Sunday, November 28, 2010

Is it Time for VIncent Lecavalier to go?


There has been a debate for the last two years, if Vincent Lecavalier should be traded, and I believe the time is now. Even though he is injured for another four to five weeks , I believe there would be some teams interested in his services. The last two years Lecavalier has been linked to trade talks with several teams, but the deals have fallen through. He has had a respectable start to the season, before the injury and this could add to his trade value. Vincent has lost favour with the fans and most are calling for a trade.

Lecavalier had nine points in fourteen games before suffering a broken hand in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals, and is on injured reserved for an estimated two to three weeks. He was playing on the second line, and only had three goals in the season. The Lightning have not missed Lecavalier going 5-3 in the games since. Steven Stamkos has emerged as the new star for Lightning leading the NHL in goals and points with 38. With the Lightning emerging as a playoff contender, Lecavalier should be traded to add some depth on the blue line and some draft picks.

Vincent has not scored thirty goals in the past two seasons, and has 9 seasons left on his contract with a cap hit of 7.7 million. A change in scenery might be welcomed by Lecavalier who has a no trade clause. In the past Montreal(Lecavalier's home province) has been linked to trades for Lecavalier, but they have lost significant cap space and Tampa would have to be willing to accept large cap players to make the deal work. A potential deal could be: Vincent Lecavlier to the Montreal Canadiens for Roman Hamrlik, Ben Maxwell and a first round pick (via capgeek.com). This deal would be very hard to pull off but could help both teams in different areas. Montreal would get the large center they've been criticized about and Tampa would get some defensive depth to help the young defenders.

That is just one trade the Lightning could make, but don't expect them to trade Vincent, unless Yzerman gets a deal he can't resist. I know many fans who have been disappointed with Lecavalier, and I too expect much more for a player who is getting paid 10 million for the next six seasons, but unless something large happens, Vinny may stay in the Sunshine State for another couple of seasons.

Follow Braden @OTCBraden on twitter to stay update with the Tampa Bay Lightning

No comments:

Post a Comment