Vincent Lecavalier (born
April 21, 1980) is a Canadian
professional
hockey centre and team captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League
(NHL).
Playing career
Rimouski Océanic
Lecavalier played two years of
junior
hockey for the
Rimouski
Océanic of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey
League (QMJHL). During his tenure, he quickly established
himself as one of the NHL's top prospects. In his first season with
the Océanic, he won the
Michel
Bergeron Trophy as the QMJHL's top rookie forward.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Lecavalier was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in the
1998 NHL Entry Draft, during which new
Lightning owner Art Williams proclaimed that Lecavalier would be
"the
Michael Jordan of hockey".
On March 1, 2000, following his sophomore season, he was named
captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years
and 11 months (since surpassed by
Sidney
Crosby). Previously,
Steve Yzerman
had held that honour, having been named captain of the
Detroit Red Wings at 21 years, 5
months.
Lecavalier however never fulfilled expectations and was later
stripped of the captaincy before the
2001–02 NHL season when Lightning
management decided he was too young even as a high calibre player.
Around that time, he clashed frequently with head coach
John Tortorella. Tortorella demanded more
accountability from his players, and showed this by stripping
Lecavalier of the team captaincy after he missed the start of
2001–02 because of contract negotiations.
Tortorella has since noted that Lecavalier has matured and become a
less selfish player since losing the team captaincy. During the
2003–04 NHL season, while
Martin St. Louis led in regular
season scoring and
Brad Richards led
in the playoffs, Lecavalier played a key role in the team's
Stanley Cup victory, assisting on the
Cup-clinching goal.
He was named MVP of the Canadian National Team in the
2004 World Cup of Hockey,
which Canada
won.
During the
lockout which
canceled the
2004–05 NHL
season, Lecavalier, along with Lightning teammates
Nikolai Khabibulin and
Brad Richards, played for
Ak Bars Kazan in the
Russian Superleague. Lecavalier scored
16 points as Kazan finished 4th in the league and lost in the first
round of the playoffs.
Lecavalier was selected to play for
Team Canada at the
2006 Olympics, but returned to Tampa
without a medal.
Lecavalier broke the all-time
Tampa
Bay Lightning record for most points in a season by scoring his
95th point on March 16, 2007 against the
Buffalo Sabres. The record was previously
held by
Martin St. Louis, who had
94 points during the
2003–04
NHL season.
On March 30, 2007, in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes, Lecavalier became
the first Lightning player to record 50 goals in a season. He
finished the season with 52 goals, edging
Ottawa's
Dany
Heatley, who scored 50 goals, to earn the
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard
Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer for the
2006–07 season.
During the
2007–08 NHL
season, Lecavalier recorded 8 straight multipoint games, being
the first to do so since
JaromÃr
Jágr in 1996. The scoring streak put him first in the NHL
scoring race, until he was surpassed by
Ottawa Senators' captain,
Daniel Alfredsson, who scored 7 points in
the final game before the All-Star break. He was named captain of
the
Eastern Conference at
the
2008 NHL All Star
Game.
In the 2007–08 offseason, Lecavalier underwent shoulder surgery to
repair an infraction from taking a hit against
Matt Cooke of the
Washington Capitals. He is scheduled to
undergo another surgery on his left wrist later in the
summer.
On July 12, 2008, Lecavalier agreed to an eleven-year, $85 million
contract extension with the Lightning. His new contract begins
after the
2008–09 season,
and runs through the 2019–20 season, which may likely see the
All-Star forward end his career with the Lightning.
Before the start of the 2008–09 NHL season, he was re-named
captain of the Tampa Bay
Lightning on September 18, 2008.
In mid January, rumors were swirling around a possible trade which
would send Lecavalier to the
Montreal
Canadiens, his hometown, but Brian Lawton later stated that
Lecavalier would rather stay in Tampa Bay for the rest of his
career. On January 24, at the NHL's superskills competition,
Lecavalier received a standing ovation from the Montreal crowd that
lasted for 30 seconds when he was being introduced.
Lecavalier underwent season-ending wrist surgery on April 3,
2009.
Personal life
Attended
Thorndale Elementary in Pierrefonds and then he went to John Rennie
High School in Pointe-Claire, Quebec for two years (1992–1993)
before transferring to Athol Murray
College of Notre Dame
in Wilcox
, Saskatchewan
, Canada.
Has been
best friends with ex-Lightning
center Brad Richards, who won the
Conn Smythe Trophy in 2004 as Most Valuable Player of the NHL
Playoffs, since the age of 14, when they met at Notre
Dame, where they were roommates and became good
friends. Since then they have gone on to being teammates
with the
Rimouski Océanic and
also with the
Tampa Bay
Lightning. Lecavalier currently resides in Tampa's Davis
Island.He is featured in
The
Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story. Lecavalier portrayed
legendary Montréal Canadiens center,
Jean Béliveau. He wears number 4 to
honour Béliveau and legendary Boston Bruins defenseman
Bobby Orr.
During the release of the video game
NHL
06,
EA Sports featured Lecavalier
as the cover athlete for the game.
In October 2007, Lecavalier pledged $3 million to a new All
Children's Hospital facility under construction in St. Petersburg,
Florida. The facility will be named the Vincent Lecavalier
Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in his honor.
Career statistics
International play
Lecavalier has played for
Canada in:
International statistics
| Year |
Comp |
|
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
| 1998 |
WJC |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| 2001 |
WC |
7 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
29 |
| 2004 |
WCH |
6 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
| 2006 |
Oly |
6 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
| Senior int'l totals |
19 |
5 |
10 |
15 |
53 |
Awards
Junior
NHL
International
- 2004–05: 2004 World Cup of Hockey MVP
References
External links
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