Photo by Alexis Boucher

It’s hard to think of the Tampa Bay Lightning and not think of Vincent Lecavalier. He’s essentially been the face of the franchise for 14 seasons. The captain will reach a very special milestone in this afternoon’s contest against the New York Islanders. Today is Vinny’s 1,000th career NHL game. It’s pretty staggering to consider how far he’s come since being drafted first overall in 1998.

Lecavalier will be the 280th NHLer to reach the 1,000 game mark. That may seem like a lot, but consider that the average NHL career is less than 5 years. This type of longevity in a sport as rigorous and demanding as hockey is rare to behold. Vinny will also have the distinction of being the first of those players to have played all 1,000 games exclusively in a Lightning sweater.

The 18 year old “Michael Jordan of hockey”. The Stanley Cup Champion & Team Canada representative. The captain & veteran presence in the locker room. The integral part of the community & insanely generous charitable endeavors. So many memories. We’ll leave the video packages for the team. For now we just say…

Thanks, Vinny. Here’s to many more.