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A long-term deal possible?

It is for Vinny Lecavalier and the Lightning if the team is willing to spend.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 24, 2001

The Lightning would love to sign Vinny Lecavalier to a long-term contract. General manager Rick Dudley said Thursday that he wouldn't mind seeing a five-year deal get done.

After all, the 21-year-old restricted free agent has superstar potential.

But such a deal would mean a serious financial commitment from the frugal Lightning because it would mean buying out three years of Lecavalier's arbitration rights.

Those rights kick in after five professional seasons. For Lecavalier, that would be after 2002-03.

Dudley acknowledged the cost, but he didn't say the deal wasn't doable.

"Nobody has said, "Let's grind this kid into the ground,' " Dudley said. "We value Vinny very much as a player."

Said Lecavalier's agent, Kent Hughes: "We've expressed from the beginning our willingness to consider different terms, assuming we can make the dollars work."

The sides are working on bridging the gap.

First, disregard Tampa Bay's qualifying offer.

Because Lecavalier made $975,000 in base salary last season -- less than the league average of more than $1.4-million -- the Lightning had to offer at least a 10 percent raise to keep the captain's negotiating rights.

It is believed the Lightning's real starting point in negotiations was a package similar to the three-year, $5.35-million deal Boston gave Joe Thornton after he finished his first contract.

The model for Lecavalier's camp is the two-year, $6.2-million deal the Canadiens gave Saku Koivu.

Assuming a qualifying offer from another team doesn't force Tampa Bay's hand -- the Lightning has vowed to match any such offers -- an accommodation will have to be established.

Both Dudley and Tom Wilson, president of Lightning owner Palace Sports & Entertainment, said there is no appreciable gap between what hockey operations believes Lecavalier is worth and what ownership is willing to pay.

"There's not a huge difference in anything," Dudley said. "All of us in hockey operations and the people in Detroit (where Palace Sports is located) would love to have Vinny signed."

Still, there was this qualifier.

"But we're not going to break new ground," Dudley said.

Wilson said, "I think we're very much in agreement."

He added, laughing, "Now, if we could just get Vinny to agree with our assessment, we're done."

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