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New York Rangers: Has Martin St. Louis played his final game in New York?

By Nick Ziegler

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The New York Rangers were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now it’s back to the drawing board for the Rangers.

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One of the bigger disappointments of the playoffs for the Rangers was the play of Martin St. Louis. In the offseason, St. Louis will be a free agent, and Game 7 against the Lightning may very well be his final game on the Rangers.

“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” St. Louis said to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post when asked about free agency.

In the regular season, St. Louis’ production dropped from last season, as he totaled 52 points in 74 games with 21 goals and 31 assists.

The postseason however would be when the real disappointment for St. Louis and the Rangers occurred. In 19 playoff games, St. Louis had just seven points, with one goal.

“You always want to do more,” St. Louis said to Bontemps. “I mean, the work was there, but the execution, on my part, probably could have been better, for sure”.

Scoring was a big issue for the Rangers in MSG. In Game’s 5 and 7, they were shutout in each by the Lightning, as their main offensive threats didn’t produce. In Game 7, the Rangers had two power plays in the second period, but were unable to convert which would have given them a big edge.

“I mean, they get that first goal and they have numbers back, they make it hard,” St. Louis said to Bontemps. “Just like if we would have gotten that first goal, we would have been a lot harder to play against, having numbers back”.

For St. Louis, the loss in the Eastern Conference Finals has to be extremely tough, as they were the team that traded him to the Rangers.

The Rangers had the expectations of reaching the Stanley Cup again this season, but a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals is certainly a noteworthy accomplishment.

“This group played hard. It was a tough group that played through injuries, played through a lot of stuff. We can hold our head up high. … We played hard. We just came up empty. It’s a tough feeling for everybody.”

In the offseason, St. Louis will have to digest a difficult Game 7 loss to go along with his disappointing playoff performance. Most likely the Rangers will move on from the 39-year-old St. Louis, and he will be playing elsewhere next season.

Next: Who is the best Ranger of all-time?

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