"Well, I hope so," Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton told TSN. "I think he's a huge impact. I know it's hard to say that when you're sitting at 32nd in the League, but anyone that's been around our team, the players, anybody in the organization that's in the dressing room every day, you can kind of see the impact that 'Marty' brings. He's a natural-born leader. He has a high energy, he's got a passion for the game.
"He belongs in the game and we're hopeful [we] can find a way to bring him back."
Montreal (22-49-11) defeated the Florida Panthers 10-2 on Friday and went 14-19-4 after St. Louis replaced Dominique Ducharme on Feb. 9. After reaching the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Canadiens were the first team eliminated from contention for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs on March 25.
"I'd like to see him part of the Montreal Canadiens organization for the long term and remove the interim tag, if that's the question you're asking," general manager Kent Hughes told TSN on March 30 at the NHL general managers meetings in Manalapan, Florida. "In terms of the success and the impact that he's had, I expected him to have an impact, no question about it. Probably not as significant as he has in such a short period of time. But, I said at the beginning, I'm not one to bet against Marty St. Louis, and those that have, have generally lost. He's a pretty special guy and he's proven to be a pretty special coach."
St. Louis, a native of Laval, Quebec, did not have any NHL coaching experience when he took over. But with the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee at the helm, the Canadiens averaged 3.22 goals per game compared with 2.20 under Ducharme, and allowed 3.73 per game, an improvement from 3.98 before the change.
Several players have excelled under St. Louis, most notably forward Cole Caufield. Selected in the first round (No. 15) in the 2019 NHL Draft, Caufield saw his points-per-game average improve from 0.27 to 0.95 with an increase in ice time (14:42 to 18:17). In his first full NHL season, he had one goal and seven assists in 30 games under Ducharme but scored 22 goals with 13 assists in 37 games with St. Louis, including a hat trick Friday.
"It has always been my dream to be an NHL coach," St. Louis said when he was hired. "I knew it wasn't whether or not I would do it, it was just a matter of time when I would. When Kent approached me, I had no doubt that it was a very good opportunity, that this was the time. And the terms and the contract were not important to me, that's not what I want. For me, it's the opportunity. All my life that's all I ever sought was opportunities. I don't need promises or anything like that. Give me a chance and I'll show you what I can do."
