers in the 1980s and became the sole owner in 1994. 

He moved the franchise to Bathurst in 1998 and the team won the President's Cup, now named the Gilles-Courteau Trophy, as playoff champion in its inaugural season in 1998-99.

"He's the reason the Titans ended up in Bathurst and it's been quite a journey," said Daryll Stothart, a member of the current Acadie-Bathurst ownership group. "He was a great addition to sports here."

Stothart said it was known in the community that Morrissette's health was declining but his death did come as a surprise. 

"It's sad it ends this way, but unfortunately that's life." 

Stothart said Morrissette's name will be remembered by most in the city of Bathurst. 

"When you're in business, it doesn't always go everybody's way, but I think Léo-Guy put a lot back into Bathurst and so that's why we still have the team here 25 years later." 

Morrissette also acted as the team's general manager for several years.

'A man of convictions and ideas'

"Léo-Guy Morrissette was a significant figure in the history of our League," QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini said in a news release Monday. "He contributed to its growth and expansion. He was a man of convictions and ideas, who did not hesitate to make things happen." 

Morrissette became known as a leader with a knack for trades.

After arriving in Bathurst, the team obtained Roberto Luongo from the Val-d'Or Foreurs and Mathieu Benoît, Ramzi Abid and Marc Bouchard from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, additions that created a buzz about hockey in northern New Brunswick. 

A decline in attendance prompted Morrissette to consider moving the team to Newfoundland, which never happened. 

He sold the team in 2013 to a group of investors in northern New Brunswick who promised to keep the team in the region. 

Morrissette remained active in the hockey scene and went on to own teams in the North American Hockey League. 

He retired in 2015.