A final grade on the Marty St. Louis trade? Not yet
By Steve Paulus
What Tampa got
Ryan Callahan signed a six year $34.8 million contract in 2014 and went on to play five more seasons in Tampa. His best season was 2014-15 when he scored 24 goals as the Lightning went to the Stanley Cup Finals. After that, his body-sacrificing style of play took its toll and he was injury ridden and was finally forced to retire with a chronic back injury.
Callahan was traded to Ottawa in a salary cap deal and the Lightning got back a sixth round pick in this October’s draft.
The 2014 first round pick that Tampa got from the Rangers (#28) was traded to the Islanders for second round picks belonging to the Islanders and Montreal.
With the Islanders pick they selected defenseman Dominik Masin (#35 overall). With the Montreal pick (#57) they drafted defense prospect Johnathan MacLeod. Masin has played four years in Syracuse and hasn’t been able to crack the NHL barrier. He’s a RFA now playing in the KHL. They lost the rights to MacLeod when he never signed with the team.
The Lightning traded the 2015 first round pick (#28 overall) to the Islanders (again!) for two later picks. They acquired Edmonton’s second round pick (#33) and Florida’s third round pick (#72 overall).
With the 33rd pick in the second round, the Lightning drafted center Mitchell Stephens. They struck it rich with their third round 72nd pick when they selected center Anthony Cirelli. When last seen, both Stephens and Cirelli were seen parading around Rogers Place with the Stanley Cup. Stephens is still very much a work in progress, but Cirelli has turned into a key player on the Stanley Cup champions.
The Lighting also got prospect Daniel Walcott from the Rangers when they traded back that seventh round pick. He just finished his fourth season with the AHL Syracuse Crucnch.
So, the Lightning ended up with five seasons from Ryan Callahan, a sixth round pick in the 2020 draft, minor league prospects in Dominik Masin and Daniel Walcott, a potential regular in Mitchell Stephens and a top six forward in Anthony Cirelli. Oh yes, and the Stanley Cup.