By: bob arquillo

bob arquillo — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 07:03:03 +0000

im very glad to see the lightning organization is taking care of their star players. marty is the driving force of the bolts and i love it when he plays with the younger steven stamkos.he’s very gifted for his size and his hand speed is unreal.way to go marty,congratulations on your new contract.my girlfriend and i are your 2 biggest fans in pittsburgh and we love it when you are very sucessful.may the new season bring you a lot of sucess and maybe a stanley cup.again,congratulations

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:05:04 +0000

This is a pretty high price to pay for even Marty SL, who is a great little winger. 5.5M is a lot, especially for a team that cannot count on being competitive every year, nor on huge fan support – though the Bolts have some good fans…but if they don’t actually make the playoffs this year or next, they’ll be right back in “disaster/meltdown” AKA Barry Melrose territory and then they’ll be in real trouble. Regardless: this is a good move for TB, in the sense that St. Louis is an irreplaceable talent and fits that team like no other player can. I was sort of hoping the Carolina Hurricanes would make a run at him, but they’re too cheap for that kind of money! And, finally, I disagree that this contract could bite the Bolts in the end; look at what just happened with Brind’Amour in Carolina. Everyone said the same about his contract after the Cup: he’s 35-years-old, he’ll never finish the deal, he’s likely to decline, this’ll stay on the books, etc. If not for some pretty major leg injuries over the last 4 years, maybe Rod would have made a more gradual decline rather than his steep dropoff, but in any case the team did what was right and just moved him down the depth chart, made sure he mentored young players at the very least, and then offered a buyout and a front office job. That’s where Tampa will be with Marty in 3 or 4 years (though like a Ray Whitney, I expect he will still be quite good even at 38, 39, 40 years of age), and he’ll become a fixture in the organization after retirement. Not bad at all, really.

Comments on: 2010 NHL Free Agency: Tampa Bay signs Martin St. Louis to 4-year, $22.5M extension

By: bob arquillo

By: Josh