Finding The Logic Behind Hiring Martin St. Louis

It was definitely a weird sight: Martin St. Louis leading the Montreal Canadiens behind the bench.

It was inevitable that Dominic Ducharme would get the axe as head coach of the Canadiens. If not this year then before the next started. However, even after Jeff Gorton said that Ducharme was going to finish the year in Montreal, it was really difficult to justify keeping him around after the team was getting destroyed night in and night out. And we’re not just talking on the scoreboard either.

No one batted an eye after Wednesday’s announcement regarding Ducharme. Of course the critics flew left right and center and i’m sure more than one player not named Jeff Petry were particularly happy of seeing the bench boss let go.

What no one expected was that someone had already been hired to take his place.

The logic was that of an old tradition. The bench boss gets let go and the first assistant take the interim tag for the rest of the season and we either hire a new head coach or promote said assistant. In Montreal’s case however, the only option was letting Luke Richardson finish the year until a bilingual coach were found to lead the team next year. Yes, once again, the language debate was out in the open.

The risk of having Luke Richardson as the interim head coach would be that he would have to return to his old position once the season was over. Something that a lot of people struggle doing. Imagine you’re an assistant manager and you’re asked to run the company you work at for about 3 months but after that, we’ll hire someone from the outside to take the job you kept warm and you can go back to your old position. It stings and it’s something team’s have slowly stopped doing unless there’s an absolute agreement.

So then the announcement was made that a new coach would be named the same day. Of course the usual suspects were thrown around the rumor mill: Patrick Roy, Bob Hartley, Jim Montgomery, Guy Boucher. Essentially, anyone who spoke French and had NHL experience.

After the announcement was made that an interim head coach was announced in the name of Martin St. Louis, no one saw this coming.

No one except Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton of course who both have a direct relationship with St. Louis. One is the former agent of the Habs’ new bench boss and the other his former GM.

So what does this mean for the team exactly? Is he only here to evaluate the team at ice level before he gets promoted to an office position? Is he here to prove that he can do the job and this is just but one big audition to see if we keep going with him for next season?

St. Louis made it clear to the media that he wants to be a coach. He loves working with players and his wife gave him the green light to pursue a coaching career. Multiple times he has turned down administrative roles ranging from President to Assistant General Manager. His only coaching experience is at a Pee-Wee level and he’s been special consultant to John Tortorella in Columbus.

The confusion mostly stems from which team Martin St. Louis is being employed. The Montreal Canadiens have never been considered a farm team. Or a school. Or a place where people “try out” a job. For those of a certain age, flashbacks of Rejean Houle and Mario Tremblay being hired as GM and Head Coach respectively, with zero administrative or coaching experience, came to be and the dread of another nightmare has been shared everywhere on social media.

The difference between Mario Tremblay and Martin St. Louis, is that St. Louis is respected by everyone. Former and current players and administrators only have positive things to say about the Hall of Famer. He is passionate, he is knowledgeable and he is adaptable. Those traits are possibly some that Kent Hughes might be thinking when saying he is looking for a “modern NHL coach”.

A few hours after being officially hired, St. Louis stood behind the bench against the Washington Capitals who were without Alexander Ovechkin in the lineup. The bottom line result was the same as the Capitals easily left the building with a 5-2 victory over the Habs who have now endured an 8th straight loss.

There were quite a few differences that needs to be noted.

• Ever seen a goalie allow 4 goals in 25 minutes only to be patted on the back by the coach and told “don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault”? That doesn’t happen often. Granted Cayden Primeau needs to go to Laval ASAP for his development, but being reassured like that in public isn’t something we’re used to seeing.
• Ever seen a coach take so much time chatting with one player in particular? It seemed like an entire couple of shifts that St. Louis and Cole Caufield were chatting it up. Caufield often said that St. Louis was one of his favorite players growing up since they have similar styles. The result? Caufield scores and is denied a second after review. It felt so good to see Caufield smiling ear to ear again.
• Rem Pitlick and Nick Suzuki had 5 and 6 shots respectively and each got a point. Remember, Pitlick wasn’t even supposed to play today because Ducharme had penciled him in as a healthy scratch way in advance.
• Nick Suzuki (23:24), Alex Romanov (22:13), Tyler Toffoli (19:31) Josh Anderson (18:22) and Rem Pitlick (18:07) were the players who saw the most ice time. Definitely refreshing to see the best players rewarded with more ice.
• Had it not been for Cayden Primeau’s disastrous start, the team would’ve been in the game as they showed tons of passion, emotion and character during the entire 60 minutes of play. Something we haven’t seen since last summer.

Fast forward to Friday morning where St. Louis begins his first practice. Who shows up? Jonathan Drouin peaks his head out of curiosity and immediately St. Louis waves him in and they start chatting. Drouin has always been notorious for disappearing completely when he’s injured so the fact that he even showed himself is amazing on its own.

Even Brendan Gallagher is smitten by the new coach.

So far St. Louis has showed everyone that he is not afraid to face the media and say what needs to be said. He’s been honest and direct which again, is something that was desperately needed in Montreal’s culture.

Now we just need to wait and see. The team will still look different in March as many players will likely to be traded, but it’s to see how the players that have remained will react and how St. Louis will also adapt to the changes in personnel. A first look impression against Washington would give him a passing grade. Good line management, solid effort by the team despite the 5 goals against. Probably the most inspiring hockey we’ve seen all year.

We have a very respected man behind the bench leading a struggling franchise who is looking to find themselves after reaching the finals for the  first time since 1993 just a year ago. Will St. Louis be part of this identity/culture change that is currently sweeping through the team? With the rumors of Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards apparently set to join the front office in some capacity as well, this wash of a season is suddenly becoming interesting all over again.

I for one am more curious than ever to see how things will unfold.