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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that former National Hockey League forward Martin St. Louis, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018, has joined the club as a special teams consultant.
St. Louis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame following a 17-year career that saw him register 391 goals, 642 assists and 1,033 points in 1,134 games with the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers from 1998-2015. He was a six-time All-Star, won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player (2003-04), Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer (2003-04, 2012-13), Ted Lindsay Award (2003-04), Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (2009-10, 2010-11, 2012-13) and led the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship. In 107 career games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he collected 42-48-90, including 9-15-24 and three game-winning goals in 23 games in 2004.
"Marty St. Louis made himself into a Hall of Fame player through sheer determination, hard work and a great understanding of how to play the game the right way," said Blue Jackets Head Coach John Tortorella, who coached St. Louis in Tampa Bay from 2000-08. "We're still developing his role, but he has so much knowledge about our game and what it takes to be successful, both individually and within the team concept, that he'll be a great asset to our players."
After playing four seasons at the University of Vermont from 1993-97, St. Louis signed a free agent contract with the Flames and spent three seasons in the organization before signing with the Lightning prior to the 2000-01 campaign. At the time of his retirement, the Laval, Quebec native was one of only six undrafted players in NHL history to record 1,000 points in the league. He scored 20 or more goals in 11-of-12 seasons between 2002-15 (17 in 20 games during shortened 2012-13 campaign) with seven seasons of 30-plus goals, including 2006-07 when he racked up a career-high 43-59-102 in 82 games. He also scored 101 power play, 29 shorthanded and 66 game-winning goals in his NHL career.
"It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to work with the Columbus Blue Jackets," said St. Louis. "I truly love the game. I have been coaching my boys since my retirement, so I am excited to share my knowledge while still being able to coach my kids. I'm looking forward to working with the coaching staff and players in Columbus."
The Blue Jackets return to action on Tuesday, January 29, when they host the Buffalo Sabres. Game time from Nationwide Arena is 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage on FOX Sports Ohio begins with the Blue Jackets Live pre-game show starting at 6:30 p.m. All Blue Jackets games televised on FOX Sports Ohio will also be streamed live via the FOX Sports app. The game may also be heard on the Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs Blue Jackets Radio Network, including CD102.5 FM in Columbus, and online at BlueJackets.com.
Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis joins CBJ as Special Teams Consultant
