Canadiens announcement indicates Martin St-Louis’ absence was planned in advance

The Montreal Canadiens are calling the media following Martin St-Louis’ absence today, and two important names are involved here.

And we now have our answer as to whether this absence was truly a last-minute unexpected development.

However, Chris G had already announced this press conference last night on social media.

And this is exactly the kind of detail that completely changes the perception of Martin St-Louis’ absence!

The Canadiens clearly knew last night that Martin St-Louis would be absent today

At the time the news was shared last night, nobody knew that Martin St-Louis would be absent today.

But it is interesting to see that the Canadiens had already confirmed Trevor Letowski’s presence at the press conference, and not that of the Quebec-born head coach.

This is the kind of detail that shows the organization already knew since last night that St-Louis would not be present.

The absence of the head coach therefore clearly does not appear to be a last-minute unexpected situation.

Instead, it seems to be a situation planned in advance by the organization for family reasons, at least based on all indications.

In short, Trevor Letowski will now have the opportunity to officially address the media before the start of the Eastern Conference Final.

Having Kent Hughes and Letowski at the press conference will be interesting.

It is an extremely anticipated press conference. All analysts will surely ask questions about Martin St-Louis’ situation. But they will also question Hughes about the lineup composition and the strategy against the Hurricanes.

It remains to be seen what exact information will be shared during this afternoon’s press conference. And whether Martin St-Louis’ absence will indeed continue through Game 1 against the Hurricanes tomorrow night.