Habster:

I thought another voice of reasoning (beyond Big Brother, Rocket and myself) would be a good idea on the Lecavalier rumors.

I have posted Lyle Richardson’s (Spector) assessment/comments to the recent developments and I would have to agree with his thoughts (though I’m not sure where the Komisarek/Markov inclusion in the trade came from, maybe the Lightning or the Tampa media).

If Markov or Komisarek are part of the package then I’m sure it’s a non-starter for Bob Gainey who has recently stated that he needs to upgrade his blueline, not trade away one of his top pairing. He also stated the defense doesn’t have the depth to deal with any injury problems.

Here’s what Lyle has to say:

SPECTOR’S NOTE: A few points. One, Lecavalier’s contract makes him difficult to move. Two, the Canadiens rumored offer might not be enough to land him as I doubt the Bolts would accept it without Mike Komisarek or perhaps Andrei Markov as part of the deal. Four, the Habs rumored offer (Plekanec, Higgins, Gorges, prospect PK Subban and a package of draft picks) still wouldn’t shed enough cap space to absorb Lecavalier’s current $6.85 million contract for this season. Five, the Lightning are still denying Lecavalier is being traded, and I think Cristodero’s assessment is the most accurate at this point.

Could Lecavalier be traded? Sure, anything’s possible, despite the limited market for him because of his salary and concerns about a declining salary cap. I just don’t believe it’s going to happen unless he demands to be dealt and so far there’s been little out of Tampa Bay (although plenty coming from Canada) suggesting he does. I’m not disparaging TSN’s Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger, but Cristodero is closer to the organization and I think would have a better grasp of what’s happening with the club. As Gagnon suggested, this talk of Lecavalier being dealt to Montreal seems too good to be true.

Here’s some video reaction (TSN/RDS) from Josh Gorges and Tomas Plekanec on hearing the trade rumors: On The Block?