Only five days ago, Vincent Lecavalier was bought out by the only team he'd ever known, the team he played his first NHL game for 15 years ago, the team he won a Stanley Cup with in 2004. In just five short days, he has found a new home.
The Philadelphia Flyers and Lecavalier have agreed to a five-year deal worth $22.5 million. Lecavalier's cap hit will be $4.5 million per season. His hit puts the Flyers at $67,578,522 of overall salary, over the cap by a bit over $300,000. Philly still needs a backup goaltender and some defensive depth, so GM Paul Holmgren will need to finagle a bit before the season begins in October. Teams can remain 10 percent over the salary cap until then.
Lecavalier was drafted first overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Then-Lightning owner Art Williams suggested the Quebec-born center would be "the Michael Jordan of hockey." While not quite living up to that banner, Lecavalier has still been an excellent player in this league for a long time. He has 383 goals and 874 points in 1,037 career games.