A major hiring and a surprise departure are announced by the Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are adding Derek Lalonde to Martin St-Louis's coaching staff as an assistant.

Word broke Wednesday night, and it's a coaching staff move nobody expected this deep into the offseason.

Lalonde steps in for Trevor Letowski, who's decided to step off the bench to spend more time with his family.

That's a real departure from the norm around the NHL, where coaches usually get pushed out, not walk away on their own terms.

The Canadiens made it clear they want Letowski to stay somewhere in the organization, just not behind the bench for games and practices.

Lalonde joins a staff that guided Montreal to a 48-24-10 record and 106 points this season, good for sixth overall in the league.

Kent Hughes signed off on the hire as general manager, another domino falling in an offseason built around adding experience around St-Louis.

Letowski's exit sends a rare signal around the league

It's rare for a coach to walk away from an NHL bench just to be present for his own kids, and it says something that Hughes and St-Louis didn't fight it.

Most coaching changes feel like a trade deadline scramble, all urgency and pressure. This one reads more like a family choosing dinner together over one more road trip.

For Lalonde, it's a fresh chapter. He's walking into a staff room built around a core still growing, with Lane Hutson quarterbacking a blue line that produced 78 points from the back end.

So what actually changes on the ice with Lalonde in the room? That part isn't clear yet, and the Canadiens haven't said a word about it.

Bringing in outside voices after a season without a championship can be smart. But it only matters if Lalonde gets real input on special teams, not just a new title.

Letowski staying in the organization in some capacity leaves the door open. Nobody in Montreal is ruling out a return to the bench somewhere down the line.