"I don't always fight people. But when I do, I prefer they be very high draft picks." -Steven Stamkos, probably.
While he might not actually be the Dos Equis beer "Most Interesting Man in the World" pitch-man, you have to admit, Steven Stamkos has had a pretty interesting career. From his junior scoring exploits that led to him being drafted first overall in 2008 and the "Seen Stamkos" marketing campaign, to his two Rocket Richard trophies on the back of fifty and sixty goal seasons, to his multiple injuries and health issues that threatened to derail his career, Stammer has seen it all during his 1000+ game, two Stanley Cup career. And while he has mostly used his hands for potting 500+ goals (plus another 45 in the playoffs so far), Stamkos has not been afraid to use those sweet hands on the occasional face of an opponent.
Don't get me wrong; Stamkos is an infrequent fighter. With seven fights through fifteen NHL seasons, he'll never be categorized as a hybrid fighter-scorer such as Brendan Shanahan or his former coach Rick Tocchet. He's shown a willingness to stick up for himself and his teammates, inevitably firing up his bench as he shows a captain's willingness to sacrifice himself while sending a message to the opponent.
But you've got to admit: he picks his spots.
The high draft picks that Stamkos has collected on his fight card would be the envy of any NHL general manager. Starting with his first NHL scrap in 2008, lets take a chronological look back at the Lightning captain's fights.
Fight #1: November 26, 2008, versus Nikolai Zherdev, New York Rangers.
In his first NHL tussle, Steven Stamkos lays a heavy hit on Ranger Nikolai Zherdev, pasting him into the Madison Square Garden boards. Zherdev, the 4th overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2003, follows Stamkos to the other side of the ice and the two drop the gloves. It's a spirited fight, with both guys throwing a lot of punches before tumbling to the ice. This was the first career fight for both men.
Fight #2: March 22, 2015, versus Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins.
Stamkos waits a loooooong time to engage in his second fight-- six and a half years, in fact. And this time, he's not sticking up for himself, but going after Brad Marchand for a submarine hit on the Lightning's Valtteri Filppula. This comes during Stamkos' first full season as captain of the Lightning (he got the "C" late in the 2013-14 season after Martin St. Louis decamped for New York), and reflects Stammer's desire to be a more complete leader. As for Marchand, as a 3rd round choice (71st overall), he's one of the lowest picks that Stammer has scrapped with, but since he's already regarded as a potential Hall of Fame choice, we'll forgive Steven for dipping so low in the draft pool.
Fight #3: February 24, 2018, versus Karl Alzner, Montreal Canadiens.
By 2018, Nikita Kucherov had emerged as a major offensive force for the Lightning, and when Karl Alzner lines him up for a knee-on-knee hit at center ice, Stamkos wastes exactly zero time dropping the gloves with the Canadiens' defenceman. The fight doesn't amount to much more than some hugging and dancing, but again we have Stamkos stepping up to send a message not to take liberties with his teammates. Alzner, a former fifth overall pick of the Washington Capitals (2007), understands.
Fight #4: March 30, 2018, versus Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers.
Following the theme from his fight a month earlier, Stamkos drops the gloves immediately after an opponent takes down Kucherov with a low hit. This time he dirties his hands by scrapping with another mere third round pick (75th overall in 2013), but it's a captain doing captain stuff. In addition to the fighting majors, Buchnevich gets two for tripping and Stammer gets the minor for instigating. This is a wilder fight than the Alzner tilt, but I don't feel great about Stamkos banging his million dollar fists off Pavel's helmet.
Fight #5: January 30, 2019, versus Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins.
A brief bout between two elite centers. This one starts with some stick work and mutual cross-checks that escalate until Stamkos drops the gloves with the Penguins' second overall pick from 2004. Malkin only gets one glove off before the combatants drop to the ice.
Fight #6: June 9, 2022, versus Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers.
Something tells me that Steven Stamkos doesn't like the Rangers. This scrap, the first in NHL history between two former first overall draft picks (Lafreniere went #1 in 2020), came out of a post-whistle scrum at the end of a Lightning win. Stamkos absolutely rocks the younger player with a right hand before scoring the take-down.
Fight #7: April 22, 2023, versus Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fun fact! There have only been two fights in NHL history between former first overall draft picks, and Steven Stamkos has been in both of them. Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs top pick in 2016, had never been in a fight in his NHL career at this point, which may explain why it takes him so long to start fighting back. The fight comes after a hit in which Morgan Reilly takes the Lightning's Brayden Point hard into the boards. Kucherov jumps Reilly, setting off a brawl that involves Stamkos swinging wildly on Matthews, who doesn't seem to know what he's supposed to do before the pair stumble to the ice.
So, in summary, Steven Stamkos has been in seven NHL fights, and his opponents have included two first overall draft picks, a second overall, a fourth and a fifth overall, and two third rounders. Unquestionably the highest end fight card you could imagine, with the possible exception of Matthews' fight card. After all, he's been in only one fight, and it was against a first overall pick: Steven Stamkos.
(Primary assist goes to hockeyfights.com, where I researched this article, with a secondary assist from hockeydb.com).
The first time I made predictions for a Lightning season was in the fall of 1993. The Bolts had just completed their inaugural season, and my group of high school friends, none of whom really cared about sports, got heavily into hockey by playing EA's NHLPA '93 on Mike's SEGA Genesis. That was the last edition of the game to feature fighting, and there were very few players in the game that had a 100 rating for the fighting statistic: Bob Probert in Detroit, Tie Domi in New York, and Basil McRae in Tampa Bay being the only three I can recall us finding. Brent claimed Detroit, Mike took New York, and I took Tampa Bay. It didn't matter that Detroit and New York were both stacked and Tampa Bay was like, a 2/10 level team, because I sucked at video games and wasn't going to win anyway. I just wanted a team with a good fighter, so even if I lost every game, I could still win something.
Anyway, we all got hooked, bought sticks for road hockey, bought hats and sweaters of our teams (although Mike switched to the Leafs), and I started looking forward to the NHL's 1993-1994 season. I picked up a magazine with the previous season's stats, opened a notebook, and recorded my predictions for each player. Brian Bradley had 42 goals last year, so he should be good for 50 this year. John Tucker had 17, so let's say 25. I went through the roster, and predicted that each player would increase his offensive output by 20-50%, which was a disaster, since 1992-1993 was an offensive high water mark for the NHL, before the drudgery of the oncoming trap era. Only one player achieved the goal total I set out, that being Danton Cole, who jumped from 12 goals in '92-'93 to 20 in '93-'94.
Needless to say, I was a poor prognosticator.
But making guesses about other people's achievements is fun, so I'm going to do it again right here. These are my predictions for the 2021-2022 Lightning season.
Nikita Kucherov: Kuch will return to his humorless, taciturn ways, eschewing the shirtless, beer-fueled and profanity-laden press conferences, while scoring at a league leading level. After his performances in the last few post-seasons, it's fair to assume he'll be able to return to his regular season form of 2018-2019, when he led the NHL in scoring. He'll finish in the top three for points, and only gets shirtless and silly again if the Bolts win the Cup again.
Steven Stamkos: He's only 31 years old today, but it feels like he's played for the Lightning forever. He's not the scoring threat he once was, and he'll likely spend a good deal of time on the third line, but he'll still easily hit the mid-thirties in goals with all his power play goals. Much respect, captain.
Anthony Cirelli: Gonna give Tony the ol' Danton Cole treatment and predict he'll get his first 20 goal season in the NHL. He hit 19 back in 2018-2019, and with a full season to play, a 20 dollar bill should be easy. Sixty points, too. Get out there and be great, bro.
Brayden Point: He'll be dashing this season-- both fast on the ice and a handsome devil too. A point-a-game should be the minimum for Big BP; he's a big-time machine. Will he one day have a hundred point NHL season? Yes. This year.
Victor Hedman: I think Heddy will also get his first 20 goal season. Why not? There's nothing this man can't do.
Mikhail Sergachev: He wants to be the best defenseman in the League, and I respect that confidence. He'll hit 40 points this year.
Andrei Vasilevskiy: He'll get 40 wins or more.
Brian Elliott: He'll get maybe 10 wins?
Jon Cooper: Can you believe this guy has never won coach of the year? I guess it's because his team is always so stacked with talent, and the award usually goes to some geek that wrings a great total out of a team that was expected to be a disaster, but sooner or later Coop will get the "career achievement" Jack Adams Award. Will it be this year? Yes, This year.
As for everyone else, just take their points per game average from last season, average it over 82 games, and add 20%. I'm in a good mood tonight. I saw a rainbow after walking in the rain. I'm optimistic.
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