“He’s a natural-born leader” – Montreal Canadiens desire to retain Martin St. Louis as coach

Martin St. Louis

The Montreal Canadiens have reiterated their desire to retain Martin St. Louis as the coach during their season finale against the Florida Panthers on Friday. The Canadiens ended their National Hockey League (NHL) journey at eighth place in the Atlantic Division and 32nd overall at Centre Bell.

Martin St. Louis has stopped dancing around it. He'll be back as head coach of the Canadiens. Conversations to come with management, deal to get done.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) April 30, 2022

Talking about the future of Louis with the team, Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton stated that he’s hopeful of yet again working with Martin.

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“Well, I hope so,” Gorton told NHL.com. “I think he’s had a huge impact. I know it’s hard to say that when you’re sitting at 32nd in the League, but anyone that’s been around our team, the players, anybody in the organization that’s in the dressing room every day, you can kind of see the impact that ‘Marty’ brings. He’s a natural-born leader. He has high energy, he’s got a passion for the game.

“He belongs in the game and we’re hopeful [we] can find a way to bring him back.”

“Been always my dream to be an NHL coach

The Quebec native St. Louis, who did not have any NHL coaching experience when he joined the Montreal team, helped several players excel under him. The Canadiens averaged 3.22 goals per game compared with 2.20 under Ducharme, and allowed 3.73 per game, an improvement from 3.98 before the change before the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee joined them.

“It has always been my dream to be an NHL coach,” St. Louis said when he was hired. “I knew it wasn’t whether or not I would do it, it was just a matter of time when I would. All my life that’s all I ever sought was opportunities. I don’t need promises or anything like that. Give me a chance and I’ll show you what I can do.”