Canadiens Sign Head Coach Martin St. Louis to Extension – The Hockey Writers – NHL News

The Canadiens continue to get some housekeeping out of the way ahead of 2026-27. After signing forwards Zachary Bolduc and Chris Kreider over the weekend, the Habs inked head coach Martin St. Louis to a well-deserved extension as he gets ready for his fifth full season behind the bench.

Complete details have yet to be released, but according to reports the extension is for four years and supersedes the last year of his current deal. Otherwise, St. Louis would have theoretically been headed to the open market at the end of this coming season. A few years ago, the Canadiens had picked up a two-year option on his contract, in the lead-up to the final season on his initial three-year extension in 2022 (after having replaced Dominique Ducharme as the team’s interim head coach midway through the team’s last-place 2021-22 season).

Jeff Gorton confirms that Martin St-Louis’ signed a four-year
deal effective immediately.

This deleted the last year of his expiring contract.

— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) September 14, 2026

Since that point, the Canadiens have improved each season in the standings, making the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in their rebuild in 2025 (a first-round, five-game loss to the top-Eastern Conference-seeded Washington Capitals). St. Louis coincidentally finished second runner-up to Spencer Carbery of the Caps in voting for that season’s Jack Adams Award, where the league’s best head coach is voted on by members of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association.

The Canadiens’ progress has culminated, so far, in a 106-point campaign this past season, which was followed by a three-round playoff run (and an eventual five-game loss to the eventual-Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes).

In 2024-25, St. Louis won his 100th game behind the bench. The ex-Stanley Cup-winning forward (Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004), who also was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (2018), has a chance to pass Claude Julien for fifth on the Canadiens’ all-time wins list with an additional 39 wins. Under St. Louis, the Habs went 48-24-10 to finish third in the Atlantic Division and sixth overall in 2025-26. Overall, St. Louis has accumulated a coaching record of 163-155-47.