One of the biggest surprises in the League has to be the team in Tampa. I, for one, did not expect it at all. You have to consider Stampkos one of the best in the League, don't you? I mean, you have to consider Steve the MVP of this surprising team, or is he?
To get to know this team a little more, I contacted one of my most favourites reporters on Twitter, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune. You can find Erik on Twitter at http://twitter.com/erlendssontrib. So let's get to know the Bolts, shall we?
No one really expected the Bolts to do as well as they have. Are you surprised at the success of the Bolts?
I think you have to be surprised by their success to this point. You have a team with a brand new management staff in place, with a brand new coaching staff running a roster more than half-filled with new players. Add in the fact that Simon Gagne missed 18 games, Vinny Lecavalier missed 15 games, and Steve Downie has missed 13 games and counting, a horrible travel schedule that included a stretch of 15 out of 21 games on the road, five one-game homestands, and substandard goaltending for the most part, there's really not much which suggests this team should be in first place.
But the special teams have been a strength all season; Steven Stamkos has been a scoring machine, Marty St. Louis is a driving force, and the team has been very opportunistic getting contributions up and down the lineup.
If somebody would have said all those odds were going to be stacked against this team, I can't imagine many would have thought they would be in a playoff position at Christmas, let alone in first place in the division.
Do you think Vinny will get traded this season or the off-season?
No way Lecavalier gets moved any time soon, because his contract and production essentially make him untradeable. Perhaps somewhere down the road, it might have to be explored, or possibly even further down the line, a buyout may be something the team looks at, but right now, if you can ignore the large annual salary, he makes a good second line center and is somebody still capable of playing an effective two-way game and win some faceoffs.
Who is the MVP: Stamkos or Marty? They work so well together.
As gaudy as the numbers are for Stamkos this season, St. Louis is the MVP of this team. He is the heart-and-soul, and the engine that drives the train. His tenacity and drive on the ice inspires the rest of his team; and that, combined with his skill level, forces his teammates to try to keep up with him. St. Louis is a guy who makes others around him better, and Stamkos benefits from his linemate without a doubt.
NHL Season:
I have been getting a lot of feedback on the headshots this season. Do you feel the NHL does enough to stop it?
There is not enough being done for headshots in the NHL, and I give you the suspension earlier this year of Joe Thornton as Exhibit A. There was an outcry from many who felt Thornton did not deserve a penalty, let alone a suspension, for his hit to David Perron. But in my estimation, Thornton should have been hit harder to show to everybody that the League is serious about trying to remove those kind of targets to the head, instead it looks more passive on the League's part. The NHL has always been more of a reactive League as opposed to proactive, and I get the feeling that nothing will be done on a more strict scale until somebody gets seriously injured as the result of a hit to the head, whether it be a life-threatening situation or career-threatening. I hope that moment never occurs, but I fear that's what it's going to take to get the League to make a serious crack-down on hits to the head.
I would like to thank Erik and the Tampa Tribune for the interview.
He is a great guy and I highly recommend following him.
Randy
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