Cowan: Martin St. Louis proud of culture he has built with Canadiens
Martin St. Louis takes great pride in the relationships he was able to build with teammates during his 16-year Hall of Fame playing career.
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The importance of building relationships with teammates and a strong culture in the locker room has been a priority for St. Louis since he took over as head coach of the Canadiens three years ago.
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'I think it's at the forefront of our success,' St. Louis said about team culture after the Canadiens made the playoffs this year. 'I think it's the foundation of why we're able do to great things this year. I think we spent a lot of time talking about it in pre-season, early in the season. In the summer we plan for that. Because we know you can have the best individual player, talented and stuff. If you have no culture you might find some pockets of success, but you'll never sustain that consistency with it. So for us it's been the foundation for this rebuild.'
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One of the many teammates St. Louis had during his playing days was Shane O'Brien with the Tampa Bay Lightning. O'Brien spent less than three seasons with the Lightning, posting 4-19-23 totals and 190 penalty minutes in 96 games. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defenceman was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the eighth round (250th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft. Four years later, the Lightning acquired O'Brien in a trade after he had played only 62 games with the Ducks, posting 2-12-14 totals and 140 penalty minutes.
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O'Brien and St. Louis developed a friendship with the Lightning that lasts to this day. It was on display last week when the Canadiens head coach joined his former teammate, who now hosts the Missin Curfew podcast. The interview lasted 40 minutes, probably St. Louis's longest since joining the Canadiens.
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'You're one of my favourite teammates for many reasons,' O'Brien told St. Louis. 'One, because you were an absolute warrior on the ice. Another reason was when it was time to have a good time you loved being around the boys, you loved being around the rink and when it was time to work it was time to work.'
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O'Brien spoke about how intimidated he was walking into the Tampa locker room for the first time with St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle among his new teammates three years after the Lightning had won the Stanley Cup.
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'This guy (St. Louis) couldn't have been a nicer guy to me,' O'Brien said on the podcast.
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O'Brien had a reputation as a party boy — which is where the Missin Curfew title comes from — and he spoke about how St. Louis helped keep him 'between the lanes.'
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'I think the fact that you were willing to go outside (the lanes) every now and then — both on and off the ice — I think it made you the player that you were,' St. Louis said. 'I think you need some of those guys on your team.'
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Cowan: Martin St. Louis proud of culture he has built with Canadiens
Martin St. Louis takes great pride in the relationships he was able to build with teammates during his 16-year Hall of Fame playing career. Article content The importance of building relationships with teammates and a strong culture in the locker room has been a priority for St. Louis since he took over as head coach of the Canadiens three years ago. Article content 'I think it's at the forefront of our success,' St. Louis said about team culture after the Canadiens made the playoffs this year. 'I think it's the foundation of why we're able do to great things this year. I think we spent a lot of time talking about it in pre-season, early in the season. In the summer we plan for that. Because we know you can have the best individual player, talented and stuff. If you have no culture you might find some pockets of success, but you'll never sustain that consistency with it. So for us it's been the foundation for this rebuild.' Article content Article content One of the many teammates St. Louis had during his playing days was Shane O'Brien with the Tampa Bay Lightning. O'Brien spent less than three seasons with the Lightning, posting 4-19-23 totals and 190 penalty minutes in 96 games. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound defenceman was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the eighth round (250th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft. Four years later, the Lightning acquired O'Brien in a trade after he had played only 62 games with the Ducks, posting 2-12-14 totals and 140 penalty minutes. Article content Article content O'Brien and St. Louis developed a friendship with the Lightning that lasts to this day. It was on display last week when the Canadiens head coach joined his former teammate, who now hosts the Missin Curfew podcast. The interview lasted 40 minutes, probably St. Louis's longest since joining the Canadiens. Article content 'You're one of my favourite teammates for many reasons,' O'Brien told St. Louis. 'One, because you were an absolute warrior on the ice. Another reason was when it was time to have a good time you loved being around the boys, you loved being around the rink and when it was time to work it was time to work.' Article content Article content O'Brien spoke about how intimidated he was walking into the Tampa locker room for the first time with St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle among his new teammates three years after the Lightning had won the Stanley Cup. Article content 'This guy (St. Louis) couldn't have been a nicer guy to me,' O'Brien said on the podcast. Article content Article content O'Brien had a reputation as a party boy — which is where the Missin Curfew title comes from — and he spoke about how St. Louis helped keep him 'between the lanes.' Article content 'I think the fact that you were willing to go outside (the lanes) every now and then — both on and off the ice — I think it made you the player that you were,' St. Louis said. 'I think you need some of those guys on your team.'
