Pierre Gervais: “Starting next year, Martin St-Louis will have to be less complacent”.

Unless you’re among the most optimistic of the lot, the vast majority of Habs fans are well aware that the club won’t be making the playoffs this season. The Habs have kept their heads above water for quite some time, but the club’s recent defeats mean that such a scenario should probably be forgotten.

Right now, the Tricolore is 13 points out of a playoff spot, and would have a ton of clubs to pass. Mathematically, it’s not impossible… but it’s highly unlikely.

The picture isn’t all rosy, then, and some criticize Martin St-Louis for wearing glasses that are a little too rosy these days. The club isn’t playing particularly well, but the coach is defending his boys in spite of it all.

I don’t see it as a problem, personally, but it’s a valid opinion.

And last night, it was a topic of discussion on Mario Langlois’s 98.5 FM radio show, and Pierre Gervais is one of those who wants to see the discourse change eventually.

Is Martin St-Louis over-protecting his team?

“Starting next year, we’ll have to be less complacent” -Pierre Gervais

“You can’t say anything to the fans” -Stéphane Waite

“We have to be careful, because it feeds cynicism” -Robert Marien

At de @LangloisMario pic.twitter.com/iTNqFTYkc9

– 98,5 Sports (@985Sports) February 24, 2024

Gervais explains that he has no problem with the current “complacency”, considering that the club is young and there’s no point in making things worse than they are, but next year we may have to tighten the screws a little.

Because if the coach gets complacent, there’s a risk that his boys will get complacent too, which wouldn’t be ideal for a young club.

Stéphane Waite compares the situation to that of Denis Savard when he was at the helm of the Blackhawks. Savard was excellent at protecting his players, but it was after the arrival of a slightly stricter coach in Joel Quenneville that the club began to win.

Warning: he’s not saying that St-Louis will have to be fired and replaced by a coach in the mold of John Tortorella if the Habs want to win the Stanley Cup, but that the discourse will eventually have to change. And in any case, the reality of the Montreal market will eventually force this change: fans aren’t blind, and they’re invested in the club’s success, so in the event that the coach remains positive in situations where he shouldn’t, he’ll end up alienating the fans.

Just like the young players, then, the coach must also progress as part of the rebuilding process. I still think it’s okay for now… but eventually, it will have to change.

In gusto

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