Jun 28 Vincent Lecavalier Will NOT Be a Hab This Season

It's a good thing that the Montreal Canadiens picked four centremen with their seven picks last weekend during the 2009 entry drafts held right here in Montreal. Looks like they are going to need them.

Prior to the entry draft, in a press conference, Bob Gainey had mentioned that not only was he looking for that elusive, strong, first line centre, but that he would love to steal the show and "make a splash" during the event by being able to announce a trade of epic proportions. Well, as we are now aware, this simply did not happen.

After all was said and NOT done, it would appear that the Vincent Lecavalier ship has now sailed out of Montreal's port, at least for now.

According to this article in tampabay.com it would   appear that al  though ther  e may have been   talks betw  een Bob Gainey an  d the pl  e  thora of people who claim    to have the final say with regards to trades and acquisitions, Vincent Lecavalier would remain with the Lightning until at least July 1st, after which his No Trade Clause and hefty contract would take effect.

Sure, Montreal could inquire as to Vinny's availability after July 1st, but this time it would be Vinny who would be in the driver's seat as his NTC would allow him to conceivably stay put in Tampa for the next 11 years.

If this is, in fact, the case, chalk it up to yet another example of "in Bob we trust" Gainey's failure to seal the deal with any big name stars during his tenure. Don't get me wrong, I am all for what he has done in order to salvage the team from certain ruin before he came to Montreal. I'm also a supporter of Bob and what he has done to restore a certain credibility for the team and the brand, but with the exception of Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay and perhaps the choice of Carey Price 5th overall in the 2004 draft I'm left asking "what now, Bob?"

It was rumoured that Gainey was almost confirmed as having a deal in place that would allow him to announce the trade for Lecavalier at the entry draft. Perhaps this was why Bob had so openly stated he was looking to make that splash, something he rarely does. However at the last minute, one of the Lightning's ownership consortiums had vetoed the deal leaving the Hab hopefuls to cheer without luck every time commissioner Gary Bettman announced a trade for another team.

This is not uncommon in the Canadiens' GM's history. The Canadiens, apparently lost out on Marian Hossa and Daniel Briere in almost the same circumstances. Bob even secured the rights to a private audience with Mats Sundin and still couldn't lure the "Suede who would not concede" to La Belle Province.

I'm not saying that this is all Bob's fault. Lord knows the cliché of "it takes two to tango" has never been more true, but it would seem that in order lure a prominent bona-fide star to come play in Montreal, it not only takes the two to tango, but it would appear that we would also need to lower the cost of the dance ticket, give away many free tickets to the audience, make sure the music is in the right language and that the other dancer's partner likes the venue before we can even strike up the band. Oh, and by the way, the Band is about 10 players short right now, so if the music was to start, it'd be to the tune of a liquor jug and a kazoo.

Even if we say good-bye to Bob, for lack of anything better in the way of a solution, I hardly think that a new GM will have much more luck, unless for some strange, unforeseen reason, the product on the ice miraculously brings a winning solution that most players are looking for. When this happens, I believe that whoever the GM will be in Montreal at the time, will have their dance card filled.

Tags: 2009 \ bob gainey \ entry draft \ habs \ Montreal Canadiens \ NHL \ Tampa Bay Lightning \ trade \ UFA \ Vincent Lecavlier \ Vinny