Martin St. Louis will become the first Tampa Bay Lightning player to have his number retired and sent to the rafters on January 13, 2017.

He has the pedigree, having scored a franchise-best 953 points in 972 games with the Lightning. But he also has some controversy: St. Louis infamously peaced-out of Tampa with a trade demand in 2014, as GM Steve Yzerman sent the Lightning captain to the New York Rangers for Ryan Callahan and what eventually became two first-round picks.

The trade request was one of many St. Louis had made while Yzerman was GM, mainly so he could be geographically closer to his home in Greenwich, Conn. But after Yzerman decided to leave the veteran forward off the roster for Team Canada in the Sochi Olympics – St. Louis was later added as an injury replacement – the Lightning captain decided to turn up the heat on that demand. Yzerman granted his wish, lest have a disgruntled player on what was becoming a championship contending team.

The majority of Lightning fans sided with their team. “We thought we meant more to you, Marty. You certainly meant more to us,” wrote Raw Charge.

“I respect the fact many of you do not agree with my decision and are angry with it. All I can really say is that I am sorry and I’m very appreciative of the support you have shown me through the years,” said St. Louis at the time.

It was inevitable that St. Louis would be asked about this drama now that the team has decided to retire his number. During his media conference call on Monday, St. Louis sounded practically exhausted by the controversy.

“I wish that can be behind us,” he said, regarding the fans’ feeling for him. (Lightning fans booed him while he was a member of the New York Rangers.)

From the call, St. Louis addresses the fans’ lingering resentment for him:

“In life you make decisions, you know? Sometimes you make hard ones. For me, I hope they remember me for what I brought to the team. I came in 2000 to a last place team. I think I left that team in way better shape than when I came. It would have probably been a better story if I had finished my career there, but there are a lot of variables that come along the way as you get older. You have kids … I don’t want to go back into it, you know? Things happen sometimes and you have to make tough decisions.

“I respect their opinion. They’re entitled to it. And, you know, that’s just the way it went. I finished my career somewhere else. It wasn’t just a ‘me’ decision. My kids … it was a better transition for them and their hockey and everything else.

“So I with they can forgive me, I guess, in that sense? I understand their pain. It wasn’t easy for me to do that either. I love Tampa. I loved playing there. I loved everything about it. It was just time to move on, for a bigger reason than just me.

“I gave everything I had to the Lightning for many years. I hope they can remember that, and not just the decision that I made that hurt their feelings. “

“But again, I respect the fans and their pain. I was hurting too. They didn’t deserve that, but it was just the decision I had to make at that time.”

Later in the interview, St. Louis revisited the fans’ bitterness when discussing his number retirement night:

“For me to be up there, it’s going to be a special night. And I hope that me and the fans can really enjoy that night, and not worry so much about me not finishing my career in Tampa. I had so much fun playing in front of the fans. I fed off them. I grew up there – it wasn’t like I was there for two or three years. It was special to play in front of that crowd.”

Will it be a love-fest for St. Louis? Probably. Time heals all wounds, and we can’t recall an acrimonious banner raising in the NHL.

But there’s still bitterness between the fans and their former star player, still a sense that maybe owner Jeff Vinik should have opted for Vincent Lecavalier – a guy who never wanted to leaves – rather than a player who forced a trade.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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