Awkward moment at press conference as Martin St-Louis reacts coldly to Eric Raymond questions
Martin St-Louis was clearly not in the mood to repeat his boss’s comments when he appeared before the media today.
The press conference got off to a rather cold start between the head coach and the journalists present in Brossard.
When Martin McGuire asked the first inevitable question about Éric Raymond’s dismissal, St-Louis immediately shut it down.
He asked members of the media whether the executive vice president, Jeff Gorton, hadn’t already answered those questions just minutes earlier.
"Do you want me to give the same answer as Gorts? Ask me your question again," St-Louis said bluntly, challenging the relevance of the question
That defensive reaction surprised everyone in the room, considering the media’s role is to get the coach’s version after such a staffing move.
Jeff Gorton had just explained that he wanted a "new voice" for the goaltenders and that Marco Marciano’s position had become precarious if he didn’t receive a promotion.
It seemed obvious to St-Louis that the administrative explanations had already been given and that he had nothing to add to the substance of the story.
A first question that rubbed the head coach the wrong way
There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Martin St-Louis agreed to shift into "answer mode" and address his assistant’s departure.
"I think it’s not just one thing, you know. And it’s part of the business we live in, you know. There’s nothing fun about it. Eric is one of my very good friends. It’s hard to go through this. He’s a good coach. He’s an excellent human being. He’ll find something else, but he’s not the person responsible for this. We all share responsibility for it too. It’s an organizational decision."
- Martin St-Louis
- Martin St-Louis
You can understand that it was a difficult day on a human level for the coach, who had just lost a member of his staff the day after a win.
However, his role as a leader requires him to face the music, even when topics are delicate or repetitive.
The journalists had no choice but to question him about the issue of the day, regardless of what management had already said.
St-Louis eventually offered his comments, but the initial interaction revealed a certain level of irritation.
A more abrasive side of his media personality surfaced today.
It’s clear: St-Louis prefers talking hockey over discussing staff management.
You can see it in the following video, around the 9-minute mark:
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