Montreal Canadiens need to 'have fun,' get re-inspired, says new coach Martin St. Louis

One day after firing Dominique Ducharme, the Montreal Canadiens newly-appointed interim head coach Martin St. Louis spoke to media on Thursday, saying it's an "honour" to take over the job.

"I grew up here -- I'm a huge Habs fan," said St. Louis, who is from Laval.

Seven years ago, he was "able to disconnect" from the pro game and cherished the time spent with his family, including three boys, he said.

He called it a "dream," however, to take on such a big job in his hometown.

"I'm very blessed to have such a great wife that again allowed me to pursue the thing that I always wanted."

St. Louis spoke alongside executive vice-president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes.

Despite reaching the heights of the playoff final last year, the Habs are now struggling hard -- they are currently last in the league, have lost 13 of the last 14 games, and have had a string of long-term player absences due to COVID-19 and other reasons.

• READ MORE: Montreal Canadiens fire head coach Dominique Ducharme, name Martin St. Louis as interim coach

Hughes said that St. Louis was hired, despite little coaching experience, because of his "analytical mind" and because of his exceptional playing career, which Hughes has followed closely for decades.

The 46-year-old is an NHL Hall of Famer who spent a decade and a half with the Tampa Bay Lightning, serving as its captain in 2013-2014 and winning the Stanley Cup in 2004.

When asked about coming in with no coaching experience, St. Louis joked at first, saying "thanks, that's nice," with a smile.

On a more serious note, he said that to him, "hockey is hockey" and he believes in continually learning and improving, no matter what position he's in.

"I don't always have the answers, but I know that in life," it's important to seek to improve every day, he said. "The answers are everywhere, you just need to find them."

Someone who comes from a long career coaching a different age group, for example, isn't necessarily well prepared to handle a pro team, he said.

"Hockey is hockey for me," he repeated. "You have to manage the personalities, first. And then pay attention to them," he said.

About bigger theories of coaching, "I don't pay attention to this junk," he said. 

He later said he learned as a player to focus and tune out criticism.

"As an athlete, as a human, all that stuff that people want to doubt or talk and say and comment to me -- It's all noise," he said.

"There always been noise. Now, I've always been a guy that blocked the noise and gets after it. And that's what I intend to do." 

When asked about his plans for the Habs, which are hugely struggling and are currently last in the league, he said "if there's anything this team needs right now, it's to have fun."

He also said he wants to guide the team to connect more "up here," pointing at his head -- to ask them to refocus mentally on seeing the big picture of the game, rather than doubling down on physical training.

He also said that overly structuring the team and their play is, to him, a mistake.

Under a strict system, "you box players into only certain things they can do," he said.

"And that was probably one of the things that I hated the most as a player is [to] play in a system," he explained.

"I was a great player when I was allowed to make reads, because the best players make the best reads, but if you take the reads out of the equation, those best players become average."