“Derek Lalonde would never have been hired without Martin St-Louis’s approval.”

Félix Forget
“Derek Lalonde would never have been hired without Martin St-Louis’s approval.”
Credit: Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

As we know, the CH hasn't made many moves this summer. The club hasn't signed any NHL-caliber players… and its only real acquisition, in fact, came from behind the bench.

We're talking about Derek Lalonde, who joined the team as an assistant coach.

We know that in recent years, the Canadiens have relied on a relatively inexperienced coaching staff. But with expectations changing and the team improving, many wanted to see an experienced coach come in to assist Martin St-Louis… even though people wondered if the head coach actually wanted that himself.

But according to Arpon Basu, who was a guest on 98.5 Sports tonight, Lalonde's arrival wasn't forced on St-Louis. The head coach, according to Basu, was part of that decision.

And the reporter even claims that Lalonde would never have been hired without St-Louis's approval.

The question now is how the dynamic between the two coaches will play out. After all, this will be the first time St-Louis has had an experienced assistant coach (if we exclude Luke Richardson, whom he worked with very briefly in 2022).

Basu explains that he's often had the impression that St-Louis liked the dynamic of his young coaching staff, which has been maturing together. Except that Lalonde, for his part, has a rather different profile.

It's reasonable to assume that Lalonde, who has more defensive expertise, will have his own area of focus within which he'll work. That said, one might wonder whether his influence will also be felt in St. Louis's coaching style, which is more offense-oriented.

It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out.


In a Nutshell

– What do you think?

– There's plenty of talent.

– Enjoy the show.

– That's right.

– Well done.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!