Martin St. Louis retired with an Art Ross, a Hart, three Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, a Ted Lindsay Award, and one Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Martin St. Louis has been the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens since 2022 after his Hall of Fame playing career.
When Montreal hired him, he was coaching junior hockey. This was a unique hiring decision and a surprise to the high-pressure hockey market in Montreal. Aside from a consulting position with the Columbus Blue Jackets, he had never coached professional hockey. Since he’s been in the position, he has provided the leadership, stability, and skill to propel this team deep into the playoffs.
The St. Louis Effect
St. Louis brings a player-centered leadership style to his coaching. He promotes a creative offensive style by building relationships with his players. St. Louis said that it is impossible to take the player out of him. This is reflected in how his players speak about him. Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said, “He’s our leader, and everyone would do anything for him.”
In his tenure, St. Louis has demonstrated time and time again that he is not the average NHL coach. Whether it’s quoting “The Wolf of Wall Street” after Game 7 victories or “incredible” pre-game speeches that players will “remember for the rest of [their] careers”, it’s clear that Martin St. Louis has the room.
Similarly, Montreal Canadiens president Jeff Gorton said that the first time he saw St. Louis address the team, he knew the players would like him.
Given that the Habs are the youngest team in the playoffs, this coaching staff is facing unique challenges. Between managing a rookie goaltending tandem and the team’s average age of 26, St. Louis needs to find a key balance in its involvement. Notably, St. Louis emphasized the importance of not overcoaching their developing young talent.
While the Montreal Canadiens are an incredibly skilled team, they couldn’t have gotten this far on skill alone.
Small-Area Game Emphasis
In addition to being great in the room, St. Louis contributes an incredible hockey IQ to his coaching style. While there is a lot to be learned from him, the technical aspect of his coaching style that stands out is the emphasis on small-area game work. This is a tactic that came to Montreal with the hiring of St. Louis. Small-area game work fuels their offense.
In St. Louis’s first days in Montreal, Kevin Bieksa of SportsNet interviewed some of the team’s veteran players. He asked them about what changes had been made in practice. Bieksa reported that these players said practices were focused almost exclusively on details and small plays. This is a non-traditional approach for a historically traditional franchise.
The commitment to detail is what fuels the Canadiens’ offensive game. Small-area games boost the power play and allow the Habs mobile defensemen to be up in the play. This offensive creativity is why the Canadiens were so effective in scoring this season. They ranked 6th overall in the league in goals-for, scoring 283 goals in 82 games as a team.
This scoring is necessary for success in the playoffs. After coming off a win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Habs center Phillip Danault was asked about St. Louis. He said that St. Louis is “probably the best coach I’ve ever had on details and adjusting.” Danault goes on to say St. Louis is “always one step ahead of other coaches.” While the Canadiens battle their way through the Conference Final, take a moment to appreciate who’s behind the bench.
The Canadiens are well-suited to St. Louis’s energy, receptive to his teaching, and will continue to be successful under his guidance.
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