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71 Days to Opening Day: The History of #71
- Story by
- 71 Days to Opening Day: The History of #71
Over the years, there have been a number of players to wear the number 71 for the Tampa Bay Lightning .
The first player to take the number was the Lightning's 16th overall pick from the 1996 NHL Draft, defenseman Mario Larocque. Larocque only played five games for the Bolts during the 1998-99 season but carved out a solid career for himself in the lower levels of the minor leagues, namely the ECHL. Larocque retired after his sole season with the now defunct Stockton Thunder of the ECHL during the 2014-15 campaign.
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Filip Kuba was the next member of the Lightning to don the 71 during the 2006-07 season. He remained with the Lightning for two seasons, appearing in 156 games. He contributed 21 goals and 68 points from the blue line during his short stint. As recently as the 2024-25 season, he was serving as a coach with the Tampa Bay Juniors.
Geoff Kinrade was the third player to wear the 71 for the Lightning, appearing in just a single game for the Lightning during the 2008-09 season, the only NHL game of his career.
Richard Panik was the first forward to take the number 71 after being drafted by the Lightning in the second round of the 2009 NHL Draft. He appeared in 75 games for the Bolts, scoring eight goals and 22 points during his two year stint.
The most notable player to wear the number 71 is undoubtedly its current owner, Anthony Cirelli . The Lightning's 72nd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Cirelli has been a mainstay at center ice for the Lightning for close to a decade at this point. He made his NHL debut during the 2017-18 season and has now appeared in 582 regular season games, all with the Lightning, throughout his career. During that time, he's scored 147 goals and 344 points.
