Tortorella reveals that St-Louis once confronted him in an elevator and the result was memorable

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Jeff Drouin
October 16, 2022 (10:35)

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It's no secret that Martin St-Louis has enormous respect for his former coach John Tortorella. It's important to know that respect goes both ways. An anecdote told by the veteran coach shows why the little number 26 deserves his respect.

It was during the famous 2004 season, the year the Tampa Bay Lightning won their first Stanley Cup. The club's start to the season had been rocky, and a discussion between St. Louis and Tortorella sort of set things right.

At the time, St. Louis had followed his coach from a team meeting into the elevator of an Ottawa hotel. He took the opportunity to question his coach's decisions.

"You want us to be able to be game-breakers so give us game-breaking minutes." - Martin St. Louis to John Tortorella

Tortorella recently admitted that his forward tested him and that he finally decided to give him a chance. St. Louis had finally finished that season with a 94-point season, his highest total to that point in his NHL career, as well as finally winning top honors and lifting the Cup. The veteran coach certainly doesn't regret St. Louis' boldness in that elevator.

A memorable result!

"He challenged me. He asked me to give him a chance and we never looked back afterwards. He wanted to prove to everyone that he was the man for the job." - John Tortorella

A big thanks to Marker for tipping us off!