Surprise coming up behind the Montreal Canadiens bench?

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Elias Adaime
April 13, 2023 (4:44 PM)

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On Wednesday night, just before the start of the game between the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens, Tony Marinaro made a rather unusual proposition on the TVA Sports show "JiC." He strongly suggested that Martin St-Louis should leave his position to one of his assistants and watch the game from the stands.

The colorful analyst's idea was for the Habs head coach to practice what he preaches and evaluate his team from a different perspective. Here's what he had to say:

« St-Louis recently said that evaluations were done. The Habs are playing away and we know that Martin won't want to leave his bench during the last game of the season held at the Bell Centre.

I think the option of watching the game from above would allow him to see certain things that he may not necessarily see at ice level. Who's playing with pride? Who's playing well defensively? And Martin wouldn't be the first coach to make a decision like this. John Tortorella did it last week.» - Tony Marinaro

The host of the show, Jean-Charles Lajoie, seemed indifferent to this approach, adding that even though Tortorella was in some ways St-Louis' mentor, imitating him is not always an option.

« As Tortorella did, it's a good reason... not to do it! There are limits to wanting to come off as the deputy, the spiritual son of John! But at the same time, I'm not against it. He would be on the stands and I wouldn't care much. There has been no ranking in the locker room since day one. » - Jean-Charles Lajoie

Will St-Louis give up his place Thursday night as the Habs play their last game of the season, at the Bell Centre no less? One would think the head coach already has a good idea of who will be part of his lineup next season!

It's an interesting proposition, but it would be really surprising.