I warn you in advance: many will not agree with the point of this column, but I don’t care, since it reflects exactly what I think. In my eyes, Martin St-Louis currently manages the Canadiens as if it were a school of hockey.
Yes, he is refreshing in his words, the head coach of the Habs. His press briefings are interesting to listen to, his explanations clear and detailed.
But right now, he’s in too much of a good mood. His team finished last in the entire NHL last season and has just lost its first three preseason games. The results at training camp, who cares, you tell me. Yes and no.
It’s not chic what we’ve seen on the ice for three games. Thursday, against the Winnipeg Jets, the Canadian had only 10 shots after 40 minutes of play before recovering in third. After the game, once again, St-Louis defended its players. His explanations are so well articulated that everyone buys it, without flinching.
But the reality of hockey is not that. By continuing to say that everyone is beautiful and fine, I fear that the Canadian will become a country club, a team where everyone is in their comfort zone, with their place acquired.
INTENSITY
On the other hand, part of me hopes what we see of St. Louis in front of the cameras doesn’t 100% reflect what he thinks of his team right now.
I have the impression that we see two faces of the Canadian coach at the moment: the one who feeds the media with great well-crafted explanations, and the one who, behind the bench, looks at his assistants with a little exasperation in the face.
In his playing career, no one could ever fault Martin St-Louis for his intensity. No need to make him read it: he knows the definition of this word by heart.
I’d like to see that fire when he’s behind the bench. He has never accepted half measures, as much for himself as for his teammates, and I have the impression that he has not had the same intransigence since he swapped the shoulder pads for the suit and tie.
His buzzwords since starting training camp: execution and structure.
Obviously, no one will dispute that since it is the basis of hockey.
But no one blamed him, when he was a player, for lacking structure and execution. Why ? Because he showed up every time he was on the rink as if it was his last. It was a real one.
EXCUSES
The Canadian is probably going through the worst phase of its existence and what we find to do is blame the youth.
We are lowering ourselves to the level of the Arizona Coyotes or the Buffalo Sabers of recent years. By mentioning being young, we buy time. What is the beauty of time? It has no duration.
The Sabers said they were young for almost 10 years. The Canadiens don’t have the luxury of doing that.
Because it’s the Canadiens, the most prestigious organization in the NHL. And let me go with Connor Bedard, if the objective of a team is to be mediocre to have a chance of drafting a young talent!
Yes, I know, there are a lot of negatives. Hopefully next week it will be a little less…
— Interview by Kevin Dubé
Echoes of Bergie
GUHLE IN THE NHL
There are a few positives to be drawn, however, from the Canadian’s current training camp and Kaiden Guhle is probably at the top of the list. To see him behave since the beginning of the camp, it is obvious that he will start the year in Montreal. He impresses me with his quality as a skater and his positioning. Now, let’s stop trying to find him a big brother! We seem to want to pair him with David Savard. I’ve never been a big fan of this way of playing a dashing youngster with an aging veteran. I understand that can probably help him off the ice, but on the ice, that doesn’t mean they have complementary styles.
DO EVERYTHING FOR DUBOIS
I was watching Pierre-Luc Dubois play Thursday night against the Canadiens, and I couldn’t help but imagine what he could accomplish in Montreal. He asked to be traded by the Jets, and the Habs must do everything possible to get their hands on him. Along with Nick Suzuki, he would provide stability at center in the short and long term. When he was on the ice on Thursday, we knew we were in the NHL. His physicality, his speed and his talent make him a player on whom a team can build. Yes, the price would be high, but you don’t have two chances to get your hands on a center player like Dubois who, in addition, seems to want to play in Montreal.
RIDICULE JEFF PETRY
Jeff Petry was already not one of my favorites and he did not improve his case with the comments he made this week. The former Habs defenseman said the difference between Pittsburgh and Montreal is that the Penguins don’t just make the playoffs, but go for the Cup every season. It’s appalling coming from a player who left his team last year, a team that offered him the contract of his life. Word of advice to Jeff Petry: If your goaltender gets bullied in Pittsburgh and you don’t step in, like you did here last year, I can assure you that you’ll never wear the Penguins uniform again. .