Victor Hedman (played four seasons with Lecavalier from 2009-13)
"Coming here as an 18 year old and having the leadership he brought to this team and the kind of person he is, he made it very easy for me to acclimate to this team. What he's done for this organization, this community is something you really look up to. As a guy, he's down to Earth, funny guy in the locker room and obviously an unbelievable hockey player. For me to have been around the two guys that are going to be in the rafters after tonight has meant a lot. He's meant a lot for this team, playing over 1,000 games and winning a Stanley Cup and setting all kinds of records. It's been tremendous to play with and obviously he's getting the recognition he greatly deserves tonight. It'll be a special night again, same as it was last year for Marty, so very excited to be a part of it."
On Lecavalier's charity work in the community:
"What he's done for this community, it's not on the ice the most, it's off the ice with the children's hospital and everything he's done for that and bringing smiles to kids' faces as they go through a tough time. He's still involved in the community. I see him around every now and then. Everyone around town knows who Vinny Lecavalier is. Kids grew up idolizing him for the work he did in this community. Really something that rubs off on his teammates as well. It was an eye opener for me coming from Sweden. I didn't know a whole lot about the charity work he did over here, so it was a real eye opener to me to see the kind of work he's done. Really inspirational for us as players and to be around and see that firsthand."
Ryan Callahan (played against Lecavalier several times)
"Just from playing against him, his size and his hands I think were the most impressive things, the way he saw the ice. He's such a big guy to contain, and then when you've got the kind of hands he did playing the game and could see the ice the way he did, obviously one of the top players I've ever played against. It's pretty cool for me to get a chance to be here during his retirement. I've never played with him but played against him and respect him tremendously from when I played against him. It's a special night for him and I know how much he meant to this organization, this city, so it's very well deserved."
On whether Lecavalier's charity work inspired him to create a foundation:
"I knew he had a big impact on pediatric cancer patients and kind of the same path that me and my foundation are going down. Had a chance to briefly speak with him about what he did and what he's done for this community. I think he's laid the ground work now for us players to come in and make that impact. It's pretty special to see what he's done on the ice and off the ice here."
Tyler Johnson (Made NHL debut in Lecavalier's final season with Lightning)
"When I came up, he was injured so he wasn't on the ice helping but he's always around the locker room talking to you. I remember being really nervous my first game and him coming up to say, 'Hey, you've played these games before. Don't worry about it.' Things like that. He's just a guy that's just a genuinely nice guy that was always around to try to help people. He means a lot to this organization."
Steven Stamkos (like Lecavalier, a former No. 1 overall draft pick of the Lightning)
"Vinny has always been a superstar in this area. He was the face of the franchise for a long time and similar to me, came here at 18 and played and had a great career, was part of that Stanley Cup-winning team, had some unbelievable individual successes and was definitely a role model of mine when I came to this organization. Very deserving of this honor. And for what he did away from the rink I think is just as or even more impressive as his career, the involvement in the community for him and what he did with the Children's Cancer Center. It was just a pleasure to watch him do that and a lot of guys really looked up to him for that as well. It's going to be a huge honor for him obviously and looking forward to being a part of that."
