Vincent Lecavalier

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Vincent Lecavalier
Vinny Lecavalier 2007.jpg
Born (1980-04-21) April 21, 1980 (age 33)
Ile Bizard, QC, CAN
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Tampa Bay Lightning
Ak Bars Kazan (RSL)
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 1st overall, 1998
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 1998–present

Vincent Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian professional hockey center and captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was chosen first overall by the Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and is currently the longest tenured player on the team. Lecavalier won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004. He won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2007.

Contents

Playing career [edit]

Rimouski Océanic [edit]

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, and the RDS Cup as the top rookie overall.

Tampa Bay Lightning [edit]

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".[1][2]

On March 1, 2000,[3] following his sophomore season, he was named captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 314 days (since surpassed by Sidney Crosby and Gabriel Landeskog). Previously, Steve Yzerman had held that honour, having been named captain of the Detroit Red Wings at 21 years, 5 months.[4]

However, Lecavalier did not fulfill 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.

Lecavalier faces off against Jarome Iginla. The two players battled in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.

Tortorella has since noted that Lecavalier matured since losing the team captaincy.[1] 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 chosen 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.

Lecavalier in 2007.

During the 2007–08 NHL season, Lecavalier recorded 8 straight multipoint games, being the first to do so since Jaromír 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. At the end of the season he was named the winner of both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for his tremendous charity work in the community.

In the 2007–08 offseason, Lecavalier underwent shoulder surgery to repair a fracture from taking a hit against Matt Cooke of the Washington Capitals. He underwent 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 began after the 2008–09 season, and runs through the 2019–20 season, which could see the All-Star forward end his career with the Lightning.[5]

He was renamed captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 18, 2008.

Captain Vincent Lecavalier in December 2009.

In mid-January 2009, 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. Lecavalier confirmed in his own words his preference of playing in Tampa Bay over his native Montreal.[6] 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.[citation needed]

Lecavalier underwent season-ending wrist surgery on April 3, 2009.[7]

On January 21, 2013, Lecavalier played in his 1000th NHL game, all with the Tampa Bay Lightning, becoming the 280th NHL player to reach that milestone. The team honored him on January 25th, their next home game, with several gifts including an engraved silver stick.[8]

Personal life [edit]

Lecavalier 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. He 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 best friends. Since then they have gone on to become teammates with the Rimouski Océanic, the Tampa Bay Lightning and also with Ak Bars Kazan. Lecavalier currently resides in Tampa's Davis Island.

Lecavalier began dating Caroline Portelance in 2001. After ten years of dating, the two were married in 2011. Together, they have two children: Victoria and Gabriel.

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.

EA Sports' video game NHL 06 featured Lecavalier as the cover athlete.

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.

Lecavalier celebrates his overtime goal against the Capitals in game 2 of their 2011 2nd round series.

Career statistics [edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95 Notre Dame Hounds SHA 50 38 42 80 — — — — — —
1995–96 Notre Dame Hounds SHA 22 52 52 104 — — — — — —
1996–97 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 64 42 61 103 38 4 4 3 7 2
1997–98 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 58 44 71 115 117 18 15 26 41 46
1998–99 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 13 15 28 23 — — — — —
1999–00 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 25 42 67 43 — — — — —
2000–01 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 68 23 28 51 66 — — — — —
2001–02 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 76 20 17 37 61 — — — — —
2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 33 45 78 39 11 3 3 6 22
2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 32 34 66 52 23 9 7 16 25
2004–05 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 30 7 9 16 78 4 1 0 1 6
2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 35 40 75 90 5 1 3 4 7
2006–07 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 52 56 108 44 6 5 2 7 10
2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 81 40 52 92 89 — — — — —
2008–09 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 77 29 38 67 54 — — — — —
2009–10 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 24 46 70 63 — — — — —
2010–11 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 65 25 29 54 43 18 6 13 19 16
2011–12 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 64 22 27 49 50 — — — — —
NHL totals 998 373 469 842 717 63 24 28 52 80

International play [edit]

Vincent Lecavalier
Medal record
World Cup
Gold 2004 World Cup of Hockey Ice hockey

Lecavalier has played for Canada in:

International statistics [edit]

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 [edit]

Junior [edit]

NHL [edit]

International [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2007/03/30/vincent-lecavalier-nets-goal-50/
  2. ^ Hodges, Jim (1998-11-09). Bonus Baby - hockey player Vincent Lecavalier - Brief Article. The Sporting News. Retrieved 2007-08-04 [dead link]
  3. ^ "Tampa Bay Lightning History 1999-2000". Tampa Bay Lightning. Retrieved 2008-07-21. [dead link]
  4. ^ Brian Bellows was named interim-captain at age 19 years, 4 months while Craig Hartsburg was out of the lineup with an injury.
  5. ^ "Lecavalier's 'lifetime' deal with Lightning". TSN. 2008-07-12. Retrieved 2008-07-12. 
  6. ^ CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/sports/blogs/2009/01/lecavalier_wants_to_stay_in_ta.html |url= missing title (help). 
  7. ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=534203 Retrieved on 2009-04-02.[dead link]
  8. ^ "Lightning log comeback win as Bolts honor Lecavalier". Bay News 9. 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2013-01-26. 

External links [edit]

Authority control
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