Hey Jon Cooper, there have been whispers circulating all day that Steven Stamkos might return from his blood clot tonight. Any thoughts?
Cooper: Don't ask about the lineup at all.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 26, 2016
Gotcha. See you in warmups.
Of course the Lightning coach wasn't going to say anything ahead of Game 7. He'd have be dumb to do that — and Jon Cooper is very, very far from dumb.
Stamkos, Cooper's best forward, hasn't played since surgery eight weeks ago. (For details on his condition, including what makes him different from players whose careers have been ended by clots, read this.