Lightning sign St. Louis to 4-year contract extension

For the past couple of seasons, Marty St. Louis felt like a black cloud followed the Lightning franchise, casting the entire organization in a dark shadow.

Now that it feels like the sun is starting to shine again on the franchise, he's on board for playing out the remainder of his career with Tampa Bay.

The Lightning signed the former MVP to a four-year extension worth a reported $22.5 million that gives the team a salary cap hit of $5.625 million starting in 2011-12. The extension all but ensures St. Louis will end his stellar career in a Lightning uniform. The 35-year-old is entering the final year of an original six-year contract that will pay him $4 million this season with a cap hit of $5.25 million.

With new owner Jeff Vinik in place and well-respected general manager Steve Yzerman calling the shots, St. Louis said whatever doubts he may have had about the franchise at the end of last season have dissipated like a late-morning fog.

"There were thoughts that went through my mind, you always try to picture yourself somewhere else and if you would fit, and not just myself but my family and everything else, and my first choice was always to stay in Tampa, especially with Steve Yzerman coming as the boss," St. Louis said. "We've had so many bad articles written about the Lightning the past two or three years, it's just so draining.

"I think that Steve brings calm and stops the storm, and we are now finally going to get some respect. Obviously, we have to earn that respect in our play, but I think the bad weather is behind us."

When Yzerman took over as general manager, signing St. Louis to an extension was one of his priorities. The two sides found a way to reach an agreement well before the contract situation could become a distraction.

"I want things to be positive," Yzerman said. "We had a conversation earlier in June and he expressed that he wanted to get a contract done soon and he wanted to stay in Tampa Bay. In speaking with him and letting him know what our objectives were here, I thought it was important to show good faith and try to get something done as quick as we can. It allows us to plan ahead for a player that we knew we wanted to sign, so let's get it done as soon as we can and now we can plan ahead and try to improve the team near-term and long-term."

Since signing as a free agent with Tampa Bay before the 2000-01 season, St. Louis has been a fan favorite for his hustle and hard work on every shift. Despite being undrafted out of the University of Vermont, St. Louis never quit on his goal of making it to the NHL. But it wasn't until he landed in Tampa, after playing parts of two seasons with Calgary, that he found a home.

Given the opportunity to playing in a top-six role, St. Louis became the heart and soul of the franchise, culminating with a memorable 2004 campaign in which he helped lead the Lightning to a Stanley Cup championship while also winning the Hart Trophy (league MVP), Lester Pearson Trophy (player's choice for MVP) and Art Ross Trophy (league's leading scorer).

Now he has the chance to end his playing days in the city where he has flourished over the past decade.

"I couldn't be happier to have a good opportunity to retire with the Lightning, not many players have the opportunity to play for the same organization pretty much their whole career," he said. "When it's all said and done I'll be able to say that I played 15 years in one city and I'm very fortunate, my family doesn't have to move, and myself and my family are very thankful to Steve and Mr. Vinik for making that happen."

Now he wants some winning hockey.

"I've seen both sides of the mountain in Tampa, the good days and the bad days, and for me I needed something that showed me we are going to win here now. We have some really good young players who are just going to get better and better as they mature," he said. "I signed here because I know that I'm going to have a chance at winning again, whether that's two or three or four years, I don't know, but I'm telling you we are going to do everything we can to get into the playoffs this year, and I think we should get in.

"I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from here, but I'm very confident that everybody, including myself, will be very proud to be a Lightning player or a Lightning fan in the near future."