Martin St. Louis hired as interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens

With a head coaching vacancy after the Montreal Canadiens fired Dominique Ducharme earlier today, they were quick to hire a replacement, as Martin St. Louis will be the interim head coach for the Canadiens.

The Hall of Fame winger spent 16 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, and, more notably, the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he had his number retired along with winning a Stanley Cup, two Art Ross trophies, a Hart Memorial trophy, a Lester B. Pearson award, and three Lady Byng trophies.

Over the course of his 16 years, he played 1,134 NHL games, scoring 391 goals and 1,033 points, including a career high 43 goals and 102 points in 2006-07. He also scored 42 goals and 90 points over 107 playoff games that included a Stanley Cup in 2003-04, another trip to the Finals in 2013-14, and a conference finals run in 2010-11.

St. Louis has minimal coaching experience at this point in his career, with his only NHL role being a Special Teams Consultant alongside John Tortorella with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and was a coach for his kids 13U AAA team, so it’s clear that he’s being brought in for his playing experience, and his fluency in French.

As of right now, St. Louis has just been signed until the end of the season with the plan to reevaluate him at the end of the season depending on the team’s performance.