Vincent Lecavalier
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Vincent Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980 in Ile Bizard, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian professional hockey player who currently plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Lecavalier was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, where some touted him as the "Michael Jordan of hockey".On March 11, 2000, following his sophomore season, he was named captain, becoming the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 11 months. Previously, Steve Yzerman had held that honour, having been named captain of the Detroit Red Wings at 21 years, 5 months.
Although Lecavalier's initial few years were successful, his production soon declined and he was later stripped of the captaincy before the 2001-02 NHL season. Around that time, he also clashed frequently with head coach John Tortorella, who branded Lecavalier "selfish". However, from that point on, Lecavalier improved his game and matured. The most notably sign of his transformation was when he setup the Stanley Cup-winning goal in game seven of the 2004 championship series against the Calgary Flames.
After winning the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, he was named most valuable player of the Canadian National Team in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Vincent was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2006 Olympics.
Awards
- 1997-98: QMJHL First All-Star Team
- 1997-98: QMJHL Mike Bossy Trophy (Top Draft Prospect)
- 1997-98: QMJHL Michel Bergeron Trophy (Top Rookie Forward)
- 1997-98: CHL Rookie of the Year
- 1997-98: CHL First All-Star Team
- 2002-03: NHL All-Star Game Participant
- 2003-04: Stanley Cup Champion, Tampa Bay Lightning
- 2004-05: 2004 World Cup of Hockey Champion, Canada
- 2004-05: 2004 World Cup of Hockey MVP
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996-97 | Rimouski | QMJHL | 64 | 42 | 61 | 103 | 38 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1997-98 | Rimouski | QMJHL | 58 | 44 | 71 | 115 | 117 | 18 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 46 | ||
| 1998-99 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 82 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 23 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1999-00 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 80 | 25 | 42 | 67 | 43 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2000-01 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 68 | 23 | 28 | 51 | 66 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2001-02 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 76 | 20 | 17 | 37 | 61 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2002-03 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 80 | 33 | 45 | 78 | 39 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 2003-04 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 81 | 32 | 34 | 66 | 52 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 25 | ||
| 2004-05 | Ak Bars Kazan | Russia | 30 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 78 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2005-06 | Tampa Bay | NHL | 80 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 90 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| NHL Totals | 547 | 181 | 221 | 402 | 374 | 38 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 54 | ||||
International play
Played for Canada in:
- 1998 World Junior Championships
- 2001 World Championships
- 2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
- 2006 Winter Olympics
| 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 | ||
Personal Facts
Family:Parents: Yvon and Christianne Lecavalier
Siblings: Phillipe/Phil Lecavalier [older] and Genevieve Lecavalier Bale [older]
Has been best friends with Brad Richards since the age of 14, when they met at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a boarding school with an excellent hockey program in Saskatchewan, Canada. They were roommates and became good friends. Since then they have gone on to being teammates in the Rimouski Oceanic and Tampa Bay Lightning. They are currently living in adjoining buildings in Tampa Bay.
External links
- [Vincent Lecavalier stats at Internet Hockey Database]
- [Tampa Bay Lightning Official Site]
- [Vincent Lecavalier Official Site]
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Note: Lecavalier was named captain (after Gratton was traded), late in the 1999-2000 NHL season. Lecavalier was later stripped of the captaincy after the end of the 2000-01 NHL season. It was decided by Lightning management that he was too young and had had enough pressures as a star player.
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