Martin St-Louis might not even need a press conference to make his next contract official.
That is the read coming out of Montreal this morning, and it is a strong one.
Longtime Montreal reporter Stu Cowan said on the Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro that the extension is basically done.
Stu Cowan: Re Martin St. Louis extension/Canadiens: I think it's just a formality; maybe they announce it at the golf tournament.
A golf tournament. Not a podium, not a scrum, just a fairway and a handshake.
That tells you everything about where St-Louis sits in Montreal right now.
He is not fighting for job security. He is waiting on paperwork.
The results back it up. St-Louis just steered the Canadiens to a 48-24-10 record and 106 points this season.
That is good for sixth overall in the entire league and third in their division.
Montreal also finished at plus-27 in goal differential, a number that does not lie about the direction of this roster.
The record that makes this an easy call for Kent Hughes
General manager Kent Hughes hired St-Louis back in February 2022, just weeks after taking the GM job himself.
They have been building this thing together from the ground up ever since.
Why would Hughes let this drag into training camp when the numbers already made the decision for him?
Montreal went 7-3-0 over their final 10 games of the season, even with a closing loss to Philadelphia on the road.
That kind of finish, from a team that was rebuilding not long ago, is not an accident.
Locking St-Louis up now is like refinancing before the rate goes up. You do it while the value is obvious, not after somebody else notices.
Get it done. The team already knows the answer.
There is no injury angle here, no benching, no controversy. Just a coach who has earned the extension before it is even signed.
But contracts are still contracts, and until pen hits paper, this stays a rumor with strong legs, not a done deal.
Montreal fans have heard "formality" before on other deals that took months longer than expected.
The golf tournament idea is a fun detail. Whether it actually happens that way is another matter entirely.
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Should the Canadiens have locked up Martin St-Louis before the offseason even started?
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