Excerpt from the Tampa Tribune (Joe Henderson):
“Are we trying to trade Vinny Lecavalier? No we are not. Is the Tampa Bay Lightning going out of business? No it isn’t.”
Lawton is the general manager of the Lightning, who are the subject of much speculation these days. The rumor that Lecavalier could be dealt to the Montreal Canadiens for a package of players and draft picks is a runaway train. That’s an outgrowth of another rumor, specifically that the Bolts’ new owners are in grave financial difficulty.
There is no credible evidence to suggest the new owners are in that kind of financial predicament, by the way. No threat of missed payrolls, no obvious cutbacks. They didn’t take a Greyhound to Phoenix to start their current West Coast road trip.
Still, Montreal reporters have started following the Lightning closely because Lecavalier is akin to a hockey god there.
Funny thing about that, though.
“Zero people have called me from Montreal to ask about this,” Lawton said from the West Coast, where the Lightning are on a road trip. “I don’t mean one; I mean zero.”
I don’t remember too many people considering the guy some type of hockey god…..
So maybe Gainey didn’t make the call. Maybe Brian Lawton made the call…or maybe he’s just lying. What’s the difference. It is clear from the number of hockey people who are talking about this that discussions about Lecavalier are happening.
It’s likely that if Lecav is traded that it won’t be Lawton’s decision anyway. This will be decided and driven by the new owners.
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