Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis at the heart of playoff run: 'He's phenomenal'

Canadiens head coach Martin St-Louis speaks to reporters in Montreal following an NHL game. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press)

MONTREAL — As a hockey-obsessed kid growing up in nearby Laval, Que., Martin St. Louis loved when the Canadiens went on deep playoff runs because it meant more nights past his bedtime.

“I grew up 20 minutes from here, and all my idols were the Canadiens,” St. Louis said Monday. “I was able to stay up late in the playoffs. I could watch the whole game.”

Now the head coach of his boyhood team, he’s the one giving thousands of kids across Quebec a reason to ask their parents for a few extra minutes before bed.

St. Louis has guided the Canadiens out of a rebuild and into the hunt for the Stanley Cup in Montreal, where hockey madness has taken on a new dimension this spring.

The Hall of Fame player is taking it all in, whether during the “unbelievable” pre-game ceremonies he says he’ll “remember forever” or on his usual walk to the Bell Centre.

“You feel the support from all the fans out there. I don’t live far, I walk here,” he said. “You just feel like we’re all in this together with the fans. They’re proud, they’re happy, (you hear) a lot of ‘good luck’s,’ ‘great job.’ It’s a lot of fun.”

As one of the faces of the franchise, the determined, inspirational coach is a big reason the excitement is so high.

St. Louis arrived in Montreal with a mandate to develop a young, rebuilding team. He has since shifted into win-now mode — and he’s thriving.

The Canadiens are the youngest team in the playoffs and lead the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in their second-round series, with Game 4 on Tuesday night in Montreal.

St. Louis’s fingerprints have been all over Montreal’s run, from betting on forward Kirby Dach to bounce back following a Game 2 gaffe to inserting veteran winger Brendan Gallagher to provide a spark in Game 5 of the opening round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Against Buffalo, several players credited St. Louis for rallying the group with a pre-game speech before Game 2 after Montreal dropped the series opener. And so far, the Canadiens have not lost consecutive games this post-season.

“Pushing the right buttons at the right time,” winger Cole Caufield said of his coach last week. “He’s more confident in our group, the way he handles himself, we’re confident in what he’s doing.”

There were skeptics when the Canadiens first hired St. Louis, a smart hockey mind whose coaching resume was limited to Peewee hockey. But the undrafted winger turned NHL MVP believed his extensive playing experience would translate behind the bench.

That background has shaped his empathetic coaching style, something he said hasn’t changed even as he’s become more serious about winning.

“I’m not afraid to wear my heart on my sleeve, I’m not afraid to tell the truth, but there’s always an empathetic angle that I have also, because I’ve felt what they’ve felt,” St. Louis said Sunday morning. “I’ve made the same mistakes, I’ve cost the team, I have made big plays.

“When we have these moments of truth … it comes from a place of, I’ve been there before, and here’s how I can help you.”

Dach has felt that as he’s worked through injury setbacks over the past three seasons.

“He’s phenomenal,” Dach said. “On a personal level, on a coaching level, he’s able to connect with each guy in this room and find a way to drag the best out of you.”

Defenceman Kaiden Guhle said a key moment in St. Louis’s evolution came last season, when the coach said his players “puked all over” themselves after an ugly 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals that October.

The intense team meeting — and gruelling bag skate — that followed marked a shift in tone.

“That’s when it flipped, and he became more of a winning-now coach,” Guhle said following Monday’s optional practice. “He doesn’t really yell at guys … but he demanded more.

“You look back at my first two years, it was a lot of development. He wanted us to win, but we knew we were still in a rebuild mode and (he was) trying to teach us how he thinks the game and how he wants us to play … it’s been cool to see that part evolve, this year especially.”

Defenceman Noah Dobson, acquired from the New York Islanders last summer, quickly noticed St. Louis’s dedication.

“His passion and love for the game and that fire, but also (he’s) just super intelligent,” said the 26-year-old from Summerside, P.E.I. “He’s been awesome to learn from.”

Veteran centre Phillip Danault returned to the Canadiens in a December trade after parts of five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings. He said St. Louis’s game-to-game adjustments stand apart.

“We put more emphasis on the neutral zone, forecheck … just little details,” Danault said. “Marty brings in those details that I have never seen before.”

Never seen before?

“Offensive mindset like that? No,” Danault said. “He brings some touch-ups every game in the neutral zone … Brings details every game, which I didn’t see in the past. That means to me he’s watching the game and he’s thinking about the next game, what details he can do against certain teams, so very smart, very smart.

“It’s good to play for a coach like that. I’ve never been part of this.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press