32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Martin St. Louis

Episode Date: April 18, 2022

Before Jeff and Elliotte took some time to reset ahead of the playoffs, they had the opportunity to sit down with Montreal Canadiens head coach and Hall of Famer, Martin St. Louis. They discussed why he wanted to get back into the professional game, the similarities in coaching youth hockey to some of the younger players on his team, how he feels about people doubting his skills, things he’s learned over the last two months as head coach, the impressive run of games by Cole Caufield, and how he talks to his team.Music Outro: The Darcys - Washed AwayCheck out the single wherever you get your musicThis podcast is produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: ABC and Sportsnet.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

very good boys yeah let's see yeah okay go ahead jeff coming down welcome to another interview special here on 32 thoughts the podcast presented by the all-new gmc at4 lineup and elliot today uh someone we've wanted to talk to for a while he's been on the podcast before but not in a head coach capacity he's martin saint louis the head coach of the montreal canadians and i believe you made the point right away when he was hired, when there was that cloud of doubt, cloud of, well, how come he's behind the bench for the Montreal Canadiens? There's no experience here. You know, one of the things that you pointed out and we talked about extensively was this is kind of a scenario he's faced his entire life, certainly as a player and now as a head coach. Marty St. Louis on 32 Thoughts the Podcast.

Your thoughts. I just believe in you put smart people there and you put smart people around them. If you have someone that you believe in and somebody that you feel can do a job, then put them in a position to do the job. Just make sure that if you see a weakness or they don't have experience at this or they can't do that, he's surrounded by people who can alleviate that. I think if someone is intelligent, then they will grow into the role.

And the thing about where the Canadians were this week, when he took over, they had eight wins, Jeff. I mean, how much worse can it get? If you really think that Martin Saint-Louis can make the team better, that is the perfect time to install them and say, let's see if this works. If it doesn't work, it's no harm, no foul. Everybody goes back to their corners and you go find another coach.

But as we're seeing right now, this has a chance to really work. You know, one of the things that I always try to pay attention to when we see players transition to become coaches is their reactions in big moments, big moments of the game. And there's a very specific and usually emotional reaction that a player will have. And that's not necessarily what you want your coach to have. You want your coach to have a coach reaction, a little bit more measured. Sure, there's some times where you want them to be a

little bit more emotional but generally you want them to coach and the one thing Elliot that impresses me about San Luis when I watch him coach the Montreal Canadiens like he was a very passionate player he was an aggressive player hard on the sleeve all of it I don't see him reacting as a player behind the bench this is is one of the more remarkable things already. This is his first shot at it in the NHL. He reacts like a seasoned NHL coach. I am blown away by that, Elliot. I don't know if I like that as much, I have to tell you.

I know what you're saying because the players have to take their emotional cues from the coach. If the coach panics, the player panics. If the coach becomes discombobulated, the team becomes discombobulated. And I bet you he, I bet you he'll never lose the passion because that's just who he is and the way he's wired. But sometimes I think players really do like it when the coach reacts the same way that they do in terms of success.

But what I think it says to me is that he's got a big picture. And one win in March in a season where the Canadians are going to have a very high lottery pick is not what he wants. But if this team goes where you all hope it will go, if you're a Canadians fan, you know that he'll be celebrating just as big as they are in those big moments. We recorded this interview one day before the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and here he is, Martin Saint-Louis, head coach of the Montreal Canadiens,

on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. Good day, everyone. Thanks for being with us today. Welcome to this Montreal Canadiens press conference. We're here to introduce the interim head coach, Martin Saint-Louis. Martin is accompanied by the Canadian Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, Jeff Gordon, and General Manager, Kent Hughes. I will now pass it on to Kent, Jeff, and Martin for a short word of welcome, and we'll take the questions from the media after.

Kent? Bienvenue à tout le monde. Welcome, everybody. Very excited to introduce to everybody today our new interim coach, Martin Saint-Louis. We are very pleased to be joined by Martin Saint-Louis, the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, who joins us now in advance of a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets

at the beginning of the year, and first of all, thanks so much for doing this once again. It's the second time on the podcast. At the beginning of the year, did you think you'd be sitting here in a hotel room saying, tomorrow I'm coaching the Montreal Canadiens against the Columbus Blue Jackets? No, not at all.

No, I probably would have believed I'd be sitting in a hotel room coaching somewhere, but definitely not in the NHL. Has it kind of felt like a whirlwind? Like, have you had any time to even sit down and process what your season's been like? I haven't had much time to do that, to be honest. You know, I believe, like, and I said this before, like, the most important day in this league is the next day. Like, even if it's a day off, right? Like, for the players, it's a day off.

But for the coaches, yeah, I mean, once you have things, like, probably in place and rolling and comfortable, like, you can probably kind of, you know, take some time for yourself. But right now, this last couple months, I can't say that I was able to sit back and reflect on these two months. I've just been, I feel, in the trenches and just trying to coach this team till the end of the year and, you know, implement as many things as I can and work with the guys. So, but it's a place that I'm comfortable with in terms of, you know, heavy workload. I enjoy the work, especially when you see some growth. heavy workload. I enjoy the work, especially when you see some growth. But I'm sure this summer, I'll look back on how everything went pretty fast and how I got thrown in the fire right away. I'll have a chance to reflect. It's just not been the last two months.

Well, there's a lot of questions that come out of that answer, which is a really good and interesting answer. So I'll start with this one. What's the number one thing you've learned that a coach has to do that you never guessed would be so important? that i knew that were part of it like i'm not surprised when they when they're brought to my attention like every day you have practice but you're trying to plan practice but you got to talk to your staff first because there's you know there's maybe three four guys that are 50 50 gonna practice or not you know that might change what you want to do accomplish that day not that you completely you know have a new plan but you know when practice starts you gotta be ready as a coach and you know as crazy as it sounds but as at the youth level i always had practice plan i never went and winged it you know i took it very seriously what we're going to attack today and be purpose driven don't just go out there to get a sweat you know i mean i think the morning skates are a little bit

for that but i think the amount the very few amount of practice days we have based on the condensed schedule you know you want to maximize your time with your players and knowing who's going to be able to participate in practice or not it definitely helps guide what how you're going to construct or structure the practice so to speak but uh you know there's there's the iPad before every game that you have to, you know, put your lineup. You know, we used to, they used to write it in a piece of paper and circle the starters. Now it's on an iPad and you have to press the numbers. I always feel I'm going to mess up.

I've been so stressed pressing buttons. Actually, because you know what? It's funny. you're not the first coach to tell me that they hate that they don't get to write the lineups anymore they don't like that either it's hilarious like uh you're not the first guy who's ever told me they hate the new setup that's great and the first game i think like we had pressed the right buttons and they announced it wrong you know that was my first game like what what's going on so my assistant coach i think it was luke he said marty they they announced our defense wrong so i had to pull the ref over adam check like so ever since then i've been you know it was a tough start

with the ipads i've been so stressed every time now i just want you also mentioned just what a whirlwind martin can you take us through it? So you've had teams talk to you about it before. The Rangers talked to you once about maybe going to Hartford. Why now and how did this come about? Who called you and how long did you really need to think about it? Yeah, well, I've had a long relationship with Kent. I know I had somewhat of a working relationship with Jeff Gordon.

But Kent and I go way back. He grew up in Montreal. He's about five years older than me, but he used to be my camp counselor when I was like 15 years old at a hockey school. He was at Middlebury then. And obviously I went on to play at Vermont, so I have some connections then. I'm familiar. We know some of the same people and stuff.

But, you know, him being an agent for Vinny, I got to see him again then in the last seven years, coaching against him, our kids playing together. We spent a lot of time and talked a lot of hockey together. And, you know, I got the call. And I've told my wife before, like when I retired, like, you know, she knew. I mean, even when I was playing, she knew I was going to go into coaching eventually, you know, I got the call and I've told my wife before, like when I retired, like, you know, she knew, she knew. I mean, even when I was playing, she knew I was going to go into coaching eventually, you know.

But I felt my kids when I retired, there was 7, 10 and 12. I had I felt I had a great window there to be part of life every day. You know, I had three boys. They all played hockey. They're all playing hockey. I felt I could build a nice foundation for them on and off the ice and have an impact on their life, so to speak, with a day-to-day operation. But I've told her before, the only way I'll leave this before my kids are out of the house, meaning all three boys, and my youngest is 14 now,

I said it would have to be a head coaching job in the nhl and i said don't worry it'll never happen but you know when gortz got the job and i know the relationship that kent has with gortz i just felt this could be a domino effect and uh i start you know really thinking about it, that it could happen, you know. And I felt that, you know, having been home for seven years, I felt my kids were in a really good place in terms of their growth as teenagers, whatever. And also I felt they were in a good place, you know, with their hockey team and, you know, what I would have been able to instill in, you know, what I feel how to play the game and the values of, you know, both on and off the ice. I felt they were in a good place where I felt I had enough time with them where, you know, you can't get that time back at that age.

You know, they're going to get old at a certain way. They're going to get pulled in a certain way. And I felt I had enough of an impact at that point in time that I felt pretty confident that I couldn't pass up this opportunity, obviously, with the blessing of my wife allowing me to do that again and chase another dream. So when the call came, it was an easy decision, to be honest. I grew up a Habs fan. It was an easy decision, to be honest.

I grew up a Habs fan. My dad knows all the old Canadians teams. Every year they won the cup, he knows exactly what year, who scored the win. It's been a big part of our life, the Montreal Canadiens, growing up. Me and the NHL was not so much, but until I got to the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens were a very high topic of discussion in my house. So I think there's opportunities in life that you just can't pass. But saying that, you know, it's not because an opportunity arises that you're going to be ready for it.

And you got to be careful what you wish for. But I felt that I was ready. I felt I had been preparing for this. I know I was coaching youth but to me hockey is hockey and I've been watching a lot of hockey and I think I've had plenty of opportunity to kind of like what am I going to do when I get an opportunity.

So I've been building some, you know, writing stuff down and it's not like I went there blind. Like I felt like I, I'm not saying blind in terms of the Canadians, just in general, where the league's at, you know, look at the good teams that play, how they play and, you know, the tendencies and all that. And I've always been a hockey nerd, so to speak. so i do watch a lot of hockey uh i've had the time to help develop young kids but i still think the kids i'm coaching they're young so it's very similar you know and yeah i mean can you do things more uh complex here absolutely you know because you're dealing with the best players in the world but the concepts are very similar to what I was teaching the kids.

You know, one of the things that we talked about, I think a lot of people talked about when you were hired was, this is a very Martin St. Louis-esque story. You knew you were ready. You knew you could do it. Yet all around you, people doubted. Yet through all of it, you knew that you had it in you. This was what it was like when you were playing uh in saint john uh with the flames and this is what it was like as you

transitioned into the nhl as a head coach did you find that although it was different positions you kind of went through the same thing entering the nhl as a coach as you did when you were a player well it just seems like everything has been much easier since I left the NHL. It was heartbreaking breaking the door to get in, but ever since I left, it's like everything has come much easier. Obviously, the Hall of Fame induction and now getting an NHL job without having to have the experience, so to speak,

as a head coach or a coach in the league. But, no, I mean, I guess you're right. Like, it was definitely easier as a coach to get in the league than as a player. But, like I told my team before, when I started, when I met with them, like, because obviously it was kind of, if anybody doesn't know me personally just a hockey player they might have been like you know what is that move you know what is that decision and whatnot but I told my players that there was no way if I didn't think I was ready for this that I would expose myself me one two do that Two, do that to the Montreal Canadiens.

And three, my family, to be honest. Because it's a big responsibility to be the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. So why would I say yes to an opportunity if I don't think I'm ready for it? Because there's a lot that comes with it. But I felt that I was. Martin, one of the stories I always remember covering with you was when you scored in Game 6 in Calgary, you talked about how it was meaningful to you

because it was against an organization that you felt didn't see you at full value. Two for four on the power play for the Lightning, 0 for 3, Calgary. St. Louis puts the hit on. Leopold in the corner got it out of there moved it up the wall. Colomore went down Taylor the shot redirected score. Game 7 Martin St. Louis we are going back to Tampa Bay. 33 seconds into the double overtime. His first shot of the game

gets the rebound put it up top and listening to you talk about you know taking the job without experience and things like that i wonder did you feel in the aftermath of saying i'm going to be the coach the canadians and some of the reaction did you feel disrespected at all no because i understand like know, and I laughed at it, you know, because, yeah, I was a Bantam coach this year. I was coaching Bantam and coaching prep, you know. So I get it, you know, but I don't think people really understand what I've been doing my last seven years.

Like nobody sees what I'm doing on weekends. Nobody sees what I'm doing on Monday, Tuesday, setting practices. I mean, I was running, at one point, I was running six, seven practices a week, back-to-back and building plans and coaching two, three teams. And not just coaching teams, like coaching individuals and help because every kid has different flaws or things they need. So, you know, in terms of development piece, which I think with young players in the NHL, like you, in terms of development piece, which I think what young

players in the NHL, like you need to have a development angle with them. And I understand that, that they were skeptical and it makes me laugh, but I, I respect it. You know, now that I'm a coach, I'm not going to be judged what I was as a player. You know, I'm going to get coached is how do I coach? How do I show some growth in my team? Can I win? You know, all that time will tell, you know, I've never been a guy that has had all the answers, but the one thing that I'm, that I'm comfortable and confident with is, is I usually find them. It might not be immediately, immediately, but I'm willing to put the work to find the answers. And to me, the answers are everywhere. You just got to find them. It might not be immediately, but I'm willing to put the work to find the answers. And to me, the answers are everywhere.

You just got to find them. I want to ask you about your team and one thing specific about how you coach them and what you tell them. You know, last time you were on the podcast, I believe I mentioned one of my favorite post-game interviews I ever saw was you. And it was during the playoffs.

I'm pretty sure it was a series against the Ottawa Senators. And you had been cross-checked and slashed. And you're doing the scrum. And there's still a cut that's opened on your nose. And your cheek is bruised. And it's playoff hockey. And one of the reporters said something about, did you think that should have been a penalty?

And you shut it down right away. And you said, Marty, you said, no, this is playoff hockey. I have to expect that. We all battle hard. I'm not going to complain about getting hit in the face. And it was just like a really refreshing thing to hear, I think. What do you talk to your team or how do you talk to your team about not complaining about things that happen out there

or not lobbying for penalties or not, you know, whining or anything like that? Because you were never a complainer that complained. You never whined. Do you talkining or anything like that because you were you were never a player that complained you never whined do you talk to your team like that or about that i haven't quite done that yet you know it's funny because as a youth coach i've never yelled at one ref before because because we actually we actually needed the ref there's a huge ref bring shortage all across north america you know and i don't envy these kids you have parents who 90 of them know not much about the game but they yell at everything if it doesn't go their way

you know and these poor refs get yelled at all the time. So you get to the NHL and I don't know, it's just back in the fire. And it's like, yeah, I've already, you know, voiced my opinion. And I got to be careful, but, uh, uh, you know, I've never seen a ref changes decisions. So I keep that in mind, but sometime in the heat of the battle and you know you want good things for your team you get carried away and i think it's part of the emotions of the game that's why i love the game so much but uh you know the one thing i guess i i talked to my team is you know the biggest thing is is you know it's a battle out there. You know, it's not just a battle out on the ice. It's a battle internally.

The NHL is a huge battle. And I'm using my word cautiously because what's going on around the world right now. But it is a battle. And, you know, if you don't understand that, it's going to be hard to be successful. Because the battle in the locker room is we're trying to move up the depth chart. You know, it's trying to get another contract. The internal battle that is important, and if you don't have internal battles, I don't think you grow as a team.

And you can have those internal battles, you know, done in a very respectful way, but just being a competitor and just competing. And if you do compete, you're going to make, you know, whether it's practice and stuff, you make your teammates better. And I used to love to, if we had one-on-ones, I used to love, I wanted to go against Vinny all the time, you know. I want to go against the best, you know. And on the ice, it's the same thing.

It's a battle, and you might block a shot. You might be tired, and the league doesn't care how you feel. The league, it's hard. It's hard to be successful in this league. They don't care how you feel. The league is hard. It's hard to be successful in this league. They don't care if you're tired. If you check out because you're tired, you're exposing your team, you're probably getting scored on. If you block a shot, yeah, it hurts, but the league doesn't care that it hurts.

You've got to keep playing as much as you can because it's a hard league. keep playing as much as you can because it's a hard league. And, you know, so the battle piece is, you know, it's something that I want my players to understand how hard it is to be successful with the NHL, not just your opponents you're playing with, but the inner battle in your locker room too. Martin, when you took over, the Canadians had eight wins, 30 losses, and seven overtime or shootout defeats.

Under you, they're 13, 12, and four. I wanted to ask you, what did you see when you walked in there and you first got to take a look at the inside? What struck you about the group and the players? Well, I didn't have much time to, you know, I got the job, got announced and coached that night. You know, it's not like I had like two, three days to really feel what they were feeling.

I didn't have time to worry about them so much. I just had to get ready to coach a game. And we went on and played Wash and I thought we played a pretty good game. You know, but after the game, it just hit me after the game. You know, we lost. We outshot Wash, I think, like 40-22, something like that, and lost 4-2 maybe. Was really happy with their effort, and they had lost another game,

you know, which they did that a lot. And I could feel, you know, and I talked to them after that game. I could feel, you know, and I talked to them after that game. I could feel the weight. And, again, to me, the most important day is the next day. So, you know, you can feel crappy about the result and everything, but you got to let it go once you go to bed. You got to wake up and go win the day, you know. So whether it's venting to, you know,

I used to call my dad all the time after games and just to vent or talk to my wife she didn't do nothing about hockey but let all that negative energy out so that the next day you can win the day and that's pretty much been our focus like you're not going to win all the games but i know where they were coming from because they did a lot of losing and it's heavy. So I definitely felt the heaviness after that game. But, you know, we slowly turned around a little bit and got some enthusiasm. You know, I think that was probably the most important thing for this team coming in is just bring some enthusiasm to the process.

And I know it's easier when you're not playing for something. There's less pressure and I understand that. But in anything you do in life to be successful, if enthusiasm is not part of it, it's going to be really hard to sustain success. Agreed, 100%. Well, whatever it is that you did, that you said, it really worked with Cole Caulfield. Do you have any explanation for this profound change,

the success that Cole Caulfield has seen under your watch? Listen, I've been part of coaches being fired. And whenever a new coach comes in, it's just a reset button. And what gets heavy with guys that have been productive their whole life, as the season slips away, you know, you get behind productive-wise, you know, and that's heavy. I've had years where I wasn't happy with my production. You know, I couldn't wait for the playoffs to start because that's a reset button

or I couldn't wait for the next year to start to hit the reset button. When you hit the reset button, your mind is in a better place because now you're starting from scratch again. So you don't have that heaviness of being behind, so to speak. I think that's what Cole did. I think Cole just hit a reset button. I'm never going to teach Cole how to shoot a puck. But I think what Cole's done here is just hit a reset button.

What Cole has done here is because of Cole. Have I played him in a situation maybe that he wasn't played before? I'm not sure, to be honest. I didn't watch the Canadians closely. But he's so dynamic. He's the kind of players that, you know, you want to put on the ice for an offensive situation. And it's up to him.

You know, do I bring concept and allow my players to play and make plays? Yeah, there's still some responsibilities. You know, you have to meet me halfway. And I feel Cole is working on that. What Cole has done this year is Cole. My job, if I'm here next year, is how do I get Cole to the next level? And it's not going to be teaching him how to score goals. I have two last questions.

The first one is, do you have any rules? Like some coaches have rules, don't be late, certain kind of attire, things like that. Do you have any rules that you said, guys, this is non-negotiable and this is what you have to do? I do have some non-negotiables, but mostly on the ice right now. Like, you know, when change happens, you got to be careful to just change so many things. So I'm not sure of all the rules they have.

I will look over them in due time. If I'm here next year, I'll probably have my own, probably the same, maybe some different. But on ice, I have some non-negotiable and they know about them. I'm just curious. Can you give us an example of maybe one or two? No. There are a lot of things that require zero talent. Like broadcasting?

Okay. My last question is this, Martin. You said, if I'm back next year. You're coming back next year, right? You're coming back. That's definitely my intentions. You're good at this. It's your calling. I love hockey, Elliot. I know. I love hockey.

I love helping people. I love being on a team. And I know I'm not in the locker room the way I was as a player, but I have my own team with my assistant coaches and the video guys. It's fun. It's really fun. And like a player, you obviously enjoy the win. You don't feel as great with the loss, but it makes you dig. As a player, if I didn't play well or whatever, it made me work harder it made me dig I find myself I work much harder when I when I'm losing as a coach

than when I'm winning because sometimes when you win this is you have that feeling that you know that we're okay and sometimes they're just band-aids you know when you actually need surgery and so you need some of the losses to really to get you really get your team dialed in you know the the small step backwards to take giant step forward like i really enjoy that as a staff to try to when you can't attack everything at once and that's been really my focus here when i came in we did things step by step because if you over-coach and overwhelm with information and stuff, like, you lose them. It's too confusing.

So it's been a fun process, you know. I love the fact that I find it easier coming in, you know, mid-year and build because I feel like coming next year, you never start from scratch. You know, there's concepts implemented. There's expectation. They know what I'm like, the stuff that are important to me, and vice versa. I know my players.

So I'm happy about that. You are always a thoughtful and talented player, Martin, and you are now a thoughtful and talented head coach. Thanks so much for taking time today. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Martin. Thanks for having me guys.

All right. We really enjoyed that interview with Martin St. Louis. We thank him for his time. We thank the Montreal Canadians for making him available. Our feature artist today is a two-piece art rock band from Toronto. The Darcy's have released five studio albums over the last 12 years, including their 2012 record Asia, as interpreted by the band,

and it's very good. You know, the popular Steely Dan record. Following the success of their hit Running for the Hills, the guys are back with a new single. Here's the Darcy's with Washed Away on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. When I'm caught up in the undertow So take my hand, I need your help Pull me up, come on, come on, pull me out I understand how far I fell Pull me up, come on, come on, pull me out

I accept your love, a riptide and I'm losing my mind Everyone has got their hands up but they're waving goodbye Getting washed away, getting washed away, getting washed away Expectations at an all-time high Work you over in a cocktail line Contactless, they got all the time When you have something that they like