Habs give Martin St. Louis long extension as head coach.
This one is sort of a foregone conclusion as well, aside from the term. The Canadiens season got off to such a brutal start that there was nowhere to go but up after a change was made behind the bench.
Dominique Ducharme being let go after going 8-30-7 in 45 games was for his own good. Like putting an old pet out of its misery, Ducharme was allowed to put all of the pain and suffering of embarrassing loss after embarrassing loss behind him.
Martin St. Louis was surprisingly hired to replace him, but he showed he was a good choice pretty quickly. After gaining his footing in three losses to begin his coaching career, the Canadiens went on a 9-3-3 run which was about as shocking and unlikely as the Mighty Ducks going from a bunch of misfits to a team capable of beating… Iceland for world supremacy after Coach Bombay stepped behind the bench.
Hired on an interim basis, St. Louis doesn’t have a contract for the upcoming season, at least not yet. He sure will after unlocking Cole Caufield’s offence and turning him from a young player who lacked confidence and couldn’t score into a dominant player.
That alone was enough to garner attention on a long term contract, but the change in Nick Suzuki and Jeff Petry’s games were immediate as well. St. Louis knows what it takes to be a successful offensive player and the Canadiens need a lot of help with their offence.