Lecavaler signs 11 year contract extension

From the Tampa Tribune:

Vinny Lecavalier’s hockey career will end where it began – in a Lightning
uniform.

Lecavalier signed an 11-year contract extension worth $85 million, the details of which surfaced on Saturday. The deal, which averages $7.72 million per season as the salary cap hit, was signed on Friday and submitted to the league office. The extension will kick in at the start of the 2009-10 season and carry through the end of the 2019-20 season, just before Lecavalier’s 40th birthday.

Read the entire article here.

Well, I don’t like the fact this contract is for 11 years. There is just too much risk involved with a contract that long. Never mind the fact that Lecavalier is already 28 and probably has 3-4 more prime years left. Nevertheless, the team is obviously ecstatic to have their best player under contract for a long time. Also, the contract dwindles down to $1 million for the 11th year of the deal; that makes the contract’s average cap hit a more reasonable $7.72 million per season. All in all, Tampa fans have to be very happy to know their best player should remain with the team through the remainder of his career.