Vincent Lecavalier

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

Stats as of April 28, 2006.

International play

Played for Canada in:

International statistics

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 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

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.