Bravo! Tocchet Faces The Fans
April 15th, 2009
Today Rick Tocchet had a marathon interview and Q & A session on the Bolts flaghip radio station, 620 WDAE-AM.
Rick Tocchet, if nothing else, is a man of the people.
Joe gives any major sport head coach a long standing ovation for coming on sports radio and being forthcoming with the host and fans. That’s what Tocchet did today with the dean of Tampa Bay sports radio, Steve Duemig, on 620 WDAE-AM The Sports Animal.
The nearly two hours of Tocchet’s interview is on the station’s Web site. It’s a real must listen for Bolts fans.
As Joe’s faithful know, Joe has not been willing to give Tocchet a pass for last season, even though he took over the Bolts under brutal circumstances. And the fact he was a first-time head coach working with a a first-time GM and a new ownership group.
From Joe’s seat, Tocchet just didn’t get the most out of his revolving-door squad. But at least he did improve the locker room, made good decisions with Stamkos and didn’t hang himself after trotting out a steady flow of minor league defensemen and goalies.
He deserves another head coaching job. Joe just isn’t sold that it should be in Tampa next season.
That said, Tocchet deserves major props for his inteview today and for taking calls from fans. He did try to take responsibility for the team’s effort (or lack thereof), but he made plenty of excuses. Although, frankly there were plenty of excuses to be had.
Here are a few highlights:
On Vinny Lecavalier: Tocchet said Vinny is hiring a speed skating coach and a personal trainer to get himself into extraordinary condition. Tocchet said he has “some leadership things for Vinny to read” and he’ll be visiting Vinny a couple of times over the summer.
On Mike Smith: “Everybody’s concerned [about the concussion recovery]. I talked to him today. He feels a little bit better.”
On the 2009-2010 captain: Tocchet talked about grading players leadership skills and Vinny improving on his. He said “Marty has the best leadership skills.”
On the goalies: Tocchet was very pro Karri Ramo and called Mike McKenna “a minor league goalie.” Tocchet talked about solidifying the position.
On the Bolts failing to stick it to Alex Ovechkin: Tocchet wouldn’t say his guys were a bunch of wimp-asses for not coming after Ovechkin after his goal celebration in Tampa. But you could tell Tocchet wanted to call out his team. ”It was “like a suicide squeeze up 8-0 … and you know what happens after that.” I told [the Bolts] between the periods we can answer with agressive hockey. …
On the up and comers: Tocchet expressed love and appreciation for Cory Murphy, Matt Smaby and Matt Lashoff, “but I’d like to see more bite to [Lashoff's] game. He needs to get in NHL shape.”
On the Bolts overall lack of talent on defense: “You need bullets.”
Again, Joe recommends clicking on the link above for the full interview.
