- Geoff Molson says keeping Martin St-Louis long term is part of the Canadiens plan
- St-Louis has one year left after Montreal picked up a two-year option
- Read below for the full quote and what Molson said about Xhekaj, Bolduc and Suzuki
Geoff Molson isn’t being coy about Martin St-Louis.
The Canadiens owner sat down with RDS this week and got asked about a head coach heading into the last year of his contract. Molson didn’t put a date on anything, but he left no doubt about what the club wants.
“He has one year left on his contract. He’s a coach we like a lot, and keeping him with us long term is part of the plan,” Molson said.
His current deal dates to June 2022, when the Habs pulled the interim tag off the title and signed him for three years. Montreal exercised a two-year option before the 2024-25 season, and that option expires in June 2027.
Here’s the announcement from four summers ago:
Nobody covering this team treats it as a hot-seat situation. Tony Marinaro and Brian Wilde got into St-Louis’ status on The Sick Podcast, and Wilde didn’t leave much wiggle room.
“Martin St-Louis can basically be the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens right now as long as he wants to,” Wilde said.
Watch the clip:
Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton both signed extensions with a year still left on their own contracts last season, largely so the paperwork wouldn’t turn into a story. Doing the same with St-Louis would follow the pattern.
Montreal’s annual golf tournament goes September 14, and the organization has used that day to break news before.
Two other files came up in the same interview. Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc are still unsigned with camp closing in, and Molson wasn’t sweating either one.
“We’re always eager to see situations involving important players get resolved. And I have no doubt it will get done, but am I worried? No,” Molson said.
Molson also had plenty for his captain, who put up 101 points and won the Selke Trophy last season. “He’s a natural leader, a natural captain. He’s respectful and he works hard on the ice,” he said of Nick Suzuki.
St-Louis has taken this group from the bottom of the standings to an Eastern Conference Final that Carolina closed out in five games. Molson made the coaching question sound like the simplest thing on his desk.
