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Canadiens sign Martin St. Louis to three-year contract extension

Martin St-Louis is no longer the interim head coach of the Canadiens. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
Martin St-Louis is no longer the interim head coach of the Canadiens. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Montreal Canadiens agreed to a three-year contract extension with head coach Martin St. Louis on Wednesday.

St. Louis took over behind the bench on an interim basis on Feb. 9 after the club parted ways with Dominique Ducharme. Montreal went 14-19-4 with St. Louis at the helm after posting a league-worst 8-30-7 mark under Ducharme.

St. Louis officially becomes the 32nd coach in the Canadiens' illustrious history.

"We are happy to officially appoint Martin as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens," general manager Kent Hughes said in a release. "Martin is a proven leader, a great communicator with a deep understanding of and passion for the game of hockey. His arrival brought a renewed energy to our group, and we look forward to him returning behind the bench to continue guiding our team for the foreseeable future."

Montreal is only one year removed from a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Final, and the team is hoping St. Louis is the right man to get it back to that level.

"During his short stint behind the bench last season, Martin showed he has the required qualities to lead the Canadiens in the right direction," vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said. "Despite difficult circumstances when he took over, he was able to bring a breath of fresh air to the locker room and the players benefited from it as much individually as they did collectively. Martin thinks the game at a high level, and we believe that he is the right person for this job."

St. Louis had a decorated career as a player before making the switch to coaching. He rose to stardom as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning the Stanley Cup with the franchise in 2004. He won the Hart and Art Ross trophies in that same season and added another Art Ross and three Lady Byng trophies (2010, 2011, 2013) to his collection before retiring.

The 46-year-old was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

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