Monahan: 'An exciting time to be a Montreal Canadien'

MONTREAL - Sean Monahan addressed the media on Wednesday following the news of his one-year contract extension with the Canadiens.

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Here are a few highlights from his press conference:

Please note that questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Sean Monahan on why he chose to re-sign in Montreal:

I really enjoyed my time in Montreal last year and it being cut short, being injured, I think I owe it to myself to give it another shot in Montreal. I owe it to the fans and I owe it to the organization. They gave me a great opportunity from day one when I came in here. The coaches were unbelievable. I have a great relationship with them and I met some great teammates that are going to be lifelong friends. I was very interested in going back there and I'm very happy to get something done to be able to come back and play for the Canadiens.

Monahan on the nucleus of the Canadiens core impacting his decision:

The young group was different for me. I was in Calgary for a long time with a more veteran team, I guess. So, coming in, having the young guys and that energy, and guys trying to get better every day and pushing each other was real fun to be a part of. I really think I can help the team get better every day. So, it's an exciting time to be a Montreal Canadien [...] Honestly, we had a lot of injuries last year, so you never know where the team actually would have gone. Coming in healthy with everybody in the lineup, it's going to be exciting. They've done a great job building the team and the style of play we're going to be playing.

Monahan on Habs fans and playing in Montreal:

Montreal, for me, is a great place to live. It's obviously a class act organization. So, I'm very proud to play for them and the fans are like no other. They're passionate and I would say it's arguably the best rink to play in in the League. So, playing there is a ton of fun. [There are] great restaurants and lots to do. It's a great place to play hockey.

Monahan on his health status in regards to past injuries:

I would say I'm as close to 100% as I have been in four or five years. So, it's exciting, obviously, for me as a player and getting the opportunity to come back is a big one for me. I've been back on the ice two, three times a week and I've been doing everything I need to do. I'm ready to, I guess, prove to myself that I'm still a really good player in this League and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to show that to everybody.

Monahan on what makes Martin St-Louis special as a coach:

Obviously, I have a great relationship with Marty. So, Marty was a big reason for me wanting to come back here. He did a great job with me. So, a lot of credit goes to him. [...] I think he's just really relatable. He's easy to talk with. He really understands the game, especially today's game. I played against him and he didn't play that long ago. You look at his resume and, I mean, he's a Hall of Fame player; he's a Hall of Fame person. He's somebody you can lean on. He wants you to get better. He helps you get better and I think having that kind of coach, the way he runs practices, his energy, his enthusiasm and his positive mood every day makes you really want to succeed and work for him. He's the type of coach that I've never really had, I guess, in my life and he's definitely a big reason why I decided to come back.

Monahan on the origin of Kirby Dach's pregame ritual saying Sean is his "favorite player ever":

To be honest, I have no idea. I say a lot of outrageous things before we're going out on the ice and he screamed that one time and [David] Savard would say the same thing after, and we won the first game so it kind of stuck from game one on.