Next coach fired: Martin St-Louis ahead of Sheldon Keefe, according to betting site

Last night, the New Jersey Devils announced the dismissal of their head coach, Lindy Ruff. The club was not living up to expectations, and it was felt that the bond of trust had been broken between Ruff and her team.

We wanted to stir the pot, basically.

That said, Ruff’s dismissal meant that Martin St-Louis suddenly became the head coach with the ninth-longest (active) reign in the NHL. And that’s just over two years into his tenure.

What we notice, then, is that things change very quickly in the NHL. It’s almost rare to see coaches stay in the job for more than two years, and generally, those who do have had the kind of success that allows them to “save their skins”.

In Montreal, the reality is quite different, as St-Louis hasn’t won anything. He’s there to develop youngsters, of course, but it’s true to say that most coaches in his position would have lost their jobs by now.

On the other hand, we’re aware of the situation in Montreal, so we don’t see him in an ejector seat… but following Ruff’s departure, sports betting site SportsBetting. ag still gives him the sixth-lowest odds to be fired, which can be translated as the perception that he’s the sixth coach most likely to be the next to lose his job.

He is ahead of Sheldon Keefe, who is only eighth.

You gotta be out-of-touch, delusional & ignorant to think that Marty St-Louis is in jeopardy of being fired anytime soon while he leads a young, rebuilding Habs team that’s been cursed with injuries.

Hiring coach Marty is likely the best decision HuGo has made so far. https://t.co/1IUvs0f0eZ

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) March 5, 2024

The only coaches ahead of him are Don Granato (Sabres), Mike Sullivan (Penguins), David Quinn (Sharks), Pascal Vincent (Blue Jackets) and Dave Hakstol (Kraken). Of these, three (Granato, Sullivan and Hakstol) have been at the helm longer than the Habs’ coach.

Of course, we can’t say that it’s impossible to see the Habs coach being fired within the next few months… but even if the honeymoon between St-Louis and the fans seems over (or, at any rate, weakened), we agree that it seems pretty unlikely that he’ll be the next NHL coach to lose his job.

He was hired to foster youth development, and it’s hard to judge him on his work in terms of wins/losses considering he had a young club decimated by injuries at his disposal.

I don’t mind that the defensive system isn’t perfect, and that some people are getting a bit fed up with the coach’s optimism, but I’d be extremely surprised to see St-Louis lose his job before the end of the 2024-25 season at the earliest.

I could be wrong… but really, I’d fall off my chair.

In bursts

– Sean Monahan is already seen as a “home run” in Winnipeg.

– Bob Hartley hopes the Habs will try to reach an agreement with Sean Monahan this summer. [BPM Sports]

– Wouldn’t it be more useful to let Logan Mailloux help the Rocket in their playoff race?

– A name to watch.