ROY: THE HABS ARE FUN TO WATCH
By: Braedyn Wozniak, RP Show Intern
Has anyone told Martin St. Louis that the Montreal Canadiens are supposed to be tanking?
The 2-2 Habs have impressed through the first two weeks of the NHL season. Their big wins came at home against Eastern Conference elites Toronto and Pittsburgh.
Former Stanley Cup Champion Andre Roy told Rod Pedersen Wednesday that his old teammate and current Canadiens Head Coach St. Louis has this team playing the right way.
“They will be an exciting team to watch for sure,” said Roy on the Rod Pedersen Show. “I think they made a lot of changes.
“I know Marty pretty well. I know his approach, (the) way he thinks about the game, taking time with young players and trying to change the concept over there.”
The Canadiens have had a tumultuous last two years, making the Stanley Cup final in 2020-21 before finishing last and snagging the 1st overall pick in the draft in 2021-22, which they used on Juraj Slafkovsky.
In the past three years there have been three Head Coaches behind the bench. Dominique Ducharme took over for Claude Julien before the Stanley Cup run, but he made way for St. Louis in February 2022 after a historically bad start.
“I was surprised and shocked,” said Roy when asked if he saw the St. Louis hire coming. “They were talking about Alain Vigneault … Guy Boucher, guys like that. Then out of the blue, Marty St. Louis!”
The hire was surprising because St. Louis had yet to coach professionally. He was the Special Teams Consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets before the hire, but the 47-year-old lacked experience.
“He likes challenges. His whole life he’s accepted challenges,” said Roy. “We know all (about) his career, how he was never drafted and all that.”
The qualities St. Louis possessed as a player and person made the hiring possible. Many people attributed his similarities to blooming star Cole Caufield as the main reason.
“He never really coached professionally, but it doesn’t mean anything. I think it’s the player. Everyone has a different perception of things, a different way of preparing, seeing the game,” said Roy.
“He was the guy that was very serious in his preparation, off ice also. So, I guess I’m not that surprised to see him become a coach.”
Montreal saw instant success when St. Louis took over, finishing 14-19-4 with him running the ship after starting 8-30-7.
The team’s play has consistently improved since, most noticeably in 2nd year winger Cole Caufield, who had one goal in thirty games with Ducharme, and finished the season with 23 goals, second among all rookies.
