Legendary Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis's hunt for the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens will have to wait at least one more year. On Friday night, St. Louis's Canadiens were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final when the Hurricanes picked up a dominant 6-1 win and secured a 4-1 series victory. As a player, St. Louis spent 13 seasons in Tampa Bay. When he left the organization via trade toward the end of the 2013-14 season, he had set multiple franchise records and was near the top for many others. At that time, he had the Lightning record for both career assists and points, while also being second in games played and goals, trailing just Vincent Lecavalier in both statistics. Since then, players like Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Nikita Kucherov have displaced St. Louis, but he was the face of a generation in Tampa Bay. This season, St. Louis completed his fourth full season behind the bench for the Montreal Canadiens and took the young team farther than anyone likely expected. After just barely squeaking into the playoffs during the 2024-25 season, St. Louis led the Canadiens to a third place finish in the Atlantic and went on to eliminate his former team in the first round of the playoffs. Montreal then defeated the Buffalo Sabres in seven games to earn themselves a spot in the Eastern Conference Final, but Carolina's postseason experience was enough to elevate them to the Stanley Cup Final. St. Louis already has a Stanley Cup under his belt, winning it for the only time in his playing career back in 2004 with the Lightning. He nearly had an opportunity to compete for his first as a head coach this season, but his hunt will have to wait for now.
