Martin St. Louis has been named head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, signing a three-year contract extension through the 2024-25 season. The 32nd head coach in the franchise’s history, St. Louis was hired as the team’s interim coach last season despite lacking coaching experience.
St. Louis was brought in on February 9, 2022, to replace previous head coach Dominique Ducharme who was fired after the Canadiens went from appearing in the Stanley Cup final in 2021 to last place in the NHL standings in 2021-22 with a record of 8-30-7.
“During his short stint behind the bench last season, Martin showed he has the required qualities to lead the Canadiens in the right direction,” Canadiens vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said as part of a statement released by the team. Gorton previously approached St. Louis in an attempt to sign him as head coach for the New York Rangers’ minor league affiliate in Hartford.
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes supported Gorton’s views, explaining that St. Louis exhibited the qualities that were necessary to pull the team out of their challenging predicament and return them to form.
