Martin St-Louis said upon his arrival that he was not a “substitute teacher”. Kent Hughes has also never hidden his desire to get along with St. Louis in the long term. It looks like the marriage will be consummated.
Posted yesterday at 11:49 p.m.
In his post-game press briefing, following the Canadiens’ 10-2 victory over the Florida Panthers, St-Louis essentially spoke like a guy who expects to be in Brossard with a whistle in his mouth. next September.
St-Louis was first asked if he planned to start planning for the next season on Saturday, or if he was going to take a vacation.
I won’t be thinking about my camp tomorrow! We are going to have meetings before leaving with the players and managers, meetings which will help us for next year. In the next two or three days, we will talk about things that will affect next year. I don’t think I’m going to talk about what kind of camp we’re going to have, but it’s going to be this summer. On vacation, I think my wife can’t wait for me to come home and help her with the daily chores!
Martin St Louis
Relaunched on his mentality for the next few weeks, he continued. “It’s not like I’m dropping out and not thinking about hockey for three weeks or a month. The wheel is still spinning! I’m sure I’ll be like that as a coach. When I was a player, I loved to listen to hockey, even more playoff hockey. I’m not just going to listen to playoff hockey as an amateur, if you know what I mean. »
St-Louis was then asked directly if he had just confirmed his return. “That’s my goal,” he said with a smile. I wanted to finish the season, I didn’t want to start dealing with that. We will have discussions soon. »
The particular family situation of St-Louis has always been seen, from the outside at least, as a possible obstacle to his return full-time. His wife, Heather, is American and lives in Connecticut with their two youngest children. The eldest, Ryan, studies at Northeastern University, in Boston.
“I’m here, I’m having fun, it’s fun, I have a challenge, but there is a price to pay. It’s not easy not being able to go see my children play,” he told The Press in a big interview two months ago. In this same interview, he recalled that if his time in Montreal did not prove to be lasting, “a good life” awaited him “on the other side”.
After the game, he said he was “able to hold [la famille] from a distance “. “She won’t be here next year. »
Under St-Louis, the Canadiens posted a 14-19-4 record. His .432 hit rate was 24and of the NHL since taking office on February 9. The team remained very permissive defensively, allowing 3.73 goals per game, the 27and circuit average. Offensively, however, the CH comes in the middle of the pack, at 15and rank, with an average of 3.22 goals scored per match.
“Could we have played more conservatively, more defensively, to maybe win more games and protect our youngsters? Looking ahead, if you play conservatively, I don’t think you will grow as a team. Risk management is part of the game. We practice a more offensive style now, but the defensive game is still there. We are still teaching. Hockey is heading in that direction.
“Does defense win championships? Absolutely. But you still have to play and not just try to survive. We didn’t try to survive; we made games, mistakes, it cost games, but we are working on it, we are learning from it, and it takes time. »