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By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 29, 2001
DENVER -- Vinny Lecavalier's father, Yvon, had an interesting dinner partner recently: Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. The two met in Tampa on March 18 after the Lightning defeated Pittsburgh 5-1 at the Ice Palace.
Normally that would warrant no more than a shrug. But with rumors continuing to swirl about a deal that would send Lecavalier to the Penguins for Jaromir Jagr, the meeting takes on some significance.
"I can categorically say Vinny Lecavalier is not going anywhere," general manager Rick Dudley said Monday. "I can honestly say I have never had any discussions with Pittsburgh -- or any team, for that matter -- about Vinny Lecavalier."
Yvon said his dinner was a chance encounter. He said the possibility of his son playing for the Penguins was never discussed. The main topic: If Lecavalier would play in Lemieux's charity golf tournament.
"After the game, I went to eat sushi, and Mario was right there in front of me," Yvon said from his home in Ile-Bizard, a Montreal suburb. "He stood up and said, "Why don't you join us.'
"We never talked about hockey at all."
Lecavalier's entry-level, three-year deal with the Lightning is up, and he could be a restricted free agent July 1. His agent, Kent Hughes, is negotiating with Tampa Bay.
LINE CHANGES: With Devils right wing Randy McKay sidelined with a broken left hand, coach Larry Robinson reconfigured two lines for tonight's Game 2 at the Pepsi Center.
Scott Gomez takes McKay's place on Bobby Holik's line, which also gains Bob Corkum. Sergei Brylin, who was on Holik's line, is paired with center Sergei Nemchinov and Alexander Mogilny.
The new Holik line is interesting because all three players are natural centers. Robinson said that is not a problem. "You start out at one position, and as the game goes on, everybody is interchanging all the time," he said.
COLD STREAK: Robinson hopes to give some juice to Mogilny, who hasn't scored in 11 games after getting 43 goals in the regular season. "I think he is pressing a little bit because he feels he has to score," Robinson said. "If you are not scoring, there are other things you can do to help the team. But when he gets hot, he can carry a team."
RELOAD, NOT REBUILD: As Avalanche coach Bob Hartley spoke about his organization's ability to develop young talent, somebody noticed his son and the son of assistant Bryan Trottier on the ice. "Like I said, rebuilding is not part of our dictionary," Hartley said, "so we are preparing for the future."
CHOICES: Devils center John Madden said that if he had to do it again, he would pass instead of shoot at Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy to finish a two-on-one with three minutes left in the first period of Game 1.
Roy made a huge right leg save to preserve a 1-0 lead.
"That could have given us some momentum," Madden said. "But (today) is another day, and I'll get another opportunity to score, and we'll see if he can stop that one."
For information about the playoffs, check out these Web sites:
www.sunmedia.ca/Slam/home.html