Photo by Alexis Boucher

Prior to the match up with the Ottawa Senators the Lightning honored Vinny Lecavalier for reaching his 1,000 game milestone.  It’s kind of a big deal. Many of us remember when a lanky 18 year old Vinny was drafted first overall back in 1998. He’s been a constant on the team for so long it’s hard to think of Tampa Bay’s hockey club and not think of #4.

The evening began with a pregame ceremony to honor the captain. I can’t lie. The video montage made things get a tad dusty. In case you missed it:

Here’s video of the actual ceremony itself if you missed it. The commentary is in French, but you can hear Rick Peckham’s announcements:

As the game went on, several video messages were played on the gigantic video board from past and present teammates. Dave Andreychuk and Marty St. Louis got things started. Later game wishes from Brad Richards, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Dan Boyle.  Finally there was a message from Vinny’s first NHL coach Jacques Demers.

It was a terrific celebration for a great Bolt.