The Montreal Canadiens have been without head coach Martin St. Louis for a little bit now. Montreal's coach left the team to attend to a personal matter. Now, though, St. Louis is ready to return to the Habs. He will step back behind the bench on Tuesday night when Montreal takes on the Colorado Avalanche.
St. Louis opened up a bit about the matter at hand on Monday. His son, Mason, was injured in a hockey game and needed hospitalization. Mason's condition has stabilized in recent days and is now recovering at home. St. Louis expressed his gratitude to the Canadiens on Monday.
“We appreciate the Canadiens organization, our fans, and the hockey community for understanding and supporting us through Mason’s injury and recovery,” said St. Louis, via NHL.com.
Family first
Understandably, family had to come first for the former Tampa Bay Lightning star. Thankfully, the Canadiens organization allowed Martin St. Louis to be away from the team during such a difficult moment. It's a gesture the Habs bench boss is extremely appreciative of.
“Everyone within the Canadiens organization has been very supportive of my wife, Heather, and me as we fully focused on our son, Mason, and his recovery from a hockey injury. As parents, nothing is more important to us than our three sons: Ryan, Lucas, and Mason,” St. Louis said on Monday, via NHL.com.
St. Louis also sent his thanks to the doctors who provided care for his son during his hospitalization. It's certainly a scary moment for any parent when your child gets hurt in any capacity. Thankfully, he is recovering well and he is surrounded by loved ones as he continues the recovery process.
Canadiens' Martin St. Louis is moving forward
While Martin St. Louis was gone, assistant coach Trevor Letowski took over behind the Canadiens bench. Under Letowski, the Habs went 1-2-1 while working their way through a road trip. That road trip reaches its end on Tuesday when Montreal goes up against the Avalanche.
Letowski stepped up when he needed to. However, it certainly wasn't easy. The Canadiens assistant coach mentioned how emotional the situation as shortly after St. Louis took his leave. “It's an emotional time, there's no question, but you just have to dig in and just grind it out,” Letowski said, via CBC. “We have a job to do to fill some big shoes with Marty's absence and tried everything we could to do that I think.
Now, St. Louis is back behind the bench. He is leading his third season as coach of the Habs. Montreal finds themselves in last place in the Atlantic Division. They are tied on points with the Ottawa Senators, who hold a tiebreaker and are in seventh. Montreal has a record of 26-32-12 on the 2023-24 NHL season.
Overall, the Canadiens coach is hoping to move forward. He has one singular focus as the season enters its final days. “I’d also like to thank everyone for respecting my family and our privacy, and I ask to please maintain a focus on the Canadiens team and the remainder of the 2023-24 season,” Martin St. Louis said in a statement, via NHL.com.
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