Check PHT every day until June 30 for a new pending unrestricted free agent of the day. Today’s UFA of the Day is…
Martin St. Louis
For the record, St. Louis is pondering retirement. He turns 40 tomorrow, and when the Rangers were eliminated, he said he needed time to “reflect” before making a decision.
If he does decide to keep playing, there will be demand for his services. Perhaps not from the cap-challenged Rangers, but even as one of the NHL’s oldest players, the undersized forward managed to score 21 goals with 31 assists in 2014-15. He can still contribute.
Of course, the biggest factor may not be which teams are interested, but rather, where St. Louis is willing to play. When he famously (infamously, if you’re a Lightning fan) forced his way out of Tampa Bay, he said, “It’s not like I’ve played a ton of playoff hockey in the last little while, and as you get older you want to get more kicks at the can.”
So, if he does sign somewhere, will it need to be with a Stanley Cup contender? Because if it does, that may eliminate a team like New Jersey, which has been cited as a potential landing spot due to its proximity to New York.
It’s possible St. Louis got his fill of kicks at the can with the Rangers. But if he didn’t, and assuming he wants to stay in the New York area for family reasons, there’ll be a pretty good team in Brooklyn next season. Just to throw that out there.
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