Martin St. Louis Announces Retirement

Martin St. Louis has announced his retirement from hockey.

The 40-year-old’s career comes to a close after playing 1,241 NHL games for the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Rangers. In that span, St. Louis racked up 1,123 points, including 433 goals and 690 assists. He is best known around the NHL for carrying the Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup in 2004

Originally going undrafted after playing four years at the University of Vermont, St. Louis was signed by the Flames in 1998. Due to his short stature, he was often overlooked by scouts of other NHL clubs. In 2000, he was bought out by the Flames.

Marty debuted with the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 6, 2000, and stayed with the team until 2014. In that span of time, St. Louis captured two Art Ross Trophies, a Stanley Cup ring, the Lester B. Pearson Award, the Hart Memorial Trophy, three Lady Byng Memorial Trophies, and was a 6-time All Star.

After a disagreement with Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman regarding the roster of Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, St. Louis requested a trade out of Tampa, citing New York as his desired landing spot. On March 5, 2014, the Rangers acquired St. Louis by trading then-captain Ryan Callahan and 3 draft picks.

Marty’s time in New York will be remembered mostly by his efforts in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as he sparked the team to rally from a 3-games-to-1 deficit in the second round, to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final. His goal on Mother’s Day remains one of the more emotional moments in Rangers’ history.

And who can forget his OT winner in Game 4 of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final.

Although his time in New York was short, Marty made himself an integral part of the team’s chemistry, and without him we would not have advanced as far as we did. It was an honor to have him skate in the Broadway Blue, and we wish him the best of luck in retirement.