The Philadelphia Flyers have signed recently bought-out center Vincent Lecavalier to a new five year contract worth roughly $22.5 M and a full no movement clause. The deal was agreed to on Tuesday evening, but can’t officially be signed until Friday at noon time, when free agency opens.
Lecavalier was the first overall pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL draft, and was the face of the franchise for over a decade. Vinny was a key part in Tampa’s lone Stanley Cup Championship back in 2004. He scored 383 goals and a total of 874 points during his 1,037 regular season game tenure in the sunshine state.
He was a compliance buy-out by the franchise last week, and was the team’s captain the last few seasons.
Vinny met with a number of teams, including the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins this past weekend in New York while the teams were across the river in Jersey for the NHL draft.
Lecavalier joins a Flyers team that missed the playoffs this past season for the first time since their awful 2006-07 campaign. The Flyers have already added puck-mover Mark Streit to the bunch, and appear to be a team poised to bounce back in 2013-14.
Lecavalier joins a solid forward group that includes franchise face Claude Giroux, and solid complimentary players like Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds, and Jacob Voracek.
My thoughts on this signing are pretty clear. I think Vinny is a good player, and still has a lot to give to a team. I think he will help the Flyers and bolster their top six forward group the next few seasons.
However, I feel the Flyers gave Vinny way too many years here. A five year commitment to an aging player like this is a very questionable move, and one that rarely pans out. The money is $22.5 M, which comes to $4.5 M per season. It’s not too much money, but it is a little on the higher side.
Overall, I think this is a good player to add for the Flyers, but it comes at a price I beleive is a little over market value. With the added salary, I think we can fully expect a Flyers trade to come soon.
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