In a shocking turn of events, a few hours after firing Dominique Ducharme, the Montreal Canadiens have hired Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis as the interim head coach.
The Canadiens have named Martin St. Louis interim head coach.#GoHabsGohttps://t.co/L4K3X65tsS
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 9, 2022
You read that correctly – Martin St. Louis is your new head coach. At least for this season. We’ll see after.
Kent Hughes released a statement via nhl.com
"“We are very happy to welcome Martin to the Canadiens organization,” said Hughes. “Not only are we adding an excellent hockey man, but with Martin we are bringing in a proven winner and a man whose competitive qualities are recognized by all who have crossed his path.”"
As a player, Martin St. Louis played 16 seasons with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. The Laval, Quebec native amassed 1033 points in 1134 games and won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.
If you want passion and drive on your coaching staff, @mstlouis_26 would be a good person for the job. Smart hockey mind with an insatiable drive to be great. If you're a member of the Habs, buckle up and be ready work. https://t.co/p55sVbaMKH
— Mike Johnson (@mike_p_johnson) February 9, 2022
It’s worth noting that Jeff Gorton and St. Louis worked together in New York and his agent at the time was Kent Hughes. As Alexandre Pratt from La Presse noted, he was also special assistant to John Tortorella in Columbus. His son Riley is teammates with the Hughes boys in Northeastern. He was also a pee-wee coach at Mid-Fairfield a team that Jeff Gorton Jr. played for.
Martin St.Louis a plusieurs liens avec les patrons du Canadien. Son fils Riley est coéquipier des fils de Kent Hughes à Northeastern. Il est aussi entraîneur à Mid-Fairfield, une organisation pour laquelle Jack Gorton, fils de Jeff, a évolué.
— Alexandre Pratt (@alexandrepratt) February 9, 2022
The team announced that St. Louis and the upper brass will give a press conference on Thursday at 11:30am ET. He is scheduled to be in place for tomorrow’s matchup against the Washington Capitals.