Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
In his post-game media availability following the loss to the Ottawa Senators, captain Nick Suzuki made quite a revelation.
He revealed that, during the first intermission of Tuesday night’s game, Martin St-Louis issued an ultimatum and sent a clear message to certain players on his team.
Essentially, St-Louis walked into the locker room and warned those who didn’t know how to defend (in their own zone) that they would remain on the bench.
Nick Suzuki just shared a pretty strong admission:
“After the first period, Martin St-Louis came into the locker room and told us that those who didn’t know how to defend were going to stay on the bench.”
A very clear message, to say the least.
A player clearly targeted by these comments from head coach Martin St-Louis
After the game, we learned that Jayden Struble delivered the second-worst individual performance of any player in the NHL this season – not just on the Montreal Canadiens, but in the entire league.
Since the start of this 2025-2026 season, Jayden Struble has had the second worst game, for a player, in the entire league.
Ironically, the player in first place is none other than Logan Mailloux:
“Second worst game of the year [for Jayden Struble].”
Clearly, he was one of the players targeted by Martin St-Louis’ comments in the locker room.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Struble taken out of the lineup for the game against the Winnipeg Jets, in favor of a young player like Adam Engström.
And you, what would you do if you were in Martin St-Louis’ position?
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics