Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St Louis speaks at a news conference following Game 2 of the Eastern Conference in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, May 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

By The Canadian Press

Canadiens sign head coach Martin St. Louis to multi-year contract extension

Sep 14, 2026 | 6:32 AM

LAVAL — The Montreal Canadiens signed head coach Martin St. Louis to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced Monday.

St. Louis has guided the upstart Canadiens to consecutive playoff berths, including a trip last year’s Eastern Conference final, after beginning his tenure during a full-scale rebuild.

Montreal hired St. Louis in on an interim basis following Dominique Ducharme’s dismissal in February 2022, taking on his first-ever role behind an NHL bench after previously coaching at the youth hockey level.

The 51-year-old Hall of Fame forward from Laval, Que., had the interim tag removed at the end of that season.

Terms of his new deal were not released.

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St. Louis has a 163-155-47 record entering his sixth season as Canadiens coach. He was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2025, after leading the Canadiens to the playoffs for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Montreal, at the time the youngest team in the league, was eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.

“Marty has done a terrific job leading our young team,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said in a statement. “He is a great communicator and teacher. We look forward to his continued efforts to mold this group into a championship-caliber team.”

Inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, St. Louis totalled 1,033 points in a decorated career before retiring in 2015.

His most decorated season was in 2003-04, when he won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Art Ross trophy as leading scorer with 94 points and helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Canadiens sign head coach Martin St. Louis to multi-year contract extension

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