It’s been an eventful season for the Montreal Canadiens. In October, it felt like their world was caving in when offseason acquisition Patrik Laine and promising prospect David Reinbacher suffered knee injuries. In November, they were obliterated in one-sided defeats, and their backup goaltender, Cayden Primeau, couldn’t stop a beach ball. By early December, there were murmurs about Martin St-Louis’ job being in jeopardy. But that changed in a hurry.
After the Christmas break, Primeau was sent down to the Laval Rocket, and Jakub Dobes spectacularly started his NHL career, sending the Habs on a winning streak. Montreal would be unable to keep it up, though, and by the time the Four Nations Face-Off rolled around, it looked like they wouldn’t make the playoffs. However, after the break, Montreal rose from its ashes like a Phoenix and clawed its way to the postseason, thanks in massive part to captain Nick Suzuki, but also to bench boss St-Louis, who was unable to guide his young team through the nerves and jitters of playing meaningful hockey in April.
For the first time since taking over from Dominique Ducharme, St-Louis led his rebuilding team to the Spring dance, and people took notice, as evidenced by his nomination for the Jack Adams Trophy as coach of the year. On Saturday, the league revealed that Washington Capitals’ coach Spencer Carbery was the winner of the award, but the fact that St. Louis finished third in voting is a feat in itself.
Carberi dominated the voting with 464 points, followed by Winnipeg Jets coach Scott Arniel, who had 249. As for St. Louis, he received 66 points, thanks to 2 first-place votes, 12 second-place votes, and 20 third-place votes. While 66 points is not much compared to the first two vote getters, the fourth-place pilot, St-Louis’ Blue Jim Montgomery, only had 38 points.
What’s impressive, though, is that the two first-place coaches’ teams were at the top of the standings in their respective Conferences, while St. Louis' team barely made it to the playoffs. The votes he received are a testament to how significant a role he played in the team’s qualification.
While the coach doesn’t play the games, St-Louis’ relationship with his players and the respect he inspires are key in his effectiveness as a coach. Regardless of the situation a player finds himself in, he has likely been there and can relate. He’s been the guy who gets sent down to the AHL, he’s been the healthy scratch, he’s been the guy with limited ice time, and he’s also been the superstar who carried the team. When he speaks, his players listen; when he gives them advice, they know it comes from someone who has been in their skates.
Furthermore, as much as he worked hard on his game as a player, he worked just as hard on his tactics as a coach. Former defenseman David Savard recently explained that following lopsided defeats, St-Louis would go away and study the game film to identify the root cause of the problem, as well as come up with ways to fix the issues, even though it could sometimes take a couple of days. The coach is like a dog with a bone, and he never gives up.
The votes he got as best coach were truly deserved, and it will be interesting to see how his Canadiens follow up on this first playoff-worthy season.
