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Coach and star share goal, believe it or not

© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 6, 2001

So Vinny Lecavalier and John Tortorella have some issues, or they don't. Lecavalier wants a trade, or he doesn't.

Lecavalier and Tortorella yelled at each other on the bench and in the locker room during a recent game against the Capitals at the Ice Palace. Like a coach and player have never done that before.

So put that aside. What makes this interesting is whatever hurdles the two are trying to breach, they are striving for the same thing: to make Lecavalier a better player.

Lecavalier scoring 30-40 goals with 50 assists would make the Lightning immeasurably better. It would kick-start the additional line Tampa Bay needs to take some of the heat off Brad Richards and linemates Fredrik Modin and Martin St. Louis.

Why would Tortorella want to push him out the door? He doesn't. At the same time, the coach rightfully will not accept the woeful minus-51 combined plus-minus rating Lecavalier posted the past two seasons. He is not going to accept Lecavalier not backchecking or initiating body contact or breaking off plays when things don't click, all of which plagued Lecavalier last season.

And he shouldn't. Lecavalier is too good. And you know what? Lecavalier shouldn't accept it either.

Lecavalier has skills enough to be a dominant force. He is so highly regarded, he was tabbed a potential superstar even before the Lightning made him the No. 1 pick of the 1998 draft.

Maybe putting that kind of pressure on him was unfair. Maybe making him captain at age 19 was ill-advised. Not that Lecavalier will not be a sensational leader, but he was a kid, for goodness sake.

That said, Lecavalier has claimed over and over he relishes the pressure; wants to be a leader for the Lightning; wants to play for the Lightning.

Well, it is time to really show it. It's time for Lecavalier to take the step up his abilities demand. Lecavalier is 21, still young but in his fourth season in the league. He has played 241 NHL games, so there should be no surprises.

To be fair, Lecavalier is a victim of his own success. He is so gifted offensively, no one previously demanded he develop a more complete game. That was easy to overlook two seasons ago when he had 25 goals and 67 points and the conclusion was he would take the league by storm.

Tortorella, however, was not willing to play along; not when Lecavalier was a miserable minus-26 last season.

Tortorella's message is not specific to Lecavalier. It is the highest compliment that he does not play favorites when expecting commitment and accountability.

It is a compliment to Lecavalier he has taken Tortorella's position under advisement -- the benching last season and a cut in ice time might have had something to do with it -- and is playing an improved game.

Scoring has been a problem. One goal in 11 games should be unacceptable to Lecavalier. But there is a defensive awareness that wasn't there last season. Lecavalier is initiating checks, and is only minus-2 despite the lack of goals.

Tortorella, the guy with whom Lecavalier supposedly is having all this drama, was out front in his praise.

"He has shown resiliency," the coach said. "He understands it better. He makes mistakes but he is trying to do those things. He can't give up on that part of the game. He can't sacrifice that part to get some offense. You do the other part and the offense will come."

Lecavalier need only look at the many scoring chances he has had recently to know that is true.

The bottom line is that right now, under Tortorella's prompting, Lecavalier is contributing in more ways on the ice than any time during his NHL career.

Is it enough? Not even close. He must start converting scoring chances. He must be a major offensive force on a team that has so few.

Funny how that might be the final part of his game that starts to click.

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