Geoff Molson made the Canadiens’ stance on Martin St. Louis pretty plain this week: Montreal wants him around, and for the long haul.
The Canadiens owner told RDS that the club is not looking to move on from its head coach, even as St. Louis enters the final year of the three-year deal he signed in June 2022. Montreal already exercised a two-year option ahead of the 2024-25 season, which leaves him under contract through June 2027.
Molson stopped short of getting into contract mechanics, but he didn’t leave much room for doubt about the organization’s intentions. “He has one year left on his contract. He’s a coach we really like, and part of our plan is to keep him with us long-term.”
That lines up with the broader sense around the team. On The Sick Podcast, Brian Wilde said, “Martin St-Louis can basically be the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens right now as long as he wants to.” Molson’s remarks only strengthen that read.
St. Louis has put himself in line for a significant raise and a longer-term deal based on what he’s done since taking over behind the bench.
If Montreal is ready to go there, the remaining question is whether St. Louis is, too.
The Canadiens have already handled their front office in that same spirit. GM Kent Hughes and executive Jeff Gorton both signed extensions with a year left on their own deals last season, a move designed to keep distractions off the ice and out of the building.
Montreal could be waiting until players and staff return from summer break before getting St. Louis’s next contract done the same way.
In Other News...
Lane Hutson Faces One Big Hurdle In Chasing NHL Respect
Lane Hutsons climb in the NHL has already forced plenty of people to rethink what a defenseman is supposed to look like, and the latest discussion around him centered on whether that sort of evolution can ever translate into the leagues top individual hardware. The conversation came up Wednesday night on The Sick Podcast, where the question was not whether Hutson belongs among the Canadiens most important players, but whether his size will keep him from getting the kind of external recognition that often follows elite blue-liners.
The uncertainty around the Norris Trophy speaks to a broader challenge smaller players have long faced in hockey, where reputation and perception can lag behind actual impact. Hutson has kept working to push past those old biases, but within the Canadiens room the bigger prize still matters most, with the focus firmly on winning the Stanley Cup rather than collecting trophies for one player along the way. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Prospect Aatos Koivu Is Drawing Bigger NHL Buzz Than Expected
Aatos Koivu is starting to generate more attention than most Canadiens prospects at his stage usually do, which is a pretty notable turn for a player still working through his development in Finlands Liiga. The buzz has come from the sense that Koivu has more upside than the typical depth option, with his skills drawing comparisons that suggest there may be more here than a simple organizational piece.
Still, the excitement comes with the usual prospect caution attached. Koivu remains early in the process, and his long-term path is still far from settled, which is why the next step matters so much for Montreal. For now, the more immediate question is whether he can continue building toward being useful in the AHL picture, where the Laval Rocket could eventually have a role for him if his game keeps trending the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Suddenly Face A Tough Samuel Montembeault Decision
Samuel Montembeault is still in Montreal after Kent Hughes spent the summer exploring trade possibilities, but the conversation around the Canadiens goaltending has hardly gone quiet. With training camps opening and teams still taking stock of their depth charts, Montembeault remains one of the more interesting names on the market for a club that has been willing to listen, even if nothing materialized before now.
The latest wrinkle comes from Edmonton, where a sudden goaltending need has put the Oilers back into the mix as a possible fit. Hughes would have to weigh whether the timing is right to revisit that path, especially with cap space tight enough that any deal would likely need more than a simple one-for-one structure. For Montreal, it is another reminder that Montembeaults status is still fluid, and the question is whether the Canadiens want to keep managing that uncertainty or finally turn it into a move. [Read more 🡒]