GREENBURGH, N.Y. — There was no bigger deal at the NHL trading deadline in 2014 than Martin St. Louis going from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan and draft picks.
Captain for captain. The face of the Lightning franchise — unhappy as he was at the time — for a homegrown, hard-working blue collar guy the Rangers were not going to be able to re-sign.
For the Rangers, it was the last piece of the puzzle in getting them to the Stanley Cup Finals. St. Louis probably provided more of an emotional lift than a scoring one with his ability to rally after his mother's death in the second round.