Cape Breton Screaming Eagles The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles are a major junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League . Their home rink is Centre 200 in Sydney , Nova Scotia . Franchise history ( 1969 - 1997 ) . The franchise was granted to the Sorel Eperviers ( Black Hawks ) for the 1969 – 70 season . They moved from Sorel to Verdun in 1977 to become the Verdun Eperviers . In 1979 they played in both Sorel and Verdun before moving back to Sorel for the next season . In 1981 they moved to Granby to become the Granby Bisons , and in 1995 they changed their names to the Granby Prédateurs . In 1996 , the Prédateurs won the Memorial Cup . In 1997 they moved to Sydney to become the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles . Prior to the Eagles ' arrival , Sydney played host to the AHL ' s Cape Breton Oilers from 1988 to 1996 . Cape Breton ( 1997 – present ) . Early years ( 1997 – 1999 ) . The Screaming Eagles ' very first captain was Daniel Payette under coach Dany Dubé . They had very poor success in their first few seasons and often had difficulty earning respect around the league , with some players not wanting to come to Cape Breton or complaining while they were there . As enforcers were more common in the league at the time , the Screaming Eagles often made up for lack of skill by having an abundance of fighters . The Vincent era ( 1999 – 2008 ) . The turn of the new millennium brought some hope to the Screaming Eagles franchise as new head coach and general manager Pascal Vincent was able to slowly turn things around . Star goaltender Marc - Andre Fleury is often credited as the one who landed the Screaming Eagles on the map and prevented them from folding . Along with star players Dominic Noel , Stuart MacRae , and Stephen Dixon , the Screaming Eagles reached the league ' s conference final in 2002 , only to lose in 5 games to Acadie - Bathurst Titan . Fleury ' s # 29 went on to be retired by the Screaming Eagles in 2008 . Vincent made a bold move and stacked the Screaming Eagles lineup with many NHL prospects for the 2003 – 04 season in hopes of bringing a league title to Cape Breton . Most of the players came from a notorious " boomerang " trade with the Halifax Mooseheads . After the Screaming Eagles won 49 games and captured a division title , Fleury returned from the Pittsburgh Penguins , leading many to think the team would be unstoppable in the playoffs . The Screaming Eagles lost in the second round to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens . Despite the embarrassment , President Greg Lynch opted not to fire Vincent . At the 2004 QMJHL draft , the Screaming Eagles chose James Sheppard with the 1st overall pick . In 2006 – 07 , along with star players Luc Bourdon , Ondrej Pavelec , and Oskars Bartulis , Sheppard led the Screaming Eagles to the league semifinals , only to lose in 7 games to the Val - d ' Or Foreurs . The 2007 – 08 season saw 16 year - old goaltender Olivier Roy rise to prominence . The Screaming Eagles finished 4th in their division and won their first round playoff series despite having a roster that normally dressed at least ten rookies . Vincent went on to be named the 2008 QMJHL Coach of the Year . However , following the end of the season , Vincent violated the terms of his contract and became the head coach and general manager of the Montreal Junior Hockey Club . The Durocher era ( 2008 – present ) . Following Vincent ' s departure , Assistant Coach Mario Durocher took over the role of head coach and general manager . In a bid to host the Memorial Cup in 2012 , Durocher in 2010 added former NHL players Mike McPhee and Guy Chouinard , former NHL coach Pierre Creamer and Michel Boucher to the hockey staff in consulting roles . Durocher was relieved of his duties effective immediately on April 12 , 2011 , after a lackluster season in which the team finished 16th in the League and last in the Atlantic Division with just 41 points . The team ' s then - Head Coach Ron Choules replaced Durocher as GM in April 2011 , though the team failed to improve on the ice . After a poor start to the 2012 – 13 season , Choules himself was fired as head coach and GM on December 3 , 2012 , with former Val - d ' Or Head Coach Marc - André Dumont announced as his replacement . The 2012 – 13 season was a poor one for the Screaming Eagles , as they failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history . At season ' s end , Assistant Coach Jean - François David was fired , with no replacement immediately announced .