François Gagnon

François Gagnon (born 26 February 1963) is a Canadian sports journalist who has covered the Montreal Canadiens for more than 30 years. Exclusively with Réseau des sports since 2013, Gagnon has written regular columns on the Canadiens while appearing as a commentator during televised hockey broadcasts. He previously covered the Canadiens writing for Le Soleil and La Presse, and covered the Ottawa Senators for Le Droit. The Professional Hockey Writers' Association recognized his career with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 2025, and credited him for a willingness to share opinions and write controversial articles, and for being the voice of hockey for the French language in Canada.

Early life and education François Gagnon was born in Quebec City on 26 February 1963. Growing up in Quebec City, he regularly watched the Canadian French broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada and read books about ice hockey. He later worked in landscaping and for a moving van company, then studied at Cégep de Sainte-Foy and Algonquin College in Ottawa. An early mentor, Régis Bouchard, taught him the importance of checking facts to improve writing and quality. He and a nearby resident with a rope went into the icy river and rescued the driver, Monique Boudrias, the sister of Montreal Canadiens assistant general manager André Boudrias. As the Montreal-based correspondent for the Quebec City newspaper Le Soleil, Gagnon wrote an article in September 2001 detailing the cancer diagnosis of the Canadiens' team captain Saku Koivu.

Gagnon worked for both La Presse and Réseau des sports (RDS) from 2008 until 2013. He wrote online columns about the Canadiens with RDS, and was a television panellist on L'Antichambre during hockey broadcasts. In 2009, he began contributing to Hockey 360. Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) president Frank Seravalli credited Gagnon being the voice of hockey for more than 30 years in French Canada, and that he "is the first person that Montrealers read or listen to in the morning, because he does not hesitate to share his opinions or write controversial articles". In response, Gagnon felt his career became possible because of his passion for hockey. He felt that "most people who know me have never been able to read a word of what I wrote because of the language barrier", and that he asked questions to gain knowledge and insisted on getting answers. and added his portrait to their wall of fame including all of the Elmer Ferguson Award winners who covered the team.

Personal life Gagnon is married to Marie-Claude Pilon, and has two sons and a daughter. He is an avid golfer, and frequent consumer of Coca-Cola and vintage wines.