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Martin St. Louis named new captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning

By Tasha St. Pierre

March 9, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
March 9, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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March 9, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
March 9, 2013; Tampa FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Martin St. Louis (26) skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Tampa Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

The wait is finally over. Bolts fans around the world now know who will succeed longtime Captain Vincent Lecavalier. His name is Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis has been in a Lightning jersey for 12 seasons now; 13 if you count the NHL Lockout of 2004.

To be completely honest with you, I cannot think of anyone who would be better suited to fill the hole left by the departure of Lecavalier, than his wingman Marty.

Since 2000, the Laval, Quebec native has played in 910 games scoring 336 goals and 556 assists for a total of 892 points. He also boasts a career plus-12 rating.

In the event that he plays all 82 games this season, St. Louis will hit the 1,000 game mark in the opening weeks of the 2014-15 season; the last year of his contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

I have always said that St. Louis was the heart and soul of the Lightning team, and this will give him the opportunity to take it a step further.

St. Louis doesn’t see the promotion to Captain as much of a change.

This season, there are a lot of new guys on the team. People like Tyler Johnson and Richard Panik who were brought up this season from the Lightning’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. There couldn’t possibly be a better person to usher them into the big leagues and help them adapt to life on the main roster.

There is simply no denying that #26 has unspeakable talent and a killer work ethic becoming of a true leader.

The Lightning proved themselves to be a stronger team this season when they went 5-2 in the preseason. Now, I know that most of you are going to say, “It’s only preseason, it doesn’t matter.” However, the truth of the matter is, it does.

Those of you who had the pleasure of seeing the Bolts play live know what I am talking about. The team seemed refreshed and ready to go. They had a brand new attitude. They were not afraid to hit people, they were being more aggressive with the puck, and they were making shots on the goal. This is the kind of change that we have been hoping for.

With a leader like St. Louis at the helm, I truly believe that the Lightning have a decent chance of having a stand out season, and a potential run at the playoffs.

The Lightning will play their first game with their new Captain on October 3rd as they head into the TD Garden in Boston to go one on one with the Boston Bruins.

What do you think of the decision to make Martin St. Louis the new Captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning? What kind of affect do you think this is going to have on the Bolts this season? Let’s discuss in the comments below.

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