Martin St. Louis happy trade from Tampa Bay worked out
By Josh Hill
The New York Rangers are in the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994 and the Tampa Bay Lightning are at home pouting while they watch the whole thing. That has got to be at least close to the line of thinking that Martin St. Louis is processing at the moment as his trade deadline move from Tampa Bay to New York has paid off incredibly well for the veteran forward.
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At the time, it was a gamble for the Rangers to give up captain Brad Richards in order to acquire St. Louis but since then the Rangers have been a different team and have ended up in the Stanley Cup.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, St. Louis feels vindicated that his trade out of Tampa Bay and to the New York Rangers has paid off in his first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals since winning it all back in 2004.
"“This is the reason why I came here,” St. Louis said outside the team’s dressing room. ” This is what I thought about when I came here. I thought that this group had the key element for this kind of experience, I thought I could add something, and it’s tough to leave a team that you’ve been there for 13, 14 years, but it makes everything right, right now.”"
St. Louis almost had to play the Lightning in the postseason but thanks to Tampa Bay getting swept in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens — the team New York just beat — the matchup never happened. But the bad blood between the Bolts and St. Louis is hard to ignore when considering his last years with the team and you have to feel good for him that he’s been vindicated with a Stanley Cup berth.
A win would be the cherry on top of the whole trade, and while he may not be actively worrying about what Tampa Bay thinks of him, it has to be rattling around somewhere in his mind that had he not been traded, this miracle run might not be happening for anyone in New York right now.