Montreal Canadiens Sign Coach Martin St. Louis to Multiyear Extension (September 14, 2026)

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Monday, September 14, 2026, that head coach Martin St. Louis signed a multiyear contract extension. The team did not disclose the length of the new deal, according to Yahoo Sports. St. Louis, 51 years old, was hired on an interim basis in February 2022 following the dismissal of Dominique Ducharme. The interim tag was removed at the end of the 2021-22 season. According to Yahoo Sports, the coach has guided the Canadiens from a full-scale rebuild to consecutive playoff berths, including a trip to last year's Eastern Conference final. The Canadiens eliminated the Washington Capitals in the first round in what Yahoo Sports describes as the team's first playoff appearance since the 2020-21 season. Montreal was the youngest team in the league at the time of that first-round exit. St. Louis has a record of 163 wins, 155 losses, and 47 overtime losses entering his sixth season as Canadiens coach, per Yahoo Sports. St. Louis was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2025. Before his first NHL coaching role, he worked at the youth level. Off the ice, St. Louis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018 and totaled 1,033 points as a player before retiring in 2015. He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2003-04 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he also captured the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading scorer with 94 points and helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup.