The Montreal Canadiens had a dream 2025-2026 season as the club finally made that breakthrough that has been long-anticipated over the course of their rebuilding years. The team posted a 48-24-10 record, which gave them 106 points in the NHL standings. Montreal was able to carry that successful regular season form forward in the playoffs as they made an appearance in the eastern conference finals where they lost to the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. A key factor in engineering Montreal’s turnaround has been the influence of head coach Martin St. Louis, who has taken this young team under his wing.
St. Louis Extension with Montreal on the Horizon
It should be no surprise that St. Louis’s future with his Montreal team looks set to continue. Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette expects the Canadiens coach to receive an extension with the club in the near future: “Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes were signed to five-year contract extensions… A four-year extension for Martin St. Louis before the start of this season would make sense.”
Considering Gorton and Hughes have long-term security with the Original Six franchise, there is no reason to believe that St. Louis will not receive the same. He has been a crucial reason for why Montreal has enjoyed the success they have had in recent seasons. This team has come a long way since the time that St. Louis joined the organization midway through the 2021-2022 season when the team was placed at the bottom of the league. Now, the Canadiens are among the teams with the brightest future’s in the NHL with the strong youth core that has been built by management over the years.
St. Louis has been effective at getting the most out of his players. Cole Caufield in particular is someone who has benefited greatly from his experience. St. Louis can relate to Caufield, having been a skilled undersized forward himself during his playing days.
For his efforts, St. Louis has begun to be recognized as one of the top coaches in the league. He finished fifth in voting for the Jack Adams Award this past season, a trophy handed out to the coach seen as the best in the NHL.
St. Louis Looking to Take Montreal to the Next Level
Montreal has taken crucial steps forward these past two seasons, having qualified for the postseason in consecutive campaigns. The next step for this team is getting out of the east and back into the Stanley Cup finals. The Canadiens last made it to the big dance in 2021. They have not won the Stanley Cup since the 1992-1993 season.
Assuming St. Louis is locked up, he will aim to help lead this storied franchise back to the promised land. Montreal heads the pack with 24 Cup rings in their arsenal, but it has been over three decades since their last championship. This unit looks to be the best positioned to bring the Cup back to Canada. It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens can continue to show improvement next season in what is expected to be a ruthless Atlantic division picture.
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