Yanick Bouchard officially suspended by RDS and 98.5 FM

Last Friday, we learned that Yanick Bouchard was in hot water. By now, you’re probably familiar with the situation.

Since then, his regular sports commentary appearances have been suspended. He was mainly known as Patrick Lagacé’s sports contributor at 98.5 FM and as co-host of RDS’s 5 à 7.

And today, journalist Sarah-Émilie Nault (JdeQ) reports that he has been relieved (indefinitely) of his duties at Cogeco.

Sports columnist Yanick Bouchard relieved of his duties at 98.5 for an indefinite period https://t.co/Y61H8z8RJc

– Le Journal de Québec (@JdeQuebec) May 5, 2025

This morning, there was a meeting with all the station’s employees to discuss the situation. Between you and me, management is tired of having to put out fires like this.

It’s only natural.

Does he still have a future at 98.5? The question arises when you consider that, unlike Jeremy Filosa and Louis Lacroix, who also caused a stir this season, Yanick Bouchard is not unionized.

So reassigning him elsewhere until the storm passes is less likely.

Jérémie Rainville is currently replacing Bouchard, who must surely want to keep his name out of the news as little as possible. And to replace Rainville, Jean-Sébastien Hammal has been placed on the weekend.

How long will this formula last? We’ll see.

While we’re on the subject of 98.5, it’s worth noting that Louis Lacroix won’t be returning as radio host this summer. It’s easy to make connections with what happened on the heels of the Super Bowl.

For the time being, 98.5 is considering giving the summer morning mandate to someone in-house. Among the names circulating are JS Hammal and Jean-François Baril.

Marie-Claude Lavallée would have the mid-morning slot and Élizabeth Crête, Alain’s daughter, would be lined up for the return slot.

And while nothing has been confirmed, don’t be too quick to dismiss the possibility of Denis Lévesque returning to the media landscape, as Cogeco is considering placing him in the midday slot.

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We also learn from the Journal de Québec that RDS has announced that he won’t be on 5 à 7 tonight. And as a matter of fact, if you watch the show, you’ll see that he’s not there tonight.

It’s Patrick Mahoney who’s in his seat right now.

Jeff Gorton can’t wait to see what Kent Hughes does this summer! pic.twitter.com/eOWcIQXnfM

– Le 5 à 7 (@5a7RDS) May 5, 2025

You have to wonder if he’ll be back by the end of the show’s season, and if he’ll be back next year. After all, the bosses at RDS have been evaluating the possibility of going to a single host for years.

Perhaps this event could tip the balance.

But at the same time, we have to bear in mind that if he were to return in four months’ time, when regular programming will be back, time might have run out for him to get back to work.

We’ll see in due course.