The Canadiens began their final lengthy road trip of the season on Saturday night in Calgary, even if it’s not the longest one of the season—they played seven straight back in December and early January.
And by now, you’re probably well aware that the organization’s late-afternoon news that head coach Martin St. Louis was taking an indefinite leave of absence due to family matters couldn’t have come at a worse time for this five-game trip spread over eleven days.
When a team has to play without its head coach and captain, that’s never a good indication. Additionally, defenseman David Savard told TVA Sports in Calgary that the team wants to win for St. Louis’s son, even if the family’s privacy must be respected. The family has three sons and resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.
St. Louis is replaced by assistant , who actually held head coaching positions in the OHL with Sarnia and Windsor before to joining the Canadiens in 2021. All we can hope for is that the francophone media will treat the Englishman Letowski more kindly than it did Randy Cunneyworth in 2011, when Cunneyworth took over for the dismissed Jacques Martin in December.
Despite having an 18-23-9 record over 50 games—not bad considering the circumstances—Cunneyworth was demonized by the media. With 185 games played, St. Louis has a 70-94-21 record.
The Canadiens started the short Letowski coaching tenure with a 5–2 loss, although the game got away from them in the third period with a one-goal deficit.
