This has been bothering him for quite some time ...
Cue the irresponsible (for now)
"Has he played his last game in Tampa?" talk ...
From the team:
LIGHTNING CAPTAIN VINCENT LECAVALIER TO UNDERGO ARTHROSCOPIC WRIST SURGERY
TAMPA BAY - Tampa Bay Lightning Captain Vincent Lecavalier will undergo surgery to repair damage to his right wrist on Friday, April 3, Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced.
Lecavalier will travel to Philadelphia where the arthroscopic procedure will be performed by Dr. A. Lee Osterman on Friday at the Philadelphia Hand Center. Dr. Osterman previously operated on Lecavalier's left wrist to repair damage to the triangular fibro cartilage during the summer of 2007 with a successful result. Friday's procedure was originally scheduled to take place last summer but was delayed after Lecavalier suffered damage to his right shoulder during the Lightning's second-to-last game of the 2007-08 season. The successful shoulder surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews on April 15, 2008.
"Obviously, it is disappointing that Vinny will not be able to finish the season, but we feel that it is in both his and the team's best interest to have the wrist operated on now," Lawton said. "Vinny has been battling this injury all season and I really can't say enough about his ability to play through pain and discomfort."
In his 10th NHL season, Lecavalier has played in all 77 games for the Lightning this year. He has played in 76 or more in nine of his 10 NHL seasons including 2008-09, which marks his seventh consecutive.
Lecavalier is one of six active players to currently have six consecutive seasons with 25 goals or more. He leads the Lightning in power play goals with 10, game-winning goals with six and is tied for first with 29 goals. Lecavalier's 67 points are also second on the club.
***
From earlier:
Before a word on Toronto's now-voided 4th round draft choice, acquired at the deadline from Tampa Bay in the Richard Petiot deal, a quick reminder:
Don't forget to place your votes for
The JJ Awards, showcasing the good and the bad of the 2008-09 Tampa Bay Lightning season. Fan votes, which will determine the three finalists for each category, will be accepted through noon, EST, April 8th.
Click here for the list of categories.
And, if you missed it yesterday,
click here for a
TBL.com feature on the recent fan Q&A session with Lightning management that I ran yesterday at the request of associates with the team. Good stuff.
Read on ...
***
The trade was a total afterthought on deadline day - a deal featuring a trio of injured players, a draft pick and an unheralded minor league defenseman. The Toronto Maple Leafs, essentially, agreed to pay the salaries of three injured Tampa Bay Lightning players (goalie Olaf Kolzig and defensemen Jamie Heward and Andy Rogers) for the remainder of the season in return for a fourth round draft choice. To make the trade ... well ... an actual
trade, the Lightning received d-man Richard Petiot. More or less, most said, Toronto bought a pick.
Petiot, 0-3-3 and a plus-5 in 11 games with Tampa, whose prior NHL experience consisted of two games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2005-06, has been a pleasant surprise for the Bolts and now the Leafs have been forced to forfeit the pick acquried in the deal as penance for mishandling defenseman Jonas Frogren's contract last summer and, thus, violating the league's CBA.
In the end, Toronto President/GM Brian Burke acquired three players that will never dress for Toronto for a player who may now have a shot at resurrecting an NHL career. No real victory here for the Lightning, who still gave up the pick in the first place, but if Petiot turns out to be a find, Burke will no doubt kick himself. The Frogren gaffe, of course, did not occur on Burke's watch as Cliff Fletcher was running things in Toronto then but the trade is certainly the responsibility of the current regime.
This is now, officially, the most talked about non-talked-about deal in NHL history.
***
From Darren Dreger at TSN:
The National Hockey League has disciplined the Toronto Maple Leafs for their handling of defenceman Jonas Frogren's contract last summer.
Sources say the Leafs have been fined $500,000 for paying Frogren a $755,000 signing bonus which violated the CBA. The Maple Leafs will also have to pay an additional penalty in the form of a draft pick.
''The Toronto Maple Leafs acknowledge and apologize for the error of judgement,'' Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke said in a statement. ''The club accepts the punishment handed down by the league and will not be commenting further on the matter.''
It's believed Frogren used a portion of the signing bonus - $400,000 - to get out of the final year of his contract with Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League.
The issue surrounds the amount Frogren received in the signing bonus as the NHL deemed Frogren to be an entry level player at the time.
According to sources, Toronto didn't agree with the leagues stand and paid the large signing bonus anyway.
NHL deputy commissioner, Bill Daly, confirmed the sanctions to TSN.
"We can confirm that the Toronto Maple Leafs have been sanctioned by the league for violations of league rules in connection with the club's 2008 signing of Jonas Frogren, and that one aspect of the league-imposed discipline requires the forfeiture of the club's fourth round draft pick in the 2009 Entry Draft (previously acquired from Tampa Bay). We have no further comment on the matter."
Frogren signed a two-year contract with the Leafs last July and this decision by the NHL will not impact his contractual status with the team.
***
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