On July 11, 2016, the AHL and the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be moving their affiliate to the Montreal suburb of Laval for the 2017–18 season.[5] A name-the-team contest was held from July 11 until August 31, with Patriots, Rapids and Rocket as the final three. On September 8, the winning name of Laval Rocket was announced, a tribute to Canadiens' legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard which got a 51% majority of the fan votes.[6] With this, Laval became the second hockey team in the Greater Montreal area to use that nickname, after the Montreal Rocket of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), from 1999 until 2003. In June 2017, the franchise named Larry Carriere as general manager[7] and retained Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach, a position he held since 2012 when the franchise played as the Hamilton Bulldogs and St. John's IceCaps respectively.[8]
In their inaugural campaign, Laval finished with a 24–42–7–3 record and placed last overall in the league. Lefebvre was relieved as head coach immediately upon the end of the season[9] and was replaced by Joel Bouchard, who had been serving as head coach and general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.[10]
For the 2020–21 season, the Rocket temporarily relocated to the Bell Centre in Montreal to share the facility with their parent team during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] The Rocket were the Canadian Division champions and second-best winning percentage in the league, while playing only the other four teams based in Canada and no postseason during the pandemic. After the season ended, head coach Bouchard left the team at the end of his contract, compiling a 83–67–24 record over three seasons,[12] to become the head coach of the AHL San Diego Gulls.[13] The Rocket then hired Jean-François Houle as their third head coach until the foregoing's departure in June 2024.[14][15] Shortly thereafter, on July 16, Lavallois Pascal Vincent was named as the fourth head coach in franchise history.[16] Vincent's impact on the team was instantaneous, with the Rocket posting a franchise record seven consecutive wins to begin the 2024–25 season.[17]
On January 31, 2017, the team revealed the logo and jersey design that would be worn during their inaugural season.[18] The colours consist of red, white, and blue and were chosen to mirror those of their parent-club, the Montreal Canadiens. As a further tribute to "Rocket" Richard, patches with the number 9 and a stylized flame appear on each of the sleeves whereas the latter can also found below the player's number on the back of the jersey and on the back of the player's socks. Each sleeve also has a shield patch with the word Le Rocket found inside. The name of the city the Rocket play out of, Laval, is displayed on each shoulder as well as in the neck tie region of the jersey.
The main logo is a large blue 'R' that is outlined and highlighted in white. The word 'Rocket' runs along the inside of the 'R' in white. While all other logos and patches alternate colours depending on the home or away jersey, the main logo remains blue on both the red and white jerseys.
The league allowed each division the choice to hold a divisional postseason. On April 29, 2021, it was announced that only the Pacific Division had elected to hold a postseason tournament to name a division champion, with the other four divisions awarding their champions via regular season records. Consequently, the league would not award the Calder Cup for a second consecutive season.[19]
Beginning in 2022, the top two teams in the Atlantic, top three teams in each of the North and Central, and the first-place team in the Pacific Division received byes into the division semifinals of the Calder Cup playoffs.[20]
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