After leading the Montreal Canadiens to a largely unexpected playoff berth, head coach Martin St. Louis finds himself in the running for the Jack Adams Award as one of three finalists. The other two are Scott Arniel of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets and Spencer Carbery of the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals, who coincidentally just eliminated the Habs in five games in Round 1.
St. Louis Coaches Canadiens out of Last Place
St. Louis, who replaced Dominique Ducharme midway through the 2021-22 season, when the Canadiens finished in last place overall, had no professional coaching experience prior to taking the job. Officially named the team’s head coach that summer (upon signing an extension and dropping the “interim” tag), St. Louis earned his 100th win earlier this season, during which the Habs made the playoffs for the first time since they reached the 2021 Stanley Cup Final (losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning).
This past season, the Canadiens went 40-31-11 to earn the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 91 points, narrowly edging out the Columbus Blue Jackets (89) on the last day of their regular season with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes. However, the Habs had been one of the best teams in the entire league starting on Dec. 3, when, coinciding with the debut of Patrik Laine , the team went 32-18-8 to climb out of the conference basement with a .621 points percentage down the stretch, effectively tying them with the Lightning and Colorado Avalanche (who earned similar marks over the entire season).
Arniel’s Jets meanwhile went 56-22-4 to lead the league (and Western Conference) with 116 points. Carbery’s Capitals finished in second place overall with a 51-22-9 record to lead the East. Over his three-plus seasons as the head coach of the Canadiens, St. Louis has earned a 115-131-37 record overall.
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