Lawton: Vinny will “never’’ be traded

Posted Feb 23, 2009 by Erik Erlendsson

Updated Feb 23, 2009 at 09:57 PM

We posted this story earlier, but figured it needed a forum here as well. Brian Lawton told The Tribune today in a bold statement that Vinny Lecavalier will “never’’ be traded.

You can see the full story here

There’s also some talk about Lawton’s thoughts leading up to next week’s trade deadline.

Here is one excerpt:

In his boldest statement in his short tenure as Lightning general manager, Brian Lawton may very well have put an end to any lingering rumors surrounding Lecavalier by stating the Tampa Bay captain won’t be going anywhere, as far as he’s concerned.

“We’re not going to trade Vinny Lecavalier,’’ Lawton said Monday. “I’m going to say, ‘never,’ so I don’t have to deal with it.’‘

And here’s another strong statement:

“I’ll say never right now,’’ Lawton said Monday, before the team departed for a three-game road trip to western Canada. “You can usually say you should never say never, but because people have taken such liberties with that whole deal, we never shopped Vinny Lecavalier. Did people ask about him? Of course. Who wouldn’t? Were we actively calling teams? No. We never did and we never will.

“Let’s leave it at that, so I don’t have to answer any questions.’‘