Vinny could sit out four preseason games

  Lightning superstar center Vinny Lecavalier, rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, said his goal is to play the last two preseason games. He stressed that nothing has been determined, but if Lecavalier holds to that schedule, he will miss the four preseason games before the team travels to Europe.

"My goal is to play the last two games," he said of exhibitions against Eisbaren Berlin in Germany and HC Slovan in Slovakia. "We'll see before that. I can't predict how it's going to feel."

Lecavalier worked out with teammates Thursday at the Ice Sports Forum and took several slap shots and wrist shots. And while he said he was testing his new sticks, and not necessarily is shoulder, it was a good experiment, nonetheless.

"I just started again this week and it feels pretty good for slap shots and wristers," he said. "It's mostly when the puck is far away, reaching, it feels a little weak."

Lecavalier said that likely is simply a matter of re-strengthening the shoulder. He has been rehabbing five months and likely won't be cleared for contact before talking to James Andrews, the orthopedist who performed the surgery, before the European trip.

"I would like to," Lecavalier said of playing before the trip. We'll see how I feel."

In other Vinny-related news, coach Barry Melrose, who has said Lecavalier would be "the perfect captain," said he still wants to watch Lecavalier during camp before making a final decision.

"I've got some time I want to spend with him," Melrose said. "Just because you're the best player doesn't necessarily mean you're a leader. But I've been very impressed with him. I think Vinny is really maturing into that leadership role."   

Comments

[Parsons]

Heh Marlboro who the hell would want to live you you in a red neck trailer, in Florida's non stop hell heat with hurricanes swirling up both coasts.

[Steve R]

ntmm,

"and who the heck wants to live in a Russian S%$^ hole eatting crap food with crappy freezing third world living conditions!"

People wonder the same thing about living in Philly and Pitt.

[Not the Marlboro Man]

The only reason Russians want to play here is that they can't make the big bucks in Russia or else they would plFor the initiating 08/09 season the league will be made up of 24 teams divided into 4 divisions named after Tarasov, Chernyshev, Bobrov and Kharlamov. There are teams from Riga (Latvia), Minsk (Belarus) and Kazakhstan, but the vast majority (21) are still made up of Russian teams. Each team will play 56 regular season games, and then 16 teams move on to the playoffs to compete for the Gagarin Cup. Best of five in the first round and then best of seven from QF on up. Game 7 of the final will always be scheduled to be played on April 12th, which is the day Gagrin became the first man in space.

Teams will have a 562.5 million ruble cap space (roughly USD 23.5 million), split into two pots, one of USD 16.7 million for 21 players and one of USD 6.8 million for four star players. Thus you can expect KHL grunts to earn USD 0.5 - 1.0 million and stars to earn between USD 1-3 million. There will be a draft and a waiver draft, but players brought up within the team's own junior system can be protected.

As for making all those big bucks with a $23.5 mil cap space I don't know what the hell your talking Steve. This shows me that if you pay a player like Jarimir Jagger gets $7 mil a year that its like getting $11 mil a year without taxes but you have stripped the rest of your team of possessing any talent, and who the heck wants to live in a Russian S%$^ hole eatting crap food with crappy freezing third world living conditions!

I hope that dazzled you along with your MAN CRUSH for Ovechkin Steve!

[léo]

Same thing SteveR,
If Ilya goes, Atlanta goes, the few fans will revolt.
If V4 went, TB woulda went, the few fans woulda revolted.
V4 was Kouliwood's num1 Priority.
If Kouliwood had bought Atlanta, who would his num1 Priority have been?
Pay Ilya same as the V4 contract and he'll stay in Atlanta.
Guaranteed.
P.

[Steve R]

leo,

"Ilya. The V4 of Atlanta. No WAY they let him go"

I disagree. Apples and oranges. V4 has had talent put around him, Ilya not so much. Bolts have made some aggresive moves to rebuild. Atl, not so much.

He'll be out of Atl. imho.

[léo]

PD,
I don't really know how to debate your...what?, vision, perception, I dunno. No better than Ott and Pit? Ott has no reliable goaltending and no heart, hurt D and serious depth issues on O.
Pit has been RANSACKED by the Hossa deal and further depleted by off-season losses. Satan, however...with Crosby? Gotta admit, I'm concerned.
That being said, the Pitt team you KNEW is no more.
Rangers???
The team is WEAKER than the one that got bounced in 1st round.
Naslund, yes, in my mind, will adequately replace Jagr...and they'll get bounced in the 1st round.
And if you REALLY think that Redden is gonna be a new'n'improved stalwart in NEW YORK! after 2 years of crapola in Ottawa!, you are in for a rude awakening, my fine-feathered friend. I'm not making anything up here.
Adding Sundin, (when?in Jan?) would, yes, be an improvement (if Mats plays to par of course), but Best in the East??? (snort) You're entitled to your opinion, mate.
Truth is, Dal and Det better than Us, nobody else.
We got reliable, soon to be magical goaltending.
We got offensive superiority.
We got defensive superiority.
We got depth superiority.
We got PP superiority.
We got Muscle superiority.
We got organizational superiority.
We got fan support superiority.
We don't have a 1st line center.
Drop the puck and we'll see what's what in a hurry, I reckon.
Zherdev. No is disputing Zherdev's talent. An exceptional player, fersure. It's his commitment that's on the table. Always has been.
Ilya. The V4 of Atlanta. No WAY they let him go.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

A lot of charachter left the big apple this off-season, though I'm of the opinion that it was time. It will be interesting to see it Redden and Naslund can help whip the perennial underperformers into the semblance of a team. Some good young talent there if they can be forged into a team, similar in a way to the Lightning's front lines. I like our D, though I admit to yearning for more. They could be adequate to challenge for the SE despite your disbelief PD.

[Steve R]

Look at what 'lanta got for Hossa. I'd be amazed if Ilya doesn't go the same route at the deadline year after next.

[PD]

I agree about D wins championships Don and thats exactly why the Bolts will be fighting the Turds for 3rd in the SE.

Having said that the Columbus style of play is hardly suited to Zherdev's talents. That can hire a million guys there to go up and down the wings. Look what happened to Modin there, he disappeared.

Kovy is a man alone in Atlanta.I bet he is counting the days.

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, I'm not disputing he will score, just mentioning that he's one dimensional. Last time I checked it was defense that wins championships. I still believe it will be much more important for the Rangers to get good seasons from Redden and Naslund if they're even going to make the playoffs. Kovy scores buckets down in Hotlanta but you see how far that got them.

[Pd]

Admire the spin but candy man Lang vs horse Sundin, steak to dogfood.
Montreal is now no better bet than Ottawa Pitt or Rangers in the East and far behind Wings Stars and Ducks in the west.
When Mats goes to the Rangers at some point, as he will, its lights out in the east.

Adding another center who disappears between the hash marks is negative tipping point not a positive one.

Heh Don not many young players with Zherdovs talent..he will light it up in New York.

[léo]

Aarrgh!
I meant Det at 1 and Chi at EIGHT, not 2.
Sorry.
Hopefully the Dal at 2 and Edm at 7 helped to show my error.
P.

[léo]

SteveR,
The first "if" is HUGE. Can't happen again. He imploded due to exhaustion. Perfectly natural. He hadn't taken his equipment off in 2½ years. Now, he's had 3 months off. Fuhgeddabowdit.
2nd if: "Without Streit" boohoo. "Without Souray" boohoo. Please. Markov. Kovy. A radioactive one-armed monkey? Best PP in the league. Please. Enough with Streit, padawan. Tanguay at the point; end of story.
3rd if: You're absolutely right about that one.
Comes to a total of ONE "if".
Same one as before. When We finished 1st.
And now Our team is better still.
Ryder, Streit, Smolinski for Tanguay, Laraque, Lang.
You kiddin' me?
Let's get it on.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

I've got a stomach flu this afternoon so I'm forgoing the usual yardwork. I was trying to be realistic, without losing my optimism. True about Brind-Amour, I'd forgotten about him. We have 12 guys who have and still could score 20 goals or more, I figured that makes us deep on "O".

[léo]

Oh, and PD, didn't see yer post,
Wasn't saying that Chic-kago was 1a. Was saying that Chic-kago can BEAT Detroit City. They have a psychological fearlessness when playing them.
This, you know well, and of course, you remember their record against them last year. St-Louis too, for that matter, but I won't draw up the same scenario for them.
Chic-kago can beat Detroit City BETTER than Dalliss can, though Dalliss is a BETTER team than Chic-kago. This you know. That was my point.
Dalliss DEFINITELY 1a. Agreed.
So IF, let's say, Det is 1 and Chi is 2 and they face each other and Chi wins?
Then Dal at 2 faces Edm at 7 and Edm wins?
Cup's Ours.
Mwa-ha!
P.

[Steve R]

leo,

Yup, the game is full of "if's".

If Price doesn't implode like he did in the playoffs.
If your powerplay is as effectice with out Streit
If the lack of a #1 center doesn't bite you in the a@@

Don,

That was a pretty good breakdown on the East. Well said.

[léo]

Kincaid,
That IS the way We see Lang. Question is: Lang or Smolinski? Ask THAT on Our blog, see what you come up with.
Don,
Wow! What a great post! If it wasn't for the part about being the deepest in the East and surprising a lot of people, I woulda thought someone ELSE wrote it. Great post.
And by "great", I mean I agree with everything you said. With a little sidebar, a few "ifs" I've noticed y'all love so much,
If the Panters figure out a way to score, you're in big trouble.
If Theo stops the puck, you're in serious trouble.
If Brind'Amour returns strong as an ox and imposes the law of Victory, you're in very DEEP trouble.
And suddenly, you'll be back staring at the Trashers, wondering how it came to this.
The game isn't built front-end back, Don.
It's back-end front. So IF you're D steps up?
The S-E'll be in trouble.
Fersure.
P.

[Don in St. Pete]

PD, Haven't you wondered why Columbus was so anxious to trade a young guy who score 26 goals? Word out of Combus was the guy absolutely refuses to play any defense at all. Blue Jackets bloggers felt the deal was a steal for them. Many lamented the loss of Frische, but all were happy to see Zherdev go. He doesn't kill penalties and won't hit either and had 60 giveaways. On the other hand he could definitely be a sniper with Gomez getting him the puck. A lot will depend upon how Naslund and Redden perform. They have great goaltending which should keep them close to the pack.

[PD]

Don the Rangers have added Zherdev.
They also have the leagues best goalie and a good suppoting cast

[Don in St. Pete]

It certainly sets up to be a very interesting season, especially in the eastern conference. I still see the sHABS as the favorite, based on their regular season finish last year, and the minor moves they made in the off-season. Pitt will be tough and could challenge if they stay healthy, but they have no depth, and could be fighting for eighth if all the stars don't align their way. I'm mixed on Philly, who lost a lot of charachter guys. I have to think NJ is better with Rolston and Holik. Washington could be in the running as well. While Theodore might be a slight downgrade from Huet, the return of Clark and Nylander should be a huge boost. I'd say the Rangers have gotten younger, not necessarily better. Likewise Ottawa and Boston, will all have a tough time making the playoffs in my opinion. I don't see the canes as being better but they always compete. Cole was the guy that always killed us and the best diver in the league, so we're happy to see him gone. Florida will be the most improved team in the east defensively, but who's going to score? I see the Bolts as 1 of the deepest teams offensively with questions on defense and in net. If the defense and goaltending performs to their potential, we'll surprise a lot of people. If not we'll be playing a lot of high scoring games and struggling to make the playoffs. Atlanta, NYI and Toronto are racing in the other direction. Of course until the puck drops things can still change.

[Kincaid]

From the shabs blog, Lang isn't pretty:
I really don't think we needed a 37yr old 'soft' (as per McKeen's yearbook: "isn't always willing to make the required physical commitment") third line centre. We were physically manhandled from the hash marks in against Philly in the playoffs, and a horse like Sundin would've been an upgrade.

[PD]

Dallas is 1a to Detroit not Chicago.

You are selling the east out Leo.

Good luck with that because Pitt Ott Rangers or Caps could be 1st just as easily as Saku and the sisters.

[léo]

First, PD. No one's as strong as Us in the East.
2nd tier) Pitt and Philly to duke it out for second.
3rd tier) Caners close the march.
4thtier) Ott, NJ, Nyr, Bos, Washy, Buffaler and TB to gnaw for a spot in the Dance.
The rest is cannon-fodder.
So if it ends up against Datsyuk and the Zetterberger? I'll be happy.
But maybe Chic-kago'll take'em out...
P.

[PD]

First? I don't think Cinderella gets a mulligan although they should be in the top 5 east somewhere.

Zetterburg and Datsyuk blow you away at center though if it ends up that way.

[léo]

How many teams for Hossa, PD? Kozlov? Primeau? Nylander?
Don,
He's slowed down. Great hands. Good vision. Deft passes. Hasn't had a minus rating since 99-00. Good with the kids, as Chic-kago can testify. 3rd line. He and Guillaume should get along just fine.
Like I said, barring Mats, whom We never HAD, to an upgrade of Smo to Lang.
Which makes Us better than We were yesterday.
When We finished 1st in the East.
P.

[PD]

That ship has sailed Flasher

[Boltflasher]

Don, Leo, does Lang deal mean Habs have given up the ghost on Sundin?

[pd]

Lang 7 teams since 93. Calling Dr Phil.

[Don in St. Pete]

Leo, You've got to be kidding me. You mean Gainey traded for a center for the 3rd lines who makes $4 mil? Is Lang that good defensively? I don't remember him being any more than adequate.

[Don in St. Pete]

Lang huh Leo? Could be interesting if he can rekindle the mojo he had with Kovy in Pitt. Nice blog on Hockeybuzz from Jon Jordan tonight. 24 Bolts on the ice in Brandon today. Word is Stamkos hjas been impressive, for what it's worth in these informal skates. Arty was there too. I aboslutely can't wait, near out of my mind.

[léo]

K the Elder, Plecky, Kovy
Tanguay, Saks, K the Younger
Higgy, Lang, Gui
Stevey, Lappy, Big George, Stewart.
T's'wrong with that?
Lang or Smolinski? Who would you take?
Last year, We had Smo and now We got Lang.
No Mats. Oh well.
Now let's move on. We'll send him a postcard in June...from Detroit City with love, signed: The Centennial Champions. With a P.S. that says: Get well soon.
No one's stoppin' Us anyway.
P.

[PD]

Lang?
owwwoooooga

[Steve R]

ntmm,

"To answer you CRAP BOY its Russians in general if as you really care. I care about as much for them as I do for you worthless Crap fans"

I gotta tell ya, on a certain level your posts are amusing me to no end. Have to ask, if the Russian's are so greedy, why aren't they playing in Russia for some serious tax free $? They're taking a loss by playing in the NHL. Dazzle me with some logic when you answer that one.

[geo]

Hey marlboro lets get rid of the canadians to eh Id rather have a russian or a check than someone like you. go back to your trailer

[Casper]

Nice bit of erudition there, VOTT. Those of us 'hot heads' not grabbing a dictionary, have got your back...

[léo]

Very good. I agree with you. It IS a shame that a star got hurt on an ugly play, designed to BE disrespectful by the aggressor, which unfolded into cosmic bad luck.
But you found it disgusting that he wasn't suspended and now, you're changing your story, saying it cannot be "readily determined".
If you had said that in your FIRST POST, that the imposition of a suspension could not be "readily determined", the nature of this discussion would seem less egregious to you. (hey!)
No suspension. 2 minutes for interference. That's what happened. Consider my outsider status in this case as opposed to your fury in V4's injury. That's it. I can't really apologize for upsetting you because no matter what, that's it.
Now,
If you think that CERTAIN players should have a Platinum-card, you know, a "not allowed to touch me" card or else it's a five-game suspension, hey, write up a petition, I'll sign it. My Boy lost it against the Bruins who kept running him in the crease; wouldn't mind getting a card for him.
But if that doesn't work, guess we're gonna hafta keep doin' what we were doin'. Suck it up.
That's hockey. I can understand how under a Florida sun, impulses aren't as cool as Ours up north and may flare under injustice. But hot or cold, as another poster posted: Sh*te happens and my impulses never involve whining.
Won't apologize for that either.
And this back in the ole' days business, you can sell to the tourists. They weren't playing for 2.2million in 1965. Money is the reason respect has dwindled; you know this as much as I do so save THAT argument for the Srilankians, would you?
Only impulse I have is to give the straight-dope.
Unless I'm wrong. In which case, you MUST hit me. No underhanded chidings. No virtuesque vows to conceal escape. No personal accusations, bold or subtle. Just hockey.
Hit me.
Or turtle.
P.

[Voice of the Turtle]

Leo:

What Cooke did was NOT a hockey play. It could be called roughing or interference. Whether or not there was intent to injure (the basis for serious punitive action like suspension) cannot be readily determined, but Cooke pulls a lot of stuff like this and so do several others who are, actually, worse offenders than he. People in the league know who the jerks are.

The fact is that a great star did, in this odd case, suffer meaningful physical damage. Maybe there is a 5 percent chance (maybe, even less) of a significant injury in such cases, but the game is dangerous enough when played properly. If for no other reason, the NHL has to protect its drawing cards like Vinny - the game of hockey is about people at his level and his mindset, not Cooke's.

As it turned out, Vinny was hurt; hence, a great NHL star was taken off the ice for the balance of the season. We now have to hope that he will be able to resume his career with the same abilities that he brought to bear prior to the needless injury.

Everyone on this site knows that you like to upset people, and, perhaps, you succeeded in baiting me. Nevertheless, I'll pay you the respect of responding to your posting, but I think, in future, you'd be better served by trying to act from a healthier set of impulses while communicating on this site.

[léo]

And for those who care, Bob has moved.
No Mats. Lang instead.
Nuts.
P.

[léo]

I wasn't questioning your or any other poster's knowledge of the game, Turtle. Never do. I just question the analysis you derived from it.
And when I read about the V4/Cooke incident as a "no-talent punk from the Caps who callously knocked a superstar out of the game", calling it a "egregious cheap shot for which he never got a suspension", I gotta put on the bias-brakes and say that I think your devotion to your player and team, though commendable, has blinded you from an important element in your affront. That is: What would the suspension have been for?
Gross interference?
Hurting of a Vinny?
Excess gravity usage?
What?
Intent to injure, Turtle? No.
It was interference. Interference on ANOTHER guy. He missed. Fell on Vinny. That's it. Did he try to stop? No. But if Vinny HADN'T been hurt on the play, would you still have blown a penalty? Of course not.
It was crappy bad luck, is all.
Because YOU don't see it that way has NOTHING to do with "knowledge of hockey", Turtle. That's just anger. Perfectly natural. And very persuasive.
But once you calm down and look at the footage with a relaxed and objective demeanor, you'll see it wasn't a grossly and offensively OBVIOUS cheap shot, I'm sorry, an "egregious" cheap shot. Look again.
Dad.
P.

[Murph]

Why on Earth do we enable the boys bicycle seat sniffers from other Clubs' blogs?

[Not the Marlboro Man]

To answer you CRAP BOY its Russians in general if as you really care. I care about as much for them as I do for you worthless Crap fans!

I still can't believe you even try to Blog your BS Captial concerns here you moron! In case you haven't read this is called Lightning Strikes! Not Washington Crap fans blog here! take it home to your momma BOY and ask her if she cares, because none of the Lightning fans here want to hear about your team's overated silliness here, especially me.

[PD]

I saw the hit on Vinny too and he was in the wrong spot at the wrong time also known as shite happens in hockey.
No foul

[Voice of the Turtle]

It is my understanding that there is a great deal talk in league among hockey professionals concerning the lack of respect that some character-challenged guys exhibit for other players and the game of hockey. There have been too many cheap shots that lead to serious injuries and shortened careers. These incidents have come without due attention or punitive reaction by the league or actions taken to protect the NHL's bank of talent.

In bygone days, players had an unwritten code about what was acceptable. Where that might have failed, there were means for players to take corrective actions to enforce the code.

So, once again, I point out that most hockey fans would prefer to see Vincent Lecavalier play hockey than watch him mauled by a punk like Cooke. To people who love the game, Hockey is all about great stars executing magnificent plays.

Is there room for toughness and fighting? Yes. Do we want marginal players sniping and injuring the great ones? No way!

As for you, Leo. I know as well as you do that people get hurt in hockey. I have a few lingering scars of my own, and I do not need any condescending comments from you to remind me. You say to me, "welcome to hockey." Let me tell you, son, I've been reading some of your comments, and I think you might be legitimately among the last people on this site to imply anything about my lack of understanding of this sport.

[Steve R]

Chris, re-read the post Sparky. I quoted a Bolts fan that wrote that post April 4. It seemed an easy way to refute ntmm's claim that it was obvious to everyone that it was a cheap shot. Unless Nate changed his mind, he didn't see a cheap shot.

[Steve R]

slapshot,

V4 wants revenge on Cooke? Go get him, he's in Pitt now. Make Sid cry while you're at it.

[Chris]

Steve R, might want to get your facts straight. Vinny already had surgery on his shoulder! Don't just blab on about things in which you do not know the facts.

[Steve R]

ntmm,

Do you dislike Russian players in general, or just Russian's playing in D.C.?

Are Russian's playing in say Atlanta ok? How about for the Pens? How would you like Fedorov as your third line center? How about Ov on the LW?

What about Swede's or Canadian's playing in D.C.? They ok, or are they greedy too? Do they have the USA's best interests at heart?

It's a game Bubba, it's not geopolitics. Step down from your soap box and take a happy pill or something.

One last question: was Cooke suspended?

[slapshot]

Oh man V4 is probaly seeking revnge on Cook.

I Think A new rivalry will form this season.

Lightning and Capitals eh

[Steve R]

ntmm,

"It clearly isn't a cheap shot when Vinny sees Cooke, squares up his shoulders in anticipation of hitting Cooke, and gives a pick-a la basketball- for the puckhandler coming up the boards.

Did Vinny technically not have the puck when he was hit? yes

Was it a cheap shot? No.

Everyone should realzie that, but it's standard procedure for Torts and Co. to defend Vinny.

...It's not like Vinny was just turning in the neutral zone and got absolutely blindsided. Let's just say it doesn't resemble my definition of a cheapshot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHhiJoUlThM

Anywho, all that aside, I hope Vinny is fine and doesn't need surgery (on top of the wrist surgery it looks like he'll need).

And I'm glad to see that even though morale is low, the players are at least playing for each other and are coming to each other's defense. Even if it wasn't a cheapshot, the players still needed to respond.

Go Bolts (let's get stamkos!)
Nate Dogg

Posted by: Nate Dogg | April 04, 2008 at 12:40 PM"

[Not the Marlboro Man]

Little weasel Cooke WAS aiming for Vinny, it was obvious to the fans and it was obvious to the league, to the commentators and everyone else OR the little cheap-shot-thug-moron wouldn't have gotten fined you idiot!

You Crap fans never cease to amaze me how you can spin the obvious into what ever you want...so typical of people who live in that pathetic part of the United States we have to tolerate as our Capital. You all act as if you are over educated with no common sense!

Then to top it off you morons fill up the Nation's Capital team with greedy Russian players who don't have our countries best interest at heart much less the NHL's. Call me Xenophobic, racist what ever the hell you want but its as wrong as sex in public....its whaere our Nation along with the league is heading!

If I hear that Cooke didn't intentially hit to injure V4 one more time I'm going to puke. Get off your pedastal or pull out of your *&^%$^% and look at the obvious with open eyes for a change.