Martin St-Louis must be a heck of a salesman. First, he sold Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes that in spite of having zero coaching experience at the NHL level, he could do that job. This is the NHL, folks. The highest level of hockey in the world, where the best coaches in the world aim to be. You think it’s hard to make it as a player? There are 22-23 players on each of the 32 NHL teams. There is only one coach per team, so 32 in total. But then, with the way he turned the Montreal Canadiens around, St-Louis sold fans like yours truly on his abilities and capability to do that job.
There is no denying that Dominique Ducharme was handed a poor hand and I haven’t changed my mind about that. Even Jeff Gorton called what the Canadiens went through as the perfect storm against them. But it would be putting our head in the sand if we didn’t see the difference in the way this team, still depleted of key elements in their line-up, has metamorphosed itself into a more offensive and fun group to watch.
Through an unorthodox and unique approach to the game, St-Louis has brought back the fun of watching the Canadiens. Yet, they’re still sitting dead last in the NHL’s standings. But they score goals, allow a bit less, and win games once in a while. More importantly, they don’t just roll over and play dead, what most fans deplored under the previous head coach this season.
New contract
It has gotten to the point where I, along with most Habs’ fans, will be feeling a whole lot better when St-Louis officially signs his name at the bottom of a new contract, to remove the interim title, and commits to coaching this team for the next few years.
| Under Ducharme | Under St-Louis | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cole Caufield | 30GP: 1G-7A-8Pts 0.27 Pts/GP | ☞ | 22GP: 13G-12A-25Pts 1.14 Pts/GP |
| Nick Suzuki | 45GP: 9G-18A-27Pts 0.60 Pts/GP | ☞ | 22GP: 9G-14A-23Pts 1.05 Pts/GP |
| Josh Anderson | 34GP: 9G-7A-16Pts 0.47 Pts/GP | ☞ | 20GP: 7G-3A-10Pts 0.50 Pts/GP |
| Jake Evans | 37GP: 6G-6A-12Pts 0.32 Pts/GP | ☞ | 21GP: 3G-6A-9Pts 0.43 Pts/GP |
| Jeff Petry | 38GP: 1G-5A-6Pts 0.16 Pts/GP | ☞ | 19GP: 3G-7A-10Pts 0.53 Pts/GP |
Remember… players, coaches and management change. Through it all, the logo remains and that’s what we’re cheering for. We want the Montreal Canadiens to succeed. Not P.K., not KK, not Berge and not Dom. If keeping St-Louis is what makes this team better, we as fans is what we must focus on and ultimately, want.
More reading…
Always been and always will be about the logo!
Habs-olutely. 😁