Despite National Perception, Tocchet Is Safe

Lightning coach Rick Tocchet and General Manager Brian Lawton show a united front

In a thought provoking post, Kevin Schultz of FANHOUSE has singled out Tampa Bay Lightning coach Rick Tocchet as his number one coach to be pink-slipped this season.

“The lame thing about NHL coaches this season is that there’s no one you can point at and yell ‘DEAD MAN WALKING!’ A lot of thought-to-be-crappy teams are good. A lot of good teams are mediocre. A very small handful of teams are very bad. The Lightning are not very bad. But the Lightning are off to a bad start (3-3-3) and are led by a coach who was interim for most of last season and was hired by the previous coach. That latter is the coaching kiss of death, which is why I believe Tocchet will be the first to go this year. And also because anything goes at Cirque du SoLightning.”–Kevin Schultz, October 30, 2009, FANHOUSE–

The article does make some good points, but Schultz is  simply wrong about Tocchet’s situation. It wasn’t Barry Melrose that took the interim label off of Rick Tocchet and tendered him a two year contract. It was the current Lightning management. The Bolts 4-3-3, 11 point start is a “bad” one? Ask the Thrashers, Hurricanes, Panthers, Maple Leafs and Islanders if they would like to be in Tampa Bay’s position! Oh, and the Red Wings also have accumulated 11 points so far this season.

While I agree with much of the article, Rick Tocchet will not be the first coach axed this season and here’s why. The Lightning roster has been improved greatly due to the off season dealings of GM Brian Lawton. The defense is much improved over last years AHL blue line corps and the Bolts young superstar Steven Stamkos is tearing up the NHL with nine goals and five assists in the first ten games. The quick development of Stamkos is due in large part to Tocchet’s handling of him with kid gloves last season. Criticized by many for his benching of the teenage phenom to get him physically stronger and mentally sharper, Tocchet believed in his plan of action, and the results have been phenomenal! This alone, may have been enough to get Tocchet the full time job and keep him employed throughout this season.

Schultz  has what can only be described as an OK Hockey brain cramp. This was understandably created by the “Lightning Clown Posse’s” (owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie) past comedic actions, but this is no excuse to throw Tocchet under the bus. Following this seasons first catastrophe (a two game beat down where the team was outscored 11-2) Tocchet got the players to circle the wagons and get back to basics during a “Four Day, Mini Training Camp” after which they soundly beat the Sharks and Senators.

What Mr. Schultz doesn’t realize is that the players are responding to Tocchet and buying into what he is selling, something that never happened when arrogant Barry was “in charge.”

While I agree that Tocchet should be put on a “watch list,” he certainly should be far down on the “Pink Slip Index.”