Another free agent has left the Columbus Blue Jackets.
This one is of way less of significance, thankfully. After serving as a special teams consultant for the second half of the 2018-2019 season for the Blue Jackets, St. Louis will not return to be with the club.
The Athletic: Martin St. Louis wont be back with #CBJ as part-time coach in 2019-20; coaching career put on pause because of commitments with hockey-playing sons https://t.co/VP1diX8mo4 pic.twitter.com/WqrQ22INjg
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) September 21, 2019
St. Louis is cited to be focusing on family commitments more, having three sons who played hockey themselves in Connecticut. According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the infrequent trips to Columbus was (understandably) becoming too much for St. Louis.
The hire was a needed one at the time for the Blue Jackets, who held one of the worst power play efficiencies in the league. They didn't finish the regular season quantitatively much better (15.4%, fourth-worst in the league) but saw success in their sweeping of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at a 45.4% conversion rate.
The Blue Jackets head into the 2019-2020 campaign with a near-overhaul on the man-advantage, with the losses of Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, and additions of Gustav Nyquist (and potentially Alexander Texier and Emil Bemstrom).
St. Louis was coached by John Tortorella from 2000-2008 as a member of the Lightning, including the 2004 Stanley Cup championship season.
