Tampa Bay Lightning to retire jersey of Martin St. Louis in January
The Tampa Bay Lightning have announced they plan to retire the jersey of former captain and longtime fan favorite Martin St. Louis on January 13, 2017.
In comparison to some teams in the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning are a very young team. Having been founded by Phil Esposito in 1992, the Lightning have taken the ice for 22 seasons. Now, the team is about to make history for the second time since their inception.
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Thursday morning they plan to retire the jersey for former Lightning captain and longtime fan favorite Martin St. Louis. The festivities are set to take place on January 13, 2017.
This couldn’t possibly be a more fitting time for the historical event to take place. On January 13th, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team currently being coached by former Lightning Head Coach John Tortorella.
As most Tampa Bay Lightning fans will recall, Tortorella was head coach of the young Lightning team when they captured their first Stanley Cup Championship in franchise history back in 2004. It seems only fitting to have one of the most instrumental people in one of St. Louis’ greatest moments to be in attendance on his special night.
Martin St. Louis spent 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In that amount of time, St. Louis was able to capture a number of personal awards, franchise records, and team accomplishments over the course of those 13 seasons.
Not long after the announcement, the Tampa Bay Lightning would take to their Twitter page to unveil a video that would highlight some of the most memorable moments in the storied career of Martin St. Louis.
https://twitter.com/TBLightning/status/784020271615258626
Of course, the one moment in Martin St. Louis’ career came in the 2003-04 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves with their backs against the wall in Calgary as the Bolts battled the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
These two teams now found themselves enthralled in Double Overtime. One goal would mean all the difference. If that goal were to come from the Flames, the series would end and the Flames would claim the Stanley Cup. However, one goal from the Tampa Bay Lightning and the series would be headed back to Tampa Bay.
Thankfully for Tampa Bay Lightning fans, that goal would come from the stick of one of their very own…Martin St. Louis. Just one goal was able to change the course of history forever. Who knew a mere 33 seconds could mean so much?
As most of you know by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning would go on to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. While this may not have been the only achievement Martin St. Louis helped the Lightning achieve, it’s definitely the most memorable.
Unfortunately, there is still one black cloud hanging over the Bolts Nation in terms of Martin St. Louis. There are still a number of fans who are incredibly upset at the manner in which St. Louis left the team.
While St. Louis has always asserted his reason for leaving was in large part due to family reasons, there are some that believe his desire to leave was solely based on the fact he’d been snubbed by his own General Manager and left off Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.
The fact of the matter is, we may never know the real truth behind this polarizing topic. There are only two people in the world who truly know what happened behind closed doors, and neither of them – Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman or Martin St. Louis himself, are speaking on the matter.
Related Story: Each NHL Team's Biggest What If Moment
As an avid and longtime fan of the Tampa Bay Lightning – and Martin St. Louis – the one thing we can hope for is those Lightning fans who still have an axe to grind will put aside their feelings for at least one night so Martin St. Louis and his fans can enjoy what could very well be his final moment in the spotlight.