Jacques Martin

Jacques Martin (born October 1, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is the interim head coach of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

In the NHL, he has served as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers, as well as the Senators' permanent head coach in an earlier tenure.

Martin also served as the general manager of the Panthers, and has served as an assistant coach with the Canadian men's national ice hockey team.

Martin is a Franco-Ontarian, and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Martin was born in Rockland, Ontario and raised in Saint-Pascal-Baylon, Ontario.

He left the family farm at the age of 13 and moved to Ottawa to pursue his high school education.

Martin attended post-secondary education at St. Lawrence University in New York State and at the University of Ottawa.

While at St. Lawrence, Martin played goaltender for the college team, appearing in 28 games.

Martin taught at the Department of Physical Education at Algonquin College for seven years, during which time he coached the Rockland Nats and the Hawkesbury Hawks junior hockey teams.

Martin was a high school French teacher at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Peterborough, Ontario, just prior to being called on to coach ice hockey in the NHL.

Every summer for over 20 years Martin, along with his daughter Angela, has run the Jacques Martin Hockey School for children age 7 – 17 in Rigaud, Quebec.

His other daughter Nathalee works for cheesemaker Saint-Albert.

Martin served as an assistant coach with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 1983–84, working under head coach Dick Todd.

In his first season with the Petes, the team finished with a 43–23–4 record, finishing in third place in the Leyden Division.

In the playoffs, the Petes swept the Cornwall Royals in the first round, before losing to the Toronto Marlboros in the second round.

Martin returned to the Petes in 1984–85 season, as the team finished with the best record in the Leyden Division with a 42–20–4 record.

In the postseason, Peterborough made it to the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals, however, they lost to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in six games.

After the season, Martin left Peterborough and became the head coach of the Guelph Platers.

Martin became the head coach of the Guelph Platers of the OHL in 1985–86, as he took over the rebuilding club, who missed the playoffs the previous season.

Under Martin, the Platers finished second in the Emms Division with a 41–23–2 record, earning 84 points, which was a 37-point improvement for the team.

In the playoffs, the Platers would win the J. Ross Robertson Cup, defeating the Belleville Bulls in the final round, to advance to the 1986 Memorial Cup, held in Portland, Oregon.

In the Memorial Cup, the Platers earned a 2–1 record in the round-robin, and advanced straight to the finals.

In the final game of the tournament, Guelph defeated the Hull Olympiques by a score of 6–2 to capture the Memorial Cup.

Martin won the Matt Leyden Trophy awarded to the best coach in the OHL.

Following the season, Martin left the Platers and became the head coach of the St. Louis Blues.

On September 16, 2022, the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL named Martin to assume the role of Senior Advisor, marking Martin's first OHL role since 1986.

Martin took over as the head coach of the St. Louis Blues in 1986–87.

On October 9, 1986, Martin coached and won his first career NHL game, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 4–3.

Despite the team finishing the season with an under .500 record of 32–33–15, the Blues had the best record in the Norris Division.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Blues were upset by the Toronto Maple Leafs, losing in six games.

The Blues had another mediocre regular season in 1987–88, as the club finished with a 34–38–8 record, finishing in second place in the Norris Division.

In the postseason, the Blues defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games in the Norris Division semifinals, however, St. Louis lost to the Detroit Red Wings in five games in the division final.

After the season, the Blues fired Martin.

Martin became an assistant coach under newly hired Chicago Blackhawks head coach Mike Keenan in 1988–89.

In his first season with the Hawks, the club finished in the fourth and final playoff position in the Norris Division with a 27–41–12 record.

In the postseason, the Blackhawks upset the division-winning Detroit Red Wings in the first round, defeating them in six games.

In the Norris Division finals against Martin's former club, the St. Louis Blues, the Blackhawks continued their Cinderella run, defeating the favoured Blues in five games, advancing to the Campbell Conference final, against the Calgary Flames.

The Blackhawks would lose to the Flames in five games, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Blackhawks improved in the regular season in 1989–90, having the best record in the Norris Division with a 41–33–6, 88-point season.

In the postseason, the Blackhawks defeated the Minnesota North Stars and St. Louis Blues to advance to the Campbell Conference finals for the second straight season.