July 1 is the opening of the free agent market, but the Lightning took part of the day to lock up one of their best players to a contract extension. The team announced that they have signed right wing Martin St. Louis to a four-year contract extension. St. Louis had one year remaining on his current deal, which would have made him a free agent next summer. Instead, the Lightning will retain his services through the 2014-15 season.
St. Louis is another addition to the Lightning's stable of long-term contracts. Currently, they have Ryan Malone and Mattias Ohlund locked up through the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, respectively. They also still have Vincent Lecavalier for the 10 seasons that are remaining on his monster deal that runs through 2019-20.




