St. Louis embracing pressure of coaching hometown Canadiens in playoffs

MONTREAL -- In a hockey-crazed city that has taken its passion for the Montreal Canadiens to yet another level here at Stanley Cup Playoff time, Martin St. Louis is a rock star.

And he’s embracing every precious moment of it.

The kid who grew up in nearby Laval, Quebec, that same boy turned Hall of Fame NHL forward, is now the coach of the beloved Canadiens.

And on every game day, amid the zaniness, the love, the over-the-top fandom that has escalated surrounding this young, likeable Montreal team during its ride to its Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Buffalo Sabres, he eagerly absorbs every morsel of the electric atmosphere here, despite the pressure of his role with the sport’s most storied franchise.

“It’s still a lot of fun,” he said Monday. “The support of all the fans. I don’t live far. I walk here.”

Hold on.

The coach of the Montreal Canadiens actually walks through all the chaos to Bell Centre for games?

What’s that like?

“It’s like, I mean, I feel like we’re all in this together with the fans,” the 50-year-old said. “They’re proud. They’re happy. A lot of ‘Good lucks’ (and) ‘Great job.’

“It’s a lot of fun.”

Because he was one of them once.

And, in many ways, still is.

“Of course,” he said enthusiastically. “The Canadiens? I grew up about 20 minutes from here and all my idols were the Canadiens. 

“I was able to stay up late in the playoffs. I could watch the whole game. So I was happy when they were going far because there were more nights beyond my bedtime.”

Now, with his Canadiens up 2-1 against the Sabres in the best-of-7 series entering Game 4 here on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, ESPN), it stands to reason that his current success, and that of the team, is allowing the present-day edition of young Canadiens fans to remain up past their own bedtimes.

“I didn’t say that,” he was quick to point out, making sure he wasn’t irking many of their parents.

Given the way he’s regarded here right now, it’s hard to believe anyone here would have an issue with him.

Such is the level of his popularity, not to mention his ascension as a coach.

What a difference four years makes.

On Feb. 9, 2022, the Canadiens hired St. Louis as their interim coach. It was a risky move on the parts of president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes; he’d never coached above AAA Bantam before, not to mention in the NHL.

As a player, he had 1,033 points (391 goals, 642 assists) in 1,134 games with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers from 1998-2015. Along the way, he helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004, winning the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s points leader in 2003-04 and 2012-13, the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2003-04, and the Lady Bing Trophy for sportsmanship in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2012-13, before being elected to the Hall of Fame in 2018.

He accomplished all that as an undrafted player. It was the type of rags-to-riches journey that taught him anything was possible with hard work and determination, even without a previous NHL coaching gig on his resume.

At the same time, coming home wouldn’t be easy. Between the demands of a market defined by its two languages, not to mention the expectations of trying to restore a franchise that had won a record 23 Stanley Cup championships (none since 1993), this was not like any of the other 31 NHL coaching jobs. Still isn’t. It’s a beast unto itself.

Bring it on, St. Louis said.

“What makes it special is this is the team I idolized growing up,” he explained. “That’s one reason. As for the pressure, I don’t worry about the pressure of the market. I’m on my own expectations. I try to be the best version of myself each and every day.

“I can’t control everything. You can’t control the results all the time. So I try to do my job. I love hockey. I love teaching. I love being part of a team. I love leading. So the job, it really fulfills a lot of my love of life.”

It’s easy to see how much.

When the Canadiens eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the first round, St. Louis’ postgame speech emulated a Leonardo DiCaprio scene from the hit movie “The Wolf of Wall Street,” punctuated by the phrase “We’re not leaving!” to his players, followed by the coach punching his chest. After the Canadiens dropped a 4-2 decision to the Sabres in Game 1 of this series, he delivered an animated speech prior to Game 2 that goalie Jakub Dobes said “I’ll never forget.” Montreal went on to handily win the game 5-1.

“I feel like you can’t take the player out of me a little bit, right?” St. Louis said.

At the same time, he said, you have to make the tough decisions when you need to.

“I think I'll always be empathetic, but I feel like I'm not letting my empathetic mindset stopping me from coaching,” he said. “You can still coach and be empathetic. It's probably how you deliver it. 

“I'm not afraid to wear my heart on my sleeve, not afraid to tell the truth, but there's always an empathetic angle that I have also because I've felt what they felt, I've made the same mistakes, I've cost the team, I've made big plays. 

"I think my players know that I’ve lived all that. I feel like when we have these moments of truth that it affects anybody. It comes from a place of, ‘I’ve been there before, and here's how I can help you.’”

His players are appreciative of those efforts. And, for that matter, how their coach handles life in the hockey fishbowl that is Montreal.

Defenseman Alexandre Carrier, for one, can relate. He’s a native of Quebec City and understands what the Canadiens mean to the province of Quebec.

“I think for myself, just seeing it as a kid, I grew up here and watched those games as a kid,” Carrier said. “I think we’re super grateful to be part of this.

“We know how lucky we are and the influence this team has on this city. So I think we’re really proud of that. And we take pride in him walking to the games and stuff like that.”

Defenseman Noah Dobson is in his first season with the Canadiens after spending the previous six with the New York Islanders. In his brief time in Montreal, he’s already seen the impact St. Louis can have.

“I think he embraces everything that goes with being here,” Dobson said. “He loves the game. You can see that every day he’s at the rink. And I think he embraces the big stage as well.”

There are few bigger than Bell Centre in the spring.

“He’s been around the League,” Dobson said. “He’s been in big moments. He’s come through in big moments. He’s won in big moments. So I think he’s embracing the moment right now. And I think he loves it.

“So, you know, we just follow his lead. And it’s fun.”

Much like St. Louis’ walk to the arena should be for Game 4.