Let's give Martin St. Louis some patience

With the Montreal Canadiens struggling before their game against the St. Louis Blues, some are calling for Kent Hughes to bring the hammer down on his head coach, Martin St. Louis

Yes, there have been some things that everybody would like to see cleaned up and there is seldom a coach that does everything that people will agree with. A great example is how St. Louis handled the situation with Arber Xhekaj, but to be honest, both he and the player know that there is room for him to be better. Many have commented about the fact that he hasn't called out other players, but St. Louis responded to a question and held Xhekaj accountable for his poor play.

Xhekaj responded in a good way against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night, which is exactly what you would expect him to do. It's not anything harsh or wrong, St. Louis demands a lot from his players and that is why he was vocal with Xhekaj about his expectations of the player. Now, this is just one thing that has fans and the media questioning St. Louis's tenure with the Canadiens.

He doesn't care about the outside noise, and he knows that regardless of what people say, he is going to continue doing the job that he was hired to do. If anything, when people doubt or question him it only fuels him. He never asked for anybody's advice, so he isn't going to consider anything from Habs' pundits.

Rebuilding a team is far from linear, so struggles are a totally normal part of the process; which should be used a lesson, not a reason to terminate the coach.

Pump the brakes on the firing talk..

If the players were complaining or simply refusing to buy what Marty is selling, then a conversation should be had. But, that simply isn't the case - St. Louis is respected and listened to by his players - yes there will be growing pains, but St. Louis hasn't lost the room. The team had a few frustrating performances and was given the chance to rectify them.

Their play against the Blues was a big reason for optimism - the Habs cleaned up lots of their defensive zone issues and put in a great effort. Dominique Ducharme was given a fair-sized leash, despite the Habs very apparently drowning severely. St. Louis's Canadiens are expected to take a step forward, but the season is barely 10 games old, let's let him implement some changes and coach his team. out of the funk.

If he wasn't the right guy for. the job, management would know to make a change, but he hasn't failed the team. They aren't broken, and in need of a major shakeup; but learning and adjusting, trying to cement systems and grow. It will take time, but things are headed in the right direction.

St. Louis worked his tail off to realize his NHL dream, I expect that his team is being coached with that same blue-collared mentality.