As a former Quebec premier who aspired to secure a majority mandate to have full control over the province’s destiny declared on the campaign trail more than a decade ago, head coach Martin St-Louis now has “both hands on the wheel” with the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadian has granted him a three-year contract, at the same time removing the “interim” label attached to his position as head coach of the Montreal team, confirmed general manager Kent Hughes on Wednesday. St-Louis, however, refused to disclose the financial details of the pact.
“It will allow us to build something, and it will not happen overnight, explained St-Louis by videoconference. I still think we have a bit of the wind in our sails, to see how we did that over the last two or three months of last season. We will not start from scratch. And then it will be a question of taking one step at a time, and continuing to move forward. »
The news comes as no surprise, given that Hughes had indicated during the Habs’ end-of-season review in April that both parties had expressed an interest in extending their partnership. St-Louis took the opportunity to indicate that he had not been approached by any other team for the position of head coach, “except the bantam team of my guy [Mason] “.
“He is a fantastic communicator, but you also need a certain intelligence to be a coach these days, an emotional intelligence, explained Hughes about St-Louis during the assessment, held at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. I hear him talking about the players and I see that he understands how to get the most out of each one of them. »
“It’s not just a matter of systems or concepts, it’s also about knowing how to manage all the information available,” he added.
Hughes also said he would like to offer a three-year contract to St. Louis, but the latter did not want to negotiate in front of the cameras. St. Louis had, however, confirmed that he intended to rely on the same group of assistants next fall, and on Wednesday he kept the door open for the addition of a coach, perhaps.
“We’ll see, but it’s not my goal to change my staff. We will see what will happen in the next two months. Are we going to add someone? I don’t know yet, ”he said, without commenting on the assistant profile he could be looking for.
St-Louis was named interim head coach on February 9, replacing Dominique Ducharme. Under his leadership, the team posted a record of 14 wins, 19 losses and 4 overtime losses.
St-Louis wants to prove its worth
This time, the context will be very different for St-Louis, since he will have time during the summer to develop his plan for the next training camp, which will be held in the fall.
In particular, he intends to build on the experience acquired during these 37 games in 2022 — “I have to avoid trying to solve three or four things at the same time”, he said of the lessons learned last season — in order to prove his worth as a head coach in the NHL.
“I still haven’t proven that I’m a good coach. When I came to this league, as a player, it took me a while to demonstrate that I was able to run the plays. And it’s the same as a coach. I believe I have the experience, as a player, and the qualities required to become a good coach, but my decisions and the results will have to speak for themselves. »
Still, fans will obviously be hoping to see the team progress next year. After all, the Canadian finished at 32e and last in the Bettman circuit, with a poor record of 22-49-11, its worst since 1939-40. So, what will St-Louis expect for his club?
” I do not know yet. I don’t know yet which team I will have in September,” he simply said, referring to the next draft, which will take place on July 7 and 8 at the Bell Center – the CH has first place, must- he call him back? —, and when the NHL free agent market opens on the 13th at noon.
The former NHL star player is nonetheless well aware of the Canadiens’ situation, and understands that a good part of his mandate over the next few seasons will be to teach young players who will try to establish themselves in the circuit. Bettman while remaining patient with them.
“We’re going to have to continue to build the culture, our style of play, and provide young players with a platform, or an opportunity, for them to continue to develop. If you focus on the process, then success will become a kind of side effect. You have to be careful with a young team because success is very important, but you have to take the time to build a team that will be successful in the long term. And sometimes it takes time to get there,” he said.
Hoping now that St-Louis’ term at the helm of the team will not end like that of the former Premier of Quebec mentioned above. Otherwise, it could quickly turn sour.