The Montreal Canadiens are not just one of the most storied franchises in the NHL; they are THE marquee franchise in the sport. However, since their last postseason appearance in 2021, which included a run to the Stanley Cup Final, the team has entered the worst period in terms of wins and losses in their 115 seasons as a club. This season, the Habs have struggled out of the gate with a record of 4-6-1 through 11 games, leading many Canadiens fans to question whether Martin St. Louis is the right coach to guide this team back to its winning ways. As we likely face another season where the Canadiens are nowhere near a playoff spot, the frustration and impatience within the fanbase starting to gain steam by the day, and while I understand these sentiments, trust me—I’m just as tired of watching my favorite team’s playoff chances pretty much be gone by December each season as anyone. However, I've never viewed St. Louis as the guy who was supposed to lead the team back to the playoffs. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if he would want to stay on the job.
As time goes on, it seems that people forget how random and shocking it was that he received the interim tag in February 2022. He literally came from coaching his kid's Peewee team to perhaps the most pressured coaching job in hockey. When Marty took over, it’s important to remember just how hopeless things felt in Montreal. The team was only a season removed from having their hearts broken in the Stanley Cup Final, and the two faces of the franchise, Shea Weber and Carey Price, were forced to hang up their skates due to serious medical issues. The Canadiens lost not only their captain and cornerstone goaltender but also the heart and soul of the team. The team also didn’t have much young talent aside from Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. It may seem like a distant memory now, but Caufield, in particular, looked lost. Heading into that season, he was widely considered the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but by December, he’d been sent down to the AHL, struggling with both production and confidence.
Since then, the Canadiens and General Manager Kent Hughes have managed to build an impressive pool of young talent and prospects, which should lead this team into the future. This includes a former first overall pick in Juraj Slafkovsky, Lane Hutson, who the team hopes will become their next number-one defenseman, and in last year’s draft, the Canadiens selected Russian forward Ivan Demidov, a pick that may be the most excited I have seen the fanbase in recent memory about a selection.
With all this young talent, you need to have someone you trust to develop it. One of St. Louis's most significant contributions has been his ability to instill confidence in his players, even in consistent losing. He has focused on the development of these young players and they have seemed to get better each season with him behind the bench. For example, let's look his impact on Cole Caufield. He went from struggling in the AHL and has now not only become the team's best goal scorer, but he currently is tied for the league lead in goals early on in the 2024-25 season.
Although the Canadiens may not contend for a Stanley Cup in the next couple of seasons, their future is being built under St. Louis and I can say, I have liked what I have seen from these young players under his watch. Even if he may not be the coach that leads the Habs to a championship in the end, Martin St. Louis will have a lasting impact on this team's success. By developing young talent, and creating an atmosphere that emphasizes growth over perfection, St. Louis has laid the foundation for future success.
All this said, with him behind the bench, I don't think the Habs will ever be real contenders for the Cup. But when the next person takes over with the goal of winning the franchise’s 25th title, his fingerprints will be all over it.
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