From past to present

My, how the times have changed in Tampa Bay.

When the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2003-04, they were a high-flying team that bucked the system - which is to say they really didn't play a structured defensive system under then-coach John Tortorella - and their leader was unquestionably Vinny Lecavalier.

Nowadays, Lecavalier is the captain of the team, but some would suggest the team's two most important skaters are Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos. Not only that, while Lecavalier continues to be a decent scorer with eight goals and 15 points in his first 19 games, the player that led the NHL in goals with 52 and had a career-best 108 points in 2006-07 is gone; replaced by a more solid two-way performer.

That, in a large part, has to do with the defence-first system second-year coach Guy Boucher has his club playing. Is it working? Well, not nearly as well thus far as it did a year ago when the Lightning made it to the Eastern Conference final, losing in seven games to the Boston Bruins. The Lightning was 12th in the Eastern Conference after going 9-8-2 in 19 games. They had scored 54 goals, but had allowed 60.

Lecavalier may be physically capable of lighting it up they way he once did, but he has bought into the coach's system and just about everybody you speak to in Tampa agrees he's better off for it.

"His is one of those games that has evolved over time," said veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson. "Obviously when he first came into the league it was just go, go, go. He would run through the wall. Now, I think he's playing a lot smarter. He's great in his own zone. Defensively he's really reacting a lot better. When it's time to take the man, he takes the man. When it's time to hold up and be a responsible defensive guy and be in the right spots in the defensive zone, he's there. I think he's relied upon a lot more for his smarts now than he was when he was just an offensive guy. He's definitely evolved as a great two-way player and a physical force out there."

Added longtime teammate St. Louis: "When you score 50 goals and 100 points in this league the expectations follow you. I think he's playing some good hockey. In the playoffs last year he was big for us and this year he's off to a good start. Obviously we're playing a lot differently than we used to; we depend a lot more on defensive play. We're trying to play a more rounded game so you might see a decline in his production, but I think his overall game has improved."

When Steve Yzerman took over as the Lightning's vice-president and general manager prior to the start of last season, one of his missions was to get Lecavalier back to being an impact player in the NHL. It would not be a stretch to draw parallels between Yzrman and Lecavalier as players. Much like Lecavalier, Yzerman burst into the NHL as a scoring dynamo, but through the years evolved into one of the game's most complete performers.

"His attitude has been outstanding," Yzerman said. "We've asked our guys to play within the system the coach has put forward; to compete hard, to practice hard and be professional and he's done all those things. I still think there's a lot of upside and potential in Vinny's game. I expect him to get better. He's working extremely hard on and off the ice. Right now he's a big, strong guy that works hard. He has a great shot and can score goals and he's committed to all the other parts of the game to get better."

Hand and foot injuries limited Lecavalier to just 65 games last season during which he scored 25 goals and 54 points. In the playoffs, though, he was healthy and managed six goals and 19 points in 18 games.

"He's a committed guy," Yzerman insisted. "Guys go through periods in their career when they aren't as productive as perhaps they were. You can look at some big-name guys around the league this year that aren't putting up the numbers they did in the past. Guys who are really determined battle through it and they come back. There are very few top players who go through their careers without experiencing some ups and downs."

Yzerman, like everyone else in the organization, is not pleased with the team's play this season, but he still believes Boucher's system will win out in the end. He also insists the best players need to buy in for it to be successful.

"We want our best players on the ice," Yzerman said. "In all situations, the more skill you have out there, whether it's killing a penalty or in the last minute of a game, the better your chances of being successful. We want our best players out in those situations and they should want to be out there. In order to be out there you have to be committed to it and good at it - good at winning a faceoff, good at killing a penalty, good at blocking a shot. These guys have bought into it. These guys want to win so they'll do whatever it takes."

For his part, Lecavalier says all the right things. Sure the Lightning's system has had an adverse effect on his ability to run up big numbers, but he feels the sacrifice is worth it.

"I think we proved that last year," Lecavalier said. "I started in this league in 1998 and now it's a different game. Systems now play a big part in teams being able to win. If you have three, four or five guys who don't buy into the system and don't want to play it, I don't believe the team goes in the right direction and I don't believe the team can win. You see teams that have won in the past and it's because all the players are going in the same direction. I'm on the ice 18 or 19 minutes per game and the rest of the time it's other guys out there. We all have to be on the same page."

Yzerman had the facts of life explained to him by Scotty Bowman when he was playing and now he has passed the message on to Lecavalier: What's best for the individual is what's best for the team.

"People on the outside often don't understand that good players who want to win, they're going to play some kind of a system," Yzerman said. "Every team in the league that wins plays with some structure. Our guys say they appreciate it; it's easy to fall back on. A guy like Vinny is a proud guy who is working hard. He wants to do well and he wants the team to do well."

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.