SUNRISE, Fla. — The marriage between the Rangers and Martin St. Louis has ended, with several sources confirming the 40-year-old impending free agent winger will not return to Broadway.
The Post has been told St. Louis, who suffered through a deep second-half slump that continued through the playoffs, does not intend to retire. It is believed the Devils and Penguins have at least preliminary interest in St. Louis that is reciprocal, though Pittsburgh is believed to be in the market for Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp.
St. Louis, eligible for a one-year, over-35, bonus-laden contract, recorded seven goals over the final 35 games of the season before scoring just once in the Blueshirts’ 19 playoff games as his game disintegrated. His 21 goals tied with Chris Kreider for second on the team behind Rick Nash’s 42.
The winger, obtained at the 2014 trade deadline in exchange for Ryan Callahan and two first-round draft picks, recorded 60 points (22-38) in 93 games as a Ranger, adding 22 points (9-13) in 44 playoff matches as an integral part of the 2014 Stanley Cup finalists and the 2015 Presidents’ Trophy winners.
Callahan, meanwhile, has recorded 65 points (30-35) in 97 games for Tampa Bay, adding eight points (2-6) in 19 playoff contests for the Lightning, who advanced to the final this year after knocking out the Blueshirts in the seven-game Eastern final.
The Rangers would have had a very difficult job fitting St. Louis under the cap even if there had been mutual interest in an encore — which there was not by either party, we’re told, with the Hall of Fame-bound winger apparently unhappy over the way he was used as the playoffs evolved.
The club will now have to find a top-nine replacement for him, either internally or from the outside, with Mats Zuccarello and J.T. Miller penciled in as the Blueshirts’ top two right wings.