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Vinnymania hits Montreal

January 13, 2009 07:59 PM | Posted by   P.J. Stock  

Vinny Lecavalier mania has finally hit Montreal in full force.

You've all heard of past crazes like Hulkamania, Stockamania and Beatlemania, right? Well, new to the group is Vinnymania.

Vinnymania is a craze that Montreal Canadien fanatics are suffering from. This malady is brought on by a notion that Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning is on his last legs in the sunshine state. The days of fun in the sun for No. 4 are rumoured to be numbered and Vinny is supposedly looking for a new home.

Let me rephrase that. The days of headaches and unfulfilled promises to Vincent Lecavalier are rumoured to be numbered because the Lightning's ownership are rumoured to be in somewhat of a financial crisis and need to get his 11-year, $85-million contract off their books before his no-trade clause kicks in this July.

I don't know the entire story and I’m not going to try and break everything down, but from what I have heard it does sound a lot like explanation number deux.

If this holds water and the Lightning are forced to move him for financial reasons, where does he end up?

Every team in the NHL would love to have a competitor, leader, goal-scoring machine that fights almost all his own battles, power-play specialist, Team Canada teammate and oh yeah, a Stanley Cup winner.

The problemo for Vincenzo is that attached to all the great qualities is a fat contract that pays him $85,000,000 over the next 11 years. The cap hit on any team is $7.7 million per season. That figure isn't that hard to digest for some teams.

The problem is that Lecavalier’s contract is front loaded and he’s owed 10 schmill per annum for the first seven years. That's a lot of bacon to some owners. Even though the league’s salary ceiling is $56.7 million, some team's owners actually give their managers a "team" cap that they cannot surpass and often it's lower than the league’s.

Fanatics in Montreal are overlooking any financial obstacle that Vinny's contract might cause because many believe he is the next coming of a certain francophone Montreal Canadien God by the name of Jean Beliveau.

For crying out loud, Lecavalier actually played Jean Beliveau in the movie The Rocket, which honoured the late Maurice Richard.

Vinny would be the perfect answer to what the ol’ faithful here in la belle province, Quebec, have been praying for: Tall, FRANCOPHONE, good looking, FRANCOPHONE, dynamic, FRANCOPHONE, entertaining, FRANCOPHONE, hockey superstar extraordinaire, and oh yes, he's FRANCOPHONE.

Would I do it? Depending on the price? Definitely.

Would Bob Gainey do it? We’ll see!

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