Jacques Martin (ice hockey coach)

Jacques Martin
Date of birth	October 1, 1952
place of birth	St. Pascal , Ontario , Canada
position	goalkeeper
Career stations
1972-1974	St. Lawrence University

Jacques Martin (born October 1, 1952 in St. Pascal , Ontario ) is a Canadian ice hockey coach who last worked from December 2015 to August 2020 as an assistant coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League . Previously, he was head coach of the St. Louis Blues , Ottawa Senators , Florida Panthers and Canadiens de Montréal in the NHL . In 1999 he was awarded the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's best coach.

Career

Jacques Martin played in the position of goalkeeper from 1972 to 1974 for the ice hockey team at St. Lawrence University before choosing a career as a coach. He gained his first coaching experience at Algonquin College in Ottawa and in the Central Junior Hockey League , before he was assistant coach of the Peterborough Petes from the OHL Junior League in 1983 . After two years he took over the position as head coach of league rival Guelph Platers , which he led to winning the Memorial Cup in his debut season , but moved to the NHL in 1986 , where he took over the St. Louis Blues . Martin led the team into the playoffs twice in a row , but failed in the first and second round and gave up the coaching post again.

After two years as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks , he went to the Québec Nordiques in 1990 , where he worked in the same role. For the 1993/94 season he left the Nordiques to train their farm team , the Cornwall Aces from the AHL , but returned in 1994 to the NHL team. In 1995 the Nordiques relocated to Denver and henceforth called themselves Colorado Avalanche . Martin stayed with the team for half a year before taking over the Ottawa Senators as head coach halfway through the 1995/96 season .

In the following season he led the young franchise to the first participation in the playoffs, which the team under the leadership of Martin should not miss. In 1998/99 , the Senators celebrated their best season to date and finished second in the Eastern Conference after the regular season . Although they failed in the first round at the Buffalo Sabers , Martin was still honored with the Jack Adams Award as the best coach of the season. In 2001 he was in charge of the World All-Stars team at the NHL All-Star Game and the following year he assisted the Canadian national team in winning gold at the Winter Olympics .

The 2002/03 regular season ended the Senators for the first time in first place from the league and received the Presidents' Trophy . In the playoffs they were able to confirm their good performance and moved into the finals of the Eastern Conference, where they were only barely defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup winners, the New Jersey Devils . In the 2003/04 season , the Senators were again among the best teams in the east of the league, but the team failed in the first playoff round and Jacques Martin was then dismissed.

Back in May 2004, Martin was appointed head coach of the Florida Panthers , working under General Manager Mike Keenan , with whom he had been friends since they were together at college. In his first season with the Panthers, he was able to lead the team to a better result compared to the previous season, but missed the playoffs. After Keenan resigned his post as general manager shortly before the start of the 2006/07 season , Martin took over as manager in addition to his coaching post. In the following two years, Martin was able to keep the team's performance constant, but not improve, so that he was released from his coaching position in April 2008, but continued to work as general manager.

During the 2007/08 season he reached the mark of 500 victories on January 18, 2008 as the tenth coach in NHL history . From the 2009/10 season to December 2011, Martin was the head coach of the Montréal Canadiens .

After he was hired as assistant coach by the Pittsburgh Penguins in August 2013 , he switched from coaching to management in August 2014 and was henceforth Senior Advisor to the Penguins. After Mike Johnston was fired in December 2015, Martin returned from behind the gang and has been an assistant to Mike Sullivan ever since . His contract there was not extended after the 2019/20 season. In the meantime, he had won the Stanley Cup with the team in the 2016 and 2017 playoffs .

Achievements and Awards

• 1986 J. Ross Robertson Cup winner with the Guelph Platers
• 1986 Memorial Cup win with the Guelph Platers
• 1986 Matt Leyden Trophy
• 1999 Jack Adams Award
• 2001 coach of the World All-Stars at the NHL All-Star Game
• 2002 gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games (as assistant coach)
• 2003 coach of the Eastern All-Stars at the NHL All-Star Game

Web links

• Jacques Martin at hockeydb.com (English)