The Blockbuster That Never Was: How the Canadiens Nearly Mortgaged Their Future for Vincent Lecavalier

For the better part of 30 years, the Canadiens have searched for a legitimate number one centre. At one point, they nearly landed one. The Canadiens were one of the best teams in the league in 2007-08, finishing second in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the second round to the Philadelphia Flyers. Looking for a star player to add to the team, the Canadiens had a deal in place for Tampa Bay Lightning forward Vincent Lecavalier. In Lecavalier's prime, he was an absolute force. He had a lethal shot, great hands for a guy his size and was not afraid to drop the gloves when he had to. They already had Saku Koivu and Tomas Plekanec playing down the middle, and adding Lecavalier would have given the Habs one of the deepest centre groups in the NHL.

The proposed deal would have sent Lecavalier to Montreal in exchange for a blockbuster package of Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Max Pacioretty, and a first-round pick. Had the rumoured trade gone through, it would have been an incredible haul for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The trade would have given the Lightning a future Vezina/Hart trophy-winning goalie, a Norris trophy-winning defenceman, and a multiple-time 30-goal scorer for their captain and face of the franchise. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the Canadiens would have lost that trade, and it would likely go down as one of the worst trades in NHL history.

By adding Lecavalier to a core featuring Koivu, Plekanec, Alexei Kovalev, and Andrei Markov, the Canadiens were aiming to turn themselves into serious Stanley Cup contenders. The only thing was, Lecavalier was never able to replicate his 2006–08 form, where he won the Rocket Richard and King Clancy trophies. He was still a great player, but he was on the decline and started to struggle with injuries. Following the failed trade, Lecavalier played a full 82-game season and reached the 70-point mark only once more in 2009–10.

Price was the only player included in the trade who was on the Canadiens' current roster. A few months earlier, the team demonstrated their confidence in the goaltender by trading away their starter, Cristobal Huet, to the Washington Capitals. Unless the Canadiens were looking to sign a goalie in the offseason, they were going to start the season with a young, inexperienced goalie, Jaroslav Halak, who had just seven NHL games under his belt. Halak was great in his time with the Canadiens, but never hit the height Price did. For a team that had Stanley Cup aspirations, having a goalie with seven games of experience could have ended in disaster.

For the Lightning, this trade could have made them into a dynasty. The team would have had a young core of Price, Subban, Pacioretty, and Steven Stamkos, who they drafted first overall in 2008. The Lightning also added Victor Hedman in the draft the following year. Since Subban and Pacioretty did not become contributors on a team until 2009–10, the Lightning likely still would have been bad enough to draft Hedman, especially after moving Lecavalier. With a core of those five players, the Lightning could have dominated the NHL for the next decade.

Looking back at it now in 2025, it is clear the Canadiens would have mortgaged their future for a gamble that may never have paid off. Koivu and Kovalev left a year later in free agency. The deal could have kept them in town a bit longer, but both were in their 30s and never replicated the production they had in Montreal. Price, Subban, and Pacioretty, on the other hand, became the faces of the franchise for nearly a decade. While they did not win a Stanley Cup in Montreal, it is hard to imagine a world where they were not a part of the Canadiens' history. The idea of Lecavalier in Montreal was exciting at the time, but Canadiens fans can breathe a sigh of relief because, in hindsight, that trade going through might have been one of the worst decisions the franchise could have made.