MONTREAL – On Wednesday night the Montreal Canadiens named Catamount legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis Interim Head Coach. St. Louis replaces his former UVM teammate Dominique Ducharme '95, who was relieved of his duties earlier in the day.
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Canadiens Announcement
St. Louis Career by the Numbers
St. Louis starred in a 16-year NHL career scoring 391 goals and adding 642 assists for a total of 1,033 points in 1,134 games with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the New York Rangers. He and former UVM teammate Eric Perrin '97 combined to win the 2004 Stanley Cup with the Lightning. That same season, he captured the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. On November 12, 2018, he became the first Catamount to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
St. Louis, whose number eight was retired at Vermont on January 8, 2016 at Gutterson Fieldhouse, was a three-time All-American for the Catamounts and finished his career with a program-best 267 points. His junior year was the best in Vermont hockey history as St. Louis, the team captain, helped lead the Catamounts to the ECAC Regular Season Championship, a bye into the second round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament and UVM's first trip to the Frozen Four. He tallied 85 points on 29 goals and 56 assists in 38 games.
Ducharme was the 31st Canadiens Head Coach in the storied history of the bleu, blanc et rouge. He was also the first Catamount alum to serve as a head coach of an NHL team. The Quebec native became the first coach since Jacques Demers in 1993 to lead the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final last spring. The Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final by defeating Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vegas as the underdog in each series. This season the Habs are in last place in the Atlantic Division after suffering injuries to several key returners from the Stanley Cup finalists.
St. Louis will be introduced to the media Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. alongside executive vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes.
Handy Toyota is the presenting sponsor of the 2021-22 men's hockey season