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SADOWSKI: Is Lecavalier an untouchable?

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 15, 2009 at 9:35 p.m.

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Vincent Lecavalier

Photo by Getty Images

Vincent Lecavalier

Risky business

Risky business

Montreal's Georges Laraque takes his role as an enforcer seriously. But the 6-foot-3, 243-pound right wing, who is on injured reserve with a groin injury, is well aware there are risks every time he exchanges blows with an opponent.

"The broken nose is an obvious one," Laraque wrote in a blog for SportsNet.ca. "But a broken orbital bone is something else and the thing people have to realize is that there is a life after hockey. So while you do this job, you have to make sure you take care of yourself.

"I don't want to look like the Elephant Man when I retire."

Faceoff

NUMBERS GAME

6 -minute penalty kill for the Chicago Blackhawks, who allowed one shot on goal against the Buffalo Sabres during the second-period disadvantage Wednesday. Ben Eager was assessed a cross-checking penalty and double-minor for roughing Drew Stafford.

WAKE-UP CALL

The Detroit Red Wings staged their annual team-building program in Southern California this week with a simulated SWAT exercise that involved firing rubber pellets with police instructors.

"It was outstanding," coach Mike Babcock told reporters. "No one died."

Babcock and center Kris Draper, above, played the part of villains, and all of the participants wore protective gear.

"We should have way more respect for the SWAT teams and the police," Babcock said. "I can't imagine what those poor guys got to do to keep us safe."

Said Draper: "We couldn't wait to get back and put the skates on to do our job."

GREAT OUTDOORS

The Las Vegas Strip, new Yankee Stadium and the Rose Bowl are on the list of potential sites for the next outdoor Winter Classic, John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer, told Bloomberg News.

League officials will begin touring possible venues after the Jan. 25 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal.

HE SAID IT

"The way you get good is, you miss the playoffs."

Ken Hitchcock, Columbus Blue Jackets coach, on the awarding of high draft picks to the league's worst teams.

More Colorado Avalanche

More stories »

Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman immediately come to mind - there is no such animal in the NHL as an untouchable.

Even Wayne Gretzky was traded twice (and sold 30 years ago by the World Hockey Association Indianapolis Racers to Edmonton), and Montreal did its part to bring a couple of Stanley Cups to Colorado by dealing Patrick Roy to the Avalanche.

We bring this up because speculation - it's not necessarily based on anything tangible - is making the rounds that the Tampa Bay Lightning would consider trading star center Vincent Lecavalier.

The 28-year-old is the face of the franchise, but the Lightning's new ownership group recently restructured a three-year, $70 million financing arrangement with the team's former owners, and Lecavalier has an 11-year, $85 million contract extension with a no-movement clause that doesn't kick in until July 1.

With the economy in the tank, attendance at the St. Pete Times Forum down about 2,000 per game from last season and the Lightning already pretty much out of the playoff picture, it might actually make sense to deal Lecavalier.

Of course, Tampa Bay would need to acquire a lot more than, say, a couple of very good players in exchange, and there aren't many teams that could afford to give up what it would take to secure such a high-caliber player.

At the same time, it's possible even fewer teams could afford the $10 million Lecavalier is due next season, especially when the league salary cap - set at $56.7 million this year - probably will decrease for the first time since its creation after the 2004-05 lockout.

Lightning general manager Brian Lawton has told Tampa Bay reporters he isn't shopping his captain, who is by far the team's most visible and popular player.

"I know there are wild rumors," Lawton said. "Those are the facts. It got out of hand, and not because of anything this club did or anyone involved with this club. In a perverse way, all this is kind of a tribute to the kind of player he is."

Fair or not, the speculation will continue, especially in light of the team's apparent financial issues.

But the St. Petersburg Times reported that the Lightning was able to pay Lecavalier a $500,000 signing bonus Thursday, and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has said the league is not financially involved with the team.

Lecavalier said he has no desire to leave but acknowledged the trade rumors have upset him.

"It's definitely been a stressful few days," he said. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. But right now, it's just rumors. That's all it is."

Return engagement?

Jaromir Jagr is hinting about a return to the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins, with whom he started his career in 1990.

Jagr, 36, spent the past three seasons with the New York Rangers and is in the first year of a two-year deal with Omsk in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

"I would just go there and play for them for the minimum salary," Jagr said of the Penguins in an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. "I owe (team owner) Mario (Lemieux) so much because he taught me how to play hockey. If he would want me to, I would come back for the minimum and try to help him. But he doesn't need me. He has good players there."

Jagr played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, won the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring champion five times and two Stanley Cups. He is second on the Penguins' all-time scoring list - behind Lemieux - with 439 goals and 1,079 points.

Fixing a hole

The New York Islanders' goaltending situation is a mess, to say the least.

Rick DiPietro, who is in the third year of a ridiculous 15-year, $67.5 million contract, has a knee problem that could cause him to miss the rest of the season, and Joey MacDonald is nursing a groin injury.

That leaves minor league journeyman Yann Danis as the Islanders' top goalie for now, with the possibility of putting in a claim for Curtis Sanford, who was recently waived by Vancouver.

Team general manager Garth Snow told Newsday he has contacted Denver-based agent Kurt Overhardt, who represents former University of Denver goalie Wade Dubielewicz.

Dubielewicz, who has 37 games of NHL experience with the Islanders, recently was bought out of his contract with Ak Bars Kazan in Russia. Late Thursday, The Associated Press reported the Islanders had indeed signed Dubielewicz.

The Islanders called up former DU star Peter Mannino to back up Danis. The Islanders also have a goalie playing for Bridgeport, Conn., in the American Hockey League, Nathan Lawson.

Itching to get back

Brendan Shanahan could make his season debut with the New Jersey Devils as early as Saturday against the Islanders.

Shanahan, who turns 40 next week, signed a one-year, prorated $800,000 contract Wednesday and practiced for the first time Thursday. He expects to play at least once before next week's NHL All-Star break.

Shanahan spent his first four NHL seasons with the Devils, won three Stanley Cups with Detroit and spent the past two years with the Rangers. He became a free agent last summer.

Shanahan has scored 650 goals, the 11th most in league history.

Slap shots

* The Boston Bruins took a couple of hits this week. Phil Kessel, who has a team-high 24 goals, was placed on injured reserve with mononucleosis and Marco Sturm underwent season-ending knee surgery.

* Avalanche goalie prospect Tyler Weiman, playing for the Lake Erie Monsters in the AHL, posted back-to-back 3-0 shutouts against Quad City and Philadelphia.

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