To say that Anthony Duclair’s season has taken a 180-degree turn is an understatement.
On March 5, he scored two goals and two assists, but since he was doing it in a San José Sharks uniform, his evening still ended badly. The Sharks lost 7-6 to the Stars, in what was their eighth straight loss.
Four days later, he offered himself a more modest harvest: a goal and an assist. But since it was with a club worthy of the NHL – the Tampa Bay Lightning – Duclair was entitled to a happy ending to the match, a 7-0 victory. It was the first in a series of five triumphs in a row.
Thursday evening, Duclair will be in action at the Bell Center, during the Lightning-Canadian duel. The Floridians will try to sign their 10e victory in 12 games since Duclair’s arrival in Tampa.
” It’s motivating. You come to an organization that expects to win, that wants to win the Cup every year, noted Duclair, in a press briefing late Thursday afternoon. It’s still easy to be motivated every day, every workout. I love this environment. »
We can understand Duclair being so dapper. Traded from one team to another since his arrival in the NHL, he was finally entitled to a bit of stability with the Panthers. Last season was his third in Florida, a campaign that concluded late in June in the final.
Except that at 1er July, the Panthers sent him to the NHL’s deathbed, that is to say the Sharks. This team was expected to be at its lowest this season and they did not disappoint. Defeated in its first 11 matches of the season, here it is at 32e and last place in the general classification.
“It was still crazy. When I got traded to San Jose this summer, I knew what kind of situation it was. I spoke to Mike Grier [le DG] and he told me that they brought me to help the young people. I think I did a good job as a leader there, assures Duclair. These are things that happen. The teams that won had years like that. But I’m a competitor, I want to make it to the final like last year. »
In good company
Duclair won the lottery of life by joining a playoff-bound team, but there’s more.
In my first match, I played with [Anthony] Cirelli and [Steven] Stamkos. It’s not worse. Then I played with [Nikita] Kucherov and [Brayden] Point. It’s even better. There is so much talent, so many good players on this team, that no matter where I play, I will be OK. It’s been a lot of fun since I’ve been here.
Anthony Duclair
Wednesday in Toronto, Duclair was still playing with Point and his former Remparts teammate Kucherov. He had an assist on Point’s goal, to bring his total to 10 (5 goals, 5 assists) in 11 games.
“I had a good meeting with Jon Cooper the day before the first match,” says the Quebecer. He told me they were putting me in the top 6 starting. They needed it since the start of the season.
“I had no idea where I was going to be traded and I didn’t think Tampa would be an option, especially after my three years in Florida! But with my boyfriend [Matt] Dumba, one of my best friends, we arrived and got settled. There’s a lot of good guys in this locker room, a lot of good veterans. »
Martin St-Louis, who knows a thing or two about the Lightning, doesn’t fall off his chair when he sees Duclair’s success.
“I’m not surprised it’s a good fit. He joins a team that plays a lot in possession of the puck, I think that’s one of Duclair’s strengths, analyzed the Canadian head coach on Thursday morning. He has a good shot, he plays with great playmakers. It’s a big game collective, he arrives and he embarks. He’s not the first player to arrive at this time of year and fit. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s a good environment for players like that. »
Not all of the Lightning’s acquisitions in recent years have had the same success upon arrival. Nick Paul, with 14 points in 21 games at the end of the 2021-2022 season, was a convincing case. “It takes a GM who is capable of finding players who fit well,” recalled Cooper, at a press briefing before the match. Paul and Duke framed very well. »
But others, like Brandon Hagel (7 points in 22 games also in 2021-2022), Blake Coleman (one assist in nine games in 2020) and Barclay Goodrow (two assists in eight games in 2020) needed a certain period of adaptation.
Except that Paul and Hagel ended the season in the finale; Coleman and Goodrow, with the first of two Stanley Cups in a row. Beyond the points, it is above all in this way that we will measure the impact of the acquisitions of Duclair and Dumba.