The Tampa Lightning announced Thursday that the organization will buyout the remaining years of Captain Vincent Lecavalier's contract as part of its compliance buyouts.
Lecavalier still has seven years remaining on his current deal with an annual cap hit of $7.73 million per year.
"Vinny has been a significant reason for many of our past successes, including the 2004 Stanley Cup, and his contributions to the community are immeasurable," stated Lightning vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman. "The Lightning organization is indebted to Vinny; we thank him for all he has done here and we wish him well as he moves forward."
He added, "After much internal deliberation, we believe this will prove to be a pivotal move for us as we strive to achieve our long term goal of competing at the highest level, year-in, year-out. The economics and structure of the CBA are necessitating this decision and we at the Lightning are excited at the newly created opportunities this presents to us."
Lecavalier was once deemed the team's franchise star but has struggled over the years with injuries and a drop in production. The first overall pick for the Lightning in 1998 has been a fixture with the club since the 1998-99 season and has compiled 383 goals and 874 points over his career with Tampa Bay.
He won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2003-04 and had his best statistical season in 2006-07 when he scored 52 goals and 108 points. Since that year, his production has steadily dropped; in the last two years Lecavalier has been unable to break the 50-point mark. He scored 49 points in 64 games during the 2011-12 season and only tallied 32 in 39 matches played in 2012-13.
Lecavalier will enter unrestricted free agency on July 5 and will be able to sign with any team.
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