Former Rangers and Lightning forward Martin St. Louis has become the first University of Vermont player to have his number retired
Martin St. Louis has reached numerous milestones during his career. He reached the 1,000 game and 1,000-point plateaus despite being an undrafted player. He proved the Calgary Flames wrong when he flourished with the Tampa Bay Lightning after the Flames gave up on him. He almost led the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup title while overcoming the death of his mother. He did all of this despite having to repeatedly hear that he was too small to play.
The 5’7″ forward can add another accomplishment to his lengthy resume. He is the first University of Vermont forward to have his number retired. While with the University of Vermont, he wore the number eight.
Turk gives his jersey to St. Louis to officially retire number 8. #VCats #MSLnight pic.twitter.com/WCDqgFbDlE
— UVM Men's Hockey (@UVMmhockey) January 9, 2016
St. Louis had his number on a banner risen to the rafters in traditional fashion.
St. Louis's number rises to the rafters, the first # ever retired by @UVMmhockey. Congrats @mstlouis_26 #MSLNight pic.twitter.com/60OUITuH9t
— Lauren Read (@LaurenReadVT) January 9, 2016
Martin St. Louis’s next stop will most likely be the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s darn hard to make a case against St. Louis as a Hall of Famer. Few players can say that they defied as many critics as St. Louis did. He had 1,033 points in 1,134 career games with the Flames, Lightning, and New York Rangers. He won the Lady Byng Trophy three times and won the Hart Trophy in 2006.