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| Vincent Lecavalier will need a change-of-address form after being bought out by Tampa. Courtesy of wikipedia.com |
The first big name to go this week was Philadelphia goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov on Tuesday when the Flyers bought out the remaining seven years of his nine-year, $51 million contract. Then on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced they were buying out the remainder of Vincent Lecavalier's deal to make the 33-year-old center the former face of the organization.
You can't fault Tampa for cutting ties with Lecavalier. He hasn't been the point-producing machine he once was -- from a career-high 108 points in 2006-07 to 49 points in 2011-12 (he had 32 points in 39 games during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign) and the Lightning were facing the prospect of paying him for seven more seasons where diminishing returns might be expected. There is no shame for Tampa in admitting it's time to move on.
Philadelphia may have pulled the plug a little too early on Bryzgalov, though. Granted, he never led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, but he did post a combined record of 52-33-10 with a respectable 2.61 GAA during his two years in Philly. He should have been given a fairer shake by an organization that hasn't had a true top-of-the-line goalie since Ron Hextall, but the Flyers were unwilling to give him that opportunity. Besides, they have Steve Mason now. Surely his 4-2 record and 1.90 GAA in six starts for the Flyers this past season will translate into greater things, right?
Bryzgalov is the second big-name Flyer to be sent packing this season. Philly bought out Danny Briere's contract last week following six seasons where he surpassed the 70-point plateau only once.
We'll have to see how many more big-name NHL players with big, long-term contracts get bought out by their clubs. It could get very interesting.
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