“We’ll make sure Martin St-Louis stays with us” – Kent Hughes

It’s done, the trade deadline is officially behind us, as the various Stanley Cup contenders in the National Hockey League have completed their rosters for the playoffs.

For the Montreal Canadiens, it was (as expected) a rather quiet day, with only one transaction completed by Kent Hughes, that of Jake Allen.

It’s important to remember that the Habs used their last (of three) salary retention slots with this trade by withholding 50% of Allen’s salary.

In short, only one transaction today for Kent Hughes and his team, but one that we’ve been waiting for and one that feels good, as it puts an end to the three-goal carousel in front of the Montreal net.

With this stage of the season behind him, Kent Hughes addressed the media after 3pm.

Aside from questions about Jake Allen and David Savard (who remains in Montreal), the Habs general manager was also asked about head coach Martin St-Louis’ next contract.

Here’s his answer.

A simple and reassuring answer as to MSL’s future with the Habs.

There’s still a year and a half left on St-Louis’ contract at the helm of the Tricolore, and Kent Hughes isn’t worried about what’s next.

The Tricolore GM likes his coach’s work, and wants him to stay with the club beyond the next season, 2024-2025.

Normally, out of respect for the current head coach, a contract extension is made before the start of the coach’s final contract year.

It’s likely that Kent Hughes won’t want to start next season with a coach with only one season left on his contract.

It will also be interesting to see what team management decides to do with Jean-François Houle, head coach of the Laval Rocket.

Houle arrived at the Rocket’s helm in 2021 and led the team to the conference final that same season.

Since then, things have been a little tougher for Houle and his troupe, who lost in the preliminary round last season (2022-2023) and are struggling this season, with the playoffs looking increasingly out of reach.

Let’s see what happens next in the case of J.F. Houle, and whether his fate will be linked to the Rocket’s qualification for the playoffs this season.

In spite of everything, he’s doing a fine job of development.

In a gust

– Another goaltender heads for New Jersey.

After Jake Allen, here comes another goalie to New Jersey pic.twitter.com/JYzZLZzbp0

– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) March 8, 2024

– Leafs get their hands on a depth forward.

Connor Dewar has been dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick, per @JeffMarek and @FriedgeHNIC. #NHLTradeDeadline | @bet365ca pic.twitter.com/DWlAMquNXo

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 8, 2024

– Another minor NHL deal, because why not.

– Coming up.