Montreal Canadiens make Martin St. Louis head coach with 3-year extension
Anthony Scultore
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When the Montreal Canadiens hired Martin St. Louis to replace Dominique Ducharme, they did so by giving him the interim tag. As soon as he took over, things starting changing for the better and talk shifted quickly to make him the permanent head coach.
However, St. Louis wanted to focus on the remainder of the season before taking care of that business.
“I think at the end of the season,” St. Louis said about coaching beyond this year. “Right now, it wouldn’t be fair for the players, for anyone, for me to focus on that.”
Canadiens make Martin St. Louis head coach
St. Louis, 46, is from Laval, Quebec and currently resides in Connecticut. He’s been coaching his sons throughout their young hockey careers and is considered one of the game’s bright young minds.
As the interim head coach he went 14-19-4 in the 37 games this season.
“We are happy to officially appoint Martin as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens,” general manager Kent Hughes said in a statement. “Martin is a proven leader, a great communicator with a deep understanding of and passion for the game of hockey. His arrival brought a renewed energy to our group, and we look forward to him returning behind the bench to continue guiding our team for the foreseeable future.”
Martin St. Louis also had a strong relationship with Jeff Gorton and was considered for a coaching position with the Rangers back in 2015.
“During his short stint behind the bench last season, Martin showed he has the required qualities to lead the Canadiens in the right direction,” VP of Hockey Ops Jeff Gorton added. “Despite difficult circumstances when he took over, he was able to bring a breath of fresh air to the locker room and the players benefited from it as much individually as they did collectively. Martin thinks the game at a high level, and we believe that he is the right person for this job.”