You can still smell your hands. They smell of the shaving cream you used to try to mask the odour of your hockey gloves, the smell you better half notices every time you slide into bed after a game? If it’s the case, you probably didn’t stop playing this summer, like many who play our national sport 12 months of the year. (which only bears the name symbolically, as you know, because lacrosse is the true national sport) 

It’s on the eve of a new season that I begin the next chapter in the story of the Ligue Fédérale des As. I hope those among you who are curious enough to check out these pages are having a great summer, that you are tending to your injuries and are taking advantage of the warm season.

The on-ice activities of the LFA are barely over with a series of three games to see in action our young (and not so young) recruits who want to join our league that its time to look back at the last few months. I’m sitting in front of my screen for my first Saturday without any responsibility or problems to resolve. It’s a dead calm....

Friday night was held the LFA gala, and once again thanks to the collaboration of Totem Urbain and the work of Larry, Éric Drapeau and I, we were able to present exclusive individual awards to members of the LFA who set themselves apart during the season. Not your usual gold plated plastic junk but an original piece that guys can be proud to display. It was a fun evening that allowed us to chat about the best moments of the season, about the playoffs involving the Habs (or Chicago, as Fern insisted) and to properly salute one another to start the summer break. Many of us will cross paths this summer, but many others won’t until fall arrives. As many times before, the gala ended at my place, which is incidentally the headquarters of the league, on the main in the center of the action, to finish off the night.

First Sunday without the urgency to produce some sort of text , statistics, choice of the weekly photos or any of the different dossiers that I have to keep evolving, looking for new players for the planned expansion to six teams next season , reports to the foundation and the liquor commission , the preparation of individual trophies for the gala evening with the after party , agreements between different partners and sponsors, organization of the 3 games spring series, cleaning and upkeep of the jersey's and ...... Come to think of it, I'm in the juice as usual but without the sense of urgency that I have dealt with since the beginning of June.

On Saturday night, after months of preparations, the grande finale of the Ligue Fédérale des As and fundraising event for the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation took place. It was a championship match between the Cabane Express and the Rouge Horizon Tomahawks, who easily took the game and the LFA cup. This season they won both the championship and the Tremblay Trophy as the team with the best regular season record. 

You surely already know about the victory of the Rouge Horizon Tomahawks in the championship game of the Ligue Fédérale des As on Saturday. Thanks to our sponsors from Tremblay beer and the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation, several door prizes were handed out along with a bonus prize that was drawn today (Monday) by Johnny the custodian at the  Collège Notre-Dame arena. 

After years of running the Sat night Hockey Brotherhood, I have finally been able to unite creativity and hockey in putting together the LFA, a four team league that will grow to six next season. As this is our inaugural season, we have decided to unite with the Montreal Canadians Children Foundation to celebrate the creation of the league, the trophies, the jerseys and everything that goes with it, helping out a good cause and the community during our grand final.