Canadiens reach a verdict regarding the future of head coach Martin St. Louis.
The Montreal Canadiens have opted to exercise the team option on head coach Martin St. Louis’ contract.
On April 17, the Canadiens announced their decision to extend St. Louis’ contract by two years, keeping him as the head coach in Montreal. St. Louis completed his second full season as the Canadiens’ coach, initially taking on the role as interim head coach on February 9, 2022, before being promoted to full-time head coach on June 1, 2022.
While St. Louis had one year remaining on his existing contract, the Canadiens chose to activate the option for an additional two seasons, thus ensuring he remains under contract for a total of three seasons.
Montreal general manager Kent Hughes emphasized St. Louis’ willingness to seek improvement and collaborate with the coaching staff and analytics team to address team deficiencies.
“He doesn’t believe he has all the answers,” Hughes stated. “He’s able to reflect on what he’s doing as a coach, what we need to do as a team to take input from the analytics group about where we appear to be deficient, at least what the data is saying, and then work to come up with solutions.”
Montreal’s executive vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, echoed Hughes’ sentiments, praising St. Louis’ continuous growth and suitability for the team’s vision.
“There’s a lot to him, and I think he takes pride in the fact that he’s always getting better,” Gorton remarked. “He’s very impressive and he’s the right person for what we’re doing… There’s not a day goes by where we’re not happy that he’s at the helm.”
This decision follows St. Louis’ year-end press conference, where he expressed his desire to continue serving as the Canadiens’ head coach in the foreseeable future.
