Habs hire Martin St. Louis as new coach, but don't appear to have him in long-term plans

In case you missed today's bombshell news story, the Canadiens fired head coach Dominique Ducharme and have replaced him with Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis as their new interim head coach.

The former Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers superstar has exactly zero professional coaching experience, but will be the Habs' main man behind the bench for at least the rest of this season.

"We are very happy to welcome Martin to the Canadiens organization," said GM Kent Hughes in a statement on the team's website. "Not only are we adding an excellent hockey man, but with Martin we are bringing in a proven winner and a man whose competitive qualities are recognized by all who have crossed his path."

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reports that St. Louis is signed only for this season and that the team's management staff will reassess their situation this upcoming offseason and make a more long-term hiring.

Again... I'm just SHOCKED by this hiring.

I absolutely LOVED St. Louis during his playing days. He was an electrifying player who played like he was 6'2", 230 lbs despite the fact that he stood just 5'8", 175 lbs. He was an absolute warrior on the ice and one of the most exciting players of his generation.

Having said that... I'm not sure what he's going to look like as a head coach. Again... he has zero coaching experience. At any professional level...

Since retiring from the NHL in 2015, St. Louis has mostly been a family man, working just half a season as a special teams consultant with the Columbus Blue Jackets alongside his former coach John Tortorella. To say that his hiring in Montreal is shocking is the understatement of the year.

I mean... again I love St. Louis but... here's the guy's coaching experience:

The Habs literally hired a peewee coach...

It'll be interesting to see what the team does this offseason. You may recall that Ducharme himself was an interim head coach after the firing of Claude Julien last season, but after taking the Habs all the way to the Stanley Cup Final he was given a three year contract as the team's head coach.