The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), alongside the Ontario Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. The league includes teams in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and previously had teams in Maine and New York in the United States.
The Gilles-Courteau Trophy is the championship trophy of the league. The QMJHL champion then goes on to compete in the Memorial Cup against the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL) champions, and the CHL host team. The QMJHL had traditionally adopted a rapid and offensive style of hockey. Former QMJHL players hold many of the Canadian Hockey League's career and single season offensive records.
Hockey Hall of Fame alumni of the QMJHL include Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Ray Bourque, Pat LaFontaine, Mike Bossy, Denis Savard, Michel Goulet, Luc Robitaille, and goaltenders Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, and Roberto Luongo.
Teams
List of teams
+Overview of QMJHL teamsConferenceDivisionTeamCityArenaEasternEastBaie-Comeau DrakkarBaie-Comeau, QuebecCentre Henry-LeonardChicoutimi SaguenéensSaguenay, QuebecCentre Georges-VézinaQuebec RempartsQuebec City, QuebecCentre VidéotronRimouski OcéanicRimouski, QuebecColisée Financière Sun LifeMaritimesCape Breton EaglesCape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova ScotiaCentre 200Charlottetown IslandersCharlottetown, Prince Edward IslandEastlink CentreHalifax MooseheadsHalifax, Nova ScotiaScotiabank CentreMoncton WildcatsMoncton, New BrunswickAvenir CentreNewfoundland RegimentSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorMary Brown's CentreSaint John Sea DogsSaint John, New BrunswickTD StationWesternWestBlainville-Boisbriand ArmadaBoisbriand, QuebecCentre d'Excellence Sports RousseauGatineau OlympiquesGatineau, QuebecCentre Slush PuppieRouyn-Noranda HuskiesRouyn-Noranda, QuebecAréna GlencoreVal-d'Or ForeursVal-d'Or, QuebecCentre Agnico EagleCentralDrummondville VoltigeursDrummondville, QuebecCentre Marcel DionneShawinigan CataractesShawinigan, QuebecCentre Gervais AutoSherbrooke PhoenixSherbrooke, QuebecPalais des SportsVictoriaville TigresVictoriaville, QuebecColisée Desjardins
Map
History The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was founded in 1969, through the merger of the best teams from the existing Quebec Junior Hockey League and the Metropolitan Montreal Junior Hockey League, declaring themselves a "major junior" league. Of the original eleven QMJHL teams, eight came from the QJHL, two from the MMJHL, and the Cornwall Royals, from Cornwall, Ontario, near the Quebec border, who transferred from the Central Junior A Hockey League. The Rosemont National and Laval Saints transferred from the MMJHL. The eight teams from the QJHL were the Drummondville Rangers, Quebec Remparts, Saint-Jérôme Alouettes, Shawinigan Bruins, Sherbrooke Castors, Sorel Éperviers, Trois-Rivières Ducs and the Verdun Maple Leafs.
Most of the teams were within a few hours' drive of Montreal. From the first season in 1969–70, only Shawinigan remains in the same city with an uninterrupted history, although the team's name has changed to the Cataractes.
In 1972 the QMJHL had been in operation for three years, and wanted a team in the province's largest city. It threatened a lawsuit to force the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association into the Quebec-based league. Over the summer of 1972, the OHA granted the Junior Habs a "one-year suspension" of operations, while team ownership transferred the team and players into the QMJHL, renaming themselves the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge in the process. The OHA then reactivated the suspended franchise for the 1973–74 season in Kingston, Ontario, under new ownership and with new players, calling the team the Kingston Canadians.
QMJHL teams have won the Memorial Cup twelve times since 1969, with the Shawinigan Cataractes, Saint John Sea Dogs, the Granby Prédateurs, the Hull Olympiques, Halifax Mooseheads, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Rimouski Océanic, and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan each winning once, the Quebec Remparts winning three times(once in their first edition 1969–1985, and twice in their second edition 1997–present) and the Cornwall Royals winning three times.
Starting in 1994, the QMJHL began to expand farther east, outside of Quebec, filling the void in Atlantic Canada after the exodus of American Hockey League franchises, when the AHL had a strong presence in the 1980s and 1990s; all of the Maritime Division cities save for Bathurst, New Brunswick are former homes of AHL franchises. To date, Fredericton, New Brunswick is the lone former AHL market that has not established a QMJHL franchise.
In recent seasons, the QMJHL has been scouting players from the Atlantic Canada region along with a surge in players coming out of the New England area: the QMJHL has territorial rights to draft and recruit players from New England as part of an agreement where players from the United States can be drafted by the CHL league that is in a similar geographic area.
On March 14, 2021, Kenzie Lalonde became the first woman to provide play-by-play coverage on television for any QMJHL game; the game was between the Halifax Mooseheads, who were hosting, and the Charlottetown Islanders.
In December 2023, the QMJHL changed its name to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League and released a new logo. The change recognized the league's expansion into the Maritime provinces, whose teams had been a part of the QMJHL for almost 30 years.
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly amended labour laws in 2024, to consider junior players as student-athletes and not employees subject to minimum wage, similarly to other provinces in the league. The QMJHL returned to Newfoundland for the 2025–26 season, with the relocation of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to St. John's as the Newfoundland Regiment.
Retired numbers + League-wide retired numbersNo.PlayerPositionQMJHL CareerNo. retirement 4 Guy Lafleur RW 1966–1971 September 2021 87 Sidney Crosby C 2003–2005 27 September 2019
League presidents Robert Lebel (1969–1975) Jean Rougeau (1981–1983) Paul Dumont (1983–1984) Gilles Courteau (1986–2023) Mario Cecchini (2023–present)
Canadian Hockey League records This is a list of Canadian Hockey League career and single season records accomplished by QMJHL players.
Most goals, career 1st – 309 – Mike Bossy, Laval National (1972–77) 2nd – 281 – Stephane Lebeau, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88) 3rd – 278 – Normand Dupont, Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge, Montreal Juniors (1973–77) 10th – 247 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins (1981–84)
Most assists, career 1st – 408 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88) 3rd – 346 – Patrick Emond, Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Hull Olympiques, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1981–86) 7th – 315 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins (1981–84)
Most points, career 1st – 595 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88) 3rd – 580 – Stephane Lebeau, Shawinigan Cataractes (1984–88) 4th – 575 – Patrick Emond, Trois-Rivières Draveurs, Hull Olympiques, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1981–86) 7th – 562 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins (1981–84) 11th – 532 – Mike Bossy, Laval National (1972–77)
Most goals, one season 1st – 133 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games) 2nd – 130 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1970–71 (62 games) 4th – 104 – Pat LaFontaine, Verdun Juniors, 1982–83 (70 games) 5th – 103 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1969–70 (56 games) 6th – 100 – Gary MacGregor, Cornwall Royals, 1973–74 (66 games)
Most assists, one season 1st – 157 – Pierre Larouche, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (70 games) 2nd – 149 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games) 3rd – 136 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes, 1987–88 (70 games) 5th – 135 – Michel Deziel, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (69 games) 5th – 135 – Marc Fortier, Chicoutimi Saguenéens, 1986–87 (65 games)
Most points, one season 1st – 282 – Mario Lemieux, Laval Voisins, 1983–84 (70 games) 2nd – 251 – Pierre Larouche, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (67 games) 3rd – 234 – Pat LaFontaine, Verdun Juniors, 1982–83 (70 games) 4th – 227 – Michel Deziel, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (69 games) 5th – 216 – Real Cloutier, Quebec Remparts, 1973–74 (69 games) 6th – 214 – Jacques Cossette, Sorel Éperviers, 1973–74 (68 games) 8th – 209 – Guy Lafleur, Quebec Remparts, 1970–71 (62 games) 9th – 206 – Jacques Locas, Quebec Remparts, 1973–74 (63 games) 10th – 201 – Marc Fortier, Chicoutimi Saguenéens, 1986–87 (65 games) 11th – 200 – Patrice Lefebvre, Shawinigan Cataractes, 1987–88 (70 games)
Timeline of teams Current teams are shown in blue. Gold stars denote Gilles-Courteau Trophy (League championship) winners.
This is a complete list of team histories since 1969. 1969– First season, 2 divisions. East: Quebec City Remparts, Shawinigan Bruins, Drummondville Rangers, Sorel Éperviers (Black Hawks), Trois-Rivières Ducs (Dukes), and Sherbrooke Castors (Beavers). West: Saint-Jérôme Alouettes, Cornwall Royals, Rosemont National, Verdun Maple Leafs, and Laval Saints. 1970– Divisions dissolved, Laval folds. 1971– Rosemont National move to Laval. 1972– The Saint-Jérôme Alouettes and the Verdun Maple Leafs fold. The Montreal Junior Canadiens franchise of the OHA transfers to QMJHL, becoming the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge. 1973– League split into two divisions. East: Sorel, Quebec, Shawinigan, Trois-Rivières, Chicoutimi; West: Cornwall, Montreal, Sherbrooke, Laval, Drummondville, Hull. Chicoutimi Saguenéens, and the Hull Festivals granted franchises. Shawinigan Bruins become Shawinigan Dynamos. 1974– Drummondville Rangers fold, Trois-Rivières Ducs become Trois-Rivières Draveurs (Raftmen). 1975– Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge became Montreal Juniors. 1976– Hull Festivals became Hull Olympiques. Divisions renamed: East becomes Dilio, West becomes Lebel. 1977– Sorel Éperviers (Black Hawks) move to Verdun. Sherbrooke moved to Dilio Division, while Verdun played in the Lebel. 1978– Shawinigan Dynamos became Shawinigan Cataractes. 1979– Verdun Éperviers (Black Hawks) became Sorel/Verdun Éperviers. Laval National become Laval Voisins. 1980– Sorel/Verdun Éperviers became Sorel Éperviers. 1981– Divisions cease to exist, Cornwall moved to the OHL, Sorel Éperviers moved to Granby and became the Bisons. 1982– Lebel and Dilio Divisions reintroduced. Shawinigan, Chicoutimi, Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and Drummondville played in the Dilio, while Laval, Verdun, Longueuil, Saint-Jean, Hull, and Granby played in the Lebel. Sherbrooke Castors moved to Saint-Jean. Montreal Juniors moved to Verdun. Drummondville Voltigeurs (Infantrymen) granted a franchise, Longueuil Chevaliers (Cavaliers) granted a franchise. 1984– Plattsburgh Pioneers granted a franchise, but folded three months into the schedule after playing 17 games. They played in the Lebel Division, Granby is moved to the Dilio. Verdun Juniors become the Verdun Junior Canadiens. 1985– Quebec Remparts fold. Laval Voisins became Laval Titan. 1987– Longueuil Chevaliers moved to Victoriaville and became the Tigres. They played in the Dilio. Granby was moved to the Lebel Division. 1988– Divisions ceased to exist, Longueuil Collège-Français are granted the rights to resurrect the Quebec Remparts franchise. 1989– Verdun Junior Canadiens moved to Saint-Hyacinthe and became the Laser. Saint-Jean Castors became St-Jean Lynx. 1990– Lebel and Dilio divisions created yet again: Chicoutimi, Trois-Rivières, Drummondville, Shawinigan, Beauport, and Victoriaville play in the Dilio; Longueuil, Hull, Laval, Saint-Hyacinthe, Granby, and Saint-Jean played in the Lebel. Beauport Harfangs was granted a franchise. 1991– Longueuil Collège-Français moved to Verdun. 1992– Trois-Rivières Draveurs moved to Sherbrooke and became the Faucons.