Martin St. Louis built a Hockey Hall of Fame playing career from proving everybody wrong. As the new Montreal Canadiens interim head coach, St. Louis is back home to do just that all over again.
In his introductory press conference Thursday morning, the Stanley Cup champion admitted that becoming a head coach was something he was preparing for a decade. Used to being the underdog, St. Louis is fine with his first shot being in the middle of the season with a team bound to finish in the depths of the NHL.
B次元官网网址淚t was always a dream of mine to be an NHL head coach,B次元官网网址� St. Louis said. B次元官网网址淚 knew I was going to do it, it was a matter of time. When Kent approached me, I had no doubt that it was a great opportunity and that the time was now.
B次元官网网址淭he terms or the contract didnB次元官网网址檛 bother me, it was about the opportunity. ThatB次元官网网址檚 all I was looking for. I donB次元官网网址檛 need promises, just give me a chance and IB次元官网网址檒l show you what I can do.B次元官网网址�
St. LouisB次元官网网址� coaching history is sparse. His only NHL experience outside of playing was a special teams consulting position with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018-19. Behind the bench, St. Louis was head coach of the Mid Fairfield Rangers U13 AAA in Connecticut.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not coming in as a substitute teacher,B次元官网网址� St. Louis said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 coming here to show my work and weB次元官网网址檒l see what happens this summer, but my intention is to stay here for a long time. But IB次元官网网址檒l need to show and prove it.B次元官网网址�
St. Louis will jump in the action straight away by leading his new team on Thursday night at the Bell Centre against the Washington Capitals. While he admits that he canB次元官网网址檛 instill a philosophy in one afternoon, St. Louis said that he wants his team to work on their play both with and, most importantly, without the puck.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of people focus on what great players do with the puck, but the game of hockey is played without the puck,B次元官网网址� St. Louis said. B次元官网网址淭o not be as creative as a star player with the puck doesnB次元官网网址檛 worry me but if youB次元官网网址檙e able to be at the right place without the puck and with the right speed, youB次元官网网址檒l get the puck a lot more and maybe your abilities will improve.
B次元官网网址淢y philosophy is that I coach the player without the puck a lot more than the player with it.B次元官网网址�
General manager Kent Hughes knew St. Louis back when he was playing for the University of Vermont. For Hughes, St. Louis B次元官网网址渞epresents the cultureB次元官网网址� he and vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton want to establish in Montreal.
B次元官网网址淚 worked for a law firm that represented some hockey players and I went to the lawyer/agent and said we want to recruit this kid as a freshman at UVM,B次元官网网址� Hughes said. B次元官网网址淗e said heB次元官网网址檒l never play in the NHL and I told him: B次元官网网址業 know this kid will play in the NHL.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎 lot of people bet against him. I, for one, have chosen to bet on him, not against him. And IB次元官网网址檓 pretty sure heB次元官网网址檒l make the doubters revisit.B次元官网网址�
A year ago to the day, Dominique Ducharme was behind the Habs bench for a 4-2 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs but still an assistant under head coach Claude Julien. Ducharme would be named interim head coach on Feb. 24. A year later, St. Louis was announced as DucharmeB次元官网网址檚 replacement.
In his introductory press conference, Gorton said that DucharmeB次元官网网址檚 job was safe until the end of the 2021-22 season. However, the front office changed their minds following the seven-game losing skid the clubB次元官网网址檚 been mired in since Jan. 20.
B次元官网网址淚n my conversations with Ken talking about what we had to do, we didnB次元官网网址檛 have five games to go, we had 37 games to go,B次元官网网址� Gorton said. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of teaching that has to happen. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of development that has to go on. And we felt as a group, it was time to make a change and move it forward that way.
B次元官网网址淵ou know, we had decided recently that Dom wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to be here for next year and we just felt like, now was the time. If weB次元官网网址檙e going to let them go after the season. Why not do it now and take advantage of this opportunity, these 37 games.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擳ristan DB次元官网网址橝mours, The Canadian Press
