Vincent Lecavalier can no longer be considered among the NHL’s elite players. Can he? After posting numbers that are near his career low, Lecavalier can thank Scott Gomez for stealing the headline of “Good grief, what the hell happened to that guy?!?!”
Only five seasons removed from 52 goals and 108 points, Lecavalier’s production has consistently dropped each year before potentially bottoming out last season. The puzzling part is that Vinny only just turned 32 this past April and was coming off a season where his point-per-game production was still respectable.

Injuries have obviously played a role in Lecavalier’s falling star. Over the past five seasons since his Rocket Richard award-winning season (2006-07) he has played in only one 82-game season. The last two have been the most difficult as the Tampa captain was forced to sit out for 35 games total.  A broken hand shelved Lecavalier last season for most of his missed action and he should be ready to roll whenever the games begin.

What fans can’t get out of their minds is that their captain has eight years left on an absurd contract that pays him just over $7.7-million per season. By the time that contract is up, Lecavalier will be 40 and might not even be in the league anymore. With a dwindling level of production, and a ridiculously cap-unfriendly contract, this means that Lecavalier will be a Tampa Bay lifer.
Fortunately for you, if you happen to roll the dice on the former NHL All-Star center, you don’t have to keep him for the next eight games much less the next eight years. 

He’s worth a look simply because the Lightning have a lot of offensive firepower around him. He’s still good on face-offs, good for some hits and power-play points, and might rediscover the scoring touch that seemed to leave him in the past few seasons. If he can stay healthy, Lecavalier might be a decent sleeper at center.