Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning: Fans React To Martin St. Louis Number Retirement

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Tampa Bay Lightning fans and hockey fans around the NHL join together to share their reactions to the news the Lightning will be retiring the number of former captain Martin St. Louis.

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced earlier this morning the organization will be retiring the number of longtime fan favorite and former captain Martin St. Louis. The ceremony is set to take place at the Amalie Arena on Friday, January 13th.

This spectacular event couldn’t possibly take place on a better night. That night, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be taking on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are coached by none other than John Tortorella, the man who coached Martin St. Louis and his teammates during their Stanley Cup victory back in 2004.

As you can imagine, there is still some dissension here in the Bolts Nation amongst fans who still haven’t managed to let go of their anger brought on by the manner in which St. Louis departed the team; however, that is another story for another day.

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In large, the Tampa Bay community is prepared to open back on of their most memorable players and immortalize him by watching as his number 26 jersey is hung high in the rafters at the arena St. Louis called home for over a decade.

After the announcement made its way around the internet, it wasn’t long before friends, family, teammates, and fans alike all took to their various social media accounts to express their feelings about Martin St. Louis and the honor that was able to be bestowed to him.

Let’s take a closer look at what some Tampa Bay Lightning fans, along with fans from around the National Hockey League, have to say about Martin St. Louis’ number 26 jersey hanging high in the rafters of the Amalie Arena in January.

As we mentioned before, there are some who still bear a great amount of ill will towards Martin St. Louis for the way things went down at the end of his time here in the Bolts Nation, but as you can see, there are quite a few more who are ready to welcome him back with open arms and honor him for the many contributions to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the community as a whole.

No matter what fans feelings are on the manner in which Martin St. Louis made his departure from the Bolts Nation, it’s incredibly difficult to ignore the contributions he made while he was here. St. Louis was often referred to as the heart and soul of the team, and this is the manner in which we choose to remember him.

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