CupGate Part II: Petroliers Kicked out of the LNAH

Earlier this month, the Laval Petroliers ended their season by winning the LNAH Championship. The ensuing celebration ended their existence. In a move that shocked the minor and senior hockey landscape, the LNAH responded to the Petroliers’ celebration by terminating their membership.

For anyone who missed it, the Petroliers locker room celebration went viral when an unidentified person did his best Randy Savage impression on the Cup, leaving the cylindrical base flattened. The league initially responded by suspending the organization until the upcoming League Governors Meeting. The suspension included the Petroliers Representative being excluded from the meeting. 

On Friday, the league handed down its final decision.  In a brief press release the league announced it had terminated the membership of the Petroliers, citing damage to the league’s image, integrity and traditions. The league closed the release with its commitment to move forward with only seven teams in the 2026-27 Season. As with the initial suspension, no details surrounding the decision were given.

The Petroliers responded by releasing their own brief statement. The team summarized its previous communications to the league regarding steps it was willing to take to reconcile the situation, as well as new steps it will be taking, including pursuing legal action. 

 As a private unaffiliated league, the LNAH can and does keep its cards close to the vest. We may never have the full details of the decision. With the decision being released late on a Friday morning, and the comment sections of their social media channels turned off, the league has clearly stated that the decision is final, and not up for discussion. 

Of course, there are plenty of news, blog and fan pages where fans have been discussing it. Without any scientific analysis, we can summarize the initial sentiment as follows:

Fans of the league, excluding those of the Petroliers,  have been mostly supportive of the decision but also nervous. In many cases, fans were even happy. 

In a league that changed its style in recent years, the Petroliers held on to the older rough-and-tumble style, and seemed to revel in their “bad boy” image. With a roster that included some of the best fighters in the league, they would, on occasion, bring in reinforcements from the Senior AAA league. Comments all the way up to “good riddance” indicate many are happy not to have to deal with them any longer. 

The concern comes from the Petroliers being a stable franchise with the kind of sponsorship most teams aspire to have. An uneven number of teams creates a scheduling problem, and the league can’t afford to alienate a sizable fanbase. Comments lamenting the league’s upcoming demise highlight the concern. 

There are also those fans outside the league who are having a field day with this. Despite the league’s attempts to legitimize its style and image, many across the province still view the LNAH as the fight-filled gimmick league that it started as. To them, the event is the latest outrageous news to come from the league. 

Finally, many fans across the spectrum are shocked and speculating. Could one event really have led to this, or was there more to the story? Many said they expected something severe in terms of fines, a full year suspension, new owners or management, or increased league oversight, but not this outcome. 

Whatever the details are, and regardless of what the fan opinion is, the Petroliers are done. Fans may never know the details, but they do know that the league has taken a major risk. The headlines are bad, the league is open to criticism and ridicule from every direction, and it has to rebuild after achieving a level of stability it hadn’t had in years. Additionally, the league will have to figure out what to do with the Petroliers’ players. Some will be highly sought after, but for others it may be the end of the road. Will any of them even want to stay with the league?

Compared to what is still to come, the decision may have been the easy part. However, the league is moving on. Fans will have to do the same, and so will a group of players. In a sports world that has seen its fair share of jaw-droppers including owners forced to sell their teams, players striped of trophies, names changed, and wins and titles vacated, we can now add “teams kicked out.”