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Greenwich Resident St. Louis Has His ‘26’ Retired by Bolts

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Greenwich resident and  Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis, looks on with his family as his number was sent up to the rafters of the Amalie Center in Tampa as part of the pre-game ceremony. (photo courtesy of Mike Carlson / Getty Images)
Greenwich resident and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis, looks on with his family as his number was sent up to the rafters of the Amalie Center in Tampa as part of the pre-game ceremony. (photo courtesy of Mike Carlson / Getty Images)

By Paul Silverfarb
Sentinel Editor

It’s only fitting that a man that had such a remarkable impact on the Tampa Bay Lightning organization, as well as the National Hockey League in general, gets honored in grand fashion.

On Friday night, prior to the start of the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Lightning honored Greenwich resident Martin St. Louis, one of the best players to lace up the skates, by having his name and sweater number sent up to the rafters.

“It will be there forever, so it’s such a proud moment,” said St. Louis, in an exclusive interview with the Sentinel. “To have my wife and kids out there with me and seeing that go up to the rafters is something I will never forget.”

This was no small pre-game ceremony at the Amalie Center in Tampa. St. Louis, who played 13 seasons with the Bolts before a trade that sent him to the New York Rangers for the final two years of his playing career, is the first Lightning player to have his number retired by the organization.

With the Blue Jackets in town, it would only be fitting that current Columbus head coach and the former coach of the Bolts, John Tortorella, would speak about one of his top players. Tortorella said that St. Louis was so remarkable because he refused to take “no” for an answer when people said he was too short, not good enough, and only a fourth-line player.

“This is probably, I guess, the end of the game here for him, with his number being retired here, but he will never leave the game because it’s such a great story for all walks of life to delve into when you have a dream,” said Tortorella during the ceremony. “Not just in hockey, but in business and all walks of life. Read what happened to [St. Louis] and how he went about his business, and it is just unbelievable.”

For Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik, the St. Louis pre-game ceremony is one of the most important days in the franchise’s history. During the ceremony, Vinik spoke about the one of his moments in meeting St. Louis for the first time, and that actually took place while Vinik was up in Boston and not even in professional sports.

“Somebody asked me what the most memorable moment in my time with the Tampa Bay Lightning is, and we have had a lot of great moments here in the past six years, but I still came back to game six 2004 in Calgary and Martin St. Louis’ game-winning goal in overtime,” Vinik said. “That’s when I got to meet Martin St. Louis.”

And when it came to introducing the man of the hour, there was no one better than Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, who first met St. Louis as a teenager trying to make a name for himself in the NHL and has obviously made a lasting impression.

“I knew, as soon as I met you, that you were going to be someone that I looked up to for the rest of my career,” Stamkos said during the pre-game ceremony. “About halfway through my rookie year, I got the chance to play on your line. It went by so fast and we had so much success and so much fun that sometimes you really forget to really reflect on the things that were important and the things that I admired about you.

“Let’s start with the passion, the work ethic, the attitude, the fearlessness, the perseverance,” added Stamkos. “I mean, the list can go on and on. But the two things that stuck out with me the most was your devotion to your family and your love for the game. That was something everybody respected with Marty.”

“It felt really nice to hear them talk and say those kinds of things about me,” said St. Louis. “It’s very flattering to hear those kind words.”

While there were a plethora of memories for St. Louis during his tenure with the Bolts, nothing compared to being there and helping his club win its first Stanley Cup championship during the 2003-04 season.

“It was a great ride for us in 2004, as well as the fans and the town,” St. Louis said. “It was only a 12-year-old team. For us to accomplish what we’ve done in short period of time, for any franchise, was so important at the time to develop the passion for hockey down there. Now you see the organization and where it’s at now with Mr. Vinik, and I am glad to say that the 2004 team was a part of that and why Tampa is such a great hockey town.”

In fact, with the Lightning trailing 3-2 in the series against the Calgary Flames during the Stanley Cup finals, it was St. Louis’ double-overtime goal that brought the playoffs back to Tampa for a game seven.

And St. Louis believes that seeing a Stanley Cup run in the Tampa area will be a frequent event.

“It’s such a great building, and it’s such a great event for the fans to come out and watch,” St. Louis said. “Mr. Vinik hasn’t been afraid to throw dollars to enhance the experience of the fan. The team always has a great product on the ice and they are in a good state right now. They are really fortunate to have Mr. Vinik as an owner.”

St. Louis said that he knew the time was right to step away from the sport he has such a passion for.

He finished his career with 391 goals and 642 assists. He found the net 317 times on the power play and had 66 game-winning goals. St. Louis won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an award for the player in the NHL that showed the best sportsmanship while playing at a high standard, during the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons.

In addition, St. Louis won the Art Ross Trophy, for the player who leads the league in points in the regular season, during the Stanley Cup season of 2003-04, as well as the 2012-13 season. He won the Ted Lindsay Award, the award given to the league’s most valuable player, in 2003-04, and also picked up the Hart Memorial Trophy, an award given to the player judged most valuable to his team during that same Stanley Cup season.

He played in the NHL All-Star Game six times during his tenure in the league.

“When I retired a year and a half ago, I felt good about the things that I’ve done,” St. Louis said. “I was comfortable leaving the game, knowing that I’ve done some good things and that I left everything out there. Then to have them value what I did while I was in Tampa that much, to actually have my number up there, was just a flattering and very humbling experience.”

While St. Louis has been retired from the National Hockey League since 2015, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t mean he’s away from the ice. In fact, he’s entered the world of coaching. However, the coaching isn’t at the NHL, or even the AHL levels. St. Louis can be seen coaching his boys’ hockey teams in Stamford. And Mason, Ryan and Lucas couldn’t be happier to have dad on the ice.

“I coach all three of my boys and it’s still on the ice every night,” St. Louis said. “I don’t miss a game. It’s different, but there’s a purity of it that is fun and I love doing it.”

And that passion for his family and the sport of hockey was best summed up by the current Lightning captain during that pre-game ceremony to honor St. Louis.

“He was, he still is, and I think he will forever will be the heart and soul of this organization,” Stamkos said. “I want to thank you, on behalf of not only myself, but all the teammates that got the chance to play with you, all the coaching staff, all the training staff, all these great fans that got to see you play. But I think, most importantly, I want to thank you for every kid out there that’s ever been told that they can’t. Because you, Marty, you showed them that you can.”

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