Yes Vinny's October sucked. Blah blah blah. Cue the trade Vinny stories. But um, hate to break it to you, he has a no trade clause and most likely a no movement one too. So, for now let's just hope that he has a better November than he did October.
But Tocchet has been yapping. He's been talking to the press, calling out the captain of the team, through the press. Let's take a little look at what has happened:
- He says Vinny's game has sucked. To Tocchet, it's not just the lack of scoring, it's his whole game, in his words "it's slipping"
- Tocchet drops Vinny to the 3rd line. A checking line. Vinny is not a checker. Maybe a little bit of a hit to the ego here for Vinny
- Tocchet says Vinny needs "passion" in his game
- Vinny refutes his supposed lack of passion, and says that maybe he needs to "work smarter [rather] than harder"
Calling out your player behind closed doors is one thing, calling him out regularly in the media is another thing. Is Tocchet trying the Tortorella approach?
One thing Vinny has that Tocchet doesn't have is that no trade clause. It's not often that the superstar gets traded just cause the coach doesn't think he's doesn't have enough "passion", so if Tocchet continues to keep up calling out Vinny through the media it would be more likely that Tocchet will get fired. Oren Koules is not dumb, he knows that he can't trade away Lecavalier since he's still the face of the franchise even if he could get Vinny to waive his NTC. In addition it will still be another year or two before Stamkos is ready to take on the role that Lecavalier has had for so many years, and a few more for Hedman as well.
If we look at the team, the team doesn't look like an awful team. It's a better team than we had last year. Tocchet got a free pass last year because he took over for Barry Melrose, and by comparison he was better, but we're lowering our overall standards here. If Tocchet can't make the team that he has into a team that can put together some wins, come out with a consistent effort, than he will lose his job. I'm not the biggest fan of Tocchet, I think he's looks too much like a pug and like to use the term "dogging for the puck" too much. I think that there are better coaches out there than Tocchet.
Right now it's in Tocchet's best interest to find a way help Lecavalier get his game back or he's gonna be the one who's gonna be benched. Superstars don't get fired, coaches do. Since we all know Tocchet is a gambling man, what is the over/under for a change of coaching regime by, let's say, Christmas?
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That's not a "most likely" on the No Movement Clause, it's a fact. Vinny has a total lock on where he goes (if he was to go anywhere). He has a total NMC, so they can't do a d**n thing with Vinny unless he agrees. Tocchet is playing a dangerous game here and one I don't think he will win.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification. I was just too lazy to look it up if he also had a no movement one last night.
ReplyDeleteThat prevents (if Oren Koules came into a ton of money), the management from tucking him away in the minors at the beginning of the season to reduce his salary cap hit, or prevent other players from picking him up through waivers for 1/2 price.
Either way, Tocchet will only burn himself if he keeps up the Vinny bashing, regardless if what he is saying is true.