Career

Before playing in the NHL, Lecavalier played parts of two seasons with the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He had a successful time with the Océanic. He finished his rookie season scoring 42 goals and recording 61 assists for 103 points. For his efforts, he was awarded the Michel Bergeron Trophy for QMJHL Offensive Rookie of the Year, the RDS Cup for QMJHL Rookie of the Year and was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team, CHL All-Rookie Team, and was named CHL Rookie of the Year. He finished his last season scoring 44 goals and recording 71 assists for 115 points. He was awarded the Mike Bossy Trophy for QMJHL Top Draft Prospect and the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. He was also named to both the QMJHL and CHL first All-Star teams.[1]

He was drafted 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL entry draft.[2] On October 9, 1998, Lecavalier made his NHL debut in a 4–1 loss against the Florida Panthers.[3] On October 21, he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Darcy Tucker goal in a 5–0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[4] On October 25, Lecavalier scored his first NHL goal against Garth Snow in a 3–2 win against the Vancouver Canucks.[5] On March 1, 2000, the Lightning announced that they were naming Lecavalier their next captain. This made him the youngest captain of an NHL team in league history at 19 years and 314 days.[6] He was later stripped of his captaincy the next season and often feuded with Lightning head coach John Tortorella.[7] On October 5, 2001, Lecavalier signed a multi-year contract to stay with the Lightning.[8] He helped the Lightning when they went on a run in the playoffs. They defeated the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, and Philadelphia Flyers. They went on to defeat the Calgary Flames four games to three in the Final to win the Stanley Cup. During game 7, Lecavalier helped clinch the cup-winning Ruslan Fedotenko goal.[9] After the NHL entered into a lockout, Lecavalier decided to join his teams and signed a contract to play for Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague (RSL).[10] He scored 7 goals and recorded 9 assists for 16 points in 30 games with Kazan. He returned to the Lightning after the lockout ended. On August 16, 2005, Lecavalier signed a four-year, $27.5 million contract to stay with the Lightning.[11] On March 16, 2007, he scored his 95th point in a 3–2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres. This point broke the Lightning's all-time record for most points in a season.[12] On March 30, 2007, he scored a goal in a 4–2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. The goal was his 50th of the season and Lecavalier became the first Lightning player to reach 50 goals in a season.[13] He was awarded the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for leading the league in scoring that season. He became the first francophone to win the award.[14] He was selected to play in the All-Star game the next season and was named as the captain for the Eastern Conference team.[15] Lecavalier was awarded both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for his Vincent Lecavalier Foundation charity.[16][17] On July 12, 2008, Lecavalier signed a massive eleven-year, $85 million contract to stay with the Lightning.[18] On September 18, 2008, the Lightning awarded the captaincy back to Lecavalier.[19] On January 21, 2013, Lecavalier played in his 1,000th NHL game in a 4–3 loss to the New York Islanders.[20] On June 27, the Lightning announced that they were buying out the rest of Lecavalier's contract.[21]

On July 2, 2013, Lecavalier signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract to join the Philadelphia Flyers.[22] He played parts of three seasons with the Flyers.

On January 6, 2016, the Flyers traded Lecavalier along with Luke Schenn to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jordan Weal and a 2016 third-round draft pick.[23] He scored 10 goals and recorded 7 assists during his only season with the Kings.

On June 21, 2016, Lecavalier announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey.[24] On February 10, 2018, the Lightning retired Lecavalier's jersey number #4 and raised it to the rafters.[25] On March 17, 2023, Lecavalier was inducted into the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame.[26]

References

  1. ↑ "CHL Awards". Canadian Hockey League. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Bonus Baby – hockey player Vincent Lecavalier – Brief Article". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on April 18, 2006. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ "1997-98 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Lightning Finally Wins One". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ "Rookie Lecavalier Scores First Goal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Tampa Bay Lightning History 1999–2000". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Lightning douse feud with compromise". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Lightning Re-Sign Center Vincent Lecavalier". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on June 6, 2002. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ "2004 Stanley Cup Final". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Vincent Lecavalier off to Russia". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Lightning Re-Sign Center Vincent Lecavalier". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ↑ "Rookie Lecavalier Scores First Goal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Lecavalier nets 50th in Lightning win". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Vincent Lecavalier becomes first Francophone to receive Rocket Richard Trophy". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  15. ↑ "2008 Eastern Conference All-Stars". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  16. ↑ "NHL King Clancy Memorial Trophy Winners". National Hockey League. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Vincent Lecavalier and Trevor Linden Receive NHL Foundation Player Award for Outstanding Community Service". Tampa Bay Lightning. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ↑ "Lecavalier's 'lifetime' deal with Lightning". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ↑ "Lightning return captaincy to Lecavalier". CBC Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Lecavalier to play 1000th career game today". NBC Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Lightning to use buyout on captain Lecavalier". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Sharks Notebook / Marleau, Sturm Agree to New Contracts". SFGate. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Kings Acquire Vincent Lecavalier And Luke Schenn From Philadelphia". Los Angeles Kings. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  24. ↑ "Vincent Lecavalier Officially Announces His Retirement". Los Angeles Kings. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Tampa Bay retires the #4 of Lightning great Vincent Lecavalier". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier: How an unlikely pair shaped the Lightning". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2026.

Other websites

source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Lecavalier