Hello Marty St. Louis!
Photo: Tampa Bay Lightning
New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan has been officially swapped for the Lightning’s captain Martin St. Louis this afternoon. Callahan, with a long history of injuries, a slipping performance, and no Stanley Cup Championships, has said his bittersweet goodbyes.
Although many are upset to see him go, improvement cannot happen without change. The Rangers are in a steep 20 year Stanley Cup drought, and now that the Rangers made a bold move by signing Marty St. Louis, the team will have a leader with Stanley Cup experience. Some Ranger fans may be skeptical with the decision, considering his age. Many may fear he is only a ‘rental’ player. But for his age, he has been, and still is one of the most elite players in the NHL. Marty St. Louis was signed for a very reasonable 5$ million.
With the rapidly changing team, St. Louis will now play alongside with fellow offensive super-stars, Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider. St. Louis will also have the opportunity to play again with Brad Richards, his teammate from the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship in Tampa Bay.
The Rangers future looks very bright, and all should be optimistic about 2014 post-season.
