Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis is back with the Canadiens after he left the team to be with his family.
Montreal announced on Monday that St. Louis will be behind the bench again for Tuesday night’s game at Colorado. The Canadiens went 1-2-1 while St. Louis was on leave.
St. Louis had been with his family to help with his son, Mason, 16, after he got hurt during a youth hockey game, and then suffered complications from the injury and was hospitalized. The Canadiens said Mason is now recovering at the family home in Connecticut.
“Everyone within the Canadiens organization has been very supportive of my wife, Heather, and me as we fully focused on our son Mason and his recovery from a hockey injury,” St. Louis said in a news release. “As parents, nothing is more important to us than our three sons, Ryan, Lucas, and Mason.”
Assistant coach Trevor Letowski directed the team during St. Louis’s absence.
The 48-year-old St. Louis was hired as interim coach after the Canadiens fired Dominique Ducharme in February 2022. He signed a three-year contract extension in June 2022.
Before coaching, St. Louis enjoyed a stellar playing career, amassing 1,033 points (391 goals, 642 assists) in 1,134 regular-season games with the Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers. He won the Stanley Cup and the Hart Trophy as the league MVP with the Lightning in 2004 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
Bowness back behind Jets bench
Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness will return for Tuesday’s home game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Bowness travelled to Winnipeg from New York last Tuesday to receive treatment for what the team called “a minor medical procedure.” Associate coach Scott Arniel guided the Jets to a 1-3-0 record in his absence.
“Just the body reminding me I’m 69 and not 39,” Bowness said following the team’s morning skate on Tuesday. “Feeling much better, thank you. We had to deal with a couple of things.
“It’s difficult. I hate sitting there watching. You’re not in the fight with them. That’s what we all sign up for, to be in the fight. And when you see your team not playing as well as you know it’s capable of, it’s frustrating.”
Winnipeg (44-22-5, 93 points) resides in third place in the Central Division, four points behind both the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
Stolen Jagr bobbleheads recovered, Penguins say
The case of the missing Jaromir Jagr bobbleheads has been resolved.
The Pittsburgh Penguins said Monday they have secured the shipment of bobbleheads honouring the NHL’s second-leading career scorer and will begin to distribute them during their home game against Tampa Bay on April 6.
The team had originally planned to hand the trinkets out as part of a promotion on March 14. The shipment carrying the bobbleheads was reported stolen and the giveaway was postponed.
The Penguins said they were notified recently that a special cargo recovery team had negotiated the return of the bobbleheads to a secure warehouse in Ontario, Calif.
The team said the bobbleheads arrived in Pittsburgh on Monday and will be transported to PPG Paints Arena sometime this week.
Fans who were supposed to receive the bobbleheads during the March 14 game received a voucher and are attending the April 6 game will be able to collect their bobbleheads that day.
The team retired Jagr’s No. 68 during a pre-game ceremony last month. The 52-year-old Jagr remains an active player on the team he owns in his native Czech Republic.