When Martin St. Louis was traded to the New York Rangers in March, it sent shockwaves throughout the hockey world. He was with the Lightning as long as anybody could remember and was the face of the franchise. Now he'll return to Tampa Bay as a member of the Rangers and likely will get mixed results from the crowd. But he should only get one feeling from the fans of the Lightning and that is one of thankfulness. Here are some of the biggest reasons why:

He stayed with the team through its worst years

The Lightning have had mixed success since they arrived on the scene in 1992 and that was no different during Martin St. Louis' time in Tampa. They had their great years like their Stanley Cup win in 2004 and their run to the Conference Finals in 2011 (which they only lost by one goal) but they've also struggled. During St. Louis' tenure, the Bolts missed the postseason for eight of the almost fourteen seasons he spent in Tampa Bay. The team placed extremely low during several of those years but St. Louis stayed. When other players might have wanted to leave.

He gave his all every night

It was only a few weeks before he would be traded to the Rangers when Marty St. Louis scored four goals in one game. That tied the Lightning record for the most goals in one game by one player and hadn't been done since Chris Kontos did it in the first ever Lightning game in 1992. He was a member of the team for fourteen seasons, during that time the Lightning made the playoffs six times (it should be noted that he played with the team last year but not during their playoff series in April). Some might say that's not impressive but the Bolts have only gone to the postseason seven times. Coincidence? Not a chance.

St. Louis brought his best to every game and especially s in the postseason. Some of his best plays can took place in the playoffs against the Islanders in the 2004 Conference Quarterfinals. It was later on in that Stanley Cup Championship year that St. Louis made Game 7 in their series against the Calgary Flames possible.

The Flames came out of nowhere to challenge the Bolts for the Stanley Cup and going into Game 6 of the series, Calgary had a 3-2 series lead. It was 33 seconds into the double overtime that St. Louis scored on a rebound, sending the series back to Tampa and eventually to their first championship. In addition, St. Louis is franchise leader in the following categories: points, assists, post-season scoring and game winning goals. Had he completed last season in Tampa he likely would've bested Vincent Lecavalier’s record for the most goals in franchise history. He still had more points in his time with the Bolts last year than anybody else on the team did for the entire season. This guy gave it all and gave it all for quite some time since he played over 1,000 games in a Lightning jersey.

He brought respect to Tampa Bay hockey

St. Louis is one of the most liked hockey players in the NHL and has shown why in his actions throughout the years. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for most gentlemanly conduct of any player in the NHL three times. But it's more than that. He proved that great hockey players exist in this franchise. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2004 as the NHL's MVP as well as Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the league MVP as voted by the players. To top it all of that, he won the Stanley Cup as well. He was the leading point scorer in the NHL the 2003-04 and 2012-13 seasons. He was a six-time all-star as well. Nobody could gain Tampa the respect that he did.

His request for a trade resulted in great deal for the Lightning

It may have been Steve Yzerman who negotiated the trade but if it weren't for St. Louis' trade request, the Lightning's success this season could be different. In exchange, the Lightning got Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. He brought not only a good offensive role but also the grit the Lightning need. They also got a first round pick in the very deep 2015 NHL Draft. And if the Rangers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals (which they did) the Lightning would get their first round draft pick in 2014 as well, giving them four first round picks in two years. Tampa swapped the Rangers first round pick to get two second round picks from the New York Islanders but is a good deal either way.

But the deal doesn't stop there as during Costless Agency this past summer, the Rangers weren't able to keep forward Brian Boyle and defenseman Anton Stralman. As they entered the Costless Agent market, they talked to their former captain Ryan Callahan. He helped assure them that Tampa Bay would be a good place to sign, which they both did. Callahan also signed as he was at the end of his contract.

Martin St. Louis was the heart and soul of the Lightning and one day the number 26 will hang from the rafters of Amalie Arena for what he did for this group and the sport in Florida. He proved shorter players had a place in the NHL and was a pleasure to look. He still is. But his time in Tampa Bay should be remembered for all the good things he did, not one decision he made. Whether it was selfish or not is up to debate and will be for years to come, but his return should be filled with honor and respect not resentment and anger.