Side Hustle?

There comes a time in every professional athlete's career when one realizes that the magic is gone and it may be time to move to the next chapter in life. It appeared that longtime AHL enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond had made that decision, trading his pugilistic ways on the ice for a life more peaceful as a licensed realtor in the state of New York. The drive to compete is hard to shake, though, as Letourneau-Leblond played in just one ECHL game with the Trois-Rivieres Lions last season, but he'll give it another shot at the age of 37 as he signed with the Trois-Rivieres Lions for the remainder of the season!

Some may ask why the Lions would offer a contract to a guy who has played just two games in the ECHL and 23 others in the North American Hockey League since 2017, but a rash of injuries and call-ups to the AHL ranks has forced the Lions to get creative as they signed a number of players today from all over North America. Apparently, "all over the place" included the New York real estate market in Letourneau-Leblond's case, but GM and head coach Marc-Andre Bergeron seems to have been looking for players who have some decent experience in other leagues as Trois-Rivieres looks to weather this storm of missing a pile of players while playing four games in five days this week.

I get that warm bodies are needed to fill out a roster, but I struggle to understand why Letourneau-Leblond was on Bergeron's short list of players. The Lions are five points back of the Maine Mariners who they host on Wednesday before they head to Newfoundland for a three-game series with the North Division-leading Growlers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Letourneau-Leblond can certainly wear a jersey and sit on the bench, but asking a 37 year-old player who had played 25 professional games in five years to suit up and give it his all in four games over five nights might be asking a lot of Letourneau-Leblond. It's not like the guy has been skating nightly at a high level.

Maybe Bergeron wanted some added toughness in his roster as Letourneau-Leblond has never been one to shy away from the fisticuffs. I'd almost believe that argument if it weren't for the fact that Trois-Rivieres already has the second-highest penalty minutes total in the North Division. They play Maine - the second-least penalized team - and Newfoundland - the third-most penalized team - this week, but Maine has only 12 fighting majors this season while Newfoundland has just nine compared to Trois-Rivieres' 14 majors. Again, signing Letourneau-Leblond for his physical elements seemingly makes no sense either.

Bergeron might be looking for Letourneau-Leblond's vast experience at a number of levels of hockey, including 41 NHL games, to help his club through his leadership and knowledge, but I'm not certain that's even applicable. He last skated a regular shift in 2019-20 in the LNAH with the Laval North Petroliers, but you'd have to go all the way back to 2016-17 when he was with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch for the last time he skated with any sort of frequency. He spends the majority of every season of professional hockey in the penalty box as well, so it's not like we're talking about an elite defensive forward or even a special teams specialist. I'm still confused by this signing.

For a team that lost two games in a row and is currently 4-6-0 in their last ten games, one would think that Bergeron would be hunting for offensive juggernauts who have been overlooked. Instead, he signed a 37 year-old whose best season at any level came in 2010-11 with the AHL's Albany Devils when he scored eight goals and five assists. In 41 NHL games, Letourneau-Leblond has just three assists to go along with 101 PIMs. The third-lowest scoring team in the ECHL's North Division certainly should be looking for offence, but that simply won't be found with Letourneau-Leblond in the lineup.

Maybe I'm thinking about this too hard. Perhaps Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond is, quite matter-of-factly, just a proverbial warm body to help the Lions survive this brutal week of hockey scheduling. He can skate as shown by his long professional career. He has some talent to be able to help out on the ice depending on the circumstance and situation. He's seen almost everything there is to see in hockey after spending time in a dozen different cities. Maybe Letourneau-Leblond was brought in simply to fill a role - any role, that is - for Marc-Andre Bergeron.

I will say this: Letourneau-Leblond is jumping into the fire by getting into the mix this week. I don't know if any 37 year-old players have played four games in five nights to start a season, but Letourneau-Leblond is going to attempt that very feat this week. While he may be better know for his hustle in the real estate game at this point in his life, he's going to have to show all sorts of hustle to keep up with his ECHL teammates and opponents.

We'll see how he does in returning to his old career, but it seems pretty clear that he's going to have to show a whole new level of hustle in this little side hustle away from his day job!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!