A gaffe by Martin St. Louis at the end of Monday’s post-match press conference caused many Canadian fans to panic. By saying “if I come back next year,” the interim coach seemed to hint at some uncertainty about his future.
However, didn’t Kent Hughes say when he met the media at the trade deadline, that St. Louis, who had hired him a month and a half earlier, had not been hired merely for the role of “alternate tutor”?
In the hours leading up to the showdown against the Bluejackets, the 46-year-old resident of Laval wanted to bring the pendulum back somewhat when an English-speaking colleague challenged him again about his future.
“I came here to finish the season. That’s what I’m going to focus on first,” he replied.
“Is my goal coming back next year? Definitely. I don’t see a lot of things that make me not come back. When I put myself in the future, in six or seven months, I see myself behind the bench. But you never know.”
one thing at a time
Adept at the leitmotif of “you control what you can control” and the “present moment,” St. Louis may not want to take anything for granted. With the world of hockey being so rapidly changing, he may not want to look too far ahead.
Or maybe he just doesn’t want to be distracted from contract negotiations?
He also said, “After the season is over, we will sit down and discuss.”
Note that there are exactly two weeks and eight matches left on the regular schedule.
One might think that family reasons make him hesitate. St. Louis left his wife and the youngest of his three children in Connecticut before coming to Montreal. Ryan, the oldest, wears the colors of Northeastern University in Boston in the NCAA.
However, in an interview with representatives registerA week after his appointment, St-Louis said he felt his sons were off to a good start in life enough to leave without worrying too much.
“I wanted to have a huge impact on their development, both on a human level and as hockey players. He said the only way to get there is to be there every day. Today, I feel comfortable making that decision. I know the foundation is solid. They are in place. Fit mentally and physically.”
With St. Louis as pilot, the Canadian maintained a record 12-13-4 for a total of 28 points. This puts him in 23rd place in the league by percentage of points gained since February 10th.
At first glance, we are far from reversing the situation. However, given the condition of the Hab at the time of St. Louis’s arrival, we can certainly speak of a good development. This is also the case when noting the single outbreak of the team’s youth, Cole Caufield, Alexander Romanov and Nick Suzuki in the lead.
shark pond
The work St-Louis has done over the past two months certainly won’t go unnoticed across the NHL. In this shark pond, Hughes and Jeff Gorton better not leave this file.
Because it’s not the offers that will decrease when you start waltzing for coaches at the end of the campaign.
