Tick-Tocc…Is The Clock Running Out On The Bolts’ Coach?

Coach Rick Tocchet deserves more time behind the Bolts' Bench

Tampa Bay Lightning fans and bloggers alike are a fickle lot. After the circus antics of the new Hollywood cowboy ownership group and the Barry Melrose fiasco, many were screaming for “stability!” The Lightning decided to pass the coaching mantel to Rick Tocchet and they came out of the gate this season inspiring hope with a 9-12 record, good enough for third place in the Southeast division.

Many bloggers and fans were eager to see the future. Posts titled, “On the cusp of something special?” “Hopeful” and “Maybe” touted the good but also mentioned the bad. At the very least, the Lightning blogosphere felt the team “Had a chance.”

Cut to the present. The Bolts have lost eight of their last nine games. The team has scored a paltry 13 goals in those nine games. They have been, simply dismal of late.

Writers are now looking for a scapegoat for this painful stretch of losses. Understandably, Rick Tocchet is square in their “sites.” Certainly Tocchet and his coaching staff must shoulder some of the blame. I have in fact put him on the watch list, myself. While I cannot disagree with my fellow bloggers for being critical of Tocchet, I can’t accept their cries for his removal as the solution.

Stability is something that takes time and some painful patience. Firing Tocc now would destroy the Bolts’ season. It would be a step back, not forward. One only need look at the Bolts’ Stanley Cup winning coach John Tortorella’s history to gain that patience.

In 2001-02, Torts’ first full season with the Bolts, the team had a 27-40-11-4 record while accumulating 69 points. The following year, the Lightning bettered their point total to 93 and in 2003-04, Tortorella led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup Championship with 106 points. Over the next two seasons the Lightning finished second in the division, scoring over ninety points in both years.

This year is Rick Tocchet’s first full season at the helm. The Bolts have accumulated 31 points over 32 games, on pace to end the season with 79 points, ten more than that Tortorella coached 2001-02 team. Why the panic? Have the Lightning been so good over the last few years to expect anything north of eighty points?

Let’s learn from history and not be so quick to throw in the towel! Let’s look for stability and give Tocchet and his staff the full year. When an organization fires a coach in mid-season, there is a shock factor that may or may not jump start the players, but two things always happen: The players begin blaming themselves and they have to start over with a new staff and possibly a new system.

Yes, many of you will point to Dan Bylsma coming in and leading the Penguins to the Cup last year, but I don’t see a Crosby, a Malkin or a Fleury on the Lightning’s roster. Nor do I see a team that can play .800 hockey over the last 25 games.

Stability breeds winning and we have learned from history that winning puts fans in the seats.

Don’t do it! Tocchet deserves more time!

“Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.” – Hyman Rickover –