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St. Louis Laying It On Line For Lightning

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 24, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 12:12 am

TAMPA - The inside of the Lightning locker room is a living, breathing, evolving entity. It's a 20-headed being that sometimes pulls in 20 different directions, particularly during times of strife.

It's at those times, when the team is struggling and things begin to fray, that the team needs to be pulled back together to get everybody pointed in the same direction. It has been during those times this season that Lightning coach John Tortorella has pulled the locker room leaders together on the ice for an impromptu meeting.

Vinny Lecavalier and Brad Richards took charge of the players-only video session last week, when the team dissected film from the game against Colorado, but Marty St. Louis missed the session after wife Heather delivered their third son. So St. Louis stepped up during a meeting before Friday's game at Pittsburgh and more or less laid it on the line.

"We had a very good meeting, and I'm not going to tell you what went on in there, before Pittsburgh, but Marty stood in there, stood in there good as far as being part of that meeting," Tortorella said. "We need more of that. It can't all come from the coaches."
Specifics about such meetings fall into the team's code of silence - nobody discusses the matters with the media - but it's not difficult to discern the message. With the season starting to hang in the balance, it was time for everybody in the room to be accountable.

"You just try to be honest," said St. Louis, who will head to Atlanta with Lecavalier on Friday for this weekend's All-Star Game. "Sometimes people may not like you at the time about what you are saying, but if they don't, it's because you are probably being honest. Sometimes the truth hurts, but the truth can hit home."

It's not just about saying it in the room, it's also about backing it up on the ice. In the past three games, St. Louis' intensity has stood out and his production has been unmatched as the heart and soul of the Lightning tries to will the team out of a tough stretch.

During Tampa Bay's three-game winning streak heading into tonight's game against Ottawa, St. Louis has a pair of goals - including the winner last week at Ottawa - and three assists.

"There's no better way than to lead by example. Sometimes leadership is a reflection of your play," said St. Louis, who ranks eighth in the league with 58 points and is seventh with a team-high 39 assists. "I feel good about where my game is right now, and I feel confident on the ice."

As one of the leaders on the team who has seen this franchise rise from the bottom to the top and head back down again, the words of St. Louis resonate with those in the room who are hoping to experience the same journey.

"I was in Anaheim where the captain was Scott Niedermayer, and he was a type of a quiet leader," second-year defenseman Shane O'Brien said. "And Marty is kind of the same way, they don't say much, but when they do say something, you listen to it, because you know it has weight. We all know Marty's story and what it took for him to get to this point, and now he's a superstar in this league."

To Tortorella, what St. Louis has done in the past week is simply the job of a team leader. But it certainly doesn't go unnoticed.

"Marty's generally a quiet guy, although a bit more emotional," Tortorella said. "But that's what we are trying to cultivate in our room, and he continues to progress as far as leadership with our club. ... Now these guys St. Louis, Richards, Lecavalier, are veteran players and I think the responsibility has fallen upon them to understand what that role is.

"We still haven't gotten to where we need to be with the leadership on this club, and that's what we are trying to cultivate here, and Marty is certainly a big part of it."

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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