Lightning: In the end, Lecavalier's best move was no move

In the end, Lecavalier's best move was no move

The Lightning center didn't get traded and has responded with his best season.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- There was something symbolic about what happened to Vinny Lecavalier on Tuesday night.

As the Lightning center buried the puck into the Capitals net for the winning, overtime goal in Game 3 of the East quarterfinals, it seemed as if he was finally, gratefully, burying the past.

Lecavalier was so unhappy last season, he asked management for a trade. If not for the ouster of then-general manager Rick Dudley, it would have happened. In fact, Lecavalier was a whisker away from being traded to the Maple Leafs.

Now, Lecavalier said, "I'm glad nothing happened and I stayed in Tampa."

Warm weather and palm trees aside, Lecavalier said Wednesday he wants to spend the rest of his career with the Lightning.

"Of course, yes," he said. "We're a team that's just going to get better. I see this team in the playoffs the next 10 years with the young guys we have. The city is great. The people are great, and it's a great organization."

Such a statement from a player pumped up from scoring his first two playoff goals in what, pretty much, was a do-or-die game is not surprising. What is noteworthy is how Lecavalier's outlook has turned.

Winning is the best panacea, of course, but isn't that always the case?

"Last year was just an awful year for everybody, not just myself," he said. "There was talk of trade, of me not producing, me not doing this, me not doing that. I'm happy it's all in the past."

A refresher: Lecavalier was mad at coach John Tortorella for taking away his captaincy and playing time and demanding he play with an eye on the team concept and not just offensive statistics.

There were nagging injuries, constant rumors about where he would be traded and offensive numbers (20 goals, 17 assists) better than those of only his rookie season.

Lecavalier, 22 and in his fifth season, said it all seems "a million miles away."

The team's success helped create that distance, but so did a major uptick in his level of play. Career highs of 33 goals, 45 assists and 78 points punctuated a defensive awareness and a willingness to play strong away from the puck that helped him earn an even plus/minus.

"He's become more reliable to his teammates, especially on the defensive side of the puck," said defenseman Jassen Cullimore, who has watched Lecavalier develop from a rookie.

"He's not blowing the defensive zone as soon as we get the puck like he used to. Now he's hanging in there and helping out and getting the puck and then going. It's been a good change, a maturing more than anything else."

It was telling that Tortorella's critique of Lecavalier's Game 3 performance did not mention the goals.

"He played well, and he played hard away from the puck. And that's important," he said.

It was important in the context of the game. Even Washington's defensive line of center Jeff Halpern, Steve Konowalchuk and Mike Grier, which shadowed Lecavalier's line, can score.

But it was especially important in the context of what the coach expects of 1998's No.1 overall draft choice, who has two years left on a four-year, $10.2-million deal.

"He's grown," Tortorella said. "He's still a young man, and he's growing. He's matured another year, and that's a big positive."

As it turned out, Lecavalier's most positive development is he is still with the Lightning. What might have been with Toronto, a mental exercise. Another rumored trade to Ottawa, just a memory.

"There were all kinds of different rumors of where I wanted to go," Lecavalier said. "I didn't know what to expect, and I was afraid of change at the same time. I didn't know whether it would be good or bad.

"I guess it proves the grass isn't always greener on the other side."