Habs Exercise Extension Option on Martin St. Louis

Martin St. Louis won’t have to worry about being in the final year of his contract next season after all.  The team announced on Wednesday that they’ve exercised a two-year extension option on his contract, keeping him behind the bench through the 2026-27 season.

That the bench boss is sticking around doesn’t come as much surprise although the fact there was a team option in his contract was as that had not been previously reported.

Since replacing Dominique Ducharme partway through the 2021-22 season, St. Louis has guided the team to a 75-100-26 record.  While that record is far from impressive, the Canadiens are squarely in a rebuilding process so everyone knew there would be some losing seasons early on.  This year, the Habs were a bit more impressive, going from 68 points to 76 in the standings and could wind up with the same finishing position depending on how Arizona fares tonight against Edmonton.

Players and management have widely praised St. Louis’ enthusiasm and approach to coaching and he’ll now have an opportunity to help guide the organization through the rebuild and ideally toward playoff contention.

As for his assistants, extensions are likely on the way as well.  Trevor Letowski, Alex Burrows, and Eric Raymond are not under contract for next season but speaking today, GM Kent Hughes gave the group a vote of confidence and indicated he doesn’t plan to make any changes or additions behind Montreal’s bench.