This Day in Hockey History – July 31, 2000 – St. Louis Struck by Lightning

Jul 31, 2019

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Regardless of where they started or where they end up, some players just become so much the face of a franchise that separating the two feels nigh impossible. After going undrafted and then set loose from his first NHL team, on July 31, 2000, Martin St. Louis took the first step in becoming the face of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise. He would remain with them for 13 seasons, racking up so many accolades that even after requesting a trade and retiring elsewhere, his No. 26 was the first ever retired by Tampa Bay.

The five-foot-eight winger took the collegiate route playing and captaining for the University of Vermont Catamounts. St. Louis was the ECAC player of the year in 1995, a three-time Hobey Baker finalist, and winner of the J. Edward Donnelly Award (as top senior athlete at Vermont) in 1997. He led the team to their first ECAC hockey championship. As of 2014, St. Louis still held Vermont’s record for points (267) and assists (176). The university inducted him in their Hall of Fame in 2007 and retired his No. 8 in 2016.

Despite his collegiate accomplishments, the NHL did not seem interested, leaving St. Louis undrafted. In 1997, he signed with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League (IHL) for two years with an out clause in case the NHL changed its mind. After scoring 50 points in 56 games, the Calgary Flames made use of that clause and signed him on February 18, 1998. He finished that season helping their AHL affiliate, the Saint John Flames, to the Calder Cup finals. The next season, he managed 13 games with the big boys and then primarily played in Calgary during the 1999-2000 season. Although GM Al Coates wanted to keep him (before he was fired), his replacements left St. Louis available to the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft. As before, drafts do nothing for St. Louis, so Calgary instead made him an unrestricted free agent.

At that point, aged 25, St. Louis had a few possibilities, choosing Tampa Bay as the likeliest place to get ice time. He commented later, “Tampa was not a very good team then. It was at the bottom of the league. For me it was like, ‘If I can’t play there, where can I play?’” As for the Lightning, they made the offer because, as GM Rick Dudley said, “One of the things we’ve been attempting to do is build a fast team, and these are three of the faster players in the game.” He signed St. Louis to a two-year contract at $262,500. At the same time, upon the deadline for qualifying offers to restricted free agents, Dudley also signed Steven Martins and Brian Holzinger to one-year contracts.

St. Louis got off to a slow start with the Lightning, not scoring until six weeks into the 2000-01 season. His strong beginning to the next season was hampered by an awkward check that resulted in a broken leg. With the postseason of his third season, he scored three game-winners, including the one that gave the Lightning their first playoff series victory. Then came the big one, 2003-04, during which St. Louis led NHL scoring to earn the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Trophy, and the Lester B. Pearson (Ted Lindsay) Award. After his game-winner forced a Game 7, the Lightning won its first Stanley Cup championship, against Calgary no less.

During the 2004-05 lockout, St. Louis played for HC Lausanne of Switzerland’s National League A. He then returned to the Lightning under a six-year contract extension. He soon reached a career high in points (102), proving they had made the right decision. They added another four-year extension in 2011. At the announcement, GM Steve Yzerman proclaimed, “Marty means so much to this franchise, both on and off the ice. His hard work and dedication are unsurpassed and we are thrilled that he will finish his career here in Tampa Bay.” St. Louis’s iron-man streak of 499 games ended that December due to a face injury. He won three Lady Byng Memorial Trophies (in 2010, 2011, and 2013) for his sportsmanship. Even with another lockout, St. Louis led the scoring in 2012-13 to become (at 37) the oldest to win the Art Ross Trophy. The Lightning then made him captain. St. Louis still holds the Tampa Bay record for points (953).

In 2014, St. Louis decided not to finish his career with the Lightning. After Yzerman snubbed him for Team Canada (though he did end up subbing for the Olympics), St. Louis requested a trade. He chose the New York Rangers, the team he had considered back in 2009, since his no-move clause gave him the power to choose. Having been traded on March 5 and had his mother die suddenly on May 8, St. Louis became a rallying point for the Rangers as they made it to the Stanley Cup Final (for the first time since 1994). In what would be his final NHL season, 2014-15, St. Louis became an alternate captain, but the Rangers still did not want to renew his contract in the end.

Without any other offers, St. Louis retired on July 2, 2015, after playing 1134 regular-season games (391G, 642A, 1033P). As soon as he was eligible, in 2018, St. Louis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.