Habs name St. Louis 32nd head coach in team history

The Montreal Canadiens have named Martin St. Louis as the 32nd head coach in franchise history.

St. Louis, who was named interim head coach on Feb. 9 following the firing of Dominique Ducharme, signed a three-year deal with the club.

Under St. Louis, the Canadiens posted a 14-19-4 record to close the regular season, having been 8-30-7 before his arrival.

"We are happy to officially appoint Martin as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens," said general manager Kent Hughes. "Martin is a proven leader, a great communicator with a deep understanding of and passion for the game of hockey. His arrival brought a renewed energy to our group, and we look forward to him returning behind the bench to continue guiding our team for the foreseeable future."

OFFICIAL: Martin St-Louis is the 32nd head coach in Canadiens history#GoHabsGo https://t.co/g0lQseG2a3

"During his short stint behind the bench last season, Martin showed he has the required qualities to lead the Canadiens in the right direction," vice president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton added. "Despite difficult circumstances when he took over, he was able to bring a breath of fresh air to the locker room and the players benefited from it as much individually as they did collectively. Martin thinks the game at a high level, and we believe that he is the right person for this job."

While St. Louis had served as a special teams consultant under John Tortorella with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Canadiens coaching job is the Laval, Que. native's first.

As a player, St. Louis appeared in 1,134 games over 16 seasons from 1998 to 2005 with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. A six-time All-Star and 2004 Hart Trophy winner, St. Louis had 391 goals and