The Three...um...Musketeers

OK, so now all of the Long Island visits are over. Where do we stand with that first overall pick?

John Tavares tells Brian Compton of nhl.com that he had "...a lot of fun" visiting with GM Garth Snow. Here's the quote:

"I had a really good time and got to know them a lot more and what they're all about and their philosophy and see the way they do things. Long Island's a great city. Obviously, they've got a good organization and really have a good fan base when they have winning teams. They have a lot of tradition there from the Stanley Cups. I really enjoyed my time there."

Well, Long Island isn't a city but at least the kid got to see the area and now knows that there is more to the Islanders than the rink and the Marriott. We can look past this geography mistake.

Victor Hedman also visited and wowed the Islanders brass according to Chris Botta. One thing that would make me hesitate is that Hedman apparently asked about the women in New York right off the bat. To me, red flag. Look--I remember what it was like being an 18 year old kid and all but if I am talking to a guy that I ABSOLUTELY NEED to be a franchise cornerstone, I don't want him worrying about chasing women in bars when there are hockey games to play and win.

I am just throwing that out there...but yes, I know young men with money can do stupid things. We had that in spades in the mid-1990s when the team had Eric Brewer, Todd Bertuzzi, and Bryan McCabe. Oh yeah--and Crazy Mike Milbury was running the ship.

Matt Duchene's visit with the team was reportedly quite good and some rumors swirling are that the Islanders scouts and Snow are in love with what this kid brings with his game. I've read comparisons that run from Mike Richards to Steve Yzerman. Not too shabby.

All of this dovetails with reports that the Lightning ownership has ordered Brian Lawton to ship Vincent Lecavalier and his hefty contact somewhere/anywhere by June 1, when his no-move clause will kick in. Here's one for you: guess how much Vinny is slated to make for the upcoming season? 10 Million Dollars. US. Ouch.

So, of course, you know that other GMs in the league are talking to Lawton and thinking that they may like to have Vinny on the team and all but that price tag is way north of steep. Nobody is going to trade for that contract without doubts about what they just did. That's why you know someone is going to sweep in and get Lecavalier at a pittance--they'll be taking so much contract and they are not going to be forking over a whole heck of a lot to do it.

I don't know if Charles Wang wants to use a player like Vinny as a way to kick his fan base into warp speed but you know that the bounty is not going to be the #1 overall pick. It's can't be because the money just doesn't add up. You select a kid at the very top of the draft and pay him 800K and hope he develops at the NHL level these days. A guy like Vinny comes in and he'll be able to inspire the young and learning just by sheer star power.

So where does he end up? Well, it kind of makes sense with the Isles in a way...if maybe they can get him for the 26th overall pick that used to belong to San Jose and some sweeteners; but I don't think Charles wants to pour gas on the fire when he is losing money. Tavares will sell tickets--people are excited after all--at a tenth of what Lecavalier is on the hook for.

Some have speculated that the Kings are a good fit. I tend to agree with that. Getting a big-ticket star like Vinny will excite some lazy dorks in the media to write about hockey and we all saw last year that Los Angeles has a darn good up-and-coming defense but they just couldn't score goals.

Expect Toronto GM Brian Burke to sniff around Tampa, too, and not just for their second-overall pick. He's been threatening to go all JADAPINKETTSMITH on the entry draft so he can get Tavares and the bluster would be hilarious if he hadn't pulled off that magic act in Vancouver when he drafted the Sedin twins. If Lawton gets desperate and wants to take on some of Toronto's dead wood, Burke will be there. But you know that he will be kicking the tires anyway.

My guess is that Lecavalier ends up in Colorado and that the 'Lanche won't have to part with the third pick to do it. New regime in Colorado means they'll want to shake it up.