As a youth, Lecavalier played in the 1994
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a
minor ice hockey team from the North Shore of
Montreal.
Rimouski Océanic Lecavalier played two years of
junior hockey for the
Rimouski Océanic of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his tenure, he quickly established himself as one of the NHL's top prospects. In his first season with the Océanic, he won the
Michel Bergeron Trophy as the QMJHL's top rookie forward, and the
RDS Cup as the top rookie overall.
Professional (1998–2016) Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–2013) Lecavalier was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in the
1998 NHL entry draft, during which new Lightning owner
Art Williams proclaimed that Lecavalier would be "the
Michael Jordan of hockey". On March 1, 2000, following his sophomore season, he was named
captain, becoming the
youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 314 days (since surpassed by
Sidney Crosby in May 2007,
Gabriel Landeskog in September 2012, and
Connor McDavid in October 2016). Previously,
Steve Yzerman had held that honour, having been named captain of the
Detroit Red Wings at 21 years, 5 months. On January 14, 2001, in a 3–0 loss to the
Philadelphia Flyers, Lecavalier suffered a broken foot after getting in the way of a slap shot, causing him to miss the next 14 games. He eventually finished the
2000–01 season playing in 68 games with 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points. Lecavalier did not fulfill expectations and was later stripped of the captaincy before the
2001–02 season when Lightning management decided he was too young even as a high calibre player. Around that time, he clashed frequently with head coach
John Tortorella. Tortorella has since noted that Lecavalier matured since losing the team captaincy. He finished the season with 40 goals and 52 assists for 92 points in the first 81 games while the Lightning finished last in the NHL overall. At the awards show, Lecavalier was named the winner of both the
King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the
NHL Foundation Player Award for his tremendous charity work in the community. On July 12, 2008, Lecavalier agreed to an eleven-year, $85 million contract extension with the Lightning. His new contract began after the
2008–09 season, and ran through the 2019–20 season. He was renamed captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 18, 2008. In mid-January 2009, rumours were swirling around a possible trade which would send Lecavalier to the
Montreal Canadiens, his hometown, but
Brian Lawton later stated that Lecavalier would rather stay in Tampa Bay for the rest of his career. Lecavalier confirmed in his own words his preference of playing in Tampa Bay over his native Montreal. On January 24, at the NHL's superskills competition, Lecavalier received the loudest ovation from the Montreal crowd when he was being introduced. After playing the first 77 games of the season and recording 29 goals and 38 assists for 67 points, Lecavalier underwent season-ending wrist surgery on April 3, 2009, causing him to miss the final five games of the season. On November 11, 2010, Lecavalier sustained a broken hand in a 6–3 loss to the
Washington Capitals as he got tangled up along the boards with Capitals’ defenseman
Karl Alzner, resulting in him undergoing surgery and missing the next 15 games. Lecavalier ended the
2010–11 season with 25 goals and 29 assists for 54 points in 65 games as the Lightning made a heavy resurgence as a team having finished the season as the fifth seed in the East and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2007 as a result. In the
2011 playoffs, Lecavalier and the Lighting recovered from a 3–1 series deficit in the first round against the fourth-seeded
Pittsburgh Penguins and defeated them in seven games and would go on to sweep the top-seeded Washington Capitals in the second round before falling in the third round to the third-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion
Boston Bruins in seven games, one win short from clinching a spot the
Stanley Cup Finals. Lecavalier finished the playoffs with six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in all 18 games. in February 2012 On February 18, 2012, Lecavalier sustained a broken hand in a 2–1 win against the Washington Capitals. While he managed to finish the game, he would ultimately miss the next 18 games due to the injury. He ultimately ended the
2011–12 season with 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points in 64 games as the Lightning as a team struggled, missing the playoffs by eight points. On January 21, 2013, Lecavalier played in his 1000th NHL game in a 4–3 loss to the
New York Islanders, becoming the 280th NHL player to reach that milestone. The team honoured him on January 25, their next home game, a 6–4 win against the Ottawa Senators, with several gifts including an engraved silver stick. On February 2, in a 3–2 loss to the New York Rangers, Lecavalier suffered a bruised foot as he was hit by a puck from a slapshot by teammate
Sami Salo. This didn’t require him to miss anytime due to it but he eventually would suffer a broken foot on March 12, in a 3–2 win over the
Florida Panthers as a result of a collision with Panthers defenseman
Erik Gudbranson, causing him to miss nine games. He finished the
lockout-shortened
2012–13 campaign with 32 points (10 goals and 22 assists) in 39 games as the Lightning as a team once again continued to struggle as they finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and the NHL overall. In June 2013, the
New York Post reported that the Lightning and
Toronto Maple Leafs had discussed a trade which would have sent Lecavalier to Toronto; the Maple Leafs would receive an asset in exchange for buying out Lecavalier's contract and he would then be free to re-sign with Tampa as an unrestricted free agent at a lower salary cap hit. Though the Maple Leafs denied the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner
Bill Daly promptly sent out a memo to all 30 league teams, warning them to avoid transactions deemed a circumvention of the collective bargaining agreement. The CBA prevents teams from re-signing players they've bought out for a minimum of one year. One day later, the Lightning announced that it was buying out Lecavalier's contract, allowing their longest serving player to become an unrestricted free agent. The buyout would pay Lecavalier a total of $32.67 million and rid the Lightning of his $7.727 million salary cap hit.
Philadelphia Flyers (2013–2016) On July 2, 2013, less than a week after being bought out by the Lightning, Lecavalier signed with the
Philadelphia Flyers who agreed to pay him $22.5 million over a five-year contract; which is in addition to the $2.33 million he will receive annually from the Lightning for the next 14 years. Lecavalier chose to wear number 40 with the Flyers as his usual number 4 had been retired by the Flyers in honour of
Barry Ashbee. On November 27, 2013, Lecavalier made his first return to Tampa as a member of the visiting team and was welcomed with a tribute video as well as a long, standing ovation from Lightning fans. He scored a goal in his homecoming and was awarded the game's 3rd star. On November 30, in a 3–2 win over the
Nashville Predators, Lecavalier sustained a minor fracture in his lower back, causing him to miss 13 games. Lecavalier finished the season registering 20 goals and 17 assists On March 30, 2014, and scored his 400th career goal in a 4–3 shootout loss against the
Boston Bruins. Lecavalier finished the
2013–14 campaign with 20 goals and 17 assists for 37 points in 69 games. He also had one goal and an assist in the Flyers first round series loss in seven games by the
New York Rangers for the
2014 playoffs. The
2014–15 season began quite poorly for Lecavalier and on December 2, 2014, he was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. On April 9, 2015, in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes, Lecavalier fought twice against Hurricanes rookie
Keegan Lowe, who was playing his first NHL game. Lecavalier didn't play the third period and suffered a concussion. Lecavalier ended the season with 8 goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 57 contests as the Flyers struggled, missing the playoffs.
Los Angeles Kings (2016) During the
2015–16 season, having played sparingly for the previous two seasons within the Flyers organization, Lecavalier was traded alongside
Luke Schenn to the
Los Angeles Kings in exchange for
Jordan Weal and a third round pick on January 6, 2016. One of the stipulations of the trade was that Lecavalier would retire at the end of the season to keep the Kings from being saddled with his hit to the salary cap. With number 4 being retired for
Rob Blake, Lecavalier chose number 44 for the Kings. He officially announced his retirement on June 21, 2016. ==Personal life==