Martin St. Louis will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday. Although his career with the New York Rangers was brief, there were many memorable moments.
Before I get to the five greatest Ranger moments for Martin St. Louis, let me get something off my chest. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is taking place on Monday at 8pm, televised live on the NHL Network. The New York Rangers will be hosting the Vancouver Canucks at the same time. How on earth does the NHL schedule a game for the Rangers when a former Ranger is receiving the greatest honor a hockey player can enjoy? There are six current Rangers who were teammates of St. Louis and they will be deprived of the privilege of participating or at least watching that ceremony. There are three other NHL games Monday night. Isn’t it possible to for the league to halt play for one night while the we honor these legends? They were able to limit the number of games on Halloween to only one. Could it be because the NHL does not have any role in the operation of the Hockey Hall of Fame? Okay, now the rant is over.
Martin St. Louis was a New York Ranger for only 93 regular season games and 44 playoff games. In that short time he made major contributions to the two most successful seasons the Rangers have enjoyed since their Stanley Cup championship in 1994. St. Louis’ contributions were not just on the ice. He was as much of an inspiration to the Rangers as he was his teammates in Tampa. The small, undrafted forward who succeeded when no one gave him a chance.