There was some breaking news on Saturday afternoon, as the Montreal Canadiens have announced head coach Martin St-Louis will take personal leave and be away from the team for an indefinite amount of time.
The announcement came shortly before the puck was dropped in Saturday’s game between the Canadiens and the Calgary Flames.
Trevor Letowski, the team’s assistant coach, will take over head coaching duties in his absence.
The news release was sparse when it came to information regarding the absence, par for the course when discussing personal leaves. At this point, the best thing Canadiens fans can do is offer St-Louis their support and love as he goes through this difficult stretch.
St-Louis, 48, took over as head coach of the Canadiens midway through the 2021-22 season. It marked the start of the team’s rebuild, in earnest. In 185 games since taking over, St-Louis has produced a 70-94-21 record, but more importantly, he has instilled the type of work ethic necessary for teams traversing the frigid waters of a professional sports rebuild.
The team immediately took on a new persona once St-Louis was handed the reins.
When it comes to his impact, all you need to do is talk to one of his players to understand what St-Louis brings to the table. He’s an excellent motivator who avoids playing games. In otherwords, he gets straight to the point, an approach that his players tend to adore. Whether it’s a veteran or a rookie at development camp, St-Louis troops are always ready to run through a brick wall for their coach.
Again, we wish Martin St-Louis nothing but the best, and there’s no doubt the fan base will support him during his absence. St-Louis has become a very popular figure among Montreal Canadiens fans, something that’s sure to come to the surface now that he’s dealing with a difficult situation of his own.
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