Lightning forward Vinny Lecavalier may not be on the block but fans in his hometown would love to see him in Bleu, Blanc et Rouge.
MONTREAL -- It started with the platoons of reporters who greeted his arrival at the airport; the wave continued to build through the practices and the stops along the party circuit throughout this hockey- mad city and culminated with wave after wave of adulation.
Vinny Lecavalier had just stepped onto the ice in Montreal's Bell Center and what had been a dull roar of anticipation exploded into a frenzy of adulation and anticipation.
It wasn't because a native son -- one who proudly wears Jean Beliveau's famed No. 4 -- had replaced the injured Sidney Crosby as a starter for the East in National Hockey League All-Star Game. It was because for one night at least a native son was home and fans in the Bell Centre couldn't help but dream that some night, maybe sooner than they could heretofore hope, it would be forever.
You have to live and breathe Montreal hockey to understand the significance of all of this.
This was not an aging Dave Keon making momentary peace with the Toronto Maple Leafs before finally taking a turn around the Air Canada Centre ice.
It's not Wayne Gretzky making his one-and-only old-timer's game appearance before a stadium crowd in icy Edmonton.
It's not Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Esposito finally being welcomed back to Chicago after years of forced exile.
This is Vinny Lecavalier, a living, breathing, top-of-his-game superstar, and the heir apparent to the other-world legacy of Beliveau, who, along with Maurice "The Rocket" Richard is the epitome of franchise greatness.
Sure it was only an All-Star Game, but it was Montreal's All-Star Game and the highpoint of the franchise's season-long 100th anniversary celebration. Lecavalier is not just the player they most want to see, he is the player they most want to see remain behind.
Could it happen? It's not likely, but on the flip side -- and maybe it's just the euphoria of the moment -- no one, not even Lecavalier's current club, the Tampa Bay Lightning, is saying no.
"He's not being traded today, he's not being traded tomorrow," said Tampa's first-year general manager Brian Lawton before adding: "He's not being traded anytime soon."
Not exactly "Vinny is our captain for life."
Normally you would expect that from a franchise that signed its franchise player to an 11-year $85-million contract, but that contract -- as well as its no-trade clause -- doesn't kick in until July 1 and as the crowd in the Bell Centre seemed to understand, a lot can happen between now and then: A lot more than shouts of "Vinny come home" in two different languages.
It went that way all night in the Bell Centre. It was the 57th NHL All-Star game and with seemingly that many other stars on the ice, more than a fair share of them (a product of an indefensible online voting process) were Montreal Canadiens, but this game was all about Vinny. He was the focus of both their lust and admiration and he knew it: Even when he denied it.
"I didn't think it would be anything like this," he said.
Lecavalier is a class act, if he extends the truth a bit out of a sense of both decency and humility, who are we to call him out?
He is 28-years old, a genuine superstar centre that plays the game with both tenacity and style. He's a captain, has led a team to a Stanley Cup and he is the object of attention for a fan base who understands both greatness and the virtues of a French-Canadian-born player who not only speaks the mother tongue but carry themselves as a true son of La Belle Province.
Lecavalier tells all who will listen, in both French and English, he has no more insight as to whether or not he is on the market than any of the legions of reporters who hang on his every word. He doesn't acknowledge that his Florida-based team is in financial difficulty or that the new ownership there can save a substantial amount of cash that it apparently does not have if they can get out of the Lecavalier deal.
However, dressing in the famed Canadiens dressing room the situation isn't lost on the Montreal-native. He is a player well aware of the exploits of Beliveau and the Rocket, the storied history of the Canadiens and the passion the fans have for the idols of their affection.
And like his general manger, he doesn't close the door on someday wearing the famed Bleu, Blanc et Rouge. "If you were born here you understand," he said. "In Montreal it (hockey) is like a religion. There would be a little more pressure, but that comes with being in Montreal. The pressure comes from the fans who are so passionate about the game. It's pressure, but it would be a good kind of pressure."
And then comes the closer, the kind of statement that, like Lawton's "any time soon" remark makes you take pause.
"It would be a dream place to play."
No offence to the good people of Edmonton but he did not make a similar remark about a quickly-debunked rumor that he might soon be dressing for the Oilers. Think of that recently-published rumour as nothing more than a true indication that if Lecavalier is on the market, there will be bidders, bidders not offering a sweater that bleeds red, white and blue.
There are those who believe that Lecavalier might not be enamored with the idea of playing for the Canadiens either, that he would prefer perhaps to play in New York, but on this night even Lecavalier could see how the dream can quickly become a reality. Beliveau, 77, and still every bit the legend, brought the house down when he walked to centre ice to drop the ceremonial first puck. The crowd was barely reseated when Henri Richard, brother of the Rocket and a Canadiens legend in his own right appeared in one of the arena's main entranceways. Just a wave of his hand brought the sellout crowd to its feet and had players on both benches tapping their sticks against the board in the cherished player salute.
It went that way all game: A stoppage in play, another Canadiens great stepping forward to receive the adulation of an appreciative crowd. The prodigal son on the ice couldn't help but realize that as admired as he is in Florida this was a world away from Tampa Bay.
Could it happen?
There are monster-sized obstacles in the way, but so far Lawton hasn't said no and Lecavalier hasn't said no and Canadiens' general manager Bob Gainey, a shrewd trader (and also honored at centre ice), has been carefully silent.
Economically and even from a dry-eyed hockey point of view, a Lecavalier deal might not make sense for the Canadiens. The contract price is high and in a salary-capped world, it makes building a team around him difficult and building for the future nearly impossible. Still, on this night at least, even Lecavalier seemed to at least be thinking about the possibility.
"They told me that nothing is happening," he said, pausing before tacking on a "right now."
Judging from the reaction of the crowd and the smile on his face as the hometown cheers still rang in his ears, a future outside of Tampa Bay wasn't a totally foreign concept.
"It felt great," Lecavalier said of the response he has received here. "It was kind of awkward. I didn't really know what to do. It was nice. The people are great here and they've always supported me. To see what they've done the last three days, it's been pretty special.
Special in the way that, perhaps in the not too distant future, a 28-year old multi-millionaire with a Stanley Cup ring on his finger and a famed No.4 on his sweater can, and will, come home again.
Judging by the response despite Lecavalier's failure to reach the scoresheet, Montreal fans wouldn't dream it any other way.
