Canadiens Extend Martin St. Louis After Conference Final Run

The Montreal Canadiens have signed Martin St. Louis to a multiyear extension, the team announced Monday.

The club did not disclose terms. NHL.com reported that the new four-year agreement replaces the final season of St. Louis' previous contract, starts immediately and runs through 2029-30.

"Marty has done a terrific job leading our young team," 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."

St. Louis is 163-155-47 entering his sixth season as Canadiens coach, a job he took in February 2022 on an interim basis after Dominique Ducharme was fired. It was his first NHL coaching role. The interim tag came off that June.

Last season Montreal went 48-24-10, finished third in the Atlantic Division and reached the Eastern Conference Final before losing in five games to Carolina, the eventual Stanley Cup champion. St. Louis was a Jack Adams Award finalist in 2024-25, finishing third in the voting.

A Hall of Fame inductee in 2018, he scored 1,033 points as a player and won the Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy in 2003-04, the season Tampa Bay won the Cup.

The extension lands two days after Montreal signed Chris Kreider to a one-year contract. Kreider, who played on St. Louis' line with the Rangers, said the coach was a major factor in his decision.

"Super wise, incredibly smart," Kreider said Monday at the team's season-opening golf tournament. "I don't think I can say that I've learned more from any one individual than the time that I spent playing with him on his line."

St. Louis will coach a former teammate for the first time, and he framed the fit in blunt terms.

"You look at our club, what do we need? Well, we need probably a little more experience; he checks that box. We need a little more sandpaper, checks that box. Net-front guy, checks that box."