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St. Louis Driven To Succeed

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

Updated: 01/12/2008 12:13 am

TAMPA - As always, when the final few skaters drifted off the ice at the end of Friday's Lightning practice, Marty St. Louis was among them.

It has always been that way. The anonymous, undersized, undrafted minor-leaguer in the Calgary organization used to hang around the ice to take one more shot, execute one more nifty stick-handling move that might come in handy in a game, set one more example.

So, the way St. Louis figures it, why wouldn't the 2003-04 MVP and - as of Friday's announcement of the complete Eastern Conference All-Star roster - four-time NHL All-Star do the same?

Lightning general manager Jay Feaster lauded St. Louis' perseverance and work ethic on the day the 32-year-old right wing became the first Tampa Bay player to make four All-Star teams.

"That's the one thing about him that you know - and I've said this before, but I still believe it - there are days when he comes in and he's worried, 'Today may be the day they send me down,'" Feaster said. "That mind-set, that 'I need to keep working and I can't take a shift off because it may be my last one.' It's a credit to him."

St. Louis is 11th in the NHL in scoring with 51 points and ninth with 34 assists. He'll join Lightning teammate Vinny Lecavalier, voted in as one of the East's three starting forwards, for All-Star weekend Jan. 26-27 in Atlanta.

"It's a tough time right now to be happy for personal rewards, I guess, because our team's nowhere near where we want to be," said St. Louis, whose last-place team will try to jump-start the season tonight at BankAtlantic Center against Southeast Division rival Florida. "Am I happy? Absolutely, but I wish I could be going in different circumstances, where our team was in the top half of the standings."

Even if St. Louis' personality allowed him to do anything other than take the All-Star berth in stride, the news would pale in comparison to what's coming next: He and his wife, Heather, are expecting their third child next week.

St. Louis anticipates making All-Star weekend a family event, as well, for his sons Ryan and Lucas.

"Ryan went to others, but now he's old enough, maybe, to have a recollection of that," St. Louis said. "So, that's what I'm most happy about, is for my kids to enjoy it and remember it."

His story has been told and retold, how the 5-foot-9, 177-pound native of Laval, Quebec, came out of college undrafted despite setting the University of Vermont's career scoring record; how a free-agent contract with the Flames organization led to little in terms of career advancement; how signing with the Lightning before the 2000-01 season set him on course to become an MVP, a Stanley Cup champion and a millionaire many times over.

"Once you achieve something, you have the confidence that you can do it," Lecavalier said. "Marty did it in '02-03, and he's been doing it ever since."

His emergence in 2002-03 as a perennial 30-goal scorer and All-Star was followed in 2003-04 by that MVP year, which was followed by a six-year, $31.5 million contract.

Reaching that level of success was one thing. Maintaining that level (an "off" year of 31 goals and 30 assists in 2005-06 notwithstanding) was what propelled St. Louis to elite status.

That, and making sure he was among the last to leave the ice after practice. Always.

"You always want to be consistent," St. Louis said. "You want to be there every year, to be counted on every year, to deliver every year."

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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