Martin St-Louis didn’t dismiss Nikita Kucherov’s jab at today’s NHL players, but he also didn’t fully buy into it.
Speaking on the first episode of the “La Game dans la Game” podcast, hosted by Marc Denis, Bruno Gervais and Martin Biron, the Canadiens head coach said he understood what Kucherov was getting at when the Tampa Bay star said the modern game is faster but also very “dumb,” calling it low-IQ hockey with less intelligent players.
St-Louis saw the point, but he framed the issue a little differently.
He also used the appearance to lay out, in plain language, what he wants from Montreal’s defensive structure. In his view, the league is split between two main approaches.
“Half the league plays zone, and the other half plays man-on-man. The man-on-man includes small variations depending on the system, but it's clear that when the puck is at the top of the zone, it's man-on-man; the five guys are doing one-on-one. If you're on the puck, it's one-on-one, but if you're not on the puck, it can be one-and-a-half; you can have your guy and be ready to help someone if we get beaten or someone falls.”
- Martin St-Louis
That breakdown lined up in a striking way with the Maple Leafs’ second goal last Tuesday, when they beat that kind of coverage.
The conversation was recorded before that game, which makes the matchup even more interesting in hindsight.
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