At this point in his career, Lecavalier is a very good 2nd line center, and he'll probably be that for a few more years.
The problem was that the Lightning were paying him 1st line superstar money, and for several more years. On the whole, it just wasn't worth it. The cap hit-to-actual value difference was just too extreme, and would have been particularly nasty in 2 or 3 years time.
|