Vincent Lecavalier

Vincent Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre currently working as a special advisor of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL entry draft and was a member of their 2004 Stanley Cup championship team. Lecavalier played seventeen seasons in the NHL between 1998 and 2016 and served as captain of the Lightning on two occasions (2000–2001 and 2008–2013) prior to being bought out following the 2012–13 season and signing a 5-year, $22.5 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. He finished his NHL career with the Los Angeles Kings.

Playing career As a youth, Lecavalier played in the 1994 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the North Shore of Montreal.

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, and the RDS Cup as the top rookie overall.

Professional (1998–2016) Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–2013) 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 314 days (since surpassed by Sidney Crosby in May 2007, Gabriel Landeskog in September 2012, and Connor McDavid in October 2016). Previously, Steve Yzerman had held that honour, having been named captain of the Detroit Red Wings at 21 years, 5 months.

On January 14, 2001, in a 3–0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Lecavalier suffered a broken foot after getting in the way of a slap shot, causing him to miss the next 14 games. He eventually finished the 2000–01 season playing in 68 games with 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points.

Lecavalier did not fulfill expectations and was later stripped of the captaincy before the 2001–02 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 has since noted that Lecavalier matured since losing the team captaincy. He finished the season with 40 goals and 52 assists for 92 points in the first 81 games while the Lightning finished last in the NHL overall. At the awards show, Lecavalier 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.

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 ran through the 2019–20 season. He was renamed captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 18, 2008. In mid-January 2009, rumours 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. On January 24, at the NHL's superskills competition, Lecavalier received the loudest ovation from the Montreal crowd when he was being introduced. After playing the first 77 games of the season and recording 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points, Lecavalier underwent season-ending wrist surgery on April 3, 2009, causing him to miss the final five games of the season.

On November 11, 2010, Lecavalier sustained a broken hand in a 6–3 loss to the Washington Capitals as he got tangled up along the boards with Capitals’ defenseman Karl Alzner, resulting in him undergoing surgery and missing the next 15 games. Lecavalier ended the 2010–11 season with 25 goals and 29 assists for 54 points in 65 games as the Lightning made a heavy resurgence as a team having finished the season as the fifth seed in the East and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2007 as a result. In the 2011 playoffs, Lecavalier and the Lighting recovered from a 3–1 series deficit in the first round against the fourth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins and defeated them in seven games and would go on to sweep the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the second round before falling in the third round to the third-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in seven games, one win short from clinching a spot the Stanley Cup Final. Lecavalier finished the playoffs with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in all 18 games.

On February 18, 2012, Lecavalier sustained a broken hand in a 2–1 win against the Washington Capitals. While he managed to finish the game, he would ultimately miss the next 18 games due to the injury. He ultimately ended the 2011–12 season with 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points in 64 games as the Lightning as a team struggled, missing the playoffs by eight points.

On January 21, 2013, Lecavalier played in his 1000th NHL game in a 4–3 loss to the New York Islanders, becoming the 280th NHL player to reach that milestone. The team honoured him on January 25, their next home game, a 6–4 win against the Ottawa Senators, with several gifts including an engraved silver stick. On February 2, in a 3–2 loss to the New York Rangers, Lecavalier suffered a bruised foot as he was hit by a puck from a slapshot by teammate Sami Salo. This didn’t require him to miss anytime due to it but he eventually would suffer a broken foot on March 12, in a 3–2 win over the Florida Panthers as a result of a collision with Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson, causing him to miss nine games. He finished the lockout-shortened 2012–13 campaign with 32 points (10 goals and 22 assists) in 39 games as the Lightning as a team once again continued to struggle as they finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and the NHL overall.

In June 2013, the New York Post reported that the Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs had discussed a trade which would have sent Lecavalier to Toronto; the Maple Leafs would receive an asset in exchange for buying out Lecavalier's contract and he would then be free to re-sign with Tampa as an unrestricted free agent at a lower salary cap hit. Though the Maple Leafs denied the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly promptly sent out a memo to all 30 league teams, warning them to avoid transactions deemed a circumvention of the collective bargaining agreement. The CBA prevents teams from re-signing players they've bought out for a minimum of one year. One day later, the Lightning announced that it was buying out Lecavalier's contract, allowing their longest serving player to become an unrestricted free agent. The buyout would pay Lecavalier a total of $32.67 million and rid the Lightning of his $7.727 million salary cap hit.

Philadelphia Flyers (2013–2016) On July 2, 2013, less than a week after being bought out by the Lightning, Lecavalier signed with the Philadelphia Flyers who agreed to pay him $22.5 million over a five-year contract; which is in addition to the $2.33 million he will receive annually from the Lightning for the next 14 years. Lecavalier chose to wear number 40 with the Flyers as his usual number 4 had been retired by the Flyers in honour of Barry Ashbee. On November 27, 2013, Lecavalier made his first return to Tampa as a member of the visiting team and was welcomed with a tribute video as well as a long, standing ovation from Lightning fans. He scored a goal in his homecoming and was awarded the game's 3rd star. On November 30, in a 3–2 win over the Nashville Predators, Lecavalier sustained a minor fracture in his lower back, causing him to miss 13 games. Lecavalier finished the season registering 20 goals and 17 assists On March 30, 2014, and scored his 400th career goal in a 4–3 shootout loss against the Boston Bruins. Lecavalier finished the 2013–14 campaign with 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in 69 games. He also had one goal and an assist in the Flyers first round series loss in seven games by the New York Rangers for the 2014 playoffs.

The 2014–15 season began quite poorly for Lecavalier and on December 2, 2014, he was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. On April 9, 2015, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lecavalier fought twice against Hurricanes rookie Keegan Lowe, who was playing his first NHL game. Lecavalier didn't play the third period and suffered a concussion. Lecavalier ended the season with 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 57 contests as the Flyers struggled, missing the playoffs.

Los Angeles Kings (2016) During the 2015–16 season, having played sparingly for the previous two seasons within the Flyers organization, Lecavalier was traded alongside Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jordan Weal and a third round pick on January 6, 2016. One of the stipulations of the trade was that Lecavalier would retire at the end of the season to keep the Kings from being saddled with his hit to the salary cap. With number 4 being retired for Rob Blake, Lecavalier chose number 44 for the Kings. He officially announced his retirement on June 21, 2016.

Personal life 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. He has been friends with former teammate 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. The couple have three children together, Olivia, Gabe, and Amelia.

He is featured in The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story where he portrayed legendary Montreal Canadiens centre, Jean Béliveau. He wore number 4 to honour Béliveau.

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 was named the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in his honour.

On February 10, 2018, the Tampa Bay Lightning retired Lecavalier's number 4 jersey. Lecavalier is the second player in franchise history to have his jersey retired, the first being Martin St. Louis.

On March 17, 2023, Lecavalier was inducted into the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame, as a member of its inaugural class.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Bold indicates led league Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1994–95 Notre Dame Hounds Bantam AAA SHA 50 38 42 80 — — — — — — 1995–96 Notre Dame Hounds Midget AAA SMHL 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 — — — — — 2012–13 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 39 10 22 32 29 — — — — — 2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 69 20 17 37 44 7 1 1 2 2 2014–15 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 57 8 12 20 36 — — — — — 2015–16 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 7 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 2015–16 Los Angeles Kings NHL 42 10 7 17 20 5 1 1 2 2 NHL totals 1,212 421 528 949 848 75 26 30 56 84

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1998 Canada WJC 8th 7 1 1 2 4 2001 Canada WC 5th 7 3 2 5 29 2004 Canada WCH 6 2 5 7 8 2006 Canada OG 7th 6 0 3 3 16 Junior totals 7 1 1 2 4 Senior totals 19 5 10 15 53

Awards and honors Junior QMJHL All-Rookie Team – 1997 Michel Bergeron Trophy (QMJHL Offensive Rookie of the Year) – 1997 RDS Cup (QMJHL Rookie of the Year) – 1997 CHL All-Rookie Team – 1997 CHL Rookie of the Year – 1997 QMJHL first All-Star team – 1998 Mike Bossy Trophy (QMJHL Top Draft Prospect) – 1998 CHL first All-Star team – 1998 CHL Top Draft Prospect Award – 1998

NHL Stanley Cup champion – 2004 EA Sports NHL cover athlete - 2006 Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy – 2007 NHL second All-Star team – 2007 King Clancy Memorial Trophy – 2008 NHL Foundation Player Award – 2008 NHL All-Star Game – 2003, 2007, 2008 (captain), 2009 Tampa Bay Lightning #4 retired

International World Cup of Hockey – 2004 World Cup of Hockey All-Star team – 2004 World Cup of Hockey MVP – 2004