Martin St. Louis has had a phenomenal career as a player. Never drafted, he ended up earning his Hall of Fame spot with a Stanley Cup ring (2004), over 1,000 points (1,036) and over 1,100 games (1,134).
The 46-year-old St. Louis native will now embark on a second career. And the challenge will be titanic. The former winger inherited the position of head coach of the Canadiens following the dismissal of Dominique Ducharme.
St. Louis will find itself in the wolf’s mouth without a lot of coaching experience, at least in the NHL. He previously served in 2019 as an advisor to John Tortorella for the power play with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Kent Hughes, the Habs general manager, had said he would be looking for a modern-day coach, a good communicator. If he had offered Ducharme a vote of confidence, just as Gorton had done recently, the new CEO chose to go with a new voice.
St. Louis named CH coach: hot reactions to JiC –
As Brind’Amour
In St. Louis, Hughes also opted for a coach in the mold of Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes. In recent interviews, Hughes had said he was in love with Brind’Amour’s way of working.
“We are very pleased to welcome Martin to the Canadiens organization,” Kent Hughes said in a statement. We are not only adding an excellent hockey head, but we are bringing in Martin a respected winner and a man whose competitive qualities are recognized by everyone who crossed his path.»
St. Louis has not signed a long-term contract with the CH. He will assume the duties of head coach on an interim basis. At the end of the year, Jeff Gorton, Hughes and St. Louis will discuss future plans once more.
Several links
There are several paths that unite St. Louis to the two hockey patrons of the CH.
In his final NHL season with the New York Rangers in 2014-2015, St. Louis got to know Gorton well, who at that time was in an assistant GM role to Glen Sather.
Martin’s son Riley plays for the Northeastern Huskies in the NCAA. They are the team of Jordan Harris and Jayden Struble, two CH hopefuls, but also the same formation as Jack Hughes, the boy from Kent. Jack is one of the top prospects for the 2022 draft.
At Connecticut, St. Louis also managed Jack Gorton, one of Jeff’s sons, for the Mid-Fairfield Junior Rangers.
