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3 Potential Replacements for Martin St. Louis as Canadiens Head Coach

Martin St. Louis' days with the Canadiens may be numbered.

By Nate Duffett |
New York Islanders v New York Rangers
New York Islanders v New York Rangers / Bruce Bennett/GettyImages
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Martin St. Louis' Montreal Canadiens tenure has yet to be successful. The Hockey Hall of Famer only had a little coaching experience entering the tenure, and he quickly impacted the roster. However, his lack of experience is starting to shine through in recent years. Kent Hughes may look elsewhere if he doesn't start getting more out of his players.

Gerard Gallant

2024 Kubota CHL Top Prospects Game - Practice Sessions
2024 Kubota CHL Top Prospects Game - Practice Sessions / Dale Preston/GettyImages

Recent rumors have said that Hughes and St. Louis met with Gerard Gallant. It's easier to believe these rumors if we get a more credible source, but Gallant does make sense as a potential candidate.

Gallant has experience with getting teams over the hump. He led the Florida Panthers to a good turnaround before the infamous firing that most would admit he didn't deserve. After that, he became the first head coach in Vegas and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural year.

It didnt' take long for the New York Rangers to hire Gallant after the Golden Knights fired him in 2019-20 (fired again while he had a winning record) and he led them to the conference finals. Gallant may not have much postseason success, but he has a stellar 369-262-70 regular season record.

Pascal Vincent

Buffalo Sabres v Columbus Blue Jackets
Buffalo Sabres v Columbus Blue Jackets / Jason Mowry/GettyImages

Pascal Vincent had one season where he was head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He led the team to a 27-43-12 record, which led to his firing this past off season. However, the Blue Jackets' loss was the Canadiens' gain, as they hired him to be head coach of the Laval Rocket.

Vincent's strength is in developing younger players, which makes sense when looking at Laval's record. The Rocket are 9-2-0 this season, good enough for first in the North Division. The Blue Jackets were more of a veteran team when he took over, but the Canadiens have a younger team.

Could Vincent bring the same success to the Canadiens as he did to Laval, or is he not cut out to be a head coach at the NHL level?

Guy Boucher

Toronto Maple Leafs v Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs v Montreal Canadiens / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

Guy Boucher may differ from the type of guy you bring in during the middle of the season for a spark, especially when you're near the bottom of the league standings. Boucher isn't necessarily a player's coach, so his act wears thin on players. However, as shown in his two previous head coaching stints, he can get the most out of his players early in the tenure.

The Tampa Bay Lightning hired Boucher for the 2010-11 season. During the regular season, the team finished 46-25-11. Boucher led the Lightning through two rounds of the playoffs before the team fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final.

The Ottawa Senators hired him in 2016-17, and he led them to a nearly identical 44-28-10 record during the regular season. He took the Senators on an improbable run, which ended in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Boucher's two stints have been identical. He made the conference finals, finished out of the playoffs in the following year, and got fired midway through his third year. Could Boucher be a short-term option to turn the Canadiens into a winning team in 2025-26?

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