RDS Names Andrée-Anne Barbeau Host of Canadiens Broadcasts
The voice of RDS's Montreal PWHL coverage since the league's first season takes over Le Hockey des Canadiens for 2026-27.
Andrée-Anne Barbeau will host Le Hockey des Canadiens, RDS's French-language Montreal Canadiens broadcasts, beginning with the 2026-27 season. Bell Media made the announcement on April 14, 2026, and said she is the first woman in RDS history to hold the job permanently.
She replaces Alain Crête, who had said he would retire after the IIHF Men's World Championship in late May 2026. RDS carries 45 Canadiens games in 2026-27.
The PWHL connection is the part worth noting here. Since the PWHL's first season in 2023-24, Barbeau has hosted RDS's coverage of Montreal's games.
Her other assignments at the time of the announcement included the Saturday edition of L'Antichambre, RDS's Sunday-night NFL coverage and occasional co-hosting duties on Le 5 à 7. She had also hosted the network's Ottawa Senators broadcasts. In February she served as one of RDS's two lead anchors at the Milano Cortina Olympics alongside Jasmin Leroux, the fourth Olympic assignment of her career.
"I have to say, I earned this job. I worked very hard to get here, and my bosses had known for a long time that I wanted this position," Barbeau said in an interview with Le Droit two days later (translated from French).
She began in radio, working as a journalist at the Énergie and Rouge stations, covered the QMJHL's Chicoutimi Saguenéens early on, and joined RDS from TVA Sports in September 2018.
