Retirement of St. Louis sparks Hall of Fame debate

Martin St. Louis was a Stanley Cup, Hart and two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, Olympic gold medallist and 1,000-point scorer.

The only question that remains after he announced his retirement Thursday is if St. Louis is a Hockey Hall of Famer.

“Easily, for sure,’’ former teammate Dominic Moore said without hesitation. “No doubt about that. That to me is not even debatable. He has to be.’’

St. Louis has a decorated resume: one Hart as NHL MVP, two Art Ross Trophies as the leading scorer, one Lester B. Pearson (now Ted Lindsay) Award as the NHLPA’s most out- standing player and three Lady Byng Trophies for gentlemanly conduct to go with 391 goals and 642 assists in 1,134 games.

He helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2004 and Canada win the World Cup months later. The Laval, Que., native was also on Canada’s undefeated goldmedal-winning 2014 Sochi Olympic team.

“He gets my vote,’’ former NHL forward Jeff Halpern said. “I don’t know who else over the last 15 years has kind of done the things that he’s been able to do. There are guys that have done it, but there’s not many.’’

St. Louis is one of just 52 players with at least 300 goals, 600 assists and 1,000 points.