Breaking up is never easy. I remember my first breakup. To say that I didn’t handle it well would be to understate things. If former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Marty St. Louis was being honest with himself, he’d probably say the same thing about his split with the Bolts.
Both Raw Charge’s
Kyle Alexander and Sports Talk Florida’s
Thomas Fernandez have written superb pieces about the latest chapter of the St. Louis saga, and now it’s my turn to throw two cents into the opinion fountain.
It all started with yet another backhanded comment late last week, captured by the
Tampa Bay Times.
"This is the reason why I came here," St. Louis said outside the team's dressing room. " This is what I thought about when I came here. I thought that this group had the key element for this kind of experience, I thought I could add something, and it's tough to leave a team that you’ve been there for 13, 14 years, but it makes everything right, right now."
And then it got worse prior to game one.
You can find older St. Louis ‘gems’ in Kyle’s piece.
I think I should preface this blog by saying that I really don’t have a problem with St. Louis choosing to leave Tampa. He was entitled to make the decision he made. Whether fans agree with the decision or not doesn’t really matter. He made it. He’s gone now. What this blogger takes issue with, however, is the way St. Louis has handled his departure.
Marty’s relationship with the Lightning lasted 14 years. Those 14 years were full of great moments, including a Stanley Cup win in 2004. Arguably the greatest player in the franchise’s history, St. Louis brought the fans at the Forum to their feet on more occasions than anyone could ever remember. He was electric for so many years. This was a player who seemingly loved Tampa, loved the Lightning, and loved the fans who supported him from the moment he came to town.
Then the hammer dropped.
After requesting a trade, St. Louis was dealt at the trade deadline for a package that included Ryan Callahan and two first round draft picks. The player everybody knew (or, at least, thought they knew) and loved was gone. Just like that.
Moving on isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it becomes a lot easier when you aren’t constantly reminded of your former partner’s departure. St. Louis doesn’t get it.
Since leaving Florida, he’s done nothing but spew off about how great New York is, how prepared New York was for the playoffs, how he wanted to go to a winner like New York, and how playing in a big market (i.e. New York) at playoff time is the quintessential experience for any hockey player. New York this. New York that. New York.
All Lightning fans hear is that Tampa wasn’t good enough, that his experiences in Tampa weren’t fulfilling, and that he didn’t believe the team he captained wasn’t strong enough to win.
Once again, it’s fine that he wanted to leave. What’s not fine is his complete disregard for the feelings of the people who chanted his name, wore his jersey, and supported him for 14 years. Every ounce of energy we Tampa fans invested into cheering for St. Louis now feels meaningless. That’s a lot of years, and a lot of memories. Worthless.
If there’s one thing I take away from all this it’s that Marty may not have been the person we all thought he was. Sure, he scored some goals and tallied some assists, but was he really the God-like figure we all made him out to be? I’d argue not. This sort of behavior speaks to a me-first attitude. Maybe it’s good that he’s gone.
The last thing I’ll say is this: Don’t for a second believe that this was a hockey decision. This was about Marty St. Louis getting to New York City and only about Marty St. Louis getting to New York City. Nothing more, nothing less. Like he said when he left town: Personal reasons. We'll leave it at that.
You won’t see me cheering for Marty or the New York Rangers in this Stanley Cup Final. In fact, if you see a guy walking down the street in a Los Angeles Kings jersey, come say hello.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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