AOL News has a new home! The Huffington Post.

Click here to visit the new home of AOL News!

Hot on HuffPost:

See More Stories

Staying or Going: Martin St. Louis

Feb 23, 2009 – 12:00 PM
Text Size
Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz %BloggerTitle%

The Clash once posed the question: Should I stay or should I go now? We take a look at the big names surrounding the NHL trade deadline and whether they'll be staying in place or going to finish the season in another city.

The Tampa Bay Lightning haven't lived up to the preseason hype, as they currently sit in the No. 13 spot in the Eastern Conference, 16 points out of a playoff spot. They've already fired Barry Melrose, and have been bombarded with trade rumors surrounding their captain, Vincent Lecavalier, and the possibility of him being shipped to his hometown of Montreal.

Another player that's supposedly on the block is right wing Martin St. Louis -- an exciting player that's still putting up a point per game, even at the age of 33.

He's been part of a Stanley Cup team in Tampa Bay and has won a scoring title, a Hart Trophy and a Lester B. Pearson award. St. Louis is one of the best players in Lightning history, and one of the all-time great steals in free agency after being released by the Calgary Flames following the 1999-00 season.

Contract Status:
Signed through 2010-11 season at a cost of $4 million per season. He also has a no-trade clause that could complicate a potential deal.

Teams that might have interest:
Pittsburgh, Vancouver, San Jose, Dallas

Where he'll end up: Staying in Tampa Bay.

The team he's been rumored to most is Pittsburgh, where he'd become the infamous "winger for Crosby," but if Lightning management value him as highly as the team's local beat writers do, there's not a team in the league that will be willing to pay the appropriate price.

Even if St. Louis were willing to waive his no-trade clause, the fact he's signed for two more seasons at a reasonable contract (reasonable given his production), Tampa Bay holds all the leverage in any potential trade talks. He stays.
Filed under: Sports

ON FACEBOOK