The Montreal Canadiens announced on Wednesday the appointment of Martin St-Louis as the team’s interim head coach. Here are 12 things to know about him:
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The Quebec hockey player was born in Laval on June 18, 1975. He is the son of France and Normand St-Louis.
The right winger made his debut with the Laval-Laurentides of the Association athlétique amateur de Québec in 1991-1992. The following season, he joined the Hawkesbury (Ontario) Hawks of the Central Junior A Hockey League.
After his junior years, Martin St-Louis chose to continue his development in the university ranks rather than joining the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). He will play for the University of Vermont Catamounts in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In his first season, in 1993-1994, he finished as the team’s leading scorer with 51 points. He would play for the Catamounts through the 1996-97 season. In four seasons, he will amass a total of 267 points.
If he is recognized today as one of the best hockey players to have played in the National Hockey League (NHL), St-Louis has never been drafted by a team from the Bettman circuit. However, he had received a professional tryout in 1997 with the Ottawa Senators, but was ultimately not retained by the team.
It was ultimately the Calgary Flames who noticed his talent. With a season of 50 points in 56 games with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League, he signed an agreement with the Flames in 1998. He will align with the Flames’ farm club in the American Hockey League where he will help the team reach the Calder Cup final. But the team will not manage to win the trophy.
Martin St-Louis played his first game in the NHL with the Calgary Flames on October 16, 1998. During the 1998-1990 season, he played about twenty games in a Flames uniform. He scored his first career goal – and first point – on October 20, 1998 against the Dallas Stars.
Left out by the Flames and ignored by the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild in the expansion draft in 2000, the free agent will sign an agreement with the Tampa Bay Lightning that same year. He would eventually spend most of his career there, playing 972 games with the organization. With 953 points, he is the team’s all-time leading scorer.
Martin St-Louis was an important member of the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2004 conquest. In 23 playoff games, he had 24 points, including nine goals. St-Louis notably scored four times in seven games during the final against the Calgary Flames.
The Quebecer was named the National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player at the end of the 2003-2004 season. He had then dominated the circuit with a harvest of 94 points in 82 games. St-Louis wins the Lady Byng Trophy awarded to the player with the best sportsmanship while maintaining remarkable performances, three times (2010, 2011 and 2013). He also won the Art Ross, awarded to the top scorer, twice (2004 and 2013). In 2004, the Players Association presented him with the Lester B. Pearson, now known as the Ted-Lindsay.
To crown his remarkable career, Martin St-Louis is entering the T2018 Hockey Hall of Fame. In 17 seasons, the Quebecer has scored 1,033 points in 1,134 games played. St-Louis retired from professional hockey in 2015, after playing for the New York Rangers for just over a season.
Now 46, Martin St-Louis has been married to Heather Caragol since 2000. The couple have three children: Ryan, Lucas and Mason.
In 2020, Martin St-Louis and his wife decided to put their house in Riverside, Connecticut, up for sale for $16 million. The 5300 square meter property sits at the end of a cul-de-sac in a gated and guarded neighborhood. The couple acquired the property in 2012 for $6.2 million.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca