Who's at fault for the Canadiens' defensive issues; The players or Martin St. Louis?

Martin St. Louis has been the right fit for the Montreal Canadiens since they hired him. For obvious physical reasons, the idea was for him to mentor some of the young players, namely Cole Caufield. St. Louis was able to carve a niche in the NHL as an undersized player, and having him in Montreal to mentor Caufield made sense. It wasn't the plan then, but St. Louis could even help Lane Hutson, who was trying to do the same thing as a defenseman.

There has been a disconnection for St. Louis on the defensive side of the game. The Canadiens continue to have one of the worst team defenses in the league, which is getting worse rather than better. We've ignored the problem for a few seasons, as most people chalked it up to being part of the rebuild and a testament to the young roster. However, there comes a point when we have to wonder if it's the system taught by St. Louis and his staff.

Don't get me wrong; the defense is still young, and they are learning the game. The Canadiens blue line featured two players over 30 on Tuesday night, while the other four were all under 23. Jayden Struble is the oldest at 23, Justin Barron at 22, Logan Mailloux at 21, and Lane Hutson at 20. It's hard for the Canadiens to have a good team defense when their blueliners are inexperienced. The problem is their propensity to look lost sometimes, which brings us back to the coaching staff.

It is the line that all other fanbases use to downgrade the Canadiens. St. Louis was coaching a pee-wee team before he joined the Canadiens. It doesn't matter, as St. Louis spent many years patrolling NHL dressing rooms and benches. He knows what it takes to play in the NHL and has a brilliant offensive mind. It doesn't matter where he coached before the Habs job. St. Louis is likely one of the brightest hockey minds in the game.

The issue is that St. Louis didn't spend much time worrying about defense when he played. He needs to catch up with the other teams in his defensive game planning, and this is being further exposed with his young blue line. He wasn't game-planning to stop players like Artemi Panarin when he was coaching Peewee, and it will bury this Canadiens team if they don't fix it.

I'm not calling for St. Louis to lose his job. He will be a valuable piece of the Canadiens in the future and will have the players' respect. I'm simply suggesting that the Canadiens find a defensive guru who can act as a "defensive coordinator." They've had this role before when Alex Burrows ran the powerplay, which St. Louis took over in the offseason. With St. Louis' priorities elsewhere, the defense has taken an even bigger hit.