January's Lecavalier-Montréal Trade Rumor
The St. Petersburg Times reported that last month's rumors of trading Lecavalier to the Montréal Canadiens were more than just rumors. Apparently, the Lightning really were talking to Montréal about trading Lecavalier. Vinny didn't know that until game day yesterday against New Jersey, which is probably why he played with a bit of a chip on his shoulder against the Devils.
I'd read about this a two or three days ago on the blog, Habs Eyes On The Prize, and there's reputed to be a little more to it than just "talk." Rue Frontenac was reporting that the Canadiens' GM was quoted saying that the Lightning contacted them about the trade - and that the Lightning were actively shopping Lecavalier. The blog also mentioned that only reason the trade didn't happen was because local companies and corporations might withdraw their financial support by way of not advertising with the team (according to TSN). So, Lecavalier is still with the Lightning only because of that.
(And really, he should be thankful. Montréal isn't in the best of shape right now. And the media is in a feeding frenzy in that town because of their collapse.)
I'm not one to believe everything I read, but I find it interesting that this isn't being widely publicized. You know how it is - if it's not true, you read it everywhere. If it is true, you'll have to dig for it. This has the ring of truth to it to me, and it's the kind of thing that wouldn't be widely publicized if it were true.
And now the St. Louis to Pittsburgh rumors make sense. They can't get ride of Lecavalier, so they're probably trying to get rid of St. Louis. It's a salary dump, plain and simple. I'm sure it's nothing personal, of course.
None of this surprises me in the least. As Dan Boyle said when asked about the Lecavalier-Montréal rumors, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Let me revisit a blog that I wrote back on July 5th, right after Boyle and Lukowich were traded to San Jose:
"You’ll probably be safe from being traded at a whim since you’re forwards. But then, Boyle thought he was pretty safe, too. You might want to watch your backs, just in case, since I don’t think anybody on this team really is safe – and yes, I’m talking to you, too, Lecavalier. ... I get the impression, even from afar, that you shouldn’t trust these guys – particularly when they’re smiling.
"Best of luck to Boyle & Lukowich. It could turn out that you were the lucky ones after all."
And it turns out that they were. Have you seen what San Jose has been doing lately? And where they are in the standings? And there's talk that Boyle could be up for the Norris Trophy (Best NHL Defenseman).
Two things are at issue here - Lecavalier's contract vs. advertising income. Right now, advertising money is winning, so they feel they can't trade Lecavalier at this time. The other thing going in the fans' favor is that the Lightning are over-estimating the trade value of both Lecavalier and St. Louis. While they're both top-tier players, in most other teams' eyes only Lecavalier is worth gutting their team for. But even then, not for the asking price that the Lightning have put on him. So unless another team is desperate, a trade isn't likely unless the Lightning are willing to settle for less than the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky.
So now that Lecavalier has finally realized that he is nothing but a commodity - a thing - in the eyes of the management/ownership, it ought to be interesting to see what he does with that. Things, after all, don't deserve consideration nor respect. I'm sure that's not going to sit well with Vinny. If they do trade him, the only phone call he'll probably get will be the one telling him to clear out his locker - and they'll probably chicken out and make Tocchet do the honors.
And let's be honest, will he want to play for a team that doesn't really want him, anyways? And if they don't trade him but they do trade St. Louis, will he want to stay? They had a hand in trading Richards away to Dallas, you might remember. I don't know if he'll ask for a trade, but I don't think any one would blame him if he did.
3 comments:
How it should ahve been from day one with these cowboys is expecting the moon, the stars and the sun for players like Boyle, Lecavalier or Marty (who has the biggest trade value at current with a contract that underpays what he puts out on ice).
I say this because the guys should have been untouchable - not trade bait... Only and if only the sun, the moon, the stars adn the rest of the galaxy are offered should the core be touched.
The problem is, ownership (and I do say ownership and not Lawton on this -- though I could be wrong) doesn't look at trades like that. They do it Hollywood writing brainstorming style. "I got me a what if!" Impulsive moves that will either make things a blockbuster or a bust. You can't manage a roster like that as it effects things long term.
To trade Lecavalier would have resulted in advertising being worth bupkus as the fans would have left... So knowing advertisers were revolting would make sense. Same thing may happen with a Marty deal. I see four forwards that, in a perfect world, are untouchable. But these four are the guys the Cowboys will try to sell off first and foremost: Vinny, Marty, Malone and Halpern. They'll say it's all because of finances and in truth -- it's because they gutted the franchise last summer while not knowing what they wanted in the present... Which has screwed the long term viability of hockey in Tampa Bay.
And if Vinny found out just last night about the truth to the rumors, then I'm sort of surprised. Brad Richards laid some quotes when he was visiting (Dallas at Tampa Bay) that made it sound like both he and Vinny knew ownership was the one behind things.
Vinny was quoted in a local paper as saying yesterday that he thought they were just rumors. And he looked very angry to me when I was watching the game - which seemed strange to me. So either he was in denial at the time, or he genuinely didn't know.
Interestingly enough, I've read that they've been testing the waters with trading Vinny since November. Don't know how true that is, but the timing makes sense. It was common knowledge that Vinny didn't like Melrose - so it was probably either Melrose or Lecavalier. If it was true, it makes me wonder if Melrose was only let go because they couldn't trade Vinny - because they were asking for too much in return from other teams.
I've read others call them "frat boys," which seems like a better fit. And I've read that the ownership is running the team like a fantasy league. Both of which seem about right to me.
The saddest part of all is that the people who run the team played hockey themselves. You'd think they'd know better. But instead, they think they know more than they actually do. And that's too bad, really. The team and the city deserve better than that.
Frat boys describes them and of course I have been one to say that the team is being run like a fantasy league team... The hollywood writers thing is just a new take on it. I saw "The Majestic" again the other night and had the "I got me a what if..." phrase in my head.
I always thought that naivette would make Oren Koules a better guy to run the team than Doug MacLean when the sale announcement came up in 2007 and the entire sale situation festered like a sore for a while. I now officially say I stand corrected.
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