A Closer Look at the Montreal Canadiens' Issues Under Head Coach Martin St-Louis
The Montreal Canadiens do not appear to be making any progress this season, leading many fans and analysts alike to question Martin St. Louis' ability to lead his team.
The Canadiens dropped to 2-4-1 on Tuesday when the New York Rangers embarrassed them with a 7-2 victory. It was the worst loss of the season for the Canadiens, who are looking to show signs of life this season after several years at the bottom of the standings.
While it is still early in the season, the team was expected to be better than this, even factoring in the losses of Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher, who are both out with long-term injuries. Naturally, this has led to wild speculation as tensions around the team intensify. The drama around the team is certainly picking up, as Martin St. Louis called out fan-favorite Arber Xhekaj recently. Many stood behind the head coach, backing him up for doing his job, however, some fans pushed back saying he went too far and may have lost the respect of his players.
This situation has led to a lot of fierce debate online amongst Canadiens fans as to what the direction of the team should be. Ultimately, it largely boils down to a pro-St. Louis camp and the anti-St. Louis contingent.
This situation appears to be deteriorating quickly. In fact Xhekaj is now involved in trade rumors as his relationship with St. Louis and the organization as a whole seems to be getting worse.
Unfortunately, that is not where the drama ends for the team either. In fact, some NHL analysts are now predicting that St. Louis could step down as head coach of the Canadiens as soon as this season.
This would be a huge move for the team as many fans expected St. Louis to see the entire rebuild through, and take them to their next playoff appearance. This year will be his third full season behind the bench for the team should he see it through till the end.
He originally took over in February of the 2021-22 season and as such he has had time to develop with this team, but they are still the second youngest team in the league so growing pains are to be expected. Whether or not this continues remains to be seen and if they keep going, it could be the end of St. Louis in Montreal within the coming weeks.
