Record 0–0 Playoff finish TBD | Division place TBD, East | |
Home field | ||
The 2017 Montreal Alouettes season will be the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 63rd overall. The Alouettes will attempt to improve upon their 7–11 record from 2016, return to the playoffs after a two-year absence and win their 8th Grey Cup championship. This will be the first full season for head coach Jacques Chapdelaine after he served in an interim capacity for six games in the previous season. This will also be first season under new general manager Kavis Reed.
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Front office changes
This will be the first season since the Alouettes returned to Montreal in 1996 that Jim Popp will not be the team's general manager. It was announced on November 7, 2016 that Popp would not return to the Alouettes organization in 2017. In the week following the 104th Grey Cup, the Alouettes interviewed Danny Maciocia (head coach of the University of Montreal), Joey Abrams (Alouettes assistant general manager) and Brock Sunderland (Redblacks assistant general manager). As of December 7, 2016, Sunderland was no longer considered a candidate and Maciocia was not in negotiations with the team, having only taken part in one formal meeting. Not long after, Maciocia confirmed that he would remain at the University of Montreal. Two days later, Herb Zurkowsky from the Montreal Gazette reported that Kavis Reed (Alouettes Special Teams Coach) was "the darkhorse candidate" to win the GM position. By December 12, 2016, Reed had a formal interview with the Alouettes front office, making him the fourth official candidate for the position; prior to that, it had just been informal conversations. On December 14, 2016, the Montreal Alouettes held a press conference to announce Patrick Boivin as President and CEO, Kavis Reed as general manager, and Jacques Chapdelaine's retention as the team's head coach. Chapdelaine had served as the interim head coach for the final six games of the previous season. On December 20, 2016, the Alouettes announced that assistant GM Joey Abrams, who had been with the organization for the past dozen seasons, would be leaving the club.
On January 25, 2017 the Alouettes announced that Catherine Raiche and Joe Mack would become assistant general mangers. Raiche was promoted from her previous position with the Alouettes as Coordinator of Football Administration, and will hold the title Assistant General Manager of Football Operations. Mack, the former Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager, will be the Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel.
CFL Draft
The 2017 CFL Draft will take place on May 7, 2017. The Alouettes traded their first round pick to the BC Lions for the rights to Vernon Adams. The team also acquired another fourth round pick after trading Kevin Glenn to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.