Montreal interim coach Martin St. Louis reveals what Habs need!

It's been the season from hell for the Montreal Canadiens, who are not even one year removed from their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1993. 

Already massively put behind the 8-ball before the 2021-22 NHL Season even began thanks to the departures of both former MVP goaltender Carey Price and Norris Trophy winning defenseman Shea Weber, the Habs stumbled to an 8-30-7 record prior to the dismissal of head coach Dominique Ducharme earlier this week. He departs after completing not even one full year of the 3-year pact he signed following the surprise run to the Finals last year. 

In Ducharme's absence, the Habs promoted former Stanley Cup champion forward Martin St. Louis to take his place on an interim basis. The move came as a bit of a puzzling personnel change to some, as St. Louis has no professional coaching experience under his belt. 

He picked up his second career NHL coaching victory yesterday, a 3-2 overtime shootout victory over the New York Islanders. And ahead of tonight's divisional tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis described what he wants out of his players - having fun again. 

"Fun is part of it," he said. "You need direction. You need a culture. Inside all of that, fun has to be a part of it."

"Winning brings that, but also, as coaches, you are in the business of convincing players why you are doing things a certain way. Once you have convinced them, it really takes off."

Of course, St. Louis knows all about having fun, as he helped the Tampa Bay Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship, as well as coming within three wins of a second Cup victory with the New York Rangers a decade later.

"As a player, what I miss the most as a player is the fun I had. You have to create an environment or culture where fun is a part of it. We can’t just focus on the wins and losses. It is part of it, but to me, it is the process. I think the boys are believing in the process and having fun with it."