Martin St-Louis: is his season over?

Last Friday, the Habs headed to Calgary for their trip out West. Martin St-Louis was with his club.

Originally, the Habs were scheduled to practice in the afternoon, in order to get used to Calgary’s air pressure. This did not happen, however, as the practice was cancelled.

Is this related to the Martin St-Louis story? It’s hard to say.

Then, on Saturday, Stéphane Robidas spoke to the media before the game in place of Martin St-Louis, who had left Alberta to rejoin his family due to a family situation. We found out just before the game, in the end.

During the game, David Savard escaped and talked about his coach’s son. But other than that, we don’t really know what’s going on.

Obviously, a wave of support for the St-Louis family has been pouring in from Quebec. The Canadiens’ coach is obviously going through something big, and it’s going to be a family affair.

It’s only natural.

There will certainly be an impact on the Habs, we agree. However, we’ll see in due course how it’s managed by the club, which will no doubt prioritize the St-Louis family’s well-being.

In particular, I can’t wait to see how the Habs guys react over the next few days. After all, as Réjean Tremblay (BPM Sports) points out in his article of the day, the players are losing not only their leader, but also the guy who took the pressure off them publicly, by force of circumstance.

Of course, because humans are curious by nature, we still wonder what’s going on with the Canadiens’ coach. Which son is involved? What’s going on?

Note that Ryan has been active on Instagram for the past few days. For what it’s worth, it’s public information.

As for Lucas, he played over the weekend. We can therefore assume that not only is he not at fault, but that he didn’t need to follow in his father’s footsteps and come home to support his brother.

We’ve also heard that the youngest’s situation is not necessarily to be taken lightly.

Which begs the question: will we see Martin St-Louis again this season? Will the Habs let him miss the last month of the campaign to be with his team? If he needs it, yes, he will.

It would obviously affect the Habs, but there are bigger things than hockey.

It’s worth remembering that when his mother passed away in the 2014 playoffs, Martin St-Louis still managed to play. Canadiens fans no doubt remember that. #MothersDayGoal

We should also mention that St-Louis, when he took the job in 2022, had said he didn’t want to leave home until his children were gone, but that to coach in the NHL, he had made an exception. He felt, however, that his sons had the tools in hand to justify the move to Montreal.

It’s hard to comment on the situation without knowing it, but it does make you wonder if his season is over. After all, there’s only a month left and the Habs won’t be making the playoffs.

We’ll see in due course.

If that’s the case, it’s safe to assume that Trevor Letowski will finish the season as interim pilot. He led the Habs on Saturday night and is the most experienced coach on the roster.

Including Letowski, and adding Luke Richardson (2021 series) and Kirk Muller (2020 series), the last three full-time Habs coaches have needed to be replaced at some point… and all three times, an English-speaking coach has taken his place behind the bench.

In gusto

– Really?

– Hum…

– He hasn’t had a chance in Montreal yet. I don’t think that will change.

– To be continued.

– Will the Lions make the playoffs?