Why does Steven Stamkos struggle in the playoffs?

[Leonardo87]

While Callahan may very well have a part in this result, there's a lot of team effects (playing in front of Ben Bishop most nights, with a collective roster that is, though younger, much improved and for a different coach / system the past two seasons) potentially at work, too.

Well looking at this season alone, Stamkos had the best goal differentials when he was paired with Callahan. I think throwing Drouin on LW is going to help Stamkos out big time. Which is why next season want to see a Drouin-Stamkos-Callahan, and lets call it our 2nd line at this point.

 

[Butchered]

To be fair I thought Killorn and Callahan both played Fantastic last series. The only reason why that line was Anchored was because of Stamkos. Both guys stepped their games up, Killorn by a crap ton. Stamkos was no where to be found.

Oh for sure. They both play a solid game. I just think having the two of them on a line with Stamkos is a mistake. Neither one of those guys is high skill enough to provide push for Stamkos. He's the fastest of the 3, so he needs to slow down to accommodate his line mates. When Stamkos has a high skill, high speed guy on his line, he's forced to constantly move his feet and play at a higher level.

Stamkos needs to have a skill guy on his line to maximize his game. Killorn and Callahan aren't those types of players.

 

[Leonardo87]

Most of that is meaningless. The Corsi in particular, since TB's over all team is so much better than any year Stamkos had MSL on his wing. Our defense is light years ahead of where it was with MSL on the team.

Stamkos/Callahan got better when Killorn was added to the wing. But that's two grinders. That excuses Stamkos's drop in scoring, really. (If only that were the problem...)

But Callahan plays the wrong wing to be an ideal long-term winger for Stamkos. Drouin, when playing with Stamkos, was put on the right side a lot, because that's the spot you want someone feeding Stammer from. Callahan's not that playmaker. He's not finding Stamkos in open ice. Part of that's on Stamkos, but we shouldn't pretend a big part of that isn't about Callahan's style of play.

I've been on the fence of whether he should stay up there, but anytime doubts are raised he comes up big. I want to see Drouin roll up there, with Stamkos and Callahan next season, and if things still are not looking at least improved then throw him back with Flip and Killorn which would still be a strong line.

 

[zeykshade]

I've been on the fence of whether he should stay up there, but anytime doubts are raised he comes up big. I want to see Drouin roll up there, with Stamkos and Callahan next season, and if things still are not looking at least improved then throw him back with Flip and Killorn which would still be a strong line.

I don't. Because Callahan is a RW. Drouin needs to play his off wing to feed Stamkos better.

My ideal for Stamkos would have been Palat / Stamkos / Drouin. That will probably never happen without some serious injuries. And with the way Cooper is treating Drouin in the playoffs and reg. season, I wouldn't be surprised if Drouin were winging it up on the top line in Syracuse to start next year(and I'd be livid about it).

 

[DFC]

I've been on the fence of whether he should stay up there, but anytime doubts are raised he comes up big. I want to see Drouin roll up there, with Stamkos and Callahan next season, and if things still are not looking at least improved then throw him back with Flip and Killorn which would still be a strong line.

Doesn't matter if he comes up big. He'd come up big on another line. When he's on the ice and gets the puck in the offensive zone, he tends to dictate the style of play, and that style isn't one Stamkos has adapted to very well. This is why I think Stamkos probably doesn't have a great hockey IQ. But, deficiencies aside, he'd be a lot more valuable to us if someone was finding him through traffic.

 

[Leonardo87]

Doesn't matter if he comes up big. He'd come up big on another line. When he's on the ice and gets the puck in the offensive zone, he tends to dictate the style of play, and that style isn't one Stamkos has adapted to very well. This is why I think Stamkos probably doesn't have a great hockey IQ. But, deficiencies aside, he'd be a lot more valuable to us if someone was finding him through traffic.

Don't you think it's an issue we have not found someone on this current roster to really mesh with Stamkos, what if Drouin does not mesh with him? Do we go out and get another winger to play with Stamkos, while paying him over 10 million dollars?

 

[DFC]

I don't. Because Callahan is a RW. Drouin needs to play his off wing to feed Stamkos better.

My ideal for Stamkos would have been Palat / Stamkos / Drouin. That will probably never happen without some serious injuries. And with the way Cooper is treating Drouin in the playoffs and reg. season, I wouldn't be surprised if Drouin were winging it up on the top line in Syracuse to start next year(and I'd be livid about it).

I'm on this exact page, beginning to end.

Coop doesn't trust rookies until he's absolutely forced to. You have to think Yzerman doesn't like his prized prospect sitting in the press box. I don't think he lets it happen next year. Drouin will score 140 points in the AHL and then get more 4th line duty in the NHL. Stamkos, meanwhile, will continue to disappoint.

 

[DFC]

Don't you think it's an issue we have not found someone on this current roster to really mesh with Stamkos, what if Drouin does not mesh with him? Do we go out and get another winger to play with Stamkos, while paying him over 10 million dollars?

It absolutely concerns me. But Callahan probably played 60 games this year on Stamkos's right wing. We shouldn't have let that happen. If we had groomed Drouin, we would have a lot better idea right now about whether he would have meshed with Stamkos or not. A lot of our future is hinged on whether or not those two can play together, and that's a chemistry we should have already been cultivating. How we develop Drouin has to be very high on the organization's list of priorities, and it's hard to think they did a good job of that in Year 1. We had the perfect opportunity too, with TKO as hot as they were. We could have handled some shaky games.

 

[heretik27]

I'm on this exact page, beginning to end.

Coop doesn't trust rookies until he's absolutely forced to. You have to think Yzerman doesn't like his prized prospect sitting in the press box. I don't think he lets it happen next year. Drouin will score 140 points in the AHL and then get more 4th line duty in the NHL. Stamkos, meanwhile, will continue to disappoint.

I hate coaches that are afraid to give young talent the opportunity they need to grow into the NHL. Might have been forced in some part due to injuries, but Paul Maurice had no issues playing Adam Lowry on the top line when Little went out to injury. Our forwards played all over the place throughout the season. Frolik/Perreault/Stafford/Lowry were flexible enough to play anywhere we needed them and our coach often had to move guys around. Why is it that a top prospect with playmaking abilities is forced to play where he can't succeed on a checking line? Flames had no problems bringing Sam Bennett up to start his career during the NHL playoffs and he's done great.

Just leaves a bad taste in the mouth. A guy like Drouin should be on Stamkos' wing to try and fill the shoes of MSL who fed Stamkos pucks all night.

 

[nhljohnson]

I wouldn't be surprised if Drouin were winging it up on the top line in Syracuse to start next year(and I'd be livid about it).

I would. Remember how Nikita Kucherov was utilized in 2013-2014 as well as being scratched in favor of B.J. Crombeen for 2 games in the short-lived series against MTL last spring? At the start of next season, when is no longer a rookie, I expect there'll be all sorts of talk about how much he's grown as a player, how he's ready for and has earned a bigger role. His assumption of the prime spot on 91's wing strikes me as a foregone conclusion.

 

[zeykshade]

I would. Remember how Nikita Kucherov was utilized in 2013-2014 as well as being scratched in favor of B.J. Crombeen for 2 games in the short-lived series against MTL last spring? At the start of next season, when is no longer a rookie, I expect there'll be all sorts of talk about how much he's grown as a player, how he's ready for and has earned a bigger role. His assumption of the prime spot on 91's wing strikes me as a foregone conclusion.

Do you remember that Kucherov still had to win a spot out of camp this year, was on the 3rd line and sucking balls not scoring at all until both Killorn and Connolly got injured and only then he was given a chance to play with TJ and Palat? Kucherov didn't earn **** with all of his backchecking and defensive responsibility. Cooper didn't reward him for all of that. He "lucked" into the TKO line.

 

[Sky04]

I would. Remember how Nikita Kucherov was utilized in 2013-2014 as well as being scratched in favor of B.J. Crombeen for 2 games in the short-lived series against MTL last spring? At the start of next season, when is no longer a rookie, I expect there'll be all sorts of talk about how much he's grown as a player, how he's ready for and has earned a bigger role. His assumption of the prime spot on 91's wing strikes me as a foregone conclusion.

Dude Kucherov wasn't even a sure thing after camp, he scored 6 goals in 6 games in the preseason which forced Cooper to put him on the team, then you know what he did? Kept Kucherov in the bottom 6 and wouldn't change his linemates (lol Brown and Namestnikov) until a random shift cause Johnson to come on with Kucherov.

Cooper does not get any credit for Kucherov's progress, Cooper does not know how to handle skilled rookies. He works great with work horses like Johnson and Palat but tries to turn guys like Kucherov/Drouin into Couturier.

 

[nhljohnson]

Do you remember that Kucherov still had to win a spot out of camp this year, was on the 3rd line and sucking balls not scoring at all until both Killorn and Connolly got injured and only then he was given a chance to play with TJ and Palat? Kucherov didn't earn **** with all of his backchecking and defensive responsibility. Cooper didn't reward him for all of that. He "lucked" into the TKO line.

Dude Kucherov wasn't even a sure thing after camp, he scored 6 goals in 6 games in the preseason which forced Cooper to put him on the team, then you know what he did? Kept Kucherov in the bottom 6 and wouldn't change his linemates (lol Brown and Namestnikov) until a random shift cause Johnson to come on with Kucherov.

Cooper does not get any credit for Kucherov's progress, Cooper does not know how to handle skilled rookies. He works great with work horses like Johnson and Palat but tries to turn guys like Kucherov/Drouin into Couturier.

DUDES!

I don't know where you got the impression I was crediting Cooper for developing Kucherov. I've made posts on the TB board pointing out the very opposite, lampooning notions that he's anything but the same player who drove the bus for Nate Thompson and J.T. Brown to many unconverted opportunities last season.

Also, the only reason Kucherov's spot on the team was speculated about heading into and throughout training camp because of contract-, not performance-related, reasons. If he hadn't been waivers-exempt, his place on the club would have been a foregone conclusion. And that whole situation, which concluded with wasting an asset (Richard Panik), was created by the organization deciding it needed to give a last hurrah to Brenden Morrow. Not Yzerman and Co.'s finest moment.

At any rate, the real insight is that Kucherov and Drouin saw similar treatment as rookies in their first professional season. I believe that's all it really boils down to. Feel free to disagree.

As for next season, keep in mind that Drouin has a high-profile agent in Allan Walsh who's not averse to speaking his (or, by proxy, a client's) mind. This isn't a second rounder catching you by surprise with his accelerated emergence whom you've got to figure out how to utilize. Also, there shouldn't be a similar logjam to put Drouin on the bubble and possibly necessitate his being placed with SYR.

 

[Frosty415]

not having a great first period, couple bad give aways

 

[dbieon12]

DUDES!

I don't know where you got the impression I was crediting Cooper for developing Kucherov. I've made posts on the TB board pointing out the very opposite, lampooning notions that he's anything but the same player who drove the bus for Nate Thompson and J.T. Brown to many unconverted opportunities last season.

Also, the only reason Kucherov's spot on the team was speculated about heading into and throughout training camp because of contract-, not performance-related, reasons. If he hadn't been waivers-exempt, his place on the club would have been a foregone conclusion. And that whole situation, which concluded with wasting an asset (Richard Panik), was created by the organization deciding it needed to give a last hurrah to Brenden Morrow. Not Yzerman and Co.'s finest moment.

At any rate, the real insight is that Kucherov and Drouin saw similar treatment as rookies in their first professional season. I believe that's all it really boils down to. Feel free to disagree.

As for next season, keep in mind that Drouin has a high-profile agent in Allan Walsh who's not averse to speaking his (or, by proxy, a client's) mind. This isn't a second rounder catching you by surprise with his accelerated emergence whom you've got to figure out how to utilize. Also, there shouldn't be a similar logjam to put Drouin on the bubble and possibly necessitate his being placed with SYR.

This is the best post in this thread although I would argue Kucherov looked better last season (ignoring stats) than Drouin looked this season. Plus, this Lightning team did not need Drouin this year as much as they needed to give Palat, Johnson and Kucherov ice time last season.... which is paying dividends now.

I would still like to see Drouin skate with Stamkos but the Stanley Cup Playoffs isn't the best time of year to experiment.

 

[Ducks Nation*]

This guy looks awful

 

[Jtown]

its not even that he is struggling , what concerns me is the fact that he is not impacting the game in any facet. Sometimes a fight , or a big hit can get a guy into a series. I think stamkos is going to need something like that to fire him up.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

He's just in a slump. He'll get out of it.

Anyway, as pathetic as Montreal's forwards are, he has another round to break his slump.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Told Ya

 

[Frosty415]

finalllyyyy

 

[BigBen]

He still looks awful.

 

[mattcookefan]

He still looks awful.

not as awful as the habs defense...and offense for that matter

 

[Jtown]

welcome to the playoffs steve.

 

[PaulGG]

He is streaky just watch him he usually gets a hatty coimng out of a slump

 

[Dr Pepper]

Tack on another assist, three points for Stammer.