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Martin St. Louis: A Look Back At A Fantastic Career

By Kyle Barber

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After 16 seasons in the NHL, forward Martin St.Louis has announced his retirement at the age of 40. St.Louis will finish an impressive career with 1,134 career games played for three NHL franchises.

After a fantastic career, forward Martin St.Louis has decided to hang up his skates and announce his retirement from playing in the NHL. Playing 16 seasons with three different NHL franchises, St.Louis became one of the most respected players in the league.

He has helped so many different players careers during his time in the league, and has become an inspiration for some of the leagues bright young players who looked up to him when they were growing up.

There are so many things that come to mind when you think about the name Martin St.Louis. You may remember him as the player that overcame the challenges of his size and proved all that said he couldn’t play in the NHL wrong.

You may think of his double overtime goal against the Calgary Flames in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final that may go down as the greatest goal in Tampa Bay Lightning history.

You may think about the fact that “Iron Man Marty” played almost 500 straight games. Most recently, you may think of the bitter divorce between Marty and the Lightning on trade deadline day during the 2014 season where he demanded a trade to the New York Rangers and was granted his wish after becoming the teams captain just six months earlier.

“On every level I have ever played I’ve heard “Am I going to perform or not because of my size?’ I think I have proved to people I can perform regardless of how big I am.’ –Martin St.Louis

Whatever you choose to think about Marty St.Louis, there is no doubting that he will have and everlasting affect on the NHL. Now, teams who once thought that some players were too short to succeed in such a size driven league are now selecting players who lack that prototypical NHL size.

Some of the leagues brightest stars such as Tyler Johnson and Brendan Gallagher have followed in Marty’s footsteps as players who did not have ideal NHL size but still proved they can play in the league.

Let’s be honest, nobody gave the little man coming out of the University of Vermont a chance to succeed in the NHL. Not given a real chance after college, St.Louis made his mark in the International Hockey League and American Hockey League before given the chance to finally play in the NHL with the Calgary Flames.

He showed some promise, but still the Flames decided to buy out his contract and he became an unrestricted free agent. That’s when the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to take a chance on the 5’8 forward.

The Lightning signed St.Louis before the 2000 season, and though things didn’t click right away due to both inconstancy and injury, St.Louis openly adopted changes to his game knowing his career was at the crossroads.

Two seasons later, St.Louis had his breakout season scoring 70 points and becoming an NHL All-Star for the first time. That same year, the team won it’s first ever playoff series against the Washington Capitals. This became the stepping stone to a magical season that would follow in 2004.

The 2003-2004 was a magical season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team finished with the top record in the Eastern Conference and St.Louis finished the regular season with 94 points. Marty helped lead the team through the playoffs with wins against the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadians, Philadelphia Flyers, and finally the Calgary Flames to capture the organizations first ever Stanley Cup title.

St.Louis finished the playoffs with 24 points in 23 games and scored what arguably is the greatest goal in Tampa Bay Lightning history in game six of the Stanley Cup finals. Knowing all well the Stanley Cup was in the Scotiabank Saddledome, Marty’s clutch goal in the opening minute of double overtime brought the series back to Tampa where the team would raise their first Stanley Cup on their home ice.

What a year is was for St.Louis. Winning the Lester B. Pearson award as the leagues most valuable players (now known as the Ted Lindsay award) in which the voting is done by the players, the Art Ross Trophy as the leagues top scorer and the Hart Memorial Trophy to go along with his first Stanley Cup.

After the NHL lockout ended in 2006, St.Louis signed a 6-year deal with the Lightning to remain with the team. The 2006-2007 became Marty’s best statistical season as he went over the 100 point plateau for the first time in his career.

He continued his fabulous play throughout the entire length of his contract, and earned a 4-year extension that would take the forward to his age 39 season. Many fans in Tampa believed this year signaled that the fan favorite would finish his NHL career in a Lightning sweater, but the 2013-2014 signaled the beginning of the end for the marriage between St.Louis and the team.

After the team used it’s compliance buyout on captain Vincent Lecavalier, Marty proudly accepted the role of becoming the ninth captain in franchise history. He also played his 1,000th career NHL game that season with 944 of those games coming in a Lightning sweater, and the year seemed to be going well until the Winter Olympics rolled around.

Mar 30, 2014; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; New York Rangers forward Martin St.Louis (26) skates against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

With Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman in charge of Team Canada’s Olympic Roster,  St.Louis was left off the initial roster even though he was having another fantastic year statistically. Though Marty eventually helped Team Canada take home the gold medal, he later requested to be traded to one team and one team only, the New York Rangers.

The team accepted his request, and Marty waived his no trade clause to join the Rangers in exchange for Ranger captain Ryan Callahan and two first round picks. The trade ended a 13-year run in Tampa, and created a sour taste in the mouths of Lightning fans.

Marty went on to play 137 games with the Rangers (including playoffs) and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014 before losing to the Los Angeles Kings. With his current contract expiring, Marty decided to retire instead to taking a one-year deal with a significant pay cut to play on a contending team.

Marty St.Louis was respected throughout the league both as a player and a person. His impact on the game and it’s players will never be forgotten, and players around the league shared their thoughts on Marty on social media.

To me, Marty St Louis will go down as one of the best ever to wear a Tampa Bay Lightning sweater. Over his 13-year Lightning career, Marty became one of the cities most celebrated athletes. After requesting and eventually being shipped off to the New York Rangers, Lightning fans felt like Marty abandoned them in the middle of a playoff run and many fans still have a bad taste in their mouths.

Will Martin St.Louis have his jersey retired? Will he one day have a statue built for him? I doubt it, but there is no way you can disregard all the good things he has done for this organization. He is one of the original players that helped put Lightning hockey on the map, and was a key cog in bringing the Stanley Cup to the city of Tampa. Congrats on a fantastic career, Marty.

Next: Tampa Bay Lightning: 2015 NHL Draft Pick Grades

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