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Tampa Bay Lightning alum Martin St. Louis named to 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame Class

By Tasha St. Pierre

(Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Scott Audette/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Martin St. Louis will be joining the hallowed halls of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Class of 2018.

Each year, a select few of the best hockey players in the world are chosen to cement their place in history by joining the hallowed halls of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Getting accepted into one of the most exclusive clubs in hockey is never easy.

Last year, the Bolts Nation had an opportunity to take in some of the pageantries as former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk (finally) took his place among the greats as he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2017. It seems the Bolts Nation will get another chance this year.

This afternoon, the National Hockey League and the Hockey Hall of Fame announced the inductees in the Class of 2018. One of the players on the incredibly short list is former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis.

https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/1011688818418880517

Despite the many issues some here in the Bolts Nation have with St. Louis and the manner in which he departed the team in March of 2014, his story is one for the ages and he has more than earned his spot among the greats in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Martin St. Louis was one of those players who was told he was “too small” to truly make an impact on the game. Little did those “experts” know, underestimating St. Louis was one of the worst things they could possibly do. Marty went from being undrafted to becoming a Stanley Cup Champion and carefully crafting a well-decorated career for himself.

St. Louis started his professional career in the 1998-99 season as a member of the Calgary Flames. In his first season with the Flames, Marty would play the whole of 13 games where he would net one goal and one assist. After one more season with the Flames, Marty would make his way to the place he would call home for the next 13 seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In his first season with the Bolts, Marty set a career high in points bringing home 18 goals and 22 assists for a total of 40 points. This would be the beginning of what would become a beautiful relationship between him and the Lightning.

On June 5, 2004, Martin St. Louis would make history for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just 33 seconds into the 2nd overtime period against the very same Calgary Flames who said he wasn’t good enough, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, St. Louis would score his ninth goal of the postseason to force a Game 7 in Tampa.

As the record books will show for all eternity, this opened the door for the Lightning to defeat the Flames 2-1 in Game 7 to win their first Stanley Cup Championship. This is an honor the Lightning would hold for two seasons as the NHL Lockout caused the loss of the 2004-05 season.

Martin St. Louis played a total of 972 games as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In this amount of time, he was able to bring home 365 goals and 588 assists for a total of 953 points to accompany his plus-31 rating.

St. Louis still holds the franchise record in all-time assists and points. He is second in goals, bowing only to another former Lightning captain, Vincent Lecavalier, who registered 383 goals in 1037 games.

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In the whole of his career, St. Louis played in a total of 1,134 games, scoring 391 goals and 642 assists for a total of 1,033 points along with a plus-37 rating. For someone who was doubted at every turn due to his size, he certainly went above and beyond to prove his detractors wrong.

Widely regarded as the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay Lightning for many years, Martin St. Louis dedicated his life to the game of hockey and helped the Lightning reach new heights each and every season. It is because of this that he has rightfully earned his spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

St. Louis will be joined by a number of stellar players and personalities in the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Marty will be joined by Martin Brodeur, Willie O’Ree, Alexander Yakushev, Jayna Hefford, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Yes…you heard that correctly; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

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The 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on November 12, 2018, in Toronto. As one can easily imagine, the eyes of the Bolts Nation will be focused on Toronto as one of the greatest players in Tampa Bay Lightning history takes his place among the greatest players of the game.

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