It’s long been reported that St Louis wouldn’t be back with the Rangers – his 2014-15 campaign featured just twenty-one goals and thirty-one assists, disappointing numbers for a guy with St Louis’ scoring touch – but there was some thought that the veteran would be picked up by another club, perhaps a young bunch looking for some experienced heads in the locker room.
There were no calls to St Louis’ phone during the free agency trading period that took his fancy. Rumours suggested New Jersey and Pittsburgh had made contact with his management, but the lure of another season in Newark or the Steel City, playing often against the Rangers, wasn’t enough, and St Louis elected to bow out gracefully, and on his own terms. It’s rare that such a situation occurs in this increasingly cutthroat era of professional sport.
Now that he’s called time on a stellar career, we look back at what Martin St Louis achieved, and it’s an impressive resume. As far as I’m concerned, his numbers in Tampa Bay alone are deserving of Hall of Fame consideration. He scored 365 goals in 972 games over thirteen remarkable seasons, often getting the better of men bigger than himself. On top of his own goals, he tallied 588 assists.
A blockbuster deal saw St Louis traded from Tampa Bay in 2014, after an initial Olympic snub by the Canada’s general manager Steve Yzerman, who is also Tampa’s head hockey man. He was later picked for Team Canada, after injuries sidelined some original selections, but the resentment was there, and it eventually forced the end of a very good player-franchise relationship.
The Rangers were the right fit for St Louis, who had family in Connecticut, and wanted to be close to them. It worked out well for all concerned, with St Louis helping the Rangers to a Stanley Cup Final appearance last year, and an Eastern Conference Final appearance this season, though he failed to win a second championship.
All told, St Louis, a pint-sized player at five-foot-eight, scored 1033 points in 1134 games. Twice – 2004, when he won the Stanley Cup with Tampa, and 2013 – he won the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the League’s top scorer. He also won the Hart Trophy, awarded to the man adjudged the NHL’s Most Valuable Player, and what is now known as the Ted Lindsay Trophy, which is given to the NHL Players Association’s MVP.
For such a small guy, in a league where the big men dominate, St Louis was an offensive powerhouse, and the ultimate professional, getting the best of men who were four, five and sometimes six inches taller than him on a regular basis. He’s the sort of guy you’d pay money to watch as a neutral fan, because he was simply that good.
St Louis also won the prestigious Lady Byng Trophy, given to the player in the NHL who displays the best sportsmanship, three times. He also clinched Olympic gold with Team Canada in Sochi last year to go along with the Stanley Cup championship he won with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
There’s a general consensus that a player needs 400 goals and 1100 points to be properly considered for a berth in the Hall of Fame. St Louis falls short of those marks. He netted 391 goals, but taking into consideration his size – have we seen a bigger little man in recent times? – and the way he conducted himself from his first day as an NHL pro to his retirement notice, you’d be a rough marker if MSL didn’t get a nod. He deserves it.
Personally, I find that the word ‘champion’ is bandied about too often these days, which leads to the word not having the same gravitas as it used to, but make no mistake, Martin St Louis was every inch a champion, and the National Hockey League will be worse off because he isn’t lacing them up anymore.
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