There are times in an organization when the coach, voluntarily or not, takes the lead in sending a message.
Not to his players. Not to his assistants. But directly to his boss.
And it seems that Martin St-Louis, in his own unique way, has done just that.
Kent Hughes’ press conference earlier this week was intended to calm things down.
Hughes had tried to reframe journalists’ expectations by saying that the goal of making the playoffs was not an official priority.
A wise and diplomatic statement, except that on the ice, Martin St-Louis had already prepared a very different response.
In recent weeks, we have felt a different energy among the Montreal Canadiens. A team which, let’s be honest, had nothing to envy of a broken compass at the start of the season.
Between the humiliating defeats against the Capitals on Halloween – St-Louis declared that its players had “vomited on themselves” – and the monotony of tasteless performances, we didn’t really have anything to get excited about.
But now this same team has come back to life. And this, in a way that can only be interpreted as a direct challenge launched by St-Louis to the leadership.
The Canadians play with intensity, consistency, and what could be called a spirit of “fuck off” facing their adversaries.
“The recipe is finally starting to work”said St-Louis after the match against the Dallas Stars, where Montreal took a valuable point.
In itself, this is not a particularly explosive comment, but placed in context, it reveals a much more ambitious attitude than that displayed by Kent Hughes during his assessment.
Hughes reiterated that the objective remained long-term progress. But if you look closely, St. Louis’ approach suggests just the opposite: why wait for tomorrow when you can win today?
The message from St-Louis translates onto the ice, and it’s disturbing. “Every time the puck is put in play, you have to deserve to win that game”he insisted.
A statement that almost sounds like a veiled rebuke to the philosophy of patience advocated by Hughes.
In other words: “I’m not here to lose on purpose and hope for a better draft pick. I’m here to win. »
And the numbers support his point. Since the start of December, the Canadiens are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games, rivaling teams like the Vegas Golden Knights, Avalanche, Caps and now the Stars.
The Bell Center is vibrating again, and the fans are even chanting “Monty!” » for Samuel Montembeault. This is not a team that acts like a bunch of losers waiting for a miracle in the draft.
And speaking of Montembeault, its rebirth clearly illustrates this duality between the strategies of St-Louis and Hughes. Hughes, for his part, brought stability by recalling Jakub Dobes as backup.
A logical decision which allowed Montembeault to breathe and regain his level.
But it was under St-Louis that Montembeault really took off. “All the guys are involved”said the coach after a grueling game against the Stars.
-“It’s contagious. » This contagion seems to have transformed an amorphous team into a team that now believes it can compete with the best.
But is Kent Hughes ready to keep up this pace? That is the whole question. At his press conference, Hughes tried to temper the enthusiasm by saying: “I don’t think we’re going to deviate from the plan in the sense that the plan is to build a team capable of competing for a championship for years to come. »
Translation: don’t get carried away, we’re not going to sacrifice the future for a playoff mirage this year.
Yet with each victory, St. Louis’ approach seems to begin a subtle tug-of-war with this cautious strategy.
Hughes went so far as to point out: “We still have a lot to learn. We’re happy that we’re playing better, but I don’t want to celebrate. »
The idea that “nothing is accomplished yet” stands in stark contrast to a team that fights every night like its life depends on it.
And then there is the question of the locker room. Hughes alluded to the emergence of a culture in the team, an obvious change he said. “I would say there is a certain culture that is being established in the room. Once it’s established, it happens from one year to the next”he said.
But let’s be honest: this type of culture is not established in a vacuum. This comes from a leader, and this leader is St. Louis.
He took a young and sometimes immature group and made it into a team that stood on its own two feet. He redefined expectations.
While Hughes looks to stay the course on rebuilding, St. Louis seems to insist that the future is now.
This subtle standoff between the coach and the GM could play out until the trade deadline.
Hughes suggested he was not ruling out strategic moves, but wanted to avoid sacrificing the future. “We currently have assets who will be free agents at the end of the year”he said, raising the possibility of negotiating contract extensions for some, but also of exchanging veterans.
A measured strategy, but one that could send an ambiguous message to a team that has learned to win.
And this is where the scathing message from St. Louis takes on its full meaning.
It is not about explicit words or direct confrontation. This is an implicit statement, conveyed through on-ice performances and comments like: “We are really trying to build consistency. »
St. Louis isn’t asking Hughes to renounce his principles or throw the plan out the window. He simply asks his GM to look at the team, see what he has in front of him, and make a decision: are you going to keep building, or are you going to let them run?
This is not a rhetorical question. The next few weeks will determine whether the Canadian stays in the race or whether Hughes decides to slow down the pace.
One thing is certain: Martin St-Louis has already made his decision. He won’t slow down.
To be continued…
