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Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
You're wrong on St. Louis. Coaches praised him for playing well on both sides of the puck, and for his energy and determination. But we had too many smurfs at the time (Fleury, Bure, Millen). St. Louis didn't get traded because his game was one-dimensional; he got traded because Corey fricken' Millen was a more established pro at the time.
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Millen was gone before St. Louis ever played for the Flames. Fleury was traded halfway through St. Louis' first season in Calgary. Brian Sutter used St. Louis on checking lines before he was canned.
St. Louis ultimately chose Tampa Bay because he'd get the most playing time.
This is also interesting, if true.
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A few teams expressed interest in St. Louis. He chose to sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning as he believed they were the most likely to give him playing time in the NHL. He made his debut with the team on October 6, 2000. He struggled at first, failing to score a goal in the first six weeks of the season and again found himself out of the lineup at times. Realizing that he was at a career crossroads, St. Louis abandoned the changes to his game that his NHL coaches had impressed on him, trusting his own instincts. He scored his first goal of the season in late November, and finished the season with 18 goals and 40 points – 34 of which came after December 1.
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