Behind The Tampa Bay Lightning With Dave Mishkin

In this week’s behind the scenes installment of theneilshow Neil Bristow delves into the mind of Tampa Bay Lightning play by play personality Dave Mishkin.

Neil Bristow – Recently Former Tampa coach Barry Melrose said on a Toronto Radio Station that he didn’t think rookie Steven Stamkos (3-8-11 minus 11) wasn’t “ready” for the NHL.

What are your thoughts on the statements Melrose made?

Dave Mishkin – Like most of the people who have responded to Melrose’s comments, both within and outside the organization (I heard Bobby Clarke and former Lightning coach John Tortorella express their objections to his statements), I disagree with his assessment.

Stamkos is a tremendous skater and has an “NHL shot”.  Like a lot of young players, he is learning to play the game at the NHL level.  He has made mistakes, but his mistakes have been no more egregious than any other mistakes a young, talented player might make.

Furthermore, he is showing improvement from game to game, especially as his ice time has increased.  Specifically, I disagree with Barry’s comment about how Steven wasn’t “strong” enough”.  I’ve seen Stamkos fearlessly go into the corners and win pucks from opposing defensemen.  He will get stronger, no doubt, but I don’t think his size prohibits him from playing in the NHL.

Neil Bristow – With the recent economy talk at the GM meetings, there were reports that the Coyotes could lose up to 35 million this season. In your mind, will the Lightning be ok?

Dave Mishkin – Obviously, I don’t deal with the financial side of things with the team, but I can state that the fan base in the Tampa Bay area is quite strong.  New owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie (and six other minority owners) were drawn to the Tampa Bay area in large part because of that strong fan base.

Neil Bristow – Since the Lightning let Barry Melrose walk, the Tampa Bay Lightning were 5-7-4.With new coach Rick Tocchet has only one win since taking over the reins. Where do the problems begin with this once Juggernaut Tampa Bay Lightning team?

Dave Mishkin – The interesting part about the last few weeks is that the record somewhat belies how the guys are playing.  Lightning coaches have commented that the players are starting to learn the team concept and are improving in certain areas that needed work.  For instance, the Lightning has cut down on scoring chances against in recent games and that was a big problem earlier in the year.  Still, the Bolts hadn’t been able to translate better play into victories, at least until last night’s win in Montreal.

Neil Bristow – If the season keeps going the way it’s going for Tampa Bay, Do you see them asking Marty St.Louis to waive his no trade clause and move him and get some younger kids and go at it again next season?

Dave Mishkin – I don’t see that happening.  Marty, along with Vinny Lecavalier, is one of the faces of the franchise, and the organization recognizes that.  Furthermore, he is a very productive player — with two goals last night, he now has points in 10 of his last 11 games.  The Lightning has struggled to score goals this year so Marty’s hot streak is certainly welcomed!

Neil Bristow – Who has been the biggest bright spot on the Tampa roster this far? How Come?

Dave Mishkin – From the start of the season, Mike Smith has been the Lightning’s most consistent player.  He was facing a lot of shots early in the season and his stellar play kept those games close.  I am hard-pressed to recall even one “bad goal”, so to speak, that he has allowed this year.

Neil Bristow – Zenon Konopka has been recalled to help out Tampa and their injury problems.

What should Lightning fans expect out of Konopka?

Dave Mishkin – To be honest, I haven’t seen Konopka play more than just a handful of games.  We didn’t see much of him when he was with Anaheim and Columbus.  So I may not be the best source for an in-depth scouting report.  But I do know that he is a consummate team player (he is the captain of Norfolk) and plays with an edge.  He will fight anybody (we saw that in training camp) and he also is capable of providing some offense.  I think the Lightning fans will enjoy watching him play.

Neil Bristow – With what has happened with Sean Avery this last little while, do you think the 6 games he was suspended is justice for his actions? Any thoughts on the Avery issue?

Dave Mishkin – To me, it sounded as if Avery knew he crossed the line and now he wants to make amends.  As far as the six-game suspension is concerned, I’m not sure the league had a lot of precedent to draw on for a situation like that one.  From what I heard, nobody around the league seemed to have a problem with the number of games, though.

Neil Bristow – Still with Avery…. Do you think the Lightning would have any interest in Mr.Avery?

Dave Mishkin – Right now, it seems that no teams, even minor league clubs, want to bring Sean Avery on board.

Neil Bristow – I was watching the game between the Lightning and the Sabres the other night and I saw Lecavalier exchanging punches with Jochen Hecht. What are your thoughts on superstars fighting risking injury? Should they or shouldn’t they be allowed?

Dave Mishkin – Of course, superstars can be “allowed” (to use your word) to fight.  Frankly, I don’t know how anyone could stop a willing player from dropping the gloves.  Hockey is an emotional and passionate game.  That’s a good thing!  Sometimes, the by-product of that emotion and passion is a fight.

In Lecavalier’s case, he has fought before, so it’s not as if he was in unchartered territory.  He even fought Jarome Iginla in the 2004 Finals.  It’s true that someone might get hurt in a fight, but nobody wants to take the passion and emotion away from a player, whether he’s a top line guy or a fourth-liner.

I don’t think a coach wants one of his top players regularly sitting in the penalty box for long periods of time, but if anyone understands how fights can happen, it’s Rick Tocchet!

Neil Bristow – Can the Lightning move forward and get back into the playoff picture in your eyes?

Dave Mishkin – The Lightning has a tall mountain to climb at this point, but there’s certainly still time for Tampa Bay to get back in the playoff race.  That’s a long-term vision, though.  The coaches and players are more concerned with their short-term goals: continuing to improve their play so that they start winning games more regularly.

Neil Bristow – Tampa Bay played the Flyers a little while ago and I seen something I have never witnessed before. Scotty Hartnell throwing his glove at Ryan Malone on a breakaway. Being a play by play announcer I am sure you have seen some whacky stuff. In your time as voice of the Tampa Bay Lightning what is the craziest thing you have witnessed during a Lightning game?

Dave Mishkin-That Hartnell play was one of the craziest, that’s for sure!  But the NHL game is so polished that wacky stuff doesn’t often occur.  Such things happen with more frequency at the minor league or college level.  For example, when I was in school, I was calling an ECAC playoff game between Yale and Colgate.  Colgate is located in upstate New York and is in a rural area.

After the first period, the zamboni broke down on the ice and was stuck there.  After a couple of hours, somebody found a tractor, brought it onto the ice, hitched the zamboni on and hauled it off.  The patch of ice underneath where the zamboni was stuck had essentially melted through though, so they postponed the game until the next day.

I would like to personally say thanks to Dave Mishkin for taking the time to talk with nhldigest.com

He is clearly one of the nicest guys in the business; not to mention one of the best play by play guys in the NHL.

To Hear Mr.Mishkin in action check this clip out:

If you have any questions or comments feel free to reach me at theneilshow (at) shaw (dot) ca

I encourage feedback on interviews in the comments section as well.

Till next time for nhldigest.com…I’m Neil Bristow

Photo Credit: Lisa Pompeo