Martin St. Louis

Martin St. Louis was born on June 18, 1975 in Laval, Quebec and is a professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is one of the league's rising stars.

Playing career

A diminutive player by NHL standards at 5-foot-9, the tiny Martin St. Louis has played his last 3 seasons for Tampa Bay, and had previously played for the Calgary Flames. As an amateur he played for the University of Vermont Catamounts where he was an NCAA all-star. Despite the impressive numbers with the Catamounts, he was never drafted, and was first signed as a free agent by Calgary in 1998. He spent the latter part of the 1997-98 season with the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks at the time of his signing with Calgary. He did put up impressive numbers with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League. When Craig Button was appointed general manager of the Flames, he released Martin and he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Related Topics:
Calgary Flames - University of Vermont

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His first few seasons with the Lightning, he managed to increase his career highs in goals, assists and points. He was on pace to have a career year in 2001-02 when his season ended prematurely due to a broken leg. He came back with some stellar numbers in 2002-03 while his best season, though, was in 2003-04 when he led the NHL in scoring with 94 points. He also played well defensively, posting an impressive +35 in plus/minus. He put up impressive numbers in the playoffs while helping the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat his former team, the Calgary Flames for the Stanley Cup and at season's end and he was rewarded for his efforts when he won both the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as league MVP voted by his peers. St. Louis became the first player since Wayne Gretzky in 1987, and only the eighth in NHL history, to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Stanley Cup, and the Hart Memorial Trophy all in one season. Truly impressive for a guy that was "too small" and never drafted.

Related Topics:
2001-02 - 2002-03 - 2003-04 - Plus/minus - Stanley Cup - Hart Memorial Trophy - Lester B. Pearson Award - Wayne Gretzky - 1987 - Art Ross Trophy

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In August of 2005, Martin St. Louis signed a six year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth $31.5 million. St. Louis was quoted as saying, "I'm just happy that the Lightning have found a way to keep me long-term. Tampa was always my first choice, I've had so many good things happen to me in Tampa."

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He wears number 26 to pay tribute to his childhood hero, former diminutive Montreal Canadiens star Mats Naslund. During the Lock-out he played for the swiss team HC Lausanne.

Related Topics:
Montreal Canadiens - Mats Naslund - HC Lausanne

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