Tampa Lightning super center Steven Stamkos has been as scorching hot as the heat of 91 suns.
Stamkos, a pending unrestricted free agent, has picked up points in six straight games including an assist on Monday night. Stamkos has scored seven goals in his past eight games.
Page One in the "Hockey Coaching For Idiots" handbook suggests that if it ain't broke, don't break it. Meaning, if your best player is Stamkos and playing unconscious offensive hockey, you should leave him alone and let him create his magic.
Right?
Stamkos leads the Bolts with 36 goals and 28 assists in 76 games played. He has 14 PPGs. In my opinion, Stamkos is the best center on his team's roster.
Tampa head coach Jon Cooper loves jerking with Stamkos. He can't help himself.
Rather than let Stamkos be Stamkos and lead his team from the number on center slot in place of the injured Nikita Kucherov, Cooper is tapping Val Filppula as the number one center while moving Stamkos to wing on the the top line.
Due to a glut on injuries to key Bolts players, Filppula moved to top line center with Stamkos and Alex Killorn as his wingers on Monday night against Toronto. Ryan Callahan has missed five games with a lower body injury. Nikita Kucherov ( lower body) and Anton Stralman (broken fibula) have missed two straight games.
Filppula missed his previous six games with an upper body injury. He went from the IR to LI center just like that. What is Cooper thinking? Stamkos is the number one pivot, not a rusty Filppula.
Filppula and Stamkos played together last season during Tampa's Stanley Cup run. However, Stamkos and Filppula have barely played together this season.
Cooper tried to rationalize his logic after Monday's game.
"These guys have played together. We went to the Stanley Cup with them as one of our big lines. My worry is "Fil" hasn't played (since March 13). He's been off and we hope he gets his timing back".
A less than 100% Filppula is better than playing a red hot Stamkos at his natural center position.
Ok, Jon. Got it.
The Bolts have 93 points this season. They are besieged by serious in hurries to key contributors. Why not go with what you know and let your alpha dog Stamkos lead his teammates for the rest of the regular season and playoffs?
The Bolts are not home free yet. They are being pursued by several Eastern Conference teams looking to improve their playoff seedings.
Florida have 93 points, Pittaburgh 92, NYI , and Boston 88. Philly and Detroit have 87 points apiece.
After Monday's win, Stamkos tried his best to put lipstick on this pig.
"It's not something that I'm going to lose any sleep over. I've been able to do that. I think as a natural center going to the wing is easier than a wing going over to center. I played that position multiple times before in the past. It's really not an issue for me heading into games".
Let me translate Steven's thought process:
"I am a natural center, I am scorching hot, and I'll play the wing to help the team win now. Will I be re-signing with the Bolts for 10 years just to be bumped to wing so that Kucherov and Filppula can play #1 center? No."
I see the Bolts getting dumped in the first round of the playoffs. Healthy or not, there are flaws with the Tampa lineup and chief among them is the loss of their top pair right D Stralman. Victor Hedman's partner is one of the most unsung heroes in the NHL. The Bolts are going to miss Stralman's,calming, smothering D zone prowess.
Stamkos will be leaving Tampa. Bolts fans can blame Jon Cooper for alienating Stamkos by kicking him out to the wall.
Suffice to say that Buffalo and Toronto will be sensitive to playing Stamkos at center ice when they pitch him hard on UFA Day on July 1.