Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced on Wednesday that Martin St. Louis has been appointed interim head coach, replacing Dominique Ducharme, who was relieved of his duties earlier in the day. 

"We are very happy to welcome Martin to the Canadiens organization," said Hughes. "Not only are we adding an excellent hockey man, but with Martin we are bringing in a proven winner and a man whose competitive qualities are recognized by all who have crossed his path."

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun says that St. Louis remain as the coach for the rest of the season and Habs will re-assess after the year ends.

St. Louis was hired as the Columbus Blue Jackets' Special Teams Consultant in Jan, 2019. He was inducted into the hockey Hall of Fame in 2018, his first year of eligibility.

The Laval, QC, native played 16 NHL seasons with the Lightning, Calgary Flames, and New York Rangers, registering 391 goals and 1,033 points in 1,134 games. St. Louis won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004 and a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The Canadiens fired Ducharme earlier on Wednesday, ending his 83 regular-season game tenure with a 23-46-14 record.

"We would like to sincerely thank Dominique for his work and contributions to the Montreal Canadiens organization. At this point in the season, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to make a change," Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said in a statement.

The Canadiens sit last in the NHL with an 8-30-7 record, and have lost 13 of their past 14 games, including seven straight. 

Montreal has fired their head coach and general manager, Marc Bergevin, just one season after making a run to the Stanley Cup Final.