Will they boo the former face of the franchise?
That is always the focus heading into nights like this one and, given the unique circumstances that led to Martin St. Louis bolting from Tampa, it’s tough to forecast exactly what will happen when he returns to Amalie Arena on Wednesday.
However, the real story that endures after the captain’s decision to jump ship is how efficiently the Lightning have moved on without him. Consider that Tampa is 26-10-6 in regular-season play since Steve Yzerman granted a trade request by St. Louis in March and sent him to the New York Rangers.
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This was no routine transaction, either.
St. Louis spent 14 years with the Lightning and was a key member of their Stanley Cup win in 2004. There were also two scoring titles, a Hart Trophy and the decision to name him captain at age 38 — the kind of move you make when you anticipate a player staying with your organization until retirement.
Yet, even though St. Louis carried such considerable clout and remains an extremely productive player, Tampa is still one of the NHL’s better teams without him. For the Lightning, last season was about transition and this one is about taking a jump forward.
“We had a core group of young kids, including myself, that found success in the AHL together,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper explained to me this week. “Couple that with the moves Steve Yzerman made to bring in a quality veteran group and we haven’t skipped a beat.”
The Rangers haven’t stumbled either — they made a run to the Stanley Cup final in June — and St. Louis is thrilled with the improvements to his family life that have accompanied a move closer to home.
If anything, it seems to be the rare trade to benefit all parties so far.
Cooper points to two days that “transformed” the Lightnng into what it is now: March 5, when St. Louis was traded; and July 1, when Yzerman completed a series of moves that included signing free-agent defenceman Anton Stralman away from the Rangers.
Assuming that Tampa drafts well, the St. Louis deal could pay dividends for years to come.
The package for him included gritty winger Ryan Callahan, who agreed to a six-year extension over the summer, and two first-round draft picks (the first of those was later turned into two second-rounders). The Lightning also sent a second-round pick back to the Rangers.
Given that St. Louis was only willing to waive his no-trade clause for one team, it was an unbelievable haul for Yzerman.
Normally it’s the kind of deal you would see made between organizations heading in opposite directions, but already they’re fighting for the same thing. Tampa enters Wednesday with an eight-point lead in the standings — albeit with two games in hand — and is a little over a week removed from a 5-1 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Still, the player has no regrets.
St. Louis told reporters that the long playoff run in New York made “everything right” for him. However, walking back into the Lightning’s home rink on Tuesday afternoon was an emotional experience.
“I grew up here pretty much — it felt like it — as a professional,” he said.
With so much turnover in recent seasons there are just five players left on the Tampa roster that even played 100 games alongside him: Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Eric Brewer, Matt Carle and Alex Killorn.
As a result, any emotion that surfaces during his return is most likely to come from the fans or St. Louis himself. It won’t necessarily be a love-in.
“I’m expecting the worst and hoping for the best,” said St. Louis, who is believed to have flirted with the idea of leaving Tampa more than once in the past.
The real breaking point came last season when Yzerman left him off Team Canada’s roster for the Sochi Olympics, prompting a trade request that St. Louis didn’t rescind even after eventually being added as an injury replacement for Stamkos.
About a week after winning a gold medal in Sochi he was sent to the Rangers.
The deadline deal didn’t come as a huge surprise for the players in the Lightning dressing room. His desire to move on really wasn’t much of a secret behind closed doors.
Cooper likened the ordeal to a “pretty big fight” in a family.
The Rangers spent the last few days in Florida, which gave St. Louis an opportunity to catch up with old friends. However, the veteran winger was in no mood to elaborate further on the motivation behind his trade request when he met with reporters.
“It was just time to move on,” he said.
Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that the Lightning already have.