2005-2006 Martin St. Louis

[Terry Yake]

What was the deal with MSL that season?

Puts up 94 pts in 82 games in 03-04 and then just 61 pts in 80 games in 05-06 (31 G, 30 A which I also find odd)

Was he rusty coming off the lockout? Playing injured? Surprising he didn't have a monster season, especially in the first year of the "new NHL" and with the new rules that catered to speedsters like him

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[c9777666]

What was the deal with MSL that season?

Puts up 94 pts in 82 games in 03-04 and then just 61 pts in 80 games in 05-06 (31 G, 30 A which I also find odd)

Was he rusty coming off the lockout? Playing injured? Surprising he didn't have a monster season, especially in the first year of the "new NHL" and with the new rules that catered to speedsters like him

For what it's worth he did have a monster season in 06-07 (Only 100 point season of his career)

 

[sr edler]

I can swear we had this exact thread a little while ago. I didn't find anything with my Google search skills though.


It's spoken about briefly here though:

hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=125273893

 

[tony d]

That is a surprise, given how much scoring was up that year, it's a surprise St.Louis went down so much that year.

 

[Big Phil]

Strangely enough Lecavalier had what we thought of as a "down" year as well. Granted, he had a 78 and 66 point season up until the lockout but this was the year he was expected to burst out as well and a guy with his skill was expected to. However, for whatever reason he had just 75 points himself only to break out the following year and lead the NHL in goals. So was it just a Tampa thing that year with new adjustments? They did start out 8-9-3 and they had a new goalie to replace the brilliant Khabibulin. However, St. Louis has his scoring spread apart throughout the season quite evenly so it wasn't as if he wasn't scoring when the team was slumping either.

There are other notable stars like Sakic and Iginla who for whatever reason had a down year in 2006 despite more scoring. Iginla had several good years after 2006 while Sakic was winding down yet still cracked 100 the following year.

So I don't know, maybe some stars needed to adjust to things perhaps? St. Louis had a string of excellent years right after this.

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Stanley Cup, lockout, big new contract... I don't think it was too shocking at the time.

 

[TheMule93]

It really is weird. Given his playstyle and small stature, you'd think he would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 05-06 season.

 

[The Pale King]

The lockout really hurt that team. Must have been infuriating for TB fans, and definitely not how you want to "grow the game" in a relatively new market when you've got momentum like that. I think you can make a pretty strong case that the lost season hurt St. Louis more than any other player, legacy-wise.

Carolina's emergence, Ovi with the Caps... Hossa and company in Atlanta. It certainly wasn't the South-least Division any more. Maybe part of the reason for the dip.

 

[NYR94]

The lockout really hurt that team. Must have been infuriating for TB fans, and definitely not how you want to "grow the game" in a relatively new market when you've got momentum like that. I think you can make a pretty strong case that the lost season hurt St. Louis more than any other player, legacy-wise.

Carolina's emergence, Ovi with the Caps... Hossa and company in Atlanta. It certainly wasn't the South-least Division any more. Maybe part of the reason for the dip.

Good call about the new players added to other teams in the division. Canes made a huge improvement in points all the way to a Stanley Cup win, and all the other teams in the division improved upon their 2003-2004 point totals as well (some due in part to the "loser point" for OT/shootout losses). At first you want to say Cup hangover but with the lockout meaning an entire season lost shouldn't the "hangover" have worn off by the time the NHL was back in October 2005? Plus that first season coming out of the lockout saw a lot of power plays and you'd expect a player like St. Louis to really benefit from that--he had 30 power play points in Tampa's Cup winning season. Though as defending Cup champs everyone is using you as a measuring stick so no easy nights.

 

[Sticks and Pucks]

Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier both signed big contracts in the offseason, they had just won a Stanley Cup, and they had a year off from hockey. Seeing those factors, it's not surprising that their production dropped. Brad Richards, on the other hand, was in a contract year and he played his butt off. Ironically, the following season, Richards had a bit of an off year (after signing his big deal), and St. Louis bounced back, and Lecavalier had a career year.