There are still leaves clinging to the trees, the Thanksgiving turkeys are eating crushed corn and gobbling happily in their cells on the Green Mile, and come too early this holiday season is the trade Vinny talk.

Not many months ago, Lecavalier’s name was the centerpiece of all but the most boring trade deadline masterstrokes in the minds of every swivel chair GM who dare move quality assets on their lunch break to acquire such an athlete.  The new line combinations flying from their fingertips as their blood shot eyes danced with excitement at the thought of Vinny pulling on the home jersey and making them fall in love with the team all over again.

It would not come to pass, however, and we all felt the pain of watching a marquee talent battle it out for almost worst place in the league.  That is, until we witnessed the tears of Hossa, and stopped feeling sorry for ourselves.

And now, Vinny is working his way back into our thoughts with a vengeance!  Apparently averaging almost a point per game on an extremely bad team is not good enough for rookie head coach Tocchet, and Vinny is being called out in the media.  As if this isn’t enough to make the multi-gazillionaire playboy devour an entire beluga caviar and saffron pizza, he has also been demoted to the 3rd line.  This has whipped the rumor mill into a frenzy, and VL is once again being penciled into everyone’s first line before the garbage man has had time to pick up that pile of orange goo sitting at your curb that used to be a pumpkin.

There is more than one victim here, however, and lets not let him go unnoticed.  I am of course referring to long time line mate, friend, and confidant of Lecavalier’s, Martin St. Louis.  Once you drink champagne from the Stanley Cup in the locker room, a bond is forged that can never be broken.  Not by earth, wind, fire, or even an ex power forward who likes to gamble and don nice suits.

Coach Tocchet, for shame!

Dry your eyes, Marty. Come Vancouver, you shall be re-united.

Photo from fOTOGLIF