Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis is taking an indefinite leave from the team for family reasons, Montreal announced Saturday.

Assistant coach Trevor Letowski will handle head coaching duties in St. Louis' absence.

St. Louis joined the Canadiens as bench boss in his first NHL coaching role of any kind when they fired Dominique Ducharme in February 2022. The rebuilding squad has gone 70-94-21 with St. Louis at the helm.

Montreal entered Saturday 25-30-11, tied for last place in the Atlantic Division by points percentage (.462) with the Ottawa Senators.

St. Louis had a Hall of Fame playing career primarily with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He racked up 1,033 points over 1,134 games, helping the Bolts win the Stanley Cup in 2004. The Hall inducted him in 2018.

Letowski is a former NHL forward who spent 10 years behind OHL benches following his on-ice career. He also coached in three World Junior Championships as an assistant, winning gold on Ducharme's staff in 2018.

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