Martin St-Louis has just begun his second full season at the helm of the Montreal Canadiens.
In an interview with Jean-Charles Lajoie on Thursday, the head coach explained how he revolutionized his profession by promoting communication.
“You can’t look too much at things that have been done elsewhere because you don’t have the context. You don’t know what was asked. If you ask many players who have played with me, they will tell you that Martin talked a lot about hockey. I talked a lot with my teammates. As a coach it’s a bit the same. I try not to give them too much and point them towards the answer. I like having discussions and knowing what they think.”
On this topic, the Montreal team pilot shared how he was able to revive the careers of Kirby Dach, Mike Matheson and Alex Newhook.
“These are new beginnings. They have no history with us, so we have no opinion about them. You arrive and can breathe better. I saw this with Kirby last year. We’re seeing it this year at Newhook. It’s the same with Matheson. It could be the role, the playing style or the approach. It’s a combination of many businesses, but it all has to start with the players.”
In an answer that leaves room for interpretation, St-Louis said the most important thing to him was the legacy he left the Canadiens the day he left the team.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be a coach here. My goal is to leave the team in a better position than when I arrived. I don’t know what it all means yet, and it doesn’t bother me, but I love directing.”
No matter what happens, the Canadiens head coach assures he will never deviate from the plan.
“We don’t want to rush anything. If you want to do everything quickly, will you do the right things? You have to drive at the right speed. Your team will talk to you and tell you if they are ready to do other things. If not, why accelerate?
Watch the relevant interview in the video above.
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