In the mind of Martin St-Louis as in that of Kent Hughes, there was no doubt about the continuation of their union. We just had to find the time to sit down and chat.
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“It’s not that the negotiations took a long time. It was a matter of logistics. I traveled with my family, I went to Michigan and Nashville. Kent [Hughes] and Jeff [Gorton] were busy at the World Championship,” explained St-Louis, echoing comments made the day before by his general manager.
Since the end of the season, five head coaches have lost their jobs in the Bettman circuit. Even if it took a month between the start of the Canadian vacation and the announcement of this agreement, St-Louis says that no other team approached him. At least, in the NHL.
“My son’s bantam team was very interested,” said St-Louis with a laugh.
“People knew I wanted to come back with CH. It was my goal. I wanted to continue what we started, ”he continued, more seriously.
Honored and flattered
When he was hired on February 9, many wondered about his ability to lead an NHL team. After all, he had no experience in professional hockey except for a whirlwind stint as an advisor to John Tortorella with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019.
This is certainly one of the reasons why Hughes had kept a way out by juxtaposing the term “interim” with the St-Louis position.
“In February, they took a chance with me. I was honored and flattered. With what we have built since then, I was convinced that they would still want me, ”said the Laval resident, referring to Hughes, Jeff Gorton and Geoff Molson.
St. Louis’ first few months at the helm of the team may not have allowed the Habs to move up the standings, but they have at least brought back a certain sense of pride within the troops. This is what makes him most proud.
“I felt the guys were excited to show up at the arena, even though we weren’t having a lot of success. There are not many games where we have been downgraded, he said. I’m glad I saw the guys fight in games where we were trailing. This is the label we want to wear. »
A decisive match
Moreover, despite the challenges that stood before him, the former Lightning star never doubted that he would like this job.
“I love hockey and I was going to coach the Montreal Canadiens. It would have been hard not to like that. »
However, he maintains that the night when this reality hit him the most was during the March 13 game in Philadelphia. That night, the Canadian tied the game in the last minute of the third period, despite being outnumbered, before winning in overtime.
“These moments, when you have your back against the wall, you see how the guys react on the ice and you come out with a victory, it is really pleasant. Games like that really love the experience of being in the NHL. »
