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Rick Tocchet was Steve Stamkos’ second coach in the NHL but his first big influence.
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Published Jun 28, 2024 • 3 minute read
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“Ovechkin’s the godfather, but Stamkos is next,” Tocchet said during the 2023-24 season of Stamkos’ ability to score off the left side of the power play. Photo by Dan Hamilton /USA TODAY Sports
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So if Steve Stamkos is a free agent on Monday, and reports say he will be, surely the Vancouver Canucks will be kicking tires on the future Hall of Famer, right?
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Stamkos’ agent Don Meehan told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun that his client will test free agency.
Understand that Stamkos’ rookie season was 2008-09.
Early in the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning dumped Barry Melrose over the side as head coach, replacing him with a recently retired player, who had a few seasons under his belt as an assistant coach but returned to the NHL under a cloud.
It was his first head coaching job.
Rick Tocchet was thrust into the spotlight, being asked to guide a budding young star.
For Tocchet it was a true learning experience as a coach. His team wasn’t terribly good. He drew middling results.
But he won the trust of his players because he’s one of the best people-managers in hockey. He cares about the people around him, he engages with them. There’s a reason he has so many friends around hockey, in many cases people he never played with, those he met just once or twice but has built a relationship with nonetheless.
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His current players praise him for his honesty and his ability to listen. He doesn’t let his players leave the rink angry.
Stamkos has said how important Tocchet was for him. The coach kickstarted Stamkos’ confidence, the Tampa captain said.
Melrose was booted after 17 games in charge of the Lightning, playing Stamkos sparingly, insisting that the 18-year-old wasn’t ready.
Tocchet says he’s a player who just needed guidance.
“He gave me a shot and worked with me, saw the potential, gave me an opportunity and I can’t thank him enough for that coming into this league. I owe a lot to him because he taught me a lot,” Stamkos said in 2019.
Tocchet didn’t throw him to the wolves right away, though he still managed his minutes — but he worked with the player, helped him understand the process he was being put through.
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“I felt that playing him a couple games here and there and getting in the gym, with Gary Roberts — a good mentor — they worked out together. It’s funny, after he sat a game and got in the gym, he’d have a great game. He got bigger and stronger and the rest is history. He’s just a super kid,” Tocchet said.
And Tocchet remains an admirer of Stamkos.
He may not be the five on five force he once was, but he remains a potent power play presences.
“Ovechkin’s the godfather, but Stamkos is next,” Tocchet said during the 2023-24 season of Stamkos’ ability to score off the left side of the power play.
That would be a potent weapon for the Canucks to add to their power play.
And his leadership would be a big addition to the Canucks’ room. Tocchet said earlier in June how he took note that the likes of Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov were on the ice already at the end of May, preparing for the next season. It had been just a few weeks since the Lightning had been eliminated from the playoffs.
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“That’s the type of attitude I want. … We just can’t go backward. We’ve set the bar here.”
Of course, Jake Guentzel remains Vancouver’s primary target. But if they don’t land the player, Canucks management knows from their days in Pittsburgh, Stamkos would be worth a short as an alternative.
pjohnston@postmedia.com
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Courtesy : https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/steve-stamkos-canucks-interested