As promised, though a little later than I said I would get these out to you, here are the comments first from interim coach Rick Tocchet on why he has decided to scratch Steven Stamkos tonight followed by Stamkos’ reaction:

From Rick Tocchet:

On Stamkos being out: “To me, I don’t consider this a healthy scratch, to me it’s just a process. I’ve been thinking about this the past two or three weeks, discussing it with the coaching staff and I think it’s important for him to get some practice time, we haven’t had a lot of practice time, get him training in the weight room and stuff like that. And if we start this process, he’s going to play a lot of games, but I’d like to space it out a little bit so he can get some time in the gym with our strength coach and also get some one-on-one time with [Wes Walz]. We’ve had a lot of games and I think we’ve lacked on that with him. I think it’s important for him to start this process instead of just trying to play as many games as possible. I believe in my heart this is the best way; he’s a hell of a hockey player and he’s going to be a hell of a hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning and I just want to start the process on the right step and in the right way.’‘

Has Stamkos hit a wall: “I don’t think he’s hit a wall in any way, I think that he can use a little bit of extra time in the gym or on the ice, things like that. I don’t think it’s something we should be scared of, to me, it’s just a process. He’s 18-years-old, he’s a hell of a kid and I talked to him today for about an hour and communicated with him, so it’s just part of the process.
This isn’t going to be a situation where he’s going to sit out consecutive games, he’ll be playing games.’‘

Is he going to be back on Monday: “This is a situation where it’s in between games where I’d like to get him one-on-one on the ice with Wes Walz. And we also have to start building his leg strength and stuff like that, just like an 18-year-old kid should, and I want to start this process now instead of June and July. I personally think it will increase his development. Like I said, he is going to be a hell of a hockey player, his speed is NHL caliber now, so I just want to get the other parts of his game up to par which with this process I think will go quicker for him.’‘

On how Stamkos took the news: “I talked to him, and as he said, he was playing better when I first took over and he was playing 17 or 18 minutes, but there’s like a catch-22 because you want to play the kid that much but it’s hard to play consistent like that when you are playing 16-17 minutes a night for a kid in the NHL. As an 18-year-old kid, I feel he understands that and he’ll be fine.’‘

Is this a one time thing: “I’m looking at the schedule right now, going over it with Sully [associate coach Mike Sullivan] and our strength coach and we’ll go through it to determine which games he’ll play – and there will be a lot.’‘

Will he be part of the rotation of forwards in and out of the lineup: “He could be part of that rotation, definitely. As he gets stronger he’ll confidence will get better. He still does some magnificent things out there, there’s just certain things that I’d like to see get better and I think him just playing games and us not being able to pay attention like we could with this process is the best way for him.’‘

Should it be read into that Stamkos would have been better back in juniors this season: “I disagree with that. I think certain kids, yeah, but not Steve Stamkos. I think he’s the type of kid, him playing his first year in the NHL is huge for his development, I just truly believe that with 40 games left that we should begin this process for his development, but he can compete in the NHL, no question. I wouldn’t have ever thought that going back to junior was a good idea. His development and the learning curve for the type of player he’s going to is valuable for him to be up here.’‘

Would it have been better for him to take All-Star weekend off instead of going to the Young Stars game: “I think that’s a thrill for him, I think it’s great for him to go there and see all the other top players and meet those guys is a pretty special thing for him. I’m actually glad he’s going.’‘

Reaction from Stamkos:

How disappointed are you: “You want to play every game and contribute, so it’s obviously a little disappointing. But I had a good talk with Sully and Tocc and they explained things to me, they are the coaches and you have to respect their opinion. I just have to keep working hard try to get back in.’‘

What did they say to you: “I have a lot of respect for the coaching staff and for them to pull me aside and talk to me for a half-hour and talk to me about what their plan is for the future and stuff. Not that I didn’t have respect for them before, but I gained a lot more respect for them by doing that instead of just telling me after the skate. Obviously I would love to be in the lineup, but they had their explanations, it’s not like it’s out of nowhere, and you have to respect that as a player to your coaches.’‘

How will you use the time to get better: “I guess you have to try to draw positives out of it, work even harder because it obviously wasn’t good enough before if you are not playing. So I’ve got to change some things up, work even harder off the ice and in practice. They explained to me their plan and I’m going to follow it to the best of my abilities. If they see it working out in the end, then that hard work is going to pay off in the end.’‘

They mentioned there could be more games you sit out, do you think you can change their mind with your play: “I’d like to [change their mind], but from what I gained from that talk, I’m not sure it would really matter. They seem to have a strategy in place. I’d like to think in my mind that if I come out and sit a game and play a good game for the next two or three games then you would normally still be in the lineup, so that’s how I’m going to approach the situation and we’ll see how it goes. This is obviously a new experience for me, I’ve never really had this in my career, so there is a first for everything. So I’m just going to have to use it as a learning tool, watch from above and just try to watch the players at my position and see how they react because it’s obviously easier to watch the game from above.’‘

Do you think you’ve been struggling: “I wouldn’t say struggling. It’s just tough not getting the ice time and things like that. I thought my game, obviously isn’t at the top, but I like to be getting more chances and more points and stuff like that. In the end, it’s the coach’s decision and they seem to have a good rationale. It obviously didn’t come out of the blue, they had discussed that for a while and shared their opinions and I shared mine and I think we are on the same page.’‘

Did you ever imagine the start of your NHL career would have so many ups and dows: “The coaching staff and I both agreed that maybe I didn’t come into the best situation at the beginning of the year. We also talked that this is a pretty veteran team, it’s not like it’s a Chicago when Kane and Toews came in right away and played, and even though I’d like to be able to come right in and do that, it’s just a different situation and circumstances. It’s tough and definitely not the way I envisioned it coming in, but I’d rather get it out of the way early rather than later and learn as much as I can at a young age.’‘