Lecavalier - The Jordan Of Hockey: A EHM 8 Ride

[JasonForTheWin]

I am a HUGE Tampa Bay Lightning fan. Been with them since Day One. I have an Enricco Ciccone jersey. I was an ecstatic 16 year old in 1998 when we drafted Vincent Lecavalier. Our third round pick wasn't bad either. If you know anything about that draft, you know that Tampa's one year owner made one of the stupidest quotes of all time.

This is that story:

“I mean, he’s going to be a Hall of Famer. He’s going to lead us to Stanley Cups. There’s no doubt that in three or four years he’s going to be the world’s greatest hockey player. He’s going to be the Michael Jordan of hockey.” ― Lightning owner Art Williams shortly after the team made Vinny Lecavalier the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1998

1998 NHL Draft - Round 1 Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	TB	Vincent Lecavalier	C	6'4	216
2	NAS	David Legwand	C	6'2	207
3	SJ	Brad Stuart	D	6'2	215
4	VAN	Bryan Allen	D	6'5	223
5	ANA	Vitali Vishneski	D	6'2	215
6	CGY	Rico Fata	RW	6'0	205
7	NYR	Manny Malhotra	C	6'2	220
8	CHI	Mark Bell	C	6'3	220
9	NYI	Michael Rupp	RW	6'5	243
10	TOR	Nikolai Antropov	C	6'6	245
11	CAR	Jeff Heerema	RW	6'2	212
12	COL	Alex Tanguay	C	6'1	195
13	EDM	Michael Henrich	RW	6'3	210
14	PHO	Patrick DesRochers	G	6'3	209
15	OTT	Mathieu Chouinard	G	6'0	212
16	MON	Eric Chouinard	C	6'2	218
17	COL	Martin Skoula	D	6'3	226
18	BUF	Dmitri Kalinin	D	6'3	206
19	COL	Robyn Regehr	D	6'3	225
20	COL	Scott Parker	RW	6'5	240
21	LAK	Mathieu Biron	D	6'6	245
22	PHI	Simon Gagne	C	6'1	193
23	PIT	Milan Kraft	RW	6'4	212
24	STL	Christian Backman	D	6'4	210
25	DET	Jiri Fischer	D	6'5	225
26	NJ	Mike Van Ryn	D	6'1	202
27	NJ	Scott Gomez	C	5'11	200

1998 NHL Draft - Tampa Bay Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	TB	Vincent Lecavalier	C	6'4	216
64	TB	Brad Richards	C	6'0	198
72	TB	Dmitri Afanasenko	LW	6'2	210
92	TB	Eric Beaudoin	LW	6'5	210
121	TB	Curtis Rich	D	6'2	210
146	TB	Sergei Kuznetsov	C	6'0	198
174	TB	Brett Allan	D	6'3	205
194	TB	Oak Hewer	C	6'6	245
221	TB	Daniel Hulak	D	6'4	230
229	TB	Chris Lyness	D	6'2	220
252	TB	Martin Cibak	C	6'1	196

[snaz16]

Not quite the Jordan of hockey (And Jordan might just be the Gretsky of Basketball) but Vinny and Brad along with Marty St. Louis ,and the Bulin Wall in net were the cornerstone of that 1st Cup. Enrico was the 1st real enforcer the Bolts had.

[johnstone1987]

I'm intrigued by this, following!

[JasonForTheWin]

Quote: Originally Posted by snaz16

Not quite the Jordan of hockey (And Jordan might just be the Gretsky of Basketball) but Vinny and Brad along with Marty St. Louis ,and the Bulin Wall in net were the cornerstone of that 1st Cup. Enrico was the 1st real enforcer the Bolts had.

That team holds a special place in my heart. I was at the Ice Palace for Game 7 against the Flames. Huge Modin and Sarich fan.

[JasonForTheWin]

Quote: Originally Posted by johnstone1987

I'm intrigued by this, following!

Thank you!! I am going to try something different for this one. Hope you like it

[JasonForTheWin]

Tampa Bay Lightning All Time Leaders

NHL League Leaders - Updated: Aug 1, 1998
Games Played		GP	Goals		G
	1. Rob Zamuner	417		1. Brian Bradley	111
	2. Mikael Andersson	395		2. Rob Zamuner	76
	3. Roman Hamrlik	377		3. Alex Selivanov	72
	4. Brian Bradley	328		4. Chris Gratton	67
	5. Chris Gratton	204		5. Petr Klima	63
Assists		A	Points		P
	1. Brian Bradley	189		1. Brian Bradley	300
	2. Roman Hamrlik	133		2. Roman Hamrlik	185
	3. Rob Zamuner	105		3. Rob Zamuner	181
	4. Chris Gratton	102		4. Chris Gratton	169
	5. John Tucker	82		5. Alex Selivanov	136
Power Play Goals		PPG	Penalty Minutes		PIM
	1. Brian Bradley	37		1. Enricco Ciccone	580
	2. Roman Hamrlik	27		2. Chris Gratton	518
	3. Alex Selivanov	24		3. Roman Hamrlik	474
	4. Chris Gratton	23		4. Rudy Poeschek	418
	5. Petr Klima	22		5. Jason Wiemer	391
Wins		W	Goals Against Average		GAA
	1. Darren Puppa	71		1. Darren Puppa	2.63
	2. Rick Tabbaracci	20		2. Rick Tabaracci	2.75
	3. JC Bergeron	14		3. Corey Schwab	3.00
	4. Pat Jablonski	13		4. Mark Fitzpatrick	3.16
	5. Corey Schwab	13		5. Jeff Reese	3.26

1998 Tampa Bay Lightning Organization:

Owner: Arthur Williams
Director Of Hockey Operations: Cliff Fletcher
GM/Head Coach: Jacques Demers
Assistant Head Coach: Rick Patterson
Goalie Coach: Guillermo Ortega
Defense Coach: Bob Morgan
Offensive Coach: Scott Kuryluk
Skills Coach: Mario Alberto Albertazzi
Trainer: Curtis Bell

Head Scout: Angelo Burmbacco
Advance Scout: Pete Mahovlich
Scout: Steve Baker
Scout: Tony Esposito
Scout: Jay Feaster
Scout: Jake Goertzen
Scout: Randy Hansch
Scout: Kari Kettunen
Scout: Nigel Kirwan
Scout: Don Murdoch
Scout: Richard Rose
Scout: Luke Williams

[JasonForTheWin]

Memo

To: Arthur Williams

From: Jacques Demers

CC: Cliff Fletcher, Angelo Burmbacco, Pete Mahovlich, Jay Feaster, Don Murdoch

Date: 08-25-1998

RE: Roster Additions


Mr. Williams,

I just wanted to inform you of the following additions to our roster as we head into training camp.

We have signed the following:

- D Lubomir Sekeras (29) from Slovakia. He was scouted by Jay Feaster, who made numerous trips to Slovakia to visit with him. We are signing him to a 3 year - 1,430,000 deal. It may sound like a lot for an older player who hasn't played in the NHL up to this point, but he was also being scouted by other clubs, and we wanted to get him in the fold. Sekeras possesses exceptional puck moving ability, and should help our power play unit.

- D Brian Rafalski (24). He was a standout player for the University Of Michigan, but didn't sign his qualifying offer from the Devils. Like, Sekeras, he is an offensive minded defenseman. He was scouted by Don Murdoch. We signed him for a 1 year deal at 250,000.

- LW Ulf Dahlen (32) a veteran of 686 career games. Last year between stints with San Jose and Chicago, he scored 14 goals in 73 games. He signed a 2 year deal at 250,000 per year.

- LW Tim Sweenet (31) a veteran of 291 career NHL games. Sweeney is good on the forecheck, and will dig in for pucks. We project him as a 4th line winger. Last year with the Rangers he scored 11 goals in 56 games. He signed a 2 year deal at 775,000 per year.

- LW Mathieu Darche (21) We scouted him during the draft. Luckily, he was undrafted. We like his willingness to get dirty. We signed him to a 2 year deal at 250,000 per year.

[JasonForTheWin]

Memo

To: Arthur Williams

From: Jacques Demers

CC: Cliff Fletcher

Date: 09-01-1998

RE: Trade For Martin St. Louis


Mr. Williams,

I just wanted to inform you that we are excited to announce that after weeks of negotiations, we have agreed to a trade with the Calgary Flames.

We have acquired RW Martin St. Louis, who we see as a potential cornerstone for our organization. Exceptional playmaking ability, who plays bigger than his 5'9 frame.

He was an undrafted free agent for the Flames, and hasn't played an NHL game after being buried on the Flames roster. We believe we found a gem. Cliff Fletcher has been instrumental in getting this deal done.

We do have to warn you, that once this deal is announced, that local media and national media may be knocking this deal, as St. Louis isn't though of highly yet. But he will be.

We gave up last years number 1 draft pick, D Paul Mara and a 3rd Round Pick next year, to get St. Louis.

Losing Mara hurts. We thought of him highly, but we think we can offset what Mara would have brought to the team with the additions of Sekeras and Rafalski.