Tampa Bay Lightning C Steven Stamkos to have his number retired by Sarnia Sting

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is set to have his #91 retired by his former team, the Sarnia Sting, on January 12, 2018.

When you think about the bigger picture in the National Hockey League, the Tampa Bay Lightning are still a very young team. While the Lightning is in the midst of their 25^th Anniversary Season, there are teams like the Montreal Canadiens who are in their 100^th year as an NHL team.

Keeping this in mind, the Lightning is only recently getting in the habit of retiring the numbers of their most deserving players. The Tampa Bay Lightning retired their first jersey on January 13, 2017 when they retired the #26 of former Lightning captain Martin St. Louis. This season, the Lightning will be honoring another former captain when they retire the #4 of beloved forward Vincent Lecavalier.

Needless to say, there will be plenty of players’ numbers joining these two in the rafters at the Amalie Arena in the years to come. While it may be a while until we see a particular player’s number hanging from the hallowed halls of Amalie, their number is about to hang in the rafters of another arena they are rather familiar with.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is set to have his #91 retired by his former team, the Sarnia Sting. The ceremony is set to take place on Friday, January 12, 2018 at the Progressive Auto Sales Arena in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.

Everyone is familiar with Stamkos elite skill with the puck since making his debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning; especially since returning this season after missing a majority of the 2016-17 season with a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee. However, not many people know he was this good before making his way to the Sunshine State.

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Stamkos played two seasons with the Sarnia Sting, the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. In both of those seasons, Stammer was able to clear the 90 point mark. In the 06-07 season, Stamkos played in 63 games with the Sting where he would score 42 goals and 50 assists for a total of 92 points.

The now-27-year-old Lightning captain would raise the bar in the season that followed. In the 07-08 season, Stamkos would play in a total of 61 games with the Sting. In this amount of time, Stammer would bring home 58 goals and 47 assists for a total of 105 points alongside a plus-18 rating.

Needless to say, it is pretty easy to see why the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Steven Stamkos 1^st Overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Over the years, Stamkos has become one of the best draft picks the Lightning have made in their 25 year history.

Stamkos set a record for himself in the 2011-12 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stammer scored a career-high 60 goals and 37 assists for a total of 97 points to accompany a plus-7 rating. These numbers would easily earn Stamkos the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the league’s leading goal-scorer.

Steven Stamkos is off to yet another momentous start to the season. In the 10 games he’s played with the Bolts so far this season, he has already brought home three goals and 17 assists for a league-leading 20 points. Stamkos, alongside his linemate Nikita Kucherov, is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous line combinations in the NHL.

Thankfully for the Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans, the captain won’t be going anywhere any time soon. Stamkos is currently locked down by the Lightning for another seven seasons (including the current season) before he is set to become an Unrestricted Free Agent in the 2024-25 season.

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It goes without saying that one day the No. 91 of Steven Stamkos will one day grace the rafters of the Amalie Arena for hordes of future Tampa Bay Lightning fans to see; however, having his jersey retired by his former OHL team is definitely a step in the right direction.