Habs didn't rush to sign St-Louis at all. It's not like any team even had him on their radar as a potential coach. He was signed over many available, experienced coaches like Bob Hartley, Michel Therrien, etc. Obviously he's part of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton's "circles", but they liked his philosophy and his ideas - and many fans do. They didn't re-sign St-Louis to win. Marty said it himself after officially being appointed as HC for the next 3 years. He is there to develop players, for the most part.
Caufield wasn't the only player who had their play improve under MSL. Romanov improved. Dvorak improved. Petry improved a lot. Evans improved. Poehling improved. The entire team did, and ended up playing a slightly more cohesive that wasn't just dump and chase game. He puts focus on skilled plays, something that would cause young players being benched and having their confidence shattered if they dared make a costly mistake under previous coaching.
Also, my comment about OV was about a recent picture he appears in, not about the Caps.
