Vincent Lecavalier

**Vincent Lecavalier** (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He currently works as a special advisor of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings. Outside of the NHL, Lecavalier played for Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague (RSL).

Lecavalier is a one-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Lightning in 2004. He is also a four-time All-Star, being named one in 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009. He was the winner of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 2007 and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2008. Internationally, Lecavalier played for Canada, winning gold with them at the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.

## 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.

He was drafted 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL entry draft. On October 9, 1998, Lecavalier made his NHL debut in a 4–1 loss against the Florida Panthers. On October 21, he recorded his first NHL point, assisting on a Darcy Tucker goal in a 5–0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. On October 25, Lecavalier scored his first NHL goal against Garth Snow in a 3–2 win against the Vancouver Canucks. 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. He was later stripped of his captaincy the next season and often feuded with Lightning head coach John Tortorella. On October 5, 2001, Lecavalier signed a multi-year contract to stay with the Lightning. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. 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. He was selected to play in the All-Star game the next season and was named as the captain for the Eastern Conference team. Lecavalier was awarded both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for his Vincent Lecavalier Foundation charity. On July 12, 2008, Lecavalier signed a massive eleven-year, $85 million contract to stay with the Lightning. On September 18, 2008, the Lightning awarded the captaincy back to Lecavalier. On January 21, 2013, Lecavalier played in his 1,000th NHL game in a 4–3 loss to the New York Islanders. On June 27, the Lightning announced that they were buying out the rest of Lecavalier's contract. 

On July 2, 2013, Lecavalier signed a five-year, $22.5 million contract to join the Philadelphia Flyers.
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. 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. On February 10, 2018, the Lightning retired Lecavalier's jersey number #4 and raised it to the rafters. On March 17, 2023, Lecavalier was inducted into the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame.

## References
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