SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Joel Bouchard as general manager of the Syracuse Crunch. He will also remain head coach of the Crunch. Bouchard, 51, was named as the 10th head coach in Crunch franchise history on June 26, 2023. In the past two seasons, he has guided the Crunch to […]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Tampa Bay Lightning have named Joel Bouchard as general manager of the Syracuse Crunch. He will also remain head coach of the Crunch.
Bouchard, 51, was named as the 10th head coach in Crunch franchise history on June 26, 2023. In the past two seasons, he has guided the Crunch to a 76-47-12-9 record with back-to-back appearances and first-round byes in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Under his guidance, the Crunch advanced to the North Division Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2024 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
“Joel has a wide bandwidth for work and he is used to the dual general manager and head coach role from his time with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada,” Tampa Bay Lightning VP and General Manager Julien BriseBois said in an announcement. The Crunch are the top minor-league affiliate of the NHL’s Lightning. “He is a strong and enthusiastic leader with a track record of helping players and teams reach their full potential. He will work closely with myself and Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel Jamie Pushor in maintaining a competitive and winning culture with the Crunch.”
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Bouchard previously served as general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL from 2011-2018. In addition to his duties as general manager, he also worked behind the bench as head coach of the Armada from 2014-2018.
Bouchard also served as the general manager of the Canadian National Junior Team for the 2018 and 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships, winning gold and silver medals, respectively.
Bouchard has coached in 386 career AHL games with the Crunch, San Diego Gulls, and Laval Rocket, posting a 187-147-30-22 record.
As a player, Bouchard played in 364 career NHL games, and recorded 22 goals and 75 points while playing for the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Islanders. He also played in 293 career AHL games and was named an All-Star during both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.
