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Martin St. Louis News & Rumors

Exit interview: Lightning's Marty St. Louis says, "We're not that far away. I totally believe that"
April 24
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Marty St. Louis, who will turn 37 in June, knows he's not getting any younger. But the Tampa Bay Lightning wing said he has faith the team will quickly bounce back from this season's disappointment and that general manager Steve Yzerman will make the right moves this summer. If he didn't believe that, St. Louis said, he would have thought about playing elsewhere. St. Louis spoke about about why the team faltered this season, why it is possible to turn things around quickly and assisting on Steve Stamkos' 60th goal: On being out of the playoffs: Well, I mean, I think it just didn't happen overnight. Not that the pain gets any easier but you're more prepared for this knowing you're not going"
Marty St. Louis won't play for Canada at world championships
April 8
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Lightning RW Marty St. Louis said he will not play for Canada at next month's world championship in Sweden and Finland. It has nothing to do with bitterness about being left off Canada's 2010 Olympic team, he said Saturday. "I just want to spend time with my kids. I want to get involved in their hockey, and it's an opportunity to do that in the next month and a half." There also is this: "I'm not getting any younger," St. Louis, 36, said. "I want to rest the engine, I guess." St. Louis, because of the team's long injury list, played a lot more minutes than he or coach Guy Boucher wanted. His average 22:35 of ice time entering Saturday was second in the league among all forwards. "I'm a"
Lightning star Marty St. Louis, others share Frozen Four memories
April 2
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Lightning star Marty St. Louis has been in his share of gut-wrenching, emotional games during his NHL career, with a thin line separating elation from devastation. To the wing, the Frozen Four, the NCAA championship that comes to Tampa this week, is a perfect storm of that excitement wrapped into one with the pagentry of bands and fans making it unique. "It's one game, do or die. It's like three Game 7s," St. Louis said. "It's pretty exciting, especially when you get close games. You see the kids giving it everything they have. It's their Stanley Cup." St. Louis has won a Stanley Cup but still laments he never played for a national title while with Vermont. He helped lead the Catamounts to"
Tampa Bay celebrating 11 years of Lightning Marty Mania
February 28
St. Petersburg Times
 columnist Gary Shelton
"By now you have retraced every footstep he took on the road to nowhere. You know about the detours, and you know about the obstacles in the road. Eleven starts and already Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has his own mania. With every point, and with every pun, the legend swells. He is twice as big as he was last week and a hundred times what he was three weeks ago. As quickly as a flashbulb flashes, Lin has become the hottest story in sports. He is talented, and we love that about him. He is humble, and we love that, too. The league never saw him coming, and we really love that. Lin has become one of those unexpected delights that sports offers us from time to time. A little more than three weeks"
Lightning beat Devils behind St. Louis' hat trick
February 27
Tampa Tribune
 
"The late-season version of the Tampa Bay Lightning resembles that of a boxer who has taken blow after blow only to maintain enough balance and composure to remain standing and deliver some counterpunches. Left for all but down and out following a blowout loss the day before, Tampa Bay rebounded Sunday to defeat playoff-bound New Jersey 4-3 at Prudential Center to stay in the playoff conversation, six points behind the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Marty St. Louis registered his second hat trick of the season and sixth of his career while adding an assist to cap a four-point effort. Teddy Purcell picked up three assists to tie a career high and increase his scoring streak to six"
Superstitious? Marty St. Louis? Let's talk about something else
February 7
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Marty St. Louis insists he is not superstitious. That the Lightning wing likes four pieces of gum in his locker before games; that he has worn the same torn, blue shirt under his jersey for six years; that teammate Vinny Lecavalier said, "You want to do something to him? Take his (stick) tape before a game." Nope, doesn't mean anything. "I'm just particular," St. Louis said, grinning. "If something is working, I'm not changing." That includes a theory it is best not to discuss milestones before they happen, streaks until they run their course and rituals or habits that seem to help the team until they no longer prove useful. It makes for interviews during which St. Louis and reporters"
Old hands Marty, Vinny keep Bolts in playoff picture
February 7
Tampa Tribune
 
"Knowing when somebody is going to zig and when he is going to zag looks like intuition between teammates. It can't be practiced or mapped out. Sometimes, it just happens. Or, in the case of Lightning stars Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, happens again. The Tampa Bay veterans have been a big part of the Lightning's mini resurgence over the past seven games and heading into Tuesday's matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. During the 6-0-1 stretch, Tampa Bay's dynamic duo has rekindled some of the chemistry that made it the top scoring duo in 2006-07, when each player reached the 100-point mark and the two combined for 210 points."
Marty St. Louis still has blurry vision
January 13
St. Petersburg Times
 
"By switching Thursday from a cage to a visor, Lightning W Marty St. Louis took a step forward in his recovery from facial fractures sustained Dec. 8 when he was hit with a puck during a morning skate. But coach Guy Boucher said St. Louis still has blurry vision in his left eye, which filled with blood when hit by the puck. Boucher also indicated the condition might be permanent. "It's been tough for him to find out the inside of his eye might stay the way it is now and the fact that he doesn't have the same vision, which is his No. 1 asset," Boucher said. "It has annoyed him." St. Louis declined to comment on his eye or that he is wearing a visor for the first time in his NHL career. But"
Marty St. Louis says Tampa Bay Lightning needs greater effort to get on a roll, shake "entitled" attitude
January 10
St. Petersburg Times
 
"There comes a time in every season going bad when someone — if that season is to be saved — forces those responsible to look in the mirror. That is what happened Monday at the Ice Sports Forum when wing Marty St. Louis said Lightning players, including himself, have not worked hard enough, smart enough or consistent enough. "Last year, there were a lot of games we just deserved," he said. "We earned it every day. This year, it hasn't been as much." The result is Tampa Bay is 13th in the 15-team Eastern Conference, nine points out of the eighth and final playoff spot and facing a crucial 12-game stretch in which nine games are at home and a season is on the line. That after falling one game"
Lightning star Marty St. Louis adjusting to cage mask
December 28
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Lightning RW Marty St. Louis acknowledges it's still an adjustment wearing a protective cage over his face during games, something he'll have to do for about a month. But St. Louis, 35, said Tuesday he plans to always wear a visor even after he takes the cage off, having learned his lesson getting hit in the face with an errant puck Dec. 8. That forced him to miss five games, snapping his consecutive games streak at 499. St. Louis had never used a protective shield for his face in his 13 NHL seasons, though most players do. "I've been told all the time to wear a visor, and until something bad happens, it really wakes you up," he said. "Sometimes you're a prisoner of your own habits, and"
St. Louis plans to wear visor
December 28
Tampa Tribune
 
"Two games into his rapid recovery from facial injuries, Tampa Bay Lightning alternate captain Marty St. Louis still finds himself adjusting to some new gear. St. Louis returned to action on Dec. 21, less than two weeks after being struck near his left eye with an errant puck on the morning of Dec. 8. As soon as his vision cleared up and he felt well enough, St. Louis said it was time to get back to the action. But for the next month, the 36-year-old must wear a full metal cage to protect his face, something he has not done since his senior season at the University of Vermont. Putting the mesh cover over his face, along with the chin rest at the bottom, has altered to an extent his feeling"
Lightning's Marty St. Louis gets game to build on in return from facial factures
December 24
St. Petersburg Times
 
"When he suffered scary facial injuries from being hit by a puck Dec. 8, not even Marty St. Louis expected to be playing less than two weeks later. But the Lightning right wing was happy to be back on the ice, even though it came in a 7-2 loss to San Jose on Wednesday. "Once it happened, if you would have told me 12, 13 days after I'd be considering playing, I would have paid for that," St. Louis said. He made an immediate impact Wednesday, scoring a goal and playing more than 20 minutes against the Sharks while wearing a full face cage. It's a piece of equipment he says takes time to get used to."
Lightning spoil St. Louis' return, lose 7-2 at San Jose
December 22
Tampa Tribune
 
"Not even the heroic return of Marty St. Louis was enough to wake up the Lightning late Wednesday night. Tampa Bay looked like it was nap time back east instead of game time out west. St. Louis made a surprise return to the lineup less than two weeks after being struck in the face with a puck, even scoring a goal, but San Jose looked inspired in routing the Lightning 7-2 in front of an announced sellout crowd of 17,562 at HP Pavilion."
St. Louis back on ice with Lightning
December 21
Tampa Tribune
 
"Wearing a full metal cage attached to his helmet, Marty St. Louis stepped onto the ice Tuesday at HP Pavilion to practice with his teammates for the first time since being hit in the face by a puck. It was a small victory, considering how frightening the injury looked when it happened and how close it came to damaging to his vision. "All said and done, if you had told me I'd be skating 12 days after it happened, I would have paid for that," said St. Louis, whose nose was broken and orbital bone fractured. "So, I count my blessings that I'm able to be out there right now.""
Lightning's Marty St. Louis considering wearing visor after puck fractures face
December 19
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Marty St. Louis said he will seriously consider wearing a visor when he returns from facial injuries sustained at a Dec. 8 morning skate when he was hit by a backhand shot from teammate Dominic Moore. St. Louis likely will first wear a cage to protect his broken nose. But wearing a visor is a notable admission of vulnerability from a player who has so resisted the protective shield. "It's easier said than done," he said. The Lightning right wing has sustained some fairly serious facial injuries in his career, the most dramatic being when he was cut between the eyes by a skate blade. But St. Louis said he never before was hit in the eye, and the puck off Moore's stick clipped enough of his"
Marty St. Louis sees Tampa Bay Lightning again after facial injury
December 13
St. Petersburg Times
 
"When Lightning star Marty St. Louis rejoined his teammates Saturday on a plane ride back from Philadelphia, he knew he had to put Dominic Moore's mind at ease. Moore's errant backhand shot during Thursday's morning skate broke St. Louis' nose, bloodied his face, swelled his left eye so he could not see and knocked him out of a game with the Rangers that would have been his 500th in a row. So, when St. Louis saw Moore he gave him a hug. "Anybody would feel terrible," St. Louis said Monday. "I talked to him. There was nothing he could do.""
St. Louis is on mend after scary eye injury
December 13
Tampa Tribune
 
"As blood rapidly rushed into his left eye, Marty St. Louis knew that this time was different. Throughout his years of playing hockey, St. Louis has experienced plenty of close calls involving sticks, skates and pucks around his eye. There are plenty of scars that serve as reminders. But Thursday morning, when an errant Dominic Moore backhand shot during a pregame skate at Madison Square Garden struck St. Louis in the left eye, it was a shock to his system. "When that one hit me, I knew I was in trouble because I couldn't see out of my left eye, and panic set in a little bit," St. Louis said. "I was very overwhelmed with the possibilities of what just happened.""
Marty St. Louis progressing after face injury
December 10
St. Petersburg Times
 
"The Lightning on Friday got some good news about injured star Marty St. Louis, whom it said was released from New York's NYU Medical Center and spent the night at his Connecticut home with wife Heather. St. Louis, who sustained facial and nasal fractures at Thursday's morning skate when hit by a puck from an errant backhand by teammate Dominic Moore, was progressing, the team said, and was expected to fly to Tampa today. Though St. Louis missed what would have been his 500th consecutive regular-season game, left wing Ryan Malone said he hoped the 3-2 shootout victory over the Rangers that stopped a five-game losing streak was solace for him. "To have that milestone taken away, we wanted to"
Bolts won't try to fill St. Louis' skates
December 10
Tampa Tribune
 
"For just the third time in the past decade, the locker stall normally occupied by Marty St. Louis sat empty during a game and his equipment remained in his hockey bag. After being struck in the face with an errant puck during Thursday's morning skate, St. Louis is expected to miss a significant amount of time with fractures to his sinus and orbital bones, stopping his consecutive games played streak one short of 500. St. Louis left NYU Medical Center on Friday, the team announced, to spend the night at his Connecticut home with wife Heather and is scheduled to return to Tampa on Saturday. St. Louis will be evaluated by team doctors once the swelling subsides and a timetable can be"
Lightning's Marty St. Louis out indefinitely with facial fractures
December 9
St. Petersburg Times
 
"The Lightning equipment managers put Marty St. Louis' sticks in the rack for warmups Thursday night. For the first time in 500 games, they went unused. Tampa Bay's star right wing would have played his 500th consecutive game against the Rangers. Instead, he was at NYU Medical Center recovering from facial and nasal fractures sustained at the morning skate when hit by a backhand shot from Dominic Moore. "Probably the biggest blow you can get on our team right now," coach Guy Boucher said. Even so, the news was relatively good. Though general manager Steve Yzerman said St. Louis was "really swollen and still bleeding" around his left eye, which apparently absorbed some of the blow,"
Injury to Bolts' St. Louis ends ends games-played streak at 499
December 9
Tampa Tribune
 
"The streak stopped at 499 for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Marty St. Louis. St. Louis missed Thursday's game against the New York Rangers after being struck with a puck near his left eye during the morning skate that resulted in facial and sinus fractures, ending his consecutive games played streak one game short of 500. It is the first game St. Louis has missed since sitting out two games on Nov. 14-15 with a broken finger. St. Louis was sent to NYU Medical Center on Thursday afternoon, where he remained overnight along with head medical trainer Tom Mulligan for further evaluation. St. Louis is scheduled to return to Tampa for more evaluation by team doctors, while Mulligan will rejoin the"
Lightning W Marty St. Louis sustains facial and nasal fractures
December 9
St. Petersburg Times
 
"If there is good news here, it is that the statement released by the team made no mention of any damage to the left eye of Tampa Bay Lightning wing Marty St. Louis, who was hit in the face by a puck shot by teammate Dominic Moore during Thursday's morning skate. St. Louis' consecutive-game streak was stopped at 499 games. Here is the statement from the team: Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis will not play tonight's game at the New York Rangers and he is out indefinitely after suffering facial and nasal fractures at the team's morning skate today at Madison Square Garden. St. Louis was struck in the face by a puck shot by a teammate during a practice drill."
Bolts' St. Louis hurt; streak likely ends at 499 straight games
December 8
Tampa Tribune
 
"Tampa Bay Lightning forward Marty St. Louis is expected to miss tonight's game against the New York Rangers after taking a puck to his left eye Thursday morning. St. Louis was to appear in his 500th consecutive regular season game. He has not missed a game, regular or playoffs, since November 2005, when he sat out two games with a broken finger. On Thursday during the team's morning skate at Madison Square Garden, the team was working on a drill in the corner when an errant puck off a backhand from Dominic Moore struck St. Louis near his left eye. St. Louis immediately dropped to the ice with blood pouring out the area above his eye. He needed help getting off the ice and at one point"
Bolts' St. Louis will play in 500th straight game tonight
December 8
Tampa Tribune
 
"Nearly a year ago, around 3 a.m. on Dec. 26, Tom Mulligan's phone rang. Phone calls at that time of the morning generally mean trouble. Marty St. Louis was on the other end of the line and told the Tampa Bay Lightning's head medical trainer there was a problem. St. Louis was calling from the bathroom floor of his Connecticut home, where he had spent most of the night vomiting because of a stomach virus running through the household. St. Louis was scheduled to be on a plane at 6 a.m. to play a game that night in Atlanta. His streak of playing in 427 consecutive games was in jeopardy. "I couldn't function,'' St. Louis said."
Lightning wing Marty St. Louis says of frustrating stretch: "We deserve better as a team"
December 7
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Yes, the Tampa Bay Lightning made a couple bad defensive mistakes in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Senators and goaltender Dwayne Roloson failed to bail them out a couple of times with saves he should have made. But what really has burned coach Guy Boucher and his players recently is their missed scoring chances. Just listen to wing Marty St. Louis: "This season has been hard," he said. "I feel like the past two or three years, the amount of scoring chances that we generate with nothing to show for it is at a three-year high, I would say. That could weight in a lot on your mind and make you think about things. You just have to be honest with your game and your assessment of your game. I feel we"
Longtime Bolts St. Louis, Lecavalier parallel Yzerman's longevity
November 30
Tampa Tribune
 
"As the Tampa Bay Lightning filed off the ice at the Troy Sports Center after practice Tuesday, a large contingent of media filed into an adjacent locker room, trailing Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman. Around this part of the country, Yzerman's association lies with a single franchise, the Detroit Red Wings. Wednesday's meeting between the Lightning and Detroit marks Yzerman's first trip back to Joe Louis Arena with the franchise he has been placed in charge of running. His return will draw plenty of interest and likely a video tribute during the game. Yzerman's longevity with the Red Wings, 22 seasons as a player, is a rarity in today's world of the salary cap and free agency that"
Marty St. Louis scores his 300th goal with Tampa Bay Lightning
November 27
St. Petersburg Times
 
"RW Marty St. Louis jokes now that when he was acquired by the Lightning in 2000, he would have been happy with 300 shifts in a Tampa Bay uniform. After all, St. Louis was an undersized and undrafted forward who had to battle for everything in an impressive career that's included a Stanley Cup and league MVP award. That's why it meant a lot for St. Louis Saturday night to pick up his 300th career goal with the Lightning. He trails just C Vinny Lecavalier (361). "I'm proud to stay I've been on the same team for 11 years now, you don't see it too much in today's game," St. Louis said. "If you told me 11 years ago I'd score 300 goals for this team, I would have paid money for that. Trying to"
Tampa Bay Lightning RW Marty St. Louis said Wade Belak "was always in a good mood"
September 3
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Granted, it's been a long time since Tampa Bay Lightning star Marty St. Louis played with Wade Belak -- from 1998-2000 they were together with either the Flames or AHL St. John -- but St. Louis on Friday said he remembers a a teammate who "was always in a good mood. "From what I remember, he was always laughing and cracking jokes," St. Louis continued and added about Belak's death, "I was feeling sad by it because I never saw it coming, especially from him." Belak committed suicide, according to Belak's father and media reports."
Marty St. Louis wins NHL's sportsmanship award for second straight year
June 23
St. Petersburg Times
 
"That presenters Camille Grammer and Adrienne Maloof butchered Marty St. Louis' last name — pronouncing it like the city — didn't bother the Lightning wing, who won his second consecutive Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship at Wednesday's NHL awards. The voting wasn't close. St. Louis received 70 first-place votes and a record 994 points, beating Detroit D Nicklas Lidstrom, who had 464 points. "I didn't even notice," St. Louis said of the introductory gaffe. As for the trophy, which he adds to his 2004 Hart and Pearson awards as league MVP and his 2004 Art Ross points-leader trophy, he said, "It's an honor to be on that trophy. Great players have been on it. Great players have won it more"
Marty St. Louis, Steven Stamkos up for different MVP awards at NHL ceremony
June 22
St. Petersburg Times
 
"There is a subtle difference between the Hart Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. The Hart, voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, is for the NHL's most valuable player. The Lindsay, formerly the Pearson Award, is voted by the players for the most outstanding player. Lightning C Steven Stamkos is up for the Lindsay. Tampa Bay W Marty St. Louis is up for the Hart. The winners will be announced at tonight's NHL awards show at the Palms Hotel. "Both awards players take a lot of pride in," Stamkos said. But if St. Louis had to pick one to win, it would be the Lindsay. "To me that's the biggest one," he said. "The Hart is still a big award, don't get me wrong. But"
Marty St. Louis is Mr. Clutch
May 27
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Guy Boucher has known Marty St. Louis as a player for only eight months, but that is long enough for the Lightning coach to understand how and why his star wing flourishes in the biggest games. "With players like him, the biggest thing is they don't see things as a threat," Boucher said. "They see it as a challenge all the time." No surprise, then, that when discussing tonight's Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final with the Bruins at TD Garden — a game to decide which team goes to the Stanley Cup final against the Canucks — St. Louis did not speak of nerves or jitters but of passion. "I get fired up for these games," he said. "These are games as a kid you talk about on the driveway."
Lightning's Marty St. Louis, Boston Bruins' Tim Thomas cut from same competitive cloth
May 12
St. Petersburg Times
 
"When former Vermont coach Mike Gilligan thinks about two of his favorite former players, Lightning wing Marty St. Louis and Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, plenty of similarities between the two come to mind. They are cut from the same competitive cloth: battlers who had to overcome the odds and "labor through a lot of organizations that weren't believing in them in the early going," Gilligan said. It was that drive that helped St. Louis, 35, go from being undrafted to NHL MVP and Stanley Cup winner, and helped Thomas, 37, persevere through several seasons in the minors and in Europe before making it to the NHL at age 28 and turning into arguably the league's top goaltender. "Both," Gilligan"
Bolts' St. Louis, Bruins' Thomas are old friends, new rivals
May 12
Tampa Tribune
 columnist Martin Fennelly
"And so here they are. Eighteen years ago, they were college freshmen, playing hockey in northern Vermont on the shores of Lake Champlain, an undersized dynamo from Laval, Quebec and a quirky goaltender from rough, tough Flint, Mich. Two competitors, two underdogs, trying to reach their professional dreams. It took a while. One was Martin St. Louis. One was Tim Thomas. Both were kicked around by the NHL. Both were given up on more than once. "But we found a way," St. Louis said. "We both found a way. We definitely had to fight our way into the league and earn our chances, and even then they didn't come at first. I'm proud that we did. I'm proud of Timmy that he did. He battled." Saturday"
Stamkos, St. Louis finalists for key awards
May 6
Tampa Tribune
 
"Lightning C Steven Stamkos stands out among his peers. And his peers in the NHL voted the third-year star one of three finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, presented to the "Most Outstanding Player" as voted on by the members of the National Hockey League Players' Association. Anaheim's Corey Perry and Vancouver's Daniel Sedin also are finalists, it was announced Thursday. The award will be presented June 22 at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas. Stamkos finished second in the league this season with 45 goals, five behind Perry, and fifth in scoring with 91 points. The 21-year-old tied for the league lead in goals last season, matching the 51 scored by Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby for a share"
Lightning's St. Louis a finalist for league MVP
April 29
Tampa Tribune
 
"Marty St. Louis continues to defy his age, earning a second MVP finalist nomination in his career. St. Louis, who finished second in the league this season with 99 points, won the Hart Trophy in 2004 when he led the league with 94 points. St. Louis joined Anaheim's Corey Perry and Vancouver's Daniel Sedin as the three finalists for the award, announced by the league Thursday. The winner will be announced at the NHL's award show in Las Vegas on June 22. "It's a great honor. It's something I want to share with my teammates and the coaching staff here,'' St. Louis said. "To be nominated for that award, I'm proud of that. There are so many great players in this league, it's flattering.'' At"
Perry, D. Sedin, St. Louis are Hart finalists
April 28
NHL.com
 
"Everyone has his own definition of what constitutes "most valuable." It may not always be the player who scored the most goals or recorded the greatest number of points, but in the case of this year's nominees for the Hart Trophy, the National Hockey League's MVP award, it's hard to argue what they meant to their respective clubs. Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks, Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks and Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning were named as finalists Thursday. The trio occupied the top three spots on the scoring list and were instrumental in their teams' accomplishments. The Hart Trophy will be presented on June 22 at the 2011 NHL Awards in Las Vegas."
St. Louis a Lady Byng award finalist
April 21
Tampa Tribune
 
"Tampa Bay Lightning wing Marty St. Louis will have the chance to win consecutive Lady Byng awards. St. Louis, 35, is among three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, the NHL's annual award recognizing the combination of sportsmanship, gentlemanly play and ability. St. Louis won the award a year ago. The other 2011 finalists are veteran Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and Dallas win Loui Eriksson, the league announced Thursday. St. Louis and Lidstrom are six-time finalists, while Eriksson is a first-time honoree. The winner will be announced June 22 at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas. St. Louis, who has been a finalist six of the past seven seasons, won for the first time last"
Lady Byng finalists: Eriksson, Lidstrom, St. Louis
April 21
NHL.com
 
"The Lady Byng Trophy's nominees tend to have a familiar ring every year. For a trophy awarded to the "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability," it shouldn't be surprising the Lady Byng has a penchant for repeat winners, given players tend not to alter their playing style. Wayne Gretzky has taken home the award five times and Pavel Datsyuk won it four consecutive seasons until Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis took the honors a year ago. As a result of those trends, it should shock no one that St. Louis is getting a chance to defend his title as a finalist this year -- but the two other nominees"
St. Louis refuses to let Bolts go quietly
April 21
Tampa Tribune
 
"They had won 47 games this season, and few of those were won by going meekly. Just when it seemed the Tampa Bay Lightning would do that, and then some, to fall behind 3-1 in their playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 2-0 in the second period, they rose on up. And it started with sweater No. 26. Doesn't it always seem to be that way? Marty St. Louis refused to lose, again. He will never go gently. And neither did the Lightning as they took the Penguins into overtime 2-2 Wednesday night at the Forum. "We have to be hungrier and tougher," St. Louis said before Game 4. "We have to answer tonight." Thing is, for the first half of regulation, maybe more, the Bolts hardly made a"
Elephant in room too big for St. Louis
April 21
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 columnist Gene Collier
"Late in the second period of Game 4, Martin St. Louis was still trying to put this somehow recalcitrant Tampa Bay Lightning team on his back, and given the proportionate realities, it was like trying to hoist a sleeping elephant onto a coffee table. Having been largely unresponsive to its own spectacle for most of four hours, the Lightning finally took its eyes off it just long enough to see the answer to an unrelated question: When is James Neal ever going to put a puck in the net? At 3:38 of the second overtime in Game 4 was that answer, and it meant that the Penguins will have a chance to win this first-round hairpull Saturday at Consol Energy Center. But don't misunderstand; how the"
Marty St. Louis always seems to come through in the clutch
April 20
St. Petersburg Times
 columnist Gary Shelton
"He has given his sweat, and he has given his blood. He has fought tooth and nail, especially tooth. After a season of being his team's best player, he has spent a week of the postseason being his team's best player. Given all that, how can the Lightning possibly ask for more from Marty St. Louis? On the other hand, given the circumstances, how can it not? The Lightning needs him now because it trails its playoff series with Pittsburgh two games to one and a defeat in tonight's game would be difficult to survive. The Lightning needs him now because the rest of the offense has struggled with a Penguins team that has been reborn as a smothering defensive unit. The Lightning needs him now"
St. Louis thriving in new power-play role
April 19
Tampa Tribune
 
"Marty St. Louis scored the Lightning's only two goals on power plays Monday, beating Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury with a backhander from the right edge of the crease in the first and with a wrist shot from the same spot in the third. A couple of weeks ago, St. Louis probably wouldn't have scored either goal because a couple of weeks ago, St. Louis probably wouldn't have been in a position to score either goal. St. Louis' role on the power play has changed in recent weeks, largely as a result of the acquisition of D Eric Brewer, who came to the Lightning in a trade-deadline deal with the Blues. With Brewer on board, Lightning coach Guy Boucher has taken advantage of the veteran"
Marty St. Louis calls Zbynek Michalek's high stick a 'careless play'
April 15
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Lightning veteran wing Marty St. Louis says it's never fun to go to the dentist, regardless of when the visit happens. But that St. Louis had to have a double root canal after Wednesday night's 3-0 loss to the Penguins in Game 1 of their East quarterfinal series made for an uncomfortable rest of the night. "It was definitely my latest dentist appointment," he said. St. Louis, 35, was put in that spot after being hit by the stick of the Penguins' Zbynek Michalek as both got tangled in the corner going for the puck and fell. The contact drew blood and damaged St. Louis' front teeth and lip. Michalek wasn't penalized. St. Louis still led all Lightning forwards with 17:53 of ice time and was"
Lightning's St. Louis undergoes double root canal
April 15
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"Silver stubble is showing in places after Martin St. Louis shaved his head for a recent charity event. The right side of his lower lip has a hamburger quality. And, if he were to pull back his upper lip, you might be able to see his recent repair work. That would be a double root canal performed late Wednesday night on his upper front teeth after the Tampa Bay winger got hit by the stick of Penguins defenseman Zbynek Michalek in the Penguins' 3-0 win in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series. "It's never fun to go the dentist, game day or non-game day. But it's hockey," St. Louis said Thursday after shrugging off the damage and practicing with his teammates at Consol Energy Center. "I"
Root canal just part of job for St. Louis
April 15
Tampa Tribune
 
"Sporting a bit of a fat lip and talking a little differently, Lightning RW Marty St. Louis stepped back on the ice a little more than 12 hours after double root canal surgery. St. Louis was whacked in the mouth by the stick of Pittsburgh D Zbynek Michalek during Wednesday's Game 1 that left him with damage to three of his teeth. Michalek did not earn a penalty on the play, which had St. Louis exchanging words with officials Eric Furlatt and Wes McCauley. "He swung his stick and was a little careless with his stick,'' St. Louis said. "I was just happy it was not higher with the stick or he might have concussed me, I'll take the teeth instead of a concussion. I had three broken teeth, a"
Vinny, Marty lead Bolts' charge to postseason
April 13
Tampa Tribune
 
"They're a part of our sports landscape. First names are enough. Marty and Vinny. They've been Lightning teammates for 10 seasons. Seven years ago, they took turns lifting the Stanley Cup. Last season, they took turns wondering whatever happened to those days, or if they'd play again in Tampa, or wanted to if things stayed bad. Well, it's playoff season, and here are Marty and Vinny, driving toward the show, on the same line for the first time in two years, reading each other's minds, making plays, flying, scoring, smiling — together. "It's been a lot of fun," Marty St. Louis said. "It's like it was," Vinny Lecavalier said. "They're like little kids out there, playing street hockey,""
St. Louis, Lightning know future is now
April 13
Tampa Tribune
 
"One year and one day ago today, Marty St. Louis stood inside the Lightning locker room, looked around and pondered whether the end of his days in Tampa Bay stared back at him. For nearly a decade, St. Louis poured his heart into the franchise. He bled for the Lightning. He shed tears of joy and pain with his arms wrapped around teammates. He wrapped his arms around the silver chalice that defines every hockey player's dreams — the Stanley Cup. One year ago, the franchise was in flux and St. Louis wondered openly if he wanted to be a part of its future. The Lightning had been sold a month earlier for the third time in four years, the general manager and head coach had just been fired and a"
Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis hope to recapture playoff magic for Tampa Bay Lightning
April 12
St. Petersburg Times
 
"As soon as Vinny Lecavalier saw teammate Marty St. Louis pick off the pass, Lecavalier was off to the races. "The work on that, for me, is to beat the D," Lecavalier said. That is because the Lightning center knew St. Louis' first instinct would be to pass to his fastbreaking teammate. And that is just what happened in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes as Lecavalier took the pass in stride and scored on a breakaway. "I knew the puck would be there," Lecavalier said Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum. "We just know how each other plays." Watching Lecavalier and St. Louis, two of Tampa Bay's most iconic figures, play on the same line the past few weeks has been quite a show. Not"
Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis hope to recapture playoff magic for Tampa Bay Lightning
April 12
St. Petersburg Times
 
"As soon as Vinny Lecavalier saw teammate Marty St. Louis pick off the pass, Lecavalier was off to the races. "The work on that, for me, is to beat the D," Lecavalier said. That is because the Lightning center knew St. Louis' first instinct would be to pass to his fastbreaking teammate. And that is just what happened in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Hurricanes as Lecavalier took the pass in stride and scored on a breakaway. "I knew the puck would be there," Lecavalier said Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum. "We just know how each other plays." Watching Lecavalier and St. Louis, two of Tampa Bay's most iconic figures, play on the same line the past few weeks has been quite a show. Not"