The Post article is linked here: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/islanders/isles_no_longer_matter_9SwQCDp4zuz0TNE3HQ1p4L

Scott Mayfield - a 2011 draft pick of Garth Snow, is another in a long list of draft picks that have an opportunity to develop, and could bring excitement to Islander fans in the future. Someone please ask Larry Brooks to research some of these guys before flaming every aspect of the franchise the next time!

Mr. Brooks,

It was brought to my attention on another blog of your recent write-up on the NY Islanders, and how they are “irrelevant.”

As a long, proud Islander fan — they have suffered a great deal — nearly 8 years of very poor ownership problems between John Pickett’s ownership and Charles Wang’s forced the team to trade away many young and successful players. 2 very poor GMs in Don Maloney who made some horrible deals, as well as the infamous Mike Milbury who single-handedly set the franchise back 15 years with bad drafting and even worse trades. Of course, Charles Wang’s wacky behavior has not be a help. He came in and spent money, he just did it in the wrong place, and gave the green light to the wrong manager for far too long.

Where I disagree fully with your article is to suggest that they have no chance of going anywhere — ever.

The biggest issue is off the ice in the form of an arena. That has been Charles Wang greatest and most complete failure to date. As a fan of the team, I wish he would stop meddling in on ice issues, and get a new building done in Queens or cut a deal with Barclays in Brooklyn.

Putting aside the arena — you rightly mentioned the emergence of John Tavares, P.A. Parenteau and Matt Moulson as a top scoring line. But you neglected to mention the rapid emergence of Travis Hamonic and the play of Andy MacDonald. And while neither are Dennis Potvin, they are also both not Bruno Gervais.’ The play of Evgeni Nabokov has been a story — as is his recent signing today — a player that snubbed the Isles, came, and saw, and played for them and CHOSE to remain here…. as has many other players!

The Islanders also have a good, strong crop of young prospects — as a rebuilding team should have in juniors and in Bridgeport. You certainly did not take the time to mention that the teams top affiliate and feeder to the NHL — The Bridgeport Sound Tigers — are 19-6-4 since 2012 began. The team is pushing for top spot in its division, despite recent struggles — coincidently those struggles are in part because players like Casey Cizikas and David Ullstrom have been called up and are playing for the Isles now. This level of high end play bodes well for the franchises future.

While I agree that a deep prospect pool does not necessarily translate into NHL success, it is the best way a franchise can rebuild — especially when you factor in the arena circumstances.

You took the time to chide Garth Snow’s drafting, however, many of the players he has selected are not even in the NHL and those that are — you would have to agree are very young. And while Nino Neiderreitter has been mishandled this season by the coaching staff, it is hard to consider him an NHL bust at the ripe old age of 19. He may very easily have taken this season in stride to build and move forward and yet be an impact player. Just as well — to suggest last years top pick Ryan Strome is not capable of becoming an NHL star, or Calvin de Haan wont become a premier puck moving defender is impossible. If you had the ability to prognosticate with such accuracy, you would be the greatest NHL GM — EVER.

You were critical of the selection of Josh Bailey in the 2008 draft, and for the player himself, Bailey has struggled, and has been mishandled as well. No argument. But the decision to trade down twice afforded the Islanders and Garth Snow to select a number of players that are still young, and beginning to make an impact. By stockpiling picks, Snow was able to draft Ullstrom, who is getting his first taste of the NHL. He was able to select Aaron Ness who has a few games in the NHL this season. He also took the aforementioned Travis Hamonic. Later in that draft, Matt Martin — the NHL hits leader was picked by Snow. Also coming from the 2008 draft, one hockey’s top goalie prospects Kevin Poulin, who has shown some very strong play in his stints with the Islanders. By moving down, Snow also added picks for the 2009 draft, adding Calvin de Haan as a second pick in the 1st round. Anders Nillsson is also becoming a top NHL goalie prospect. Anders Lee – one of the top players in college hockey is an Islander selection. There are a number of other high risk/high reward players also on the horizon.

Garth Snow and Charles Wang and the way the Islanders have been run is far from perfect. There are many aspects of the way they run things that make Islander fans — including this one — want to scream into the night air. But it is difficult to move forward as a franchise when you are staring at a bunch of Nassau County and Town of Hempstead political empty suits who would have a hard time finding their ass with both hands. It is a circular dilemma.

As far as the coverage by the Media and holding Wang and Snow more accountable — I suppose that is up to you and your editorial board. As much as the Islanders have suffered on the ice and off, the media has played a small part in that. Your paper, The NY Times and Daily News CHOSE to stop covering the team during the darkest days of the late 1990s during the Gang of 4 and Spanogate and despite a few reasonable teams in the mid 2000s, your paper and others failed to return to covering the team. The team continues to stockpile young talent. And is improved over last season, and the season before. But rather then do a little work; build a little interest, ask a few questions — you chose to sit back in your office and lob a few cheap shots at very easy targets in Snow and Wang — and they are easy targets, as they are far from error free. But you made them sound like the worst GM and Owner combo in the history of sports. I have news for you — the last GM and owners were the worst in sports and these guys are at least trying to change that!

There are major issues and problems with the franchise. You are right about that. But there are some very good things on the ice beginning to happen if you look and ask some questions. It might be time to have the Post get credentialed again to cover the Islanders. Perhaps you can get in on the ground floor of something interesting, and hold the franchise more accountable by providing more coverage. I hope you do!

The end for the Islanders 2011-12 season is more or less at hand. We can discuss that at another time — but the bigger end might be just beginning. To suggest we should be concerned is an understatement.

Conversations I have had.
The play of the team.
The lack on anything coming directly from Charles Wang.

All of this has me starting to believe fully, that the New York Islander franchise will cease to exist beyond April of 2015.

Ratner’s remarks were nice, but was there any real substance to them?

Click here to view the embedded video.

It was a shot over Nassau’s bow so to speak. It lets Nassau know there are options for the Islanders beyond the County and Town.

As exciting as it would be for the Islanders to finally settle on a new home — there are some major issues and some reality to ponder.

The Brooklyn location is going to gain some fans perhaps, but lose a lot of Suffolk fans. As of now it is a nice pre-season venue and nothing more. Listen carefully and even in this interview, Ratner admits that some seats are not optimal for hockey.

Queens is nowhere at this time. There is no building being build, or considered for sure. It is nothing but talk and pie-in-the-sky.

Nassau and Suffolk are dead in the water at this time. Nassau is flat out too tied up in its own bull shit, and the Town of Hempstead is tied up in much of the same games. The town had a privately financed deal in place and discarded it. The people had a bond deal and threw it out. Suffolk might be in more dire fiscal shape then Nassau — so anything there is hard to imagine unless somehow there is a private deal somewhere — and then there is still political will to contend with. I used to live in Suffolk, and know first hand that the politics in Suffolk is no different then it is in Nassau.

Brooklyn and Queens has the political will, but is there a willing team owner?

I think for Charles Wang, the money has to be right. I recently exchanged some remarks via twitter with BD and he raised some good points.

For me — Wang is not in this as a passionate hockey fan. Sure, he wants to see the team do well, win and he will come here and support the team any way he can, but he has lost millions, and he wants to recoup those losses and stop the bleeding. Simply finding an arena for the sake of finding an arena is not reality. He is going to find a deal that affords him the best financial windfall.

I am not sure that arena will be local.

Some have said a new owner is the solution. It could be, but any new owner that comes in now would be faced with the very same issue that Charles Wang is faced with — a lease that expires in 2015 and no new home to play in beyond that date.

If Ratner has as much passion as he displayed about the Islanders staying in New York — my one speculative question would be — why doesn’t he look into buying the franchise, and moving them to Brooklyn. He seemed pretty jazzed about the idea — this would be a chance for him to do that — putting money where the mouth is.

But here again — would Wang sell to Ratner — or for that matter anyone else? I suppose if someone came in and offered Wang $200 million, it would be difficult to say ‘no.’ But I dont see any one coming in on the horizon with that kind of cash to buy this franchise.

We could be seeing the last few seasons for the Islanders. Quebec, Hamilton, Kansas City, Seattle and perhaps even Las Vegas may all be courting Charles Wang, if they already have not been actively doing so.

I understand Wang must be at the end of his rope with Nassau, and with the area. He may be looking to make a simple, cold business decision at this point in time to get out. That might be the prudent thing to do. But, if he sells, what are the chances that the Islanders remain the Islanders? The NHL says it wants to keep the Islanders here, but they also said that about Atlanta. There are major issues with Phoenix as well. While the league has never moved a dynasty team, or a team that has won a Cup, there is always a first. And unless the league chooses to buy the Islanders and run them as they have with Phoenix, I just don’t see how this plays out.

We, as fan, are the ones who have to eat it. We are the ones who suffer. I just hope that we are not left in April in tears without a hockey team — like Atlanta, Hartford, Quebec and other fans have been. Right now — that looks more, and more likely with each day of silence from the Islanders, and no movement anywhere on any front.

Are you as concerned as I am?

There are many areas where it went wrong. I have long held the belief that coaching is a part of the problem. I look at the St. Louis Blues and where they were when Ken Hitchcock took over to where they are now, and it shows you what professional coaching can accomplish.

The Islander players —several of whom have had setback seasons, and others who are not meeting expectations — are just as culpable. Kyle Okposo has had another slow start and a bit of up and down after that. Michael Grabner did not come close to his production from last season, and hopefully is just suffering a sophomore slump, Josh Bailey had a slow start before finding some energy recently on the wing, Blake Comeau was a disaster for the Isles this season, and not much better for the Flames. Mark Striet, coming off a lost season to injury and a new captaincy has struggled. For a change, injuries were not part of the problem.

At the GM level, Garth Snow truly failed to bring in capable blueline help. he tried with Ehrhoff — which was fine, but he failed to bring in even “b-level” players such as Scott Hannan, and many others who could have been had.

The frustration for Isles coach Jack Capuano is evident, as it is for all Isles fans, and while the responsibility falls on the coach, it also falls on the GM, the Owner and 20+ players.

The season is not “over.” There are still games to play, and I would like to see if the Islanders can amass enough wins to have a “winning” season. I think that is a very important part of the maturation process for this team, and I believe it would aid in convincing even marginal talent to consider the Islanders as a team ready to compete for a playoff berth, and continue to grow.

Many Islander fans throughout the blogosphere would suggest this is a set back season, and that wholesale changes are needed. Some may declare the rebuild a failure, others simply want to see a new owner who doesn’t meddle in the on ice decisions.

I think I am somewhere in the middle.

Sometimes the bad comes along with some of the good.

Overall there are problems with many aspects of the Islanders system, but where we are now, vs. where we were 5 years ago is night and day. The Islanders are moving in the right direction, though I certainly would make some changes — which I will get into at a later time.

For those who think it is still possible for the Islanders to make a run — sure — mathematically it is possible. But the reality starts with a question. How many points will the Islanders need to get into the playoffs?

Ill guess that at a minimum, they will need 88 points. I would ordinarily suggest 90+, but no one is staking their claim or making a run of any significance, with the exception of Buffalo, and even they have stumbled here and there. So if you take it at face value of 88 points, with 15 games left and 65 points in hand….

The Schedule – road vs home
NJD vs NYI
NYI vs NYR
WAS vs NYI
PHI vs NYI
NYI vs MTL
NYI vs TOR
NYI vs TBL
NYI vs FLA
NYI vs PIT
PIT vs NYI
BOS vs NYI
OTT vs NYI
NYI vs NJD
WIN vs NYI
NYI vs CBJ

So there it is — 30 points on the table, and the Isles would need at minimum 23 of those points. What would be realistic? Sure — The Islanders have beaten every team here except the Panthers, Leafs, Penguins and of course the Blue Jackets. There is very little margin for error. If the trend were to continue, and the Isles can’t beat the Leafs, Pens and Cats — that takes away 8 points alone, and if they won every other game — would leave them with 87 points.

Bottom line to reach 88 points — the Isles would have to go 11-3-1. Possible? Sure, but the reality is a darn shame. My guess is that the only chance the Islanders have is to be closer to 84 points, and hope the teams around them continue to struggle as they have.

What would your prediction be and what is your reality?

I would add that the Isles are about where I thought they would be as far as their wins and losses. I assumed they would be on the bubble of the playoff mix this season and my hope in September and October was that this hockey clubs next logical step in the rebuild was to be playing important games in February and March. Right now, that seems to be the case. It is February 25, and the New York Islanders are playing important games. While the playoffs are still on the outside, but this point last season, the year was, in essence, over already. This may not be the progress fans would have liked this year, but it is progress.

The Men
Lets start with the POSITIVE — John Tavares is everything the Islanders could have asked for and more. Together with Matt Moulson, these two Islanders are the real deals and clearly are consistent performers over the course of the season. Perhaps Moulson is the beneficiary of playing alongside an elite talent, but he still has to be in the right place at the right time, and Moulson is doing just that. In Tavares, the sheer determination — the unbelievable effort he is putting into most games and most shifts is simply something we as Islander fans have not seen in a very long time.

He is not there yet, but Travis Hamonic is quickly becoming as good as any top pair guy in the NHL. Nick Lindstrom  or Shea Weber he ain’t but he is showing that he is very valuable and one of the better young blueliners in the league. His play has been steady from game #1 of the season. His loss over 9 games from his broken nose had a massive impact on the team. Andy MacDonald has become a steady defender as well, but has had more poor games then I would like to see, but he too has become a core player for the Isles on the blueline.

Maddening
The Islanders have been dancing with NHL .500 for a while now. Having found themselves in a pre-Thanksgiving swoon for the second consecutive season, the Islanders are struggling to reach the .500 mark, and then cross it. This week, the team began at .500 and lost 2 games — 2 critical games to Ottawa and Buffalo. Had the Islanders won those two games, they would be right inside the heart of the playoff race for the 8 spot currently held by the Panthers.

All season long, the Islanders have struggled to attain a consistency, and it has been maddening. I am sure it is as troubling for the coaching staff and players as it has been for us fans and my hope is that it is part of the learning process young players go through on their path to reach their potential. With last nights victory over the rival Rangers, the Isles once again find themselves a game below .500 and going into Ottawa to try and reach level ground again. The boys can also exact a small measure of penance for the lack of effort they displayed against the Senators last week when it mattered most. Last week, it would not have been impossible for the Islanders to give Ottawa a small scare with a win, perhaps making both 7th and 8th place up for grabs in the East. (I suppose it still is if a team can string some wins together).

Garth Snow has said that the first order of business is to get to .500. He is 100% correct. But for whatever reason, the team seems to mail in a clunker every time they have reached NHL .500 and they have slipped back a game or 2 under, then reach it again, only to falter again. Maddening!

Buying or Selling?
Lets be honest, 6 points back with 21 games to go is not an insurmountable goal for any team. Theoretically, if the Islanders can beat Ottawa and Washington in their next 2 games, and if Florida who sits 8th struggles, the Islanders can find themselves interestingly close. In the end, with everything so tight in bottom 8 teams in the east, it is almost anyone’s to take — even the Hurricanes or Canadiens. A run of 3-4 wins in a row will vault anyone into the picture.

The Islanders are in position to make things interesting for themselves. They had opportunities to close the gap to 4 earlier this week, but failed. The debate on whether the Islanders should be ‘buyers’ or ‘sellers’ has been discussed by fans, bloggers and pundits. The Islanders have been consistently sellers for many seasons, and rightfully so. As a realist, and a little bit of a pessimist, I would suggest the Islanders will fall short of landing in the 8th place spot by the time the final game against the Blue Jackets will be played on April 7. I would have to think Garth Snow knows it as well.

But becoming a ‘classic seller’ does not, in my opinion, help the Islanders cause this season or beyond unless the items you are selling yield such a profitable return, that you have no choice but to sell. The other side of that coin would be that the Islanders are too far out to be ‘classic buyers’ where they wheel and deal young talent for a ‘final piece’ to make them a contender. No way are the Islanders near that position.

So what does it mean?

It means that if you are expecting Garth Snow to be very active at the deadline, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

I am as certain as I can be as a speculator that Mr. Snow has made 29 phone calls to every GM in the NHL over the last week to gauge interest in any of his unrestricted players. But Snow has displayed patience in his dealings with trades and he has shown that he has a set price in mind for various players, and he will not dilute his price if he firmly believes he has correctly set the value to his and his teams benefit. Snow is very much about ‘winning’ in a trade. This does not mean their won’t be any moves…and the moves will be thoughtful and calculated if there are any at all.

Another solid NHL season for P.A. Parenteau has him as a coveted potential rental GM Garth Snow can turn into valuable assets for his franchise.

Who Could Go, Who Will Stay?
The players who will be likely remaining are fairly obvious. Though fans of the Leafs may want to believe otherwise, John Tavares will not be wearing Blue and White any time soon. While the Isles will likely remain quiet, there are some potential deals to be made depending on how things will shake out over the next 48 hours.

Evgeni Nabokov and P.A. Parenteau are garnering the most attention as potential players on the move. Both players have turned in strong seasons thus far. But, with the Islanders still inside hailing distance of the 8 spot, it is going to take more then a 3rd round pick to obtain either player from Garth Snow. The Islanders have a very strong, deep and well stocked farm, and are not as desperate to add picks and prospects as they were 2 seasons ago when the cupboard was still thin. Snow is likely more interested in acquiring NHL ready prospects or cap casualties that can still play meaningful minutes as part of the long term solution.

Earlier in the year, he was actively shopping Nabokov, but with the ‘on-cue’ injury to DiPietro, the ‘iffy’ consistency and injuries of Montoya and the as still not fully ready but strong potential of Poulin, the GM understands he needs Nabokov most likely beyond April. It is rumored that Snow has extended two possible offers to Nabokov. A 1-year deal, or a 2 year option. My preference would be for the 2 year deal, but Im not Nabokov. He may yet reject both offers, leaving Snow little time to try to hammer out either an agreement or potential trade.

What I believe is that Snow has a deal in place for Nabokov, ready to go at a moments notice, with one or two teams. It was likely something constructed back in December or January. If the Isles lose on Sunday to Ottawa and/or he fails to get Nabokov signed by Monday at noon or 1pm, he could pull the deal together. A second round pick plus has to be the asking price at this point in time, or an NHL defenseman (or NHL ready) who can log top 4 minutes.

If Nabokov is indeed signed, it is possible that Snow may deal Montoya, however the yield will not be there for Montoya as it would for Nabokov.

Parenteau is another matter. The announcement that he is not willing to negotiate until the end of the season could mean that he will test the waters post July 1.  Do the Islanders have a budget in mind for Parenteau and is that something P.A. would be comfortable with? If the two sides are fairly far apart, P.A. could be on his way out. Like trade value, Snow and owner Charles Wang have very clear ideas of what a particular player is worth in actual salary. If P.A. is seeking a deal similar to what Tavares received, he is pricing himself off the Island. On the other hand, if it is a 3 year Matt Moulson-esque deal, I think the Islanders would be able to get that done.

Like with Nabokov, I think Snow may have 2 or 3 potential deals ready to ‘rock-n-roll’ at the 1-2pm hour. Much may depend on if the Islanders win their game Sunday. With the kind of numbers P.A. is putting up, I would have to believe that Snow will seek a minimum 2nd round pick and true NHL ready prospect. P.A. is on pace for 74-75 point season. For those who think a 1st round pick is out of the question, or a high-end prospect and a second round pick — P.A.’s numbers will be in the range of the following types of players… Eric Staal, Claude Giroux, Johnathan Toews, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Thomas Vanek, Patrick Kane, Patrick Marleau… This is based on the final stats for 2010-11.  Now I understand that P.A. is not the goal scorer per se, and does not have the complete game that some of those other stars have. But the numbers are what they are, and in a year where the free agent market is thin, his value is up. A team looking for the final piece will overpay as we have seen time and again. Snow should ask for a high end NHL ready player and a 2nd round pick or a 1st round pick if the Wild can get an NHL player, 2 prospects, a pick and conditional pick for Zidlicky.

The other players the Islanders have available are not impact players but could easily be moved for minimum returns of 3rd round picks or less. Mark Eaton, Steve Staios and Milan Jurcina are all capable defenders for teams looking for depth, and with the good play or Aaron Ness in his call-up, I would look for Snow to deal one or two of these defenders (Wishart would be the other call up to fill in.)

Brian Rolston (see below) and Jay Pandolfo will be offered up, but garner little value, and thus will more then likely remain with the Islanders.

For those of you who want to see DiPietro go — it is not happening. Not now, and not unless he retires on his own, which is unlikely to happen this season. Assume that DiPietro will be on the opening night roster in October. If there is a 1X buyout amnesty worked into the new CBA, Charles Wang may still not cut his favorite son loose. What you can be sure of is that neither Snow or Jack Capuano see DiPietro as anything more then an 8-12 game player who will then get hurt for long stretches of time. He is not an impact player on the ice any longer. What can become a factor is if the team really begins to compete and the cap hit is an issue, but as of now, they need to have that cap him to reach the floor.

My sincerest hope is to see DiPietro retire this April, but it is unlikely. He is too stupid, and stubborn. He may choose to retire after the 1012-13 season when he sees that the organization has him ranked as the #4-5 goalie behind Nabokov, Monotoya (if either or both remain) and Poulin.

Time To Relax and Just Play
Many fans assumed that Mark Striet’s and Kyle Okposo’s return would provide enough boost to the Islanders to vault them into playoff contention. That, plus the electric play of Michael Grabner should make the Islanders an offensive force. None of the above has happened the way fans wanted, nor, I am sure Striet, Okposo and Grabner.

In the case of Striet the answer is time. After missing a year of hockey, coming off the kind of injury he had, it was going to take half a season for him to find his game. I recall during a game in December that I attended and watching Streit, he just wouldn’t shoot from the point. He would load the gun, but never fire it — not like he used too. I think much of that has to do with that injury. His decision making was also off. Timing, off. It takes time for players to return, even after they “return.” Add to that the burden of being the Captain, and you get what you see. In the last few weeks, he has begun to return to his “Streit-like” self. At both ends, his game has picked up!

With Kyle Okposo, I am not sure if he suffered from the same issue during the early part of this season, or if the guy is in his head. Okposo is a skilled player with power forward potential. The ‘power’ is something he is not displaying enough of. He has been wildly inconsistent. We have seen him at times dominate his space and create for his line, and other times it just appears that he has feet of clay. He needs to make the effort to play a high tempo physical game in order to be at his most effective. I suppose like many of his teammates its a matter of consistency, but he should be more consistent as a little bit older. One can not underestimate however, Okposo has missed a great deal of time in his young career. He has one true complete season at 80 games, and not surprisingly, his best season overall. This season will more then likely be his second best, but still, not nearly enough for a guy who just signed a 5 year deal, and is a core player. The slow start hurt him, and he needs to find it for 82 games. Perhaps he can take a lesson from Matt Martin, or former Islander Darius Kasparitis. Get a big, clean hit done early to get yourself into the game!

With Michael Grabner, I am seeing so much frustration, he must be turning the stick to dust. The ‘Gremlin’ is getting his chances, although teams are ready for him, so not as often as last season. His ‘sophomore slump’ has hurt the team to be sure. This is a player who needs to relax, and keep plugging away. He is too good to just be a “1 and done” but like many goal scorers, he is clearly streaky. The groin injury earlier in the season might be hampering him as well.

The Arena
The last point of these 6 is, perhaps, the most important. No matter how good John Tavares is, no matter if Calvin de Haan comes in next season as a top rookie, or Ryan Strome gives us a dynamic 2nd line center, of Kevin Poulin wins the Calder, the state of the New York Islanders rests with Charles Wang and his ability or inability to find a new home for his hockey team.

Free agents will sign on Long Island if there is a legit chance the team can win, and if Wang is willing to pay up. But with the current uncertainty, Wang is not willing to pay up, and while the team is playing a great deal better, it has not shown itself to be capable of taking the ‘playoff’ step just yet. A winning record this season — playoffs or not — is critical to convincing potential UFAs that this team has a solid winning core, and is ready to turn the corner and compete.

As of this moment, I can’t stress enough how critical the game in Brooklyn in October will be. If we as fans ‘no show’ and there are 1,000 fans in attendance, it will communicate to Charles Wang that Brooklyn is not a viable option as a landing spot for his team. If on the other hand, we fill the arena to the shiny new rafters, it sends a clear cut message to Kate Murray, Ed Mangano, Jay Jacobs and everyone else from the Hooples of Hempstead to the Nimrods of Nassau that the Islanders have their bags packed and ready to move slightly west.It lets everyone know that Barclay’s is a viable home for the Islanders.

Queens remains a potential option as well, but is further away then Brooklyn as no arena is actually planned or under construction. Likewise, we have heard little from new County Exec Steve Bellone in Suffolk County. Other municipalities like Quebec, Hamilton, Seattle  would kill to have the Islanders.

Nassau is, as of now, a dead option. No one in the County or Town of Hempstead is showing any real interest in retaining the Islanders. In fact, the latest in a long line of planning meetings and discussions that have gone NO WHERE — there was even a suggestion that if the Islanders leave, the County could get another sports tenant to replace the Isles. (What ever that guy is smoking, I think its only right that he shares… If the Islanders leave, no sports owner with one brain molecule would consider Nassau County, or Long Island viable.)

In my writing here and elsewhere, I have called on Charles Wang to take a much more aggressive stance on this issue, to force all of these communities to come to him rather then he beg them — to operate as he has what they want to create jobs, to foster economic growth and build excitement within a community. He has failed — miserably — to play this game the right way, and both times he was soundly defeated. Either the advice he is getting is really bad, or he is not listening to good advice he might be receiving from his people. Either way, it has led us to the unthinkable.

The Islanders have, in essence until the beginning of the 2012-13 season to decide their fate. I believe the puck is on Charles Wang’s stick blade. He has his choice of scoring a game winning buzzer beater in Brooklyn, and put an end to all of the speculation and all of the non-sense, or shanking the shot wide by 6 feet. He can and MUST begin open public negotiations with Queens for an arena at Willits Point. But Charles Wang continues to drag his feet in silence. His excuse that they are trying to focus on the hockey season is laughable. Charles Wang is not the 2nd line center for the New York Islanders, worried about getting a goal in the next game. His only in-season task is signing his name to his players pay checks. Using that as an excuse at this crucial time to try and find a new home for the team is dumb and lazy. Pining away for a Nassau County that clearly does not have any desire to keep his team in the County is — I am sorry to say and putting it bluntly here — fucking stupid!

One of these two guys in playing in the NHL... David Ullstrom has been recalled to the Islanders as Brian Rolston is placed on Waivers. Sidney Crosby is still on the shelf!

Until this issue is resolved, the New York Islanders will be mostly quiet with free agents. So those of you looking for Garth Snow to sign Shea Weber or Ryan Suter to long term deals on July 1, 2012, you are setting yourself up for massive disappointment, and lots of time wasted on emails, blog posts and messages on HFBoards about how Snow is stupid and should be fired, and Wang must go. If the Islanders arena issues are solved by June 30, then you can assume the Islanders will be more active. But if not….

NEWS UPDATE
After a 50 game tryout, the Isles have finally decided what most of us saw after 10 games — that Brian Rolston can no longer play in the NHL. His 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points and -13 is taking away valuable ice time from players who are better suited, younger, and can offer far more then Rolston. Arthur Staple tweeted that Rolston has been placed on Waivers. David Ullstrom has been recalled from Bridgeport. This will add a much needed element of skill and spark to the Islanders. I was very disappointed when Ullstrom was hurt, and again when he was returned to Bridgeport after he was deemed ready for play. A new 3rd line of Cizikas (who played nicely last night) centering Ullstrom and Martin should prove to be a very solid energy line. If that line can gel the way I think it can as an effective 3rd line, what happens to Josh Bailey, and where does Nino go??? Thoughts?

Part 1 covered the coach, part 2 the goalies. Part 3 gives us a look at the Islanders blueline thus far in the season, and moving beyond the 2011 campaign.

Many of us — me included — still believe that a seasoned NHL coach can help a great deal, and many of us like to put all the blame on DiPietro. Well, it is not all the coach, and not all on DiPietro.

As the 2010-11 season folded, and the Islanders were once again left with a high lottery pick, the mandate from GM Garth Snow was to obtain a defenseman. Someone who could be a part of the team for years to come, with experience, but still young and hungry enough to be a part of the Islanders long term solution. Having been stonewalled in free agency for 3-4 seasons, it became clear the Islanders may have to find their man via another way.

The Defenders That Never Were
In reality, I see two players who fall into this category. James Wisniewski and Christian Ehrhoff.

In the summer of 2010, the Islanders pulled off what was viewed as a coup, sending a 3rd round pick to the Ducks for veteran defender Wisniewski. A player that played with a real edge and fire, who could generate 45-50 points from the blue line. A Physical version of Mark Striet if you will.

Unfortunately for the Islanders, the Wisniewski and Striet dream was ended before REM sleep really began. With Striet’s season ending injury, Wisniewski was in effect left to carry the blue line load by himself. While the Wiz is a solid NHL defenseman with excellent upside, he is not a #1 defender, or someone who can carry a team. It was not long after the season started that the Islanders slid deep into the abyss ending Wisniewski’s run as an Islander, costing Scott Gordon his job, and ensuring a high pick in 2011.

With Striet coming back after his lost season this fall, the Islanders wanted to be sure they found someone who could give young players like Calvin de Haan some time, and help teach other young and developing defenseman like Andy MacDonald and Travis Hamonic the ropes. Having been rebuffed by free agents, Snow wasted little time, and traded for the rights to Christian Ehrhoff, fresh off his cup run with the Canucks.

But as soon as he came in, he was gone. What was a good attempt proved to be nothing. We will never really know if it was Ehrhoff who wanted more than the Islanders could give, or wanted to give, or if the number of years were the issue or if simply put, Ehrhoff had no desire to sign with the Islanders regardless of the terms or dollars. Free agency once again came and went, but unlike 2010, there were no post arbitration trades to bolster the blueline, leaving the Islanders with Striet returning from major injury a few journeymen bottom pair defenders and a few very good young players yet to reach their potential.

In addition, the Islanders let Radek Martinek go, and did not sign Jack Hillen for another stint on Long Island. With the Ehrhoff failure, and the lack of the ability to bring in other blueline help via free agency fans were very critical of allowing Radek Martinek to walk. The funny thing about this, is that Martinek — as good as he is when he is healthy — has not had a single healthy season. He is not a point producer, and in effect, he is a #3 defender at best. Certainly, retaining an injury prone Martinek would not address the Islanders problems, and I don’t for a moment believe Snow was wrong to let him walk — even after losing Ehrhoff or other free agents. Needless to say, Martinek is unfortunately hurt again. Only 7 games played thus far this year for the Blue Jackets.

While they need help being so young, Travis Hamonic (3) and Andrew MacDonald (47) are the current home grown defenders for the Islanders that should be a part of the teams core for years to come.

The Current Crop

The 7 players that make up the Islanders back end are a mix of vets and youth — some look to be part of the long term solution, some just stop gaps.

Striet’s return is a godsend for the Islanders but the rust is evident, as is the burden of his captaincy. He tries to keep things light, but he is clearly under the stress of trying to carry the team from the blueline, and frankly, he is trying too hard. By all accounts, Striet can be one of the leagues better defenseman — when he focuses on the task at hand. My advice to him is to lead by example on the ice playing the simple, effective and compact game he always played. His trying to do too much is causing undesired and costly fumbles. it is a lesson from Patrick Flatley. Flats was never going to be an offensive dynamo, but he lead by example. He did the little things, and did not take a shift off.

Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau are one in the same. Both are acceptable stop gaps for games here and there, but they have both struggled. Both have had a few good games, and many indifferent games. I just don’t seem to notice either doing much good on any level. They don’t single-handedly cost us games, but they just don’t seem to do much. Both may be potential trade targets as depth defenders to a playoff bound team at the deadline. I would take a 3rd rounder for either, unless they can be part of a larger package.

Travis Hamonic has continued to impress. A call-up last season, Hamonic has become a steady force on the blue line. What clearly distinguishes him from the others on the blueline is his toughness. No one else on the Islanders defense corps is nearly as tough. He plays with a welcome edge and fire. He reminds me a great deal of Dave Langevin; quietly going about his game, but at the same time you saw him level someone from time-to-time. He can shoot, make good passes — he possesses a strong overall game. As of now, I would suggest he is our #1 defenseman. Sadly, he should be our #2 or #3, but as we lack a true #1 or #2 he is relegated to being our best defender. He may evolve into a #2, but I am not sure he will ever possess the complete overall game. But defenseman take a little longer, so anything is possible.

Coming off difficult injuries last season, Andy MacDonald has a very solid game for the Islanders. He won’t get the points that Striet or Hamonic may get, but he is effective, can log minutes and do lots of the little things well. Right now, Id like to see him spend the season staying healthy, and continuing his development. He is not a #1 or #2. He is likely a second pairing defenseman if done “the right way.” Still, he is very reliable.

Milan Jurcina brings the intangible of size to the Islanders. Frankly, I like that he seems to be using that size a bit more, but not nearly enough. He has a great shot as well, and again, does not use it enough. Still, he makes a nice addition to the Islanders, and I would not be against resigning him this off season for a 1 or 2 year deal. He can continue as an effective second or third pair defender, and continue to provide some time to younger players like de Haan, Donovan and others.

Steve Staios’ arrival was viewed by many as a waste of time, but he has filled in as well as can be expected. When you are unable to sign a free agent, or your young players are not ready, this is what you are left to do. Which is to say, Staios has been doing just fine. Surprisingly I like his game far better than Eaton’s or Mottau’s.

Outside the aforementioned 7, they is Dylan Reese. It seems that Reese gets the call on emergency loan which means he does not need to pass through waivers, and when he does, the Islanders play better. That should tell management something.

What to expect

The Islanders clearly do not have a true #1 defender. Mark Striet is not that guy right now, and frankly, may never be. In reality, he is a great #2, with Hamonic and MacDonald as the second pairing. Ehrhoff and Wisniewski would not have been the game changing #1′s either, but I would welcome either to the team as they would raise the quality of the blue line significantly. While a true number one would not be here, a top 6 of Wiz, Ehrhoff, Striet, Hamonic, MacDonald and Jurcina would be a gigantic leap forward and our best collective blueline in nearly 10 years.

But for the time being, there is very little the Islanders can do, or for the fans to expect. I would not be so determined at this time to bring in Donovan, Ness or de Haan — all doing well in Bridgeport this season. I would be very much resistant to trading Hamonic or MacDonald, and while Striet has struggled, I am not on board with trading him for a perceived higher value — plus we need the salary on the books. Plus, those three represent half the blue line, and thats the half we want to keep.

If anything, we may see a player like Staios get moved at the deadline for a 3rd round pick or less making way for Reese the final 20 or so games. In addition, Mottau and Eaton will be eligible for trades as UFAs. I would expect one or two of those three moved before the deadline. I would not mind seeing Wishart get another chance. I am not fully sure why he is not getting a longer look. He brings size to the line up — size that is sorely needed, and while he had some questions to his game, he may be worth another look.

But overall — don’t expect Shea Weber, or Ryan Suter any time soon.

Who can be done, and what would  your choice be?

Sure — by all accounts Snow tried, but on this, he has indeed failed. Like Charles Wang having one major item on his to do list, Snow had one major item on his. Both men failed.

Perhaps Ehrhoff or Wisniewski were not worth the big deals they got with their respective teams. I would have to agree with Snow that giving Ehrhoff a 10 year deal is not the right move for the Islanders. Plus, as mentioned, I really don’t see either player as a #1. Doughtly is a #1. Perhaps Suter is, and Weber certainly is. But the availability of those players was unlikely. We don’t know if any would want to be part of the Islanders solution or not, and we have no idea what we would need to give up to get such players.

It is all the more concerning that we lack a game changer on defense right now within the prospect pool. While Nino and Strome look good, and even I would have gone for Couturier at this past draft, one has to wonder where is our big time d-man going to come from?

I find it equally concerning that a deal like the ones for Dion Phaneuf went down and the Islanders had nothing to offer to try and get him?

This is where Snow seems to be a little bit gun shy. But it could just as easily be that he can’t make a deal to land a big fish like Phaneuf, Richards, Carter or any other stud player because of the situation with the arena, Charles Wang, and the state of the franchise.

My choice would be to package the Islanders first round pick to try and pry a stud loose somewhere. A young player who can be signed long term and be part of the team for a long time. A rental is not viable. A 35 year old should not be the center piece of the deal. It has to be the right fit. Ultimately, the opportunity may be there for one of Weber or Suter if the Preds can’t keep both. It would certainly help but can the Islanders convince either as free agents to become part of the Islander solution long term?

In the absence of having those answers, the Islanders have little choice but to look to within for the solution. I also am more inclined to deal this years first round pick because the last thing we need on the Islanders — talent not withstanding — is another 6′ forward. We need a 6’4″ defenseman who can play 25 minutes a night. If someone has a suggestion, we’d all like to hear it.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

In part 1, in the midst of some real problems, there was a great deal of talk about Jack Capuano and the need for “an NHL coach” for the team. Well, it is become increasingly clear since that installment, that Cappy is going to finish this season behind the Islanders bench barring a complete and total collapse. And, I would expect Cappy to start the 2012-13 campaign. Snow is not going to change coaches like underwear. Any designs on seeing recently fired Randy Carlyle, Jacques Martin or someone else behind the boys in blue and orange is pure fantasy. I even recently read a post about getting Mike Keenan.

And while some like putting the teams troubles  all on the coach, there are also players to contend with when it comes to any sports team. Today, I will give my 2 nickles worth of thoughts on the Islanders goalies. I still have to get some of my thoughts in on the Defense, forwards, and of course Garth Snow and Charles Wang.

We began the year all groaning. Another season with 3 goalies. It did not work last time, and it was unlikely to work this year. Those who thought it would be fine are right — so far, and those who thought it would be bad — are also right. It is bad because early on, in the midst of our skid in November, we had no roster flexibility to bring in young players to possibly creates a spark. On the other hand, the decision on who dresses has been easy as one of the three has been injured at any given time. (Insert DiPietro joke here….)

Al Montoya is proving to be an NHL goalie. Another scrap heap pick up for Garth Snow and the Isles.

The Goalies of Today

Right now the Islanders have three goalies — 2 of them belong in the NHL, one barely belongs on an skate sharpening machine. We all know who is who.

Al Montoya came in and won the job of starter with his steady play last season. He deserved the home opener start, and his play thus far this season save for a very small percentage of ones he would like back, Al Montoya is the clear cut Islanders number 1. He is on a 1 year deal this season, and I would have to believe (and please, make your case if I am wrong) that he is in line for a contract extension. Although even i could speculate about a trade of Montoya — which I’ll do later on….

Evgeni Nabokov actually reported this time to the Islanders, and he has been adequate for the team. He is certainly a step off from where he may once have been, but one has to wonder if that has more to do with team defense and a lack of goal support. With DiPietro being…you know….Dipietro, we should be kissing Nabby’s glove hand that he showed up.

If Nabokov is the eventual “odd man out” and he is traded it certainly allowed the Islanders some stability in the crease during his time here. If he stays and completes the season on Long Island, it is still a “win” for the Islanders as it keeps Poulin and Nillson in Bridgeport which is where they belong at this time.

Rick DiPietro.

Is there any more that really has to be said?

He is the final element of the Mike Milbury “error,” representing everything that was/is wrong with that time, and the man who in essence destroyed a model NHL franchise. Not only can the man not stay healthy — he is the worst goalie I’ve seen play in a long time. It might be because of his injuries — he cant move the way he maybe once could, but that 5¢ head has crippled him since he arrived. The reason the team plays better in front of Montoya or Nabokov is self evident. There is only one thing left to do — advocate for the man to retire. If he cares about the Islanders as much as he says he does, then he needs to pack his gear and walk away — forever!

Evgeni Nabokov has been a good back-up for the Islanders. Snow was shrewd enough to toll the contract.

Mike Milbury once said that DiPietro was the best puck handling goalie he’d ever scene. My question was, “yeah, but can he stop the puck?” If DiPietro wants to play the puck so much, I always wanted to ask him why he does not changes positions — try defense. Sure he strung together some reasonable stats when healthy, even a few shut-outs. But he has never amounted to anything of consequence that was positive for the Islanders. Considering we gave up the chance at drafting a player like Gaborik or Heatley, and having Roberto Luongo as the franchises goalie, the impact of that draft is still being felt, and will be as long as Rick DiPietro remains an active member of the Islanders and Gaborik, Heatley and Luongo continue on their stellar careers.

The Choices Moving Forward

The first step would actually be to take on additional salary. As much as I would like to, waiving or releasing DiPietro removes his $4.5 million cap hit, and we need it in order to be cap compliant. So the first order of business really has to be adding salary. That is an argument for another post — who, when, where.

Putting salary aside for a moment, eliminating DiPietro is the only viable option, finishing the campaign with Montoya and Nabokov. But, that too has issues. Both have needed time off for injury, which is why having the three goalies has worked to a point. It appears that with the team going no place this season, rotating the status quo may be the prudent move.

Trading one of the three is a possibility should all three prove healthy for a long stretch, and a deal comes in that you can’t refuse.

What to expect

If the team slides into complete oblivion, they will make a move with their goalies, but I would hold Snow to his word from the Newsday article. He will likely finish the year at this point with what he has. The problem this season has not been goaltending unless #39 is in the crease. Overall, inconsistent play and the lack of offense has been a bigger issue then the goaltending. Think about it… other then a few games

Who would your choice be?

By all means — I love reading your thoughts, and get your own take. My choice would actually be to listen

to all offers for starters, and as crazy as this may seem — Montoya might be the one I would trade.

Rick DiPietro — a rusting, dusty relic from the Milbury "Error" — he represents everything wrong with the Islanders over the past 15 years.

Here is why.

His value is far higher then Nabokov’s. He is younger and has played far better. He is an inexpensive option, and can be traded without question as he lacks the NMC that Nabokov has. This means moving Nabokov would be contingent on his approval. So any desire to simply trade Nabby to Columbus is wishful thinking. But trading Nabokov to a team like Columbus and bringing in a player perhaps with some size… a big center to give Strome time next season…. a big blueliner who can log lots of minutes and be reliable?

Of course in any deal, it can’t be a rental. It has to be a player signed long term or young and willing to be part of the long term solution.

Montoya alone is not getting us an All-Star mind you, but of the three goalies — he is the one that would be easiest to trade. Sending Nabokov to Detroit at the deadline is not getting us a second round pick — and if Detroit or anyone offers Snow a second, he should make that deal and laugh all the way to the draft podium in June.

Ultimately, the goaltending reigns look to be heading in the direction of a possible duo of Montoya and Poulin.

Happy Holidays!

I have been waiting.

I have been patient.

But the dysfunction of the franchise has once again caught up with me, and I am going to take a guess that I am not alone in my dread. What began 2 months ago as hope that this season would afford the Islanders and its fans meaningful games in March and maybe April have evaporated like the morning dew on a Spring day. The brightness of the prodigal “son” proved once and for all that this Islander team — yet again — is not capable of competing. The no-show against the Florida Panthers on opening night was not a forewarning enough. Perhaps the goose egg laid against the Winnipeg Jets should have shown me. Maybe the 2 ass whippings at the hands of the defending champs. But last night sealed it for me. I gave them about a quarter of the season, and realize — it’s more or less done for 2011-12.

A season that had promise based in large part on what transpired during the final 4 months of last season.  Where did it go wrong?

Is it the coach and his staff that are not getting enough out of a talented group of players?

Is it a nasty funk the players are in, and no coach is going to change it?

Is it the arena?

Was it the lack of moves over the summer?

There are a number of “reasons” and we can all speculate, but until we are actually in the room, speculation, supposition, and the word of those in the room are all we can go with.

Though my disappointment is clear, and I am hoping that some moves are made, the rebuild can’t be called a “failure” as some fans are suggesting.

Last night, after the game, and in reading some tweets, going back and forth with some fans and followers, there are a number of things that I think we need to be realistic about, and it is not going to make any of us happy.

A Coaching Change

I suppose its possible if the team loses really big like the last 2 nights , but I don’t think it will happen — not a year after they brought Capuano in, and not right after giving him a new deal. This is the guy they wanted — the management, the players. There was no doubt. No ambiguity. There was no search done by Garth Snow and Charles Wang. They zeroed in on Jack before the end of the season if you recall, and made it official soon after the end of last season. They would need to be blown out the next few games in a row before Cappy is let go.

There is a possibility. The way this team is right now, I can see it happening, which would give Snow the mandate to make a change — considering the real culprits can’t be all fired, including the owner.

The Isles have Philadelphia and then a home-and-home with the Devils — I could see the Islanders losing all three by 5-6 goal deficits, and being shut-out in the process. We always do poorly against the Flyers, and Zack Parise reminds us all of the fact he should be an Islander had any one of us been the GM that year. He is guaranteed at least 2 goals in each game (or so it seems)

I like Capuano. I think he is a good guy.

Not to be cold — but good guys don’t cut it in this business. The players need someone who knows how to balance ass kicking and nurturing. There any number of buttons that need to be pushed, and they all need to be pushed on a little bit, all at the same time. It is a delicate balancing act, and one I am not sure Cappy is up to managing. I was hoping that having Doug Weight on the bench may help as a liaison between coaching staff and team, or the addition of some vets who had been through the wars — but they have all given up on each other.

The Choices

Left to right, Bob Hartley, won the Cup in 2000-01 with Colorado, Michel Therrien, Cup finalist with Pittsburgh 2007-08, Marc Crawford, won the Cup 1995-96 with Colorado

The Islanders would do well to go outside the organization, but they likely won’t. Hartley, Therrien or Crawford  would all offer a completely new direction, new voice and new systems — all desperately needed. This is still Scott Gordon’s system with tweaks. But my guess is if Snow pulls the trigger — it will be one of Dean or Doug to finish out the year.

Should they do it?

I think they should. I think at this point, somehow, the players need a completely new direction. We said this just a year ago, and it messes up the stability that Snow has been trying to bring in after a decade of disaster under Mike Milbury. But he made a poor choice in both Gordon and Capuano. And what good is stability if they are stable losers?

A young team needs some experience, and someone who commands a certain level of respect. If I walk into the room and say to any of these players that they need to play with more fire and passion it does not have as much weight as a guy like Marc Crawford or Bob Hartley who have their names on the Stanley Cup. I would have added Ken Hitchcock to this list, though some feel he is too cerebral.

What to expect

Depends on what happens. If they are crushed in the next 3 games — and I mean crushed — expect a change. If they compete but lose the rest of the year, Cappy finishes the season.

If they do let Cappy go — expect Doug or Dean. That is what this organization does. They don’t bring in the “real” people. So far, the only time that has worked for the Islanders is Laviolette — and as soon as he showed he was “real” he was fired.

Who would your choice be? Any of the three above or would you recommend someone else?

Ill have more on the players, the GM and the owner down the road — (been crazy busy)

Happy Thanksgiving — and I am truly sorry to all the Islander fans, my son included who I apologize to regularly for making him an Islander fan. (How sad is that…)

UPDATE: 12:15pm — Source is confirming Garth SNow has the authority to do what ever is needed to save the Isles season. This came from Chris Botta and Eric Hornick via Twitter. Is that a first “rumbling” something could happen to shake up the team?

UPDATE: 1:49PM — Arthur Staple Tweets — Garth Snow confirms to Newsday he has no intention of firing Jack Capuano (Can’t say I am surprised)

Winless through 6 games  — 0-4-2 — and heading into what I consider to be the make or break of the Islanders season, there is a real risk the Islanders will find themselves completely out of it, and playing out the string in another lost season before Thanksgiving for a second straight season. What is disheartening, is that the expectations for this current squad was much higher then what we are seeing thus far, even though I conced, it is still a bit early to hit the panic button.

While they have had some success in their careers, both the second and third unit of the Islanders are choked with problems.

Starting with the second unit, there are some realities we need to come to grips with. The “home run” pass to spring Grabner is not going to work night in, and night out. It has to be an opportunistic play, not a bread and butter play. Frans Neilsen — for all he brings to the Islanders, is not a second line center. He is a perfect third line defensive center however. As much as that line had success last year, it is time to break it up and use Frans where he will do the most good. Kyle Okposo is a bit of a mystery. I think he can be guilty of trying to do far too much. He brings an awful lot to the Islanders, but right now, offense is not it, and in all honesty, it has never been the core of his game. It almost appears as if Okposo is at odds with the idea that he is supposed to be a power forward who grinds — using his body to create space and drive to the net to get the dirty goals.

Josh Bailey is becoming a major disappointment to Islander fans as he is pointless through 10 games along with wingman Blake Comeau

The third line is a discombobulated mess. At this point, I don’t know what to make of Josh Bailey. The franchise made a big mistake when they had he remain with the team in his rookie year, and then compounded the problem last season when they brought him back from Bridgeport too soon. The season was already lost last season when they recalled Bailey. Had he finished the year in Bridgeport, he could have rebuilt his game and perhaps been a more effective entity then he has become. Now he is being used as a third line center — something that is really not his game. Josh Bailey may not be a scoring dynamo — but he is not a defensive center either. His line mate Blake Comeau also looks to be out of sorts. He too is running away from his game. He is not using his body physically at all, and coasting too much. The times the Islanders had their best chances last night and throughout the season is when they elevated their physical play a little — a big check will do that — clear some space to move forward. In Blake Comeau, we are supposed to have a guy creating room for Bailey and Rolston and it just is not happening.

Speaking of Brian Rolston — the biggest problem I have with him may not be his fault. Why is he not a mainstay on the top power play unit opposite Mark Streit at the point is beyond comprehension. He has a cannon shot, and too often he is on a second unit and not getting a chance to unload the shot. During 5-5 play, I am wondering if time and age is catching up to him. Even if that is the case, he can still be a vastly effective Power Play specialist, but is not being used in that manner.

Defensively and in goal the Islanders have been somewhat sound with one notable exception. Though he has not to be blamed for the goals against him thus far, Rick DiPietro continues to display an immaturity that at this point will never change. We are stuck with that 5¢ head for a long, long time to come, and it will plague the Islanders unless they grow to admit the mistake and either buy him out, or waive him to Bridgeport. Either way, that mistake will have to eaten. When he is in position he is doing fine, but his first instinct when ever a puck is dumped in — always — is to leave the crease to play it. Time and time again this is the scenario. Even when 2 opposing players are barreling in hard on him, he makes that move to depart the blue paint, to play a puck. He has no idea who is coming, or how hard they are coming in because his back is turned. He is consistently bad in clearing the puck always off the half wall where defenders are prepared and intercept the puck causing a flailing DiPietro to scramble. Thus far, he has not been burned, but it has been close. Last night he was knocked to the ice ass over tea kettle behind his own net, and had it not been for a bouncing puck, the point man would have had an empty net to score on.

The rest of the blue line has been as advertised. Mark Streit is still trying to rebuild his game, and while it is improving, you can see some instability which is natural. I think it will come around soon enough. Steve Staios and Mark Eaton are more or less as we expected. Travis Hamonic is the only physical defender on the ice, and that is going to be an issue moving ahead because while it is part of his game, he is not what I would call a crease clearing big body. That element is still sorely missing from the Islanders. There is no punishing big body to be found, and as of now Scott Mayfield is the only one in the Islanders system I see as that kind of player. And he is years and years away in Denver at best. Andy MacDonald looks OK, but his injury status concerns me. Is he truly ready and 100% or still feeling the ill effects? When a player that young needs regular maintenance days, I am weary of his ability to be fully effective. I need maintenance days too — but I am fat and 40.

Coaching and Management should be lauded for attempting to be stable and rational after some tough losses. But a 10 game sample is enough…and an 0-4-2 skid is far too long to wait around and see if the Islanders should start to mix up lines or even more.

My even more would suggest that while the team is young, there are no rookies on this team right now. Travis Hamonic is the closed thing we have to a rookie. Nino Niederrietter is not here yet. When he is, then we will have a rookie. The point being — players like Comeau, Okposo, and Bailey need to understand that they are well past their rookie seasons and must be accountable for their actions — or lack of them.

The problem the Islanders have is a lack of ability to move players around. My instinct would be to bench Comeau, Bailey and Okposo — bring in Justin DiBeneditto, David Ulstrom and Michael Haley. Again — I would think that Ulstrom could center the second unit with DiBo and Grabner, followed by a third line grinding unit of Neilsen, centering Matt Martin and Haley, along with the 4th unit being comprised of Pando, Reasoner and Rolston. Move Rolston to the top of the 1st PP unit…. Perhaps Ulstrom is not ready, maybe its asking too much of unproven players? But it would be a shake-up without making crazy trades. We need hungry bodies. If nothing else, it is making an example out of Okposo — a leader on the team. Players may start to wonder — if KO is being benched, what’s my level of play like? It could be a real motivator. But with the limit at 23 bodies on an NHL roster, and the inability to send anyone to Bridgeport unless they pass through waivers, the Islanders are currently stuck.

A trade may very well be in the cards to open up the log jam. Josh Bailey has no real value, and Blake Comeau has questionable value. P.A. Parenteau could be traded with some value, but you risk messing with the only line that currently is working in the hopes that rookie Niiederreiter can step in an be the top line left wing right away. It’s risky. Art Staple reported in Newsday there were 10 scouts in the press box last night, so something might be coming…

One thing that is coming this month — The Capitals, Bruins, Devils, Canucks, Flyers, Pens, Rangers, Avalanche, Habs and Sabers. That is our November — and the reason it is make or break. If the Islanders don’t go .500 during this stretch, they are going to be in trouble. And based on what we are seeing from these opponents, the Islanders have a very tall task in front of them.

One thing I don’t advocate at this time, a coaching change. Cappy has had the team playing reasonable well from an effort position with the exception of the 3rd line. He is a steady guy and the last thing the players need is a coaching change again. Unless it becomes evident the players are completely dismissing Cappy, he should remain. That being said — he made a mistake pulling DiPietro too early last night, and I don’t like how he is using Rolston on the Power Play.  The last 3 games alone could have easily been Islander wins. The game against the Pens, was the result of a poor call against Okposo when pushed into the net bringing the game to overtime, but they played well enough to get the win. The Islanders fully outplayed the Sharks, and were screwed by the ref’s fully! The last game — the Islanders outplayed the Jets start to finish. The bounces did not go their way — not one bit.

At some point, one has to wonder — will the bounce start to break a little in the Islanders favor. Tomorrow night, the Islanders face a very tough opponent, and Cappy has already said there will be line changes. My desire would be to start Nabakov or Montoya.

John Tavares is Separating himself in stats from the rest of the boys in blue. Can they respond enough to help him elevate the Islanders?

It is 6 games into the 2011-12 NHL season and our Islanders are 3-3. Average. a .500 hockey team. Is this what you thought would be the team at this juncture? Did you feel we were better then this, or worse? Or is this about where the Islander should be at this point?

Im trying to be objective. I was just as disgusted and dejected last night as was on opening night. It is easy to look at the Panthers who have now beaten us twice in the 6 games and say those are two wins we should have had. It is easy to look at the season thus far and say the Islanders are not playing the way they should be.

But in my attempt at objectivity, I think the Islanders are playing about where they should be playing at this point. An average team that is still searching for its way. There are also several other factors to consider.

A brief analysis from my cheap seat…

Goaltending
The combination of Montoya and Nabakov has thus far been very strong. The last 6 games have been an eye-opening experience for how the team can fair with stability in the crease — something I dare say Rick DiPietro has not brought during his time on Long Island. He is always a miss-cue away from a loss, or an injury away from a season in the NHL basement. By having netminders who limit their movements and are a stop the puck first types of goalies, rather then DiPietro’s play the puck first history, the Islanders can avoid the fear of the crease that most of us have felt over the last several years. Nabakov much have been on the phone with DiPietro however before last nights loss to the Lighting as his first bad choice to play the puck behind the goal lead to a goal. But, over all there have been strong efforts giving the Islanders a chance.

Rick DiPietro is going to be coming back from his concussion however — and that is something that returns the concern to the Islanders goaltending situation. His obvious inability to remain healthy means that having three men on the roster who can be goalies is critical. If DiPietro can get a few dozen games in, and can limit his movement and puck handling — something he has never done — it would not be so bad. But that’s just it. Has he grown up, or is he still a diva?

Defense
There is no question the Islanders need an upgrade to the blue line.

Travis Hamonic is showing some growing pains in the early going, but clearly he will be a long-time anchor on the Isles blue line and justifiably so. He is very young, and still learning, so the growing pains come with the territory.

Andy MacDonald looks a bit off kilter thus far, and I think much of it has to do with his own injury history. The Islanders may want to consider letting him get some scheduled games off on a strategic basis. He take s scheduled days off, but I am wondering if that is enough. I am not expecting A-Mac to be as strong this season if he is going to play with what he has called “tightness” all season. Ty Wishart can be an effective short term call-up as can Dylan Reese should A-Mac need a bit more time.

Mark Striet is getting his timing back to be sure. Having him on the power play is a god send. And that aspect of the game is coming back faster then the defensive side. I have too many give-aways at times and general flat footedness. I think much of that has to do with the aforementioned game speed that Mark has missed for over a year. It will take several weeks for him to catch up fully, but I believe he will be fine.

Eaton and Mottau are bottom pair players who can be hit and miss. I have seen both make strong plays and they have also left me scratching my head. Steve Staios is an upgrade over Bruno Gervais and if he can keep himself going, he is a good find for Garth Snow & Co.

I would not advocate dealing away our defensive prospects, or A-Mac or Hamonic, but for the team to elevate its game, an addition would be helpful. Perhaps it might be as simple as the return of Milan Jurcina. The team would do well to have a big body added, and the Islanders were much better with Jurcina in the line up then with him out of the line up. Something to consider…

Offense
Other then the top unit, and some flashes from Michael Grabner and Frans Neilsen, I am having trouble figuring out what the problem is. This is supposed to be a how-powered offense with a simple dump and chase type of strategy. The skill set of this team is not crossing the blue line with speed, with the puck to try to out maneuver opposing defenders. The Islanders may have tweaked Scott Gordon’s system under Jack Capuano, but make no mistake; this is a skating/forechecking team. That is the working strategy in the games that have the Islanders winning this season — and last. Where it differs from Gordon is situational creativity — where players who see an opening to do something unique can, and should take advantage.

John Tavares is clearly developing into a significant threat. At this point, he is on pace for a huge season well over 100 points. He will bring Matt Moulson and P.A. Parenteau along for the ride, and that line at this time should remain in tact — even when Nino gets back. There is no need to mess up the only line that is consistently generating anything.

The problem is that Neilsen, Okposo and Grabner seem to be relying too much on Grabner’s speed — always looking for the home run play instead of the smart play, and I believe they are forcing it too frequently. They should be more selective in using that speed — and make more an effort to play a steadier attacking game. In the case of Kyle Okposo, I am not sure he can become a steady 25 goal scorer. He is showing himself to have some real ability, but he is not buring his opportunities consistently. Michael Grabner needs to take lessons on breakaways, because if he can bury even half of the chances where he is in alone, he would have 50 goals per season.

For Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau and Brian Rolston I see three different issues. Rolston is the least problem — but I can see frustration as he plays with the other two, and I think it is effecting his game. Comeau is maddeningly inconsistent. He keeps getting away from the two things he needs to be doing to be effective. Checking. Shooting. Those are the two elements that got him to 24 goals last season. Right now, he is a passenger. Josh Bailey is just not doing enough of anything. I am not certain at this juncture if a change of scenery is needed, or he needs to be scratched for a handful of games. If there were two players I would consider trading to upgrade our defense it would be these two players. But I would need to get my asking price — I would not deal either for just anything.

The 4th line is as advertised. Reasoner has been solid. Jay Pandolfo — a long shot to make the team, came in and played well and earned his deal. Matt Martin is rapidly growing into a very effective roll player.

Coaching
I question some instances where Cappy puts Josh Bailey on the ice, and I wonder if the Islanders would have been better had they been quicker in playing what they more or less knew would be their starting 20 earlier in pre-season. Other then the camp invitees, Nino and Strome — was there any other prospect who was going to win a spot? We had 5 pre-season games, and at least 3 of those last 5 should have more or less had our current squad on the ice so these kinks could get marginalized.

Its very early in the season, and right now, while there have been 3 head scratchers, there have been 3 good games. Overall, this season should be about further development, and finding a steady, even style of play throughout the year. If the Islanders can strive to limit losing streaks to no more then 2 games, then the team will remain in the hunt and competitive.

Ultimately, John Tavares has the team on his back and carrying the team. But he can’t do it alone. There are two pieces that I believe will change the dynamic, but we wont know until they arrive. Jurcina on the blueline, and Nino on the forward unit will add two big bodies to the roster that right now are missing.

It is still a dangerous time. The short term goal to make the playoffs can not — must not — out weight the long term goal of building a consistent, year in, year out cup contender. Garth Snow has to remain very strong on his building from within plan. Panic should not be a part of the equation. I think Barry Melrose said it best in a recent pod-cast I was listening too. While he felt the Islanders would be better, this was not their season just yet. But he used a term to describe our franchise that I never thought I would hear anyone in the NHL use. Stability. He said Snow has been very much about installing some stability there. That there were no more of the crazy, wild trades the would constantly disrupt things. While some questions remain, the team is going in the right direction. They just to get some consistency going to take the next steps.

It really begins and ends with Mark Streit. His addition back on the Islanders blue line will be a major boost to the teams chances at a playoff berth.

It has been a painful summer in some ways for Islander fans. Just as the boys in blue and orange were gelling together, giving us glimpses of what could be, the season ended. And while 2010-11 had a stretch of games that led the New York Islanders into the abyss of the NHL standings, they did learn, grow and improve through the adversity. All of which sets the Islanders up in a unique way as they embark on the 2011-12 campaign.

I don’t “do” point predictions, standing guesses, or make line suggestions to the coaching staff. There are far too many variables to make predictions for any team. There are some safe assumptions one can make on paper, sure. But, overall, there is a reason why the schedule has 82 games. It is to sort things out, and let those variables play out.

Variables…like debilitating season ending injuries. Questions about how a player chooses to play a position. Doubts about coaches and systems. What looks great in August and September may not be working in October and November, and changes are made. So making a prediction on where the Islanders will place is impossible when you figure on the health issues the team has gone through for several seasons. With Rick DiPietro’s health and playing style/ability, and with the uncertainty of many young players still finding their way in the NHL.

I will suggest that it is a safe bet the Islanders will be better then last season by the time game 82 rolls around if you assume that the team remains relatively healthy. I believe there is a chance at the playoffs — their best chance since the rebuilding plan came into being. But even healthy, many hurdles would need to be overcome — starting with the Atlantic Division.

The Islanders are going to have to find a way to be at a minimum in 4th place in the Atlantic to have any hope of a playoff berth. Ultimately, they have to play better then they have recently against the Penguins, Flyers, Rangers and Devils. Last season, the Islanders were far to weak against their closest rivals. To make the playoffs, those numbers need to change significantly.

Here is a team vs team breakdown against the Atlantic.

Islanders vs Flyers: 0-5-1 — 1 point of a possible 12

Islanders vs Penguins: 2-2-2 — 6 points of a possible 12

Islanders vs Devils: 2-2-2 — 6 points of a possible 12

Islanders vs Rangers: 2-4-0 — 4 points of a possible 12

Overall: 6-13-5 — 17 points of a possible 48.

The Islanders will need to do much better against the teams that matter the most. That is not to suggest that games against the North East or South East are somehow less valuable. All games should be considered important. But it is within the division the team can make the largest move within the standings. Ultimately, the Islanders were 20 points out of a playoff spot when 2010-11 ended. That is 10 wins the Islanders need to find in order to make a serious challenge for a playoff spot. If the 5 OT losses within the division alone are wins — that gets them half way there. But they need to garner some more wins out of the Atlantic any way they can.

It is far from a certainty that they can accomplish this goal, but it is not out of the question either.

Five Factors that can Make the Playoffs A Reality for the New york Islanders.

5) Veteran Presence — The Islanders were a very young team last season. Doug Weight was not around long enough to take on the mentoring roll he or the team had hoped. Mike Mottau, Mark Eaton, Milan Jurcina, Radek Martinek, were out of the line up more then they were in the line up, leaving the team vulnerable in veteran presence and on the blue line. Together with Mark Streit, those 5 players alone accounted for 5/6th of the teams starting six on the blueline — its not wonder the team had issues. This season, Brian Rolston and Marty Reasoner are two players who to this point in their careers, have been healthy. That may seem small, but after a number of seasons where injury has stopped the Isles season before it even starts, it has the potential to be huge. Both players have been around long enough to help manage the team on the ice and relax the boys when needed. I also believe both can contribute in their rolls.

Rolston is coming off a season of uncertainty in New Jersey. On Long Island, he should have a regular roll as a power play specialist and as a calming presence on what would likely be the 3rd line with Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau. Many have felt the veteran wing man the Islanders needed was for John Tavares. It might be a nice thing to have, but Tavares is so good, I believe he can work through it and make his wingers better. Josh Bailey on the other hand has struggled, and I believe he needs the veteran winger more then Tavares to calm him down and over the hump to reach his potential.

Marty Reasoner is a 4th line center who can contribute regularly on the score sheet, win key faceoffs and play a consistent 2-way game. He is not a liability on the ice, which in the past has been cause for concern among the Islanders 4th line. He should be a substantial addition to the team as a roll player and on the penalty kill.

These two players replace Trent Hunter and Zenon Konopka respectively.

As good as Hunter could be, his injury problems were too much to overcome on Long Island. The last 3 seasons were essentially spent on IR. Konopka brought much needed pride to the Islanders, but he could not bring the offensive upside to the Isles that Reasoner can, and Reasoner is as good in the faceoff circle.

Recently signed Jay Pandolfo has won, and can be a defensive forward with the ability to hold leads — something he has done throughout his career. While older, this is a calculated risk for the Islanders, and with Pandolfo’s play through preseason, he deserved his contract.

Steve Staios could also prove to be a valuable addition to the blueline. His best days might be behind him, but he will be effective as a bottom pair defenseman, and in a mentoring roll to youngsters MacDonald and Hamonic.

4) Rick DiPieto – Evgeni Nabokov – Al Montoya — Yes, a three goalie situation is not the best solution, but with the uncertainty surrounding DiPietro’s health, the decision to keep all 3 goalies might not be the worst decision for the Islanders to make.

Al Montoya — he might be the odd man out, again, unless there is a plan to trade Nabokov somewhere along the line this season. Montoya came in last season and stabilized the goal crease for the Islanders. He deserves playing time, and the chance to prove he can be a regular NHL goalie. Perhaps he is the one who is traded over Nabokov?

Evgeni Nabokov — has looked OK during the preseason games he has played. It would not shock me to learn he is traded, and it would not shock me to learn he is resigned to a 1-2 year deal halfway through the season if the team is playing well. He gives the Islanders a true #1 goalie option if things go wrong with DiPietro.

Rick DiPietro — it is well documented that I am not a fan. But as we start a new season, both accounts of DiPietro’s play in pre-season would indicate that he has been pain free, and played a very economical game.

As usual, the goalie situation for the New York Islanders comes down to Rick DiPietro. IF — and it is a huge IF — Mr. DiPietro abandons his ego, and leaves playing defense to his defenseman…IF he opts to keep himself inside the crease, and leave fighting to Trevor Gillies, Matt Martin and Travis Hamonic, and IF he remains relatively healthy — the Islanders could be very strong in goal. But that is quite a long laundry list of “ifs” and until I see it, I am not sure Mr. DiPietro can check off the items on that list.

One thing is certain, with both Nabokov and Montoya ready to go, and the team pushing to make a playoff run, DiPietro should be on a short leash.

3) Jack Capuano — There were a lot of questions when Scott Gordon was fired last season, and even more when Jack Capuano was brought in as an interim coach. No NHL experience, mediocre record in the AHL — how could this guy be taken seriously? I recall writing that at the very least, the man should be given an opportunity to finish out the season before condemning him.

In the end Cappy got the team turned around. I think his biggest asset is that while playing within a system, he lets creativity enter the players games. John Tavares looked like a completely different player under Cappy then Gordon. Blake Comeau looked as if he found a roll. Michael Grabner was starting to emerge under Gordon, but with Cappy, it looked as if someone took the chain off his collar.

Capuano has the ability to get his players inside the system, but allows the players to use some judgment. If they see the opportunity to “go for it,” they seem to be free to do so. Some call that just being a “players coach.” Perhaps that is true. But, I think he has the right demeanor at this time for this team. The strict discipline of Gordon did not work with this group. They need to be given some space to do what they do best.

If the players continue to buy into Capuano, and choose to respond to him, who are we to argue as fans? As long as the results are there, and there is continued growth and improvement, then the man is doing his job. With Doug Weight, Dean Chynoweth and Scott Allen as assistant, the team should be stable behind the bench.

2) Mark Streit — You never want to put it on one guy, but Mark Streit is so important to the New York Islanders. His loss last year was a killer, and his addition this season is like a free agent acquisition. Streit may have a little bit of difficulty getting his full game back on track, but he will provide a much needed spark overall. Streit’s impact will be felt at both ends of the ice and on special teams. The man advantage was ranked 17th last season, and with Streit and Rolston, that position should rise — not to mention a healthy Kyle Okposo and a maturing young core. Conversely, the Penalty Kill was better — ranked 12th. Now with Streit, and hopefully a full season with Frans Neilsen and the addition of Marty Reasoner — that ranking can also increase slightly. This is a significant factor, as too often last season the Islanders failed to capitalize on Power Play chances that meant the difference in winning and losing — and there in lies the playoffs.

This season also sees Streit’s emergence as team captain. While I don’t believe he is a “rah-rah” guy in the room, Streit is a leader by example, and will be effective with an economy of words. It is reported widely that when it needs to be said, Streit is not bashful.  As good a guy Weight is, this team has ostensibly been without a Captain for 2 seasons with all of Weight’s time away from the ice — a real shame, because Weight would have been more impactful to the young players had he been there with them.

1) Development — is still the name of the game. As much as the Islanders have shown signs of growth and are poised to take a big step forward, the rebuild is far from over. This is just about where the franchise was about 12 years ago, and just as easily as we are seeing the signs of a turnaround, we can see signs of a collapse if not very careful.

By 1999-2000, the team had been building through the draft due to ownership problems. Mike Milbury had drafted well and was showing promise with Roberto Luongo, Eric Brewer, Olli Jokinen, Zdeno Chara, Tim Connolly, and Taylor Pyatt. But with a new owner coming in, the GM lost his mind so to speak, and began to trade away these assets and more. Rather then enjoying the promise of these fine players, the Islanders spent the 2000s mired in mediocrity and in some cases out right failure.

Today, our roster is sprinkled again with a number of potential all-stars, acquired through the draft, trades and waivers. The names have changed to Tavares, Hamonic, Neilsen, Grabner, Poulin, de Haan, Niederreiter, Okposo, Bailey, Comeau. Some of these players have yet to meet or reach potential, but the potential is ever present. Once again, we have a GM who is poised to see the team begin to flourish, and a decision will need to be made — do we trade a one of these young players for a quick shot at the playoffs, or are we about long term gain?

Should the Islanders find themselves in 10th place 4 points out of a playoff spot, is trading Niederreiter or Strome for a “rental” a good idea? My choice would be no. In the end, I would think keeping players with that much potential are better for the long term health of the franchise. The decision to trade O’Marra and Nilsson for Ryan Smyth was clearly calculated, and likely the correct course of action — which when you consider where those players are now, is true. But those players never had the upside of some of the youngsters we currently have within the system.

For Garth Snow, this is a very delicate time. Thus far, he has displayed an astute patience with his plan and his team. We have to hope his track record for finding the right players, and trading correctly, with maximum long-term return holds. We all want to see the team win now, but we also don’t need to see history repeat itself. The core must be retained, and the players drafted high should be kept. Moving the aforementioned players, or players who are displaying real potential, such as recently signed Ryan Strome, Kirill Kabanov, Calvin de Haan, Matt Donovan and Casey Cizikas would be a mistake. Teams like the Islanders of the late 70s and 80s were built on the draft — much like the Red Wings of today. In order for the Islanders to be a force not for a year or 2, but for a decade or 2 — they need to use the past several drafts to construct that long term power-house.

A trade can happen if we are on the cusp — but it might be more beneficial to consider trading 2012 draft picks rather then personnel from the current stable. That pick could be in the 12-16 range depending on where and how we finish. Big differences from moving a #5 pick from 2010 or 2011. Plus, the Islanders have begun to craft a track record of — like the Red Wings — drafting well in later rounds.

Beyond potential trades, our home grown players must continue on their path. John Tavares is still growing. Kyle Okposo needs a healthy 2011-12 campaign. Blake Comeau needs to build on what he accomplished in 2010-11. Travis Hamonic and Andy MacDonald need to continue their march toward becoming top 4 blueliners. And potential rookie Nino Neiderreiter needs to be supported and given a chance to succeed.

2011-12 is looking like an exciting season for the New York Islanders and its fans. There are no guarantees this team will be in the playoffs come April. But the one thing that appears to be likely — they will not be an easy out. Those predicting the Islanders to finish last in the East, are noting seeing the players who wear those colors nightly. They are assuming and dismissing the team outright, though some are suggesting the Islanders could break a lot of hearts as well. I prefer the idea of being dismissed. The defense is not stellar, but it is better then people are giving it credit for. The offense should be run and gun, and among the top 8 in the conference. I believe that the Islanders are going to sneak up on team, and I believe that the Islander will be in it into March provided they can remain healthy, and get good goal tending from one or all three of their netminders.

Welcome to the 2011-12 season! Lets Go Islanders!

There have been a few incidents during the new preseason that unfortunately warranted Brendan Shanahan, the new NHL Disciplinarian to hand out a pair of suspensions. What was different with these cases, is that Brendan Shanahan took the opportunity to create a video, posted on NHL.com to show and explain what occurred, as well as review the rules, and his logic and reasoning for the suspension and its terms. This is a refreshing change from the past where Colin Campbell seemed to hand out suspensions and discipline in a questionable manner.

Campbell in the past nor Shanahan now have a job to be relished. It is not easy. But it seemed that Campbell was pleased to remain very “old fashioned” in his approach, and lacked either the will or desire to explain a clear cut method for his decisions. This new approach conducted by Shanahan affords the fan some insight into the decision-making process and why a suspension is warranted.

There is also a little more of the “humiliation” factor in these “penalty box chats” to echo FDRs old “Fireside Chats” from the 30s and 40s. By showing the fans in video review, mentioning the players name, it has to be a little mortifying to see yourself, and know everyone else is seeing you commit the “crime.” It has a courtroom feel to it, and I support it.

There must be justification for a suspension and seeing the incident happen in video, and explaining clearly and calmly the decision creates more communication and understand for the NHL to its fans. It also sends a very clear message to the players that they expect the players to do a better job at minding each others well-being on the ice while in the heat of a competition.

This is a physical game, and a fast game. There is no doubt that accidents happen, and people will get hurt. But the league should be open to all methods to police the game, and do what ever possible to protect its players.

This new method might be a result of the season most likely starting without one of its premier stars, Sidney Crosby. As an Islander fan, I am no fan of the Penguins, or even Crosby, but his skill and talent cannot be denied, and for those of us who long for better coverage of the game we have a passion for in the USA, having a player like Crosby on the shelf won’t help.

What ever the reason for the new video approach, I am sincerely hopeful that Mr. Shanahan continues his video presentation if/when any incident should occur. The fans deserve the respect of the explanation, and the game we love deserve the clear and concise approach taken by Shanahan.

You can view both videos at NHL.com.

Disgusting

I was quite angered and saddened when I read about the incident that happened Thursday evening in London Ont. Afro Americans are key and important contributors to society at large — whether they play sports like Hockey, or are President of the United States. It is disgusting to see that there are people — too many people — still holding onto racist feelings and thoughts. It is horrible to think that society as a whole some how has breed this kind of mental moron. Hate begets hate, and when you hate, the only one that likely knows about it, is you. That is, unless your hatred manifests in something silly, stupid, violent or all of the above.

My heart and soul goes out to Wayne Simmonds for the atrocity he endured. There is no place for that kind of thinking in the NHL, anywhere else in hockey, or in this world. We are all human. We all bleed the same blood when we are cut, and it hurts just as much for any of us.

I hope that all NHL players, and those of us who cherish the game stand up to this kind of foul behavior. It has no place here.

To say that this latest proposal is weak is an understatement. If this is the grandest vision possible in Nassau County — one of the more affluent and well-to-do Counties in America, then it comes as no surprise as to why every other Country in the world seems to be kicking our ass at every level — innovation, creativity, education — all of it. But I digress…..

The plan it seems calls for 77 acres of lawn, parking, a minor league baseball park, skating rink and a renovated arena for the Islanders.

Wow — all of that energy and for what? This is all about nothing for The People, and Everything for Patronage Cows — at least that is how I it appears on the surface.

It may keep the Islanders here, BUT, the cost again to the People seems to be oddly skewed.

The Lighthouse may have been considered too grand for some, though I disagree. Unfortunately, politics killed that plan from ever getting a fair chance at being negotiated to a working conclusion to provide some benefits to the citizens — In essence — a plan that would generate a tax base rather then create or maintain a tax burden. Ultimately, that is what this new plan would surmount too. A tax burden on the majority of the property. How is the “great lawn” going to generate revenue?

The parking lots and what appears to be a six-story massive parking monolith will require maintenance. It will generate cash revenue when there is a game/function. It will be required for you and I to pay for its use. More fleecing of the taxpayer — how nice. The huge green lawn that seems fit to house St. Peter’s Basilica is one gigantic burden. It will generate nothing in the form of a tax stream to the Town of County. In place of revenue will be cost. Who is going to maintain and mow that lawn? Who will keep it green? How much of out tax dollars will go toward its upkeep, and which patronage slob will garner that government contract?

Keep in mind — I am all for green and open spaces — but I prefer natural ones, not ones that cost money to the taxpayer at large. Not when the natural forest, or landscape was already mowed over for 77 acres of pavement.

And I have to inject — this fetish for building a minor league ballpark. What is the fascination with this concept. We are within 25 miles of one of the greatest sports franchises in history in the New York Yankees — a professional baseball team of the MAJOR leagues. And if you hate the Yankees, we have the New York Mets — also a Major league club. And if that does not suit you, you can go see the Ducks in Islip or Cyclones in Brooklyn. I ask the same question as I ask above — WHY and WHO. Why do we need a ball park when there are 4 of them within 50 miles and who is getting the cash for it once it is built? While it may create a revenue stream, long term corporate rent and affordible housing would offer a greater tax impact, and human benefit to the People over another ballpark.

Some question to consider if you are thinking of commenting….

Why is there no public transit option? The Lighthouse, Murray’s grand plan, and the stand-alone offered nothing of the sort, and neither does this. Why? Most fans of the Mets, Yankees and even the Rangers enjoy the benefit of public transit to see their favorite teams play. It is part of why a queens locale appeals to me so much. It affords everyone the chance to come in, see the game, and not worry about driving there and back. It reduces the traffic burdens and carbon footprint of a structure and allows fans to enjoy the game, have the beers, and not working about DUI/DWI problems.

Where is the tax base? Sure, keeping the Islanders will provide a tax base of sorts, but it sure wont be an INCREASE in taxes coming to Nassau County or Hempstead. Certainly something else could have been proposed to help create a more permanent and 365 day per year tax base on the most valuable real estate on Long Island. Even a casino would be better then this — better in terms of generating top dollars rather then taking them away.

Where is the affordable housing that is needed on Long Island? Or is that one of those NIBY things for Long Islanders?

I am not sure how most feel about this plan as it has just been released. This would not involve the construction of a new arena. It does not allow for a broader tax base. It seems to be very plain, very dull, and very narrow — which is how Long Island has been built for generations. Strip mall after strip mall, incoherent with no long term plan or vision. And we still are faced with hordes of Long Islanders departing for Carolina and Florida to name a few places.

The old way does not work. We can’t keep going back to the 1950s in the hope that something better will happen. The shame is, we, the People, deserve better.

In the end  it is about keeping the Islanders. But in looking at this proposal, or moving to Queens or Brooklyn — I’m not sure I would not consider this latest proposal the third option.

HOCKEY NOTES: I hope to get to hockey related musings in the coming weeks — but I would like to congratulate Mark Streit on being named captain of the Islanders. Smart move by the Islanders. There is no need to put undo pressure on young players like Okposo and Tavares who are still growing and finding their way in the NHL.

Ryan Strome was impressive in his Rookie Games for the Islanders.

Another season of hockey is upon us on Long Island and throughout the NHL.  My hope is I get to continue to say that well beyond 2015 for the New York Islanders, but that is for a different day. Today, dawn is about to break on the New York Islanders training camp and regular season. I was able to take advantage of the Islanders rookie game last evening with family, and it was well worth it. Not just because the Islanders won their game 7-2, but because of what took place on the ice.

The young Islanders played an energetic, physical game. They sent an early message if not to the 29 other franchise certainly to the Baby Bruins — “don’t mess with us.”

The three fights within the first few seconds of the game put the Bruins on their heels the remainder of the evening and allowed the Islanders to rack up 7 goals before the Bruins notched their 2 goals late on garbage goals around the net. The physicality was not only that of a pugilistic nature. Throughout the game, Islander forwards and defenders operated their bodies like battering rams, affording the Bruins little time to react and forcing numerous bad passes and misplays.

On the opposite side of things, it is clear that Bruins Goalie Michael Hitchinson was not at his best, allowing some goals that perhaps a more focus or adept goalie could handle. Further, consider that this is not NHL level play, yet, and that errors will be made and that perhaps some of the Isles young guns dominated weaker skill. The same could be said depending on your perspective about the 8-5 game on Monday night. But I think that was also a great deal more to do with a Miko Koskinen’s struggles in allowing 7 goals on 14 shots.

Some Individual Observations
Nino Neiderreiter — He uses his body well and sees the ice well. He worked solidly with Ryan Strome and Tyler McNeely. Good in tight spaces. He will be the kind of player who can create space for others. He has a nose to drive to the net consistently, and he can and will finish his opportunities.

Ryan Strome — He is tiny in comparison to NHL players and needs to bulk up, as expected, but he needs to be careful not to get to “big” because I believe that one of assets is to be nimble. He has a very strong pass, sees the ice well, and makes things happen each shift. He worked well with Nino. One of his goals was a beautiful shot from the circle that was like a bullet. He let go of a wicked wrist shot that froze everyone. He did not disappoint.

Kirill Kabanov — Night and day from last season to this season. He looks bigger, and he played with a much sharper edge. Last time he looked to be a spectator on the ice waiting for things to happen. This time he was engaged more consistently, and throughout the shifts he took. He was absolutely robbed at one point in the 3rd period. Boston had changed goalies, but he received a fantastic pass and unleashed a gorgeous shot that was snapped out of the top corner at the last second. he was also more physical in his play then I would have expected. If he can play at this level, and keep his behavior in line (i.e. mature), the Isles could end up with the steal of the 2010 draft.

Andrey Pedan — he looks to be a little “off” at times in the way he moves around but he did not disappoint. He is able to chip in a bit on the offensive side of the play, but what I liked most was that he used his big body effective. It appeared that bones were breaking with each check he landed, and he hit everything that came his way.

Casey Cizikas — he certainly projects as a pest to play against although he will need some more time in Bridgeport. He is fearless in the corners and around the net, and he will come back to engage defensively without hesitation. He has nice hands around the net. He seems a bit off in foot speed, but it could have been just this game.

Matt Donovan — looked very nice overall. The first goal was off of a beautiful pass he made out of his zone which is so important for a defenseman. He is not a physical player, but he did not look out of place either.

Calvin de Haan — sees the ice well, and makes excellent passes. He is not a physical presence on a regular basis, but he will play with enough physicality to be effective. In other words — he wont shy away from using his body, but don’t expect open ice hip checks. He anchored the power play well and controls the puck well. I would like to have seen him shoot more however.

Anders Nilsson — considering his limited North American experience, he was very impressive. His big body takes up a large chunk of the cage. More impressive was his positioning. He was at the top edge of the crease consistently and his rebound control was substantial. It seemed that most shots just disappeared into his frame like a catchers glove. He looked and played a very poised, calm game. Exactly the kind of steady, non-flashy game you want from a goalie.

Aaron Ness — he is small, but he was effective at times. He will need a few years more then likely in Bridgeport to build his game.

This is but one game and it is a rookie game at that. While the play of the team overall, and some individuals was impressive, we need to remember it was one night, and against other rookies, not NHL talent. A player like Niederreiter and Strome should however be dominant in a situation like this, and they certainly were. Offensively the team clearly has a tremendous amount of depth. Defensively there is some work yet to be done, although we don’t yet have the chance to see Scott Mayfield. Ty Wishart and Travis Hamonic are already pushing for NHL jobs and not part of the rookie situation. Calvin de Haan looked steady and solid, but a year in the AHL bodes well for him based ONLY on what I have seen thus far, and I am not an expert — so take that for what it’s worth.

The Islanders have done a nice job drafting to be sure. Garth Snow and his team have done their homework with the draft. In previous years, there was not this level of skill and ability even in these kinds of games.

NOTES
In some ways I am sorry to see Trent Hunter gone, but at the same time it was necessary. Trent’s injuries on a consistent basis made it wise to try to get some value for him. In Brian Rolston, the Islanders add an effective veteran forward who given the right situation can chip in offense, and I believe make the Islander power play more effective. Capuano’s coaching style seems to be “player friendly” and less rigid, allowing a player like Rolston to perhaps have a strong year for the Islander.

I was pleased the Isles were able to shore up the forwards with some veterans overall, but remain concerned that they have yet to fill a need on the blueline. I don’t doubt Garth Snows various attempts through trade/free agency, but just the same the GM has displayed a prudence that can almost be a fault. While I concur that a 10 year contract to Ehrhoff would have been a terrible mistake, it remains to be seen weather it was in error to not make a more formidable play for a defender — even offering Brian McCabe at 2 year deal to give that veteran lift to the back end. On the other hand, the Islanders could decide to go with a young defense that may not disappoint.

Josh Bailey is playing a dangerous game with his agent about his contract. I am growing more and more displeased with players who don’t quite see that they have not reached the level of play that warrants of big contract. Bailey is worth about what his qualifying offer would be. He has yet to display that he is a 50-60 point producer in the NHL and thus is not worthy at this time of a 3-5 year deal in the $2-$3 million range. Slightly more then a million should be getting this job done, and I would not sign him to more then a 2 year deal at this time with the possibility of revisiting in the summer if he begins to reach his potential.

Reports today that John Tavares, his agent and the Islanders are working on a long term deal should put to rest any rumors that John Tavares is anything but a stand up guy who wants to be part of the long term solution on this franchise.

There is still time as camp approaches and I believe all options are on the table for Garth Snow.

4:19pm
John Tavares has signed a long term deal with the New York Islanders. The tweets came from Arthur Staple on Newsday and Bob McKenzie at TSN.ca, while not officially announced until tomorrow, the details are being reported per tweets as follows StapeNewsday: Framework of #Isles extension with John Tavares in place: 6 years, roughly $5.5m average annual value, as @TSNBobMcKenzie said earlier.

This locks up yet another key element of the New York Islanders forward core and face of the franchise. It is reassuring to Islanders fans who may have been thinking that the franchise would lose a player like Tavares without long term stability in the future home of the team. With the failure of both the Lighthouse Project and this past summers referendum, Tavares could have opted for more security with another franchise. This give some indication of his personality, and desire to see this rebuild through. Clearly the young man wants to be a part of the solution.

Despite the condition of the arena, and the questions about the future of the team, the Islanders have been able to retain key elements to their hockey team. Tavares joins Michael Grabner, Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson as players who have agreed to multi year deals. This after outside players have spurned the Islanders.

So what is it that is keep these players here and why is it that players on the outside are not seeing the value of the team being built? Interesting…

See the bottom for the UPDATE….

Can someone tell me what this is?   Anyone…..    Anyone…..   It’s Plan C. Plan C for the Islanders of New York? Anyone……

There is blame to go around — and I will get to it — all of it in all directions. Not a single person will be left off the list. But the first and foremost thing to consider — do we have a Plan “C.” Lets get right to it.

TIMELINE
The Islanders lease is still good until the end of the 2014-15 season. This means the Islanders need a new home, open and ready for business by September of 2015. That is about 49 months away. We are being told it takes 30 months to construct a new building from the ground up — so that gives the Islanders a grand total of 19 months to negotiate a deal of some kind somewhere.

LOCATIONS
Nassau County
We will get into the finger pointing later — but for now, does anyone see this as a viable option any longer? Some may argue no, and the way I feel emotionally, I agree. With the wound so fresh and festering, it would be easy — far too easy — for me to just say a big fat F. U. to Nassau County. It’s nepotism, nimbyism, cronyism and every other ism, piled on with a gigantic dollop of stupidity with a cherry on top. Ah yes — that would feel oh so good wouldn’t it? Let’s all stand on top of the coliseum roof — hoping it wont cave in, and with a microphone to capture our voice to be heard all the way to Montauk Point — those two oh so appropriate words to carry our sentiment to Nassau County and all it foolish narrow minded old farts and politicians from all walks of life…

But I am letting my little day dream get us away from the key point. Is Nassau an option? Yes, I believe it could still be an option. But I believe it is a window closing and closing very rapidly. At this point, I believe Charles Wang and the Islanders need to grow up, and grow up huge. The time for small, quiet and gentle is over. It is time to be threatening and direct without a shadow of ambiguity — at all!

I am hearing Ed Mangano has made a call for RFPs to develop the Hub site — which basically takes us back about 8-10 years to square 1. Does anyone think Charles Wang will submit a plan? I doubt it.

I am not sure what the possibilities are. An RFP based on the Town of Hempstead’s restrictive, and frankly ancient way of thinking zoning codes are going to be a tough sell to Charles Wang. I suppose if an arena is included and that is all he cares about…, but my hunch is — that wont work for him. And should I be wrong, and he is willing to remain on Long Island in an arena as a tenant only in a complex that attempts to keep Long Island in the 1950s – I would hope that he pays the minimal in rent, and keeps the lions share of any profits he makes — and further hope that the responsibility to maintain any arena falls on the County, Town or who ever else is in the game.

We already know anything publicly funded, is not going to fly. Should PSLs come up again, I would rather drive to Quebec to see the team play. The question that looms — can the political personalities on all sides of Nassau County ever get over the burning desire to step on each others throats? If the answer to that question is “no” then the Islanders will likely not be in Nassau County.

Suffolk County
Suffolk County could work on a number of predetermined conditions.

First and foremost, the site would need to be Western Suffolk. Putting an arena out in Yaphank, or Riverhead, of Gabreski Airport is not going to work. It will be nice for those Isles fan living on the East End, but it is not something that a large percentage of Nassau Islander fans would do — travel an hour plus for a game. The honest truth is that the largest percentage of Islander fans are in Nassau County, and Western Suffolk. So the location in Suffolk will be critical if it is to be a consideration.

Anyone who thinks Suffolk County politics is any different then Nassau County politics? I spent my political time inside Suffolk politics, and I can tell you first hand — it is just as big a disaster as it is in Nassau, just the names are different. So what Steve Levy may want could be far different from what the Town of Islip may desire, or Town of Huntington. And then, you have to begin to factor in what the legislature wants, and who controls the land — so see — same thing, just different names, and the same questions loom — how badly would Suffolk want the Islanders? Badly enough to bury the political hatchet in the ground, or will it still be buried in each others heads?

Brooklyn
The borough of Brooklyn is making a huge comeback as are a number of city centers around the nation. With a new arena already under construction, Brooklyn, on the surface, makes a great deal of sense. But here too, there are issues. First, Charles Wang would have to carve a really strong deal for himself as he would not have the kind of control of resources as he would in his own building should he move to Barclays. This limits his chance at recouping the losses he has incurred in Nassau County. Further the arena, while it is now confirmed can house an NHL hockey team, has drawbacks.

The hockey conversion would likely bring the capacity of seating down to 14,000 – 16,000 which is not in the area the Isles were looking for. I think that is actually more of a blessing then a curse however for Wang — simply put, as the team improves (and I believe it will) tickets become more valuable, and you can charge more. It will be easier to sell-out games, creating a more electric atmosphere. It’s a win-win for players and management — although we would have to pay the ticket prices. Think Boston Red Sox. They have a 35,000 or so seat arena. They sell out damn near every game and have done so for years, and their ticket prices are pretty darn high for a quaint “dump” of a dilapidated ballpark.

I have also heard the sight lines are not optimal for hockey. This is moot to me — it’s an arena I can walk into, turn key without having to spend a dime. I can’t have everything if I am looking to keep my boys local — we will see the sight lines when we see them. I’m not taking someone else’s word for it.

Travel to and from Brooklyn will be dicey considering the LIRR is likely the only option for the fanbase. Suffolk residents are going to be tough to retain because they will have the longest trip, and I am also uneasy about a LIRR that can shut down on any given flake of snow — so what happens in the middle of January and February???

Queens
This makes a heap of sense to me, and is a solid compromise solution that I personally have felt will benefit everyone — everyone except the head-up-their-ass Nassau County clowns. And hey — you get what you deserve and what you vote for…

The problem is that the Willits Point area could be a longer then 19 month plan before shovels can be in the ground. With the Willits Point property, it is my understanding that the plan would include a condemning of privately owned properties to make way for the development that Charles Wang, and Queens would want. The trouble is that those property owners could possibly take Queens to court and I am not certain this would allow for a viable time line for the Islanders to have the ice ready for September 2015.

What could work is a partnership between the Islanders and the Mets, and the Islanders to build an arena on the Citifield parking lot grounds that would include some under ground parking.

Queens also would provide Islander fans with both a driving experience, and public transit — which is something that Nassau and Suffolk Counties could NEVER offer, or are too backwards in their thinking to consider, and Brooklyn can’t offer parking or driving in as a true viable alternative to the LIRR.

What this proves is that there are local options and there is still some time — just not much time — and each day that passes makes things that much tougher and tighter.

What concerns me is that Charles Wang will go off and sulk — and he has a right to. He was just told to screw off by Nassau County, so I don’t blame him for being “heartbroken.” He might have some wild-eyed ideas and thoughts when it comes to the team, but at the end of the day, he is the primary reason we still have a franchise in 2011. However, my hope is that both he and the Islanders will begin to play hardball, so to speak, and that these neighboring municipalities step up and make full and complete contact. The time to negotiate with Nassau County alone should be over. July 1 has come and gone, and Charles Wang should have the Islanders as a full and complete unrestricted free agent available to the municipality that offers the best deal for him, and his team.

The Blame Game
I’m sure there will be those opinions that will differ as some will want to lay blame on one person or entity or the other, this age group or that — and the truth is that in the end it really is the fault of everyone that the Islanders have yet to find a home. This goes back a while — all the way back to the days of Thomas Gulotta. Those were the first days of hearing about a new arena and a “Hub” for Nassau. From that point, very little was done to actually get something accomplished. Call it a lack of political will by a County Executive not too interested in an arena as his days in office were coming to an end, or for the long term lease that was signed by former owner Pickett pushing the need for an arena up to 2015.

Of course there was a 8-10 year gap where nothing really mattered as the Islanders went through owners the way Alex Ovechkin seems to go through hockey sticks. There was no time to consider developing a new arena when you had no real owner of the team. That is, until Charles Wang took the team on.

We all know that he has now made two efforts to develop the property and/or build a stand alone arena to keep the Islanders in Nassau County long term. Both efforts are left as the wreckage of fallen hopes for most Islander fans — and I say most only because I have run into the odd “fan” or two who either did not support one project or the other. Then again, I am biased. Nothing matters more to me then the boys in blue and orange in this kind of circumstance — not who is in what elected office or what the costs will be — within reason — and I found both the Lighthouse and the standalone arena to both be flawed, but certainly reasonable, and valuable.  I see limited issue with the Lighthouse Project — I would have wanted to see a light rail to help with transit, and I would have liked to see it blossom as a truly “green” project, mega towers that were scaled back could have been scaled back a little more…. The recently failed stand-alone arena was a project that I needed to warm to, but once some details from the plan emerged it was easier to come on board. The ambiguity of the project at the beginning left me wanting answers, which is why I wrote the blog post about us potentially getting screwed. This leaves us with the above mentioned alternatives — so nothing is really “over,” however, I have to level some blame at a number of key people — if for no other reason, then to feel a little better about this entire mess, and I hope that by reading this — maybe, just maybe, you can feel a little better too!

Charles Wang
As much as I appreciate that we have an owner willing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, there is a lot more he could have done and should have done in BOTH the Lighthouse effort, as well as the referendum.

For the Lighthouse, he was in front of the curve through most of the project but he failed miserably in reading the political landscape. He launched his efforts with “the County” rather then “the Town” which really held all the cards. By the time he sat down with the Town Board of Hempstead, the game was already over. He had donated thousands upon thousands of dollars to Democrats in Nassau County. That matters because the seat of Republican power in Nassau County comes from Hempstead Township — ultimately he waded into the Republican pool, and pissed away after drinking a case of beer with the Democrats — so you can imagine how that made Ms. Murray — the Queen Hoople feel as she was just nearby in the very same pool. Charles should have known better — especially with a seasoned vet like Scott Rechler by his side — and if he didn’t shame on him. Worse still — if he did know, and chose to ignore good, sound political advice — well then he has to endure a big part of the blame. When Charles was questioned by the Town he was anything but cool and calm — his frustration was evident, and he was very short on answers and clear direction to fix the problems he was being asked to fix.

If you are going to get into this kind of building project or referendum votes, you best have a political adviser. The PR staff with the Islanders is hardly seasoned and has endured several major gaffs, so if Charles was hoping they could handle either Kate Murray and Joe Mondello – or Jay Jacobs and the Democrats — he was badly misjudging his opponents — something that I feel he has done very well — twice.

In the case of the referendum, he made a different mistake — and perhaps it was Ed Mangano’s as well — but he has to share in the responsibility of once again, not being prepared on the details of the proposal he had worked out with the County. He failed to be out in front of the debate, and played catch-up almost from the beginning. As mentioned several times on this blog, I felt like there was an assumption this would be an empty netter to win the Stanley Cup, and instead it was Rick DiPietro thinking he was set for a faceoff, but watched the puck go by costing us the game! Lets be real here — the “i’s” were never fully dotted and the “t’s” never fully crossed. Even County employees were coming out and publicly saying that one thing would work, if the other thing happened — and it became convoluted, and vague, and full of questions and some doubt. It was not until the last week that things began to become clarified — and by then it was far too late. The opposition lead by the king of stupidity — Jay Jacobs — had already made the argument that wins time after time — taxes will go up. Plus that was the argument made early, and that “first impression” stuck with simple minded narrow voters.

I am convinced that if the details were spelled out from the beginning, and that perhaps if the details were presented slightly differently,  it would have been a tighter race, or even a win for Charles Wang and the Islanders, but he failed to make his case. Now it seems, he plans to “go dark” again much like he did post Lighthouse. This is further compounds his mistakes. He is continuing to allow others to define what could happen, or will happen, and that is a problem. He must be exhausted — and sure he should take a week or two off — but in reality, he needs to pick himself up and dust himself off — as mentioned earlier — there are only 19 months left to come up with a solution.

My strongest recommendation to Mr. Wang — no more Mr. Nice Guy. The threats have to be real, and followed through now. All sides must be played against the middle to garner the best deal for his hockey team. He said the franchise is out of options. Those cannot be just loose words. As I have mentioned several times — he needs to be seen talking to and negotiating with people from Queens, Brooklyn and Suffolk if he is going to manipulate Nassau into a position where all sides come together — because in the end, if the nest of idiots we call our elected officials lose the Islanders to Queens, Brooklyn, Suffolk, or too a far off place, they will have destroyed any hope for Long Island’s future, not to mention elevated our taxes and created the worlds largest crack and whore den.

Ed Mangano
I think Mangano is at limited fault here. The man stuck his neck out early in his term to try to get this done, and he largely picked up where Suozzi left off when it came to supporting the Islanders, and trying to keep the team in Nassau. Commendable. The big screw-up in my mind was the decision to hold the election as a stand-alone issue, and a lack of any real details on the plan. Perhaps both of these are equally Charles Wang’s problem as well, but Mangano is the “tax-revolt” guy — who won an insurgent campaign. I think had the vote been on primary day or general election day the Islanders may have had a better chance.

When mixed into a primary or better still a general election, there would have been a chance — a good chance — that many voters would have voted for the candidates and either not seen, or not cared enough about the propositions on the ballot. It would have further forced the opposition to focus on Candidate races rather then a proposition — reducing the number of robo calls, ads, and leaflet distributions. This could have opened the door for Charles Wang to advertise his issue broadly without the flood of negativity. This became a single issue vote without any of the distractions of the general election. They could have buried this in the General election, and sent in normally apathetic voters to “bullet vote” the issue. (A bullet vote is when you go in, vote for one candidate or issue, and walk out.) So perhaps young Islander fans who don’t normally vote could have gone to vote for this one issue, and walk out.

We have a limited way of knowing who came out and voted August 1. Was it Democrats? Was it Republicans? My guess it was both who knocked this referendum into the NO column — but that means many of the same supporters who put Mangano’s “tax-revolt” team in office, turned their back on him. And perhaps that makes some sense. He was supposed to come in to CUT taxes, not increase them. This is kind of like the concept of how easy it easy to shout from the sidelines and tell the person in the County Executive’s chair everything he/she is doing wrong, but then once you are sitting there, in that same seat, seeing the problems and the details of those problems, the promises you make during your campaign become harder, and harder to execute.

Besides the decision to hold the vote as a stand-alone measure — the roll-out of the plan — which was tied to the timing of the vote — was poorly done, and I have to put the bulk of that on Mangano. He was the central political influence on the proposal with Wang — and Wang is not the political strategist here. As mentioned above the proposal lacked any true details, and the opposition lead by King of Stupidity Jay Jacobs ate Mangano and his detail weak plan for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Mangano and plan proponents were playing catch-up and reeling from the onset — and frankly were a good 2 weeks late in even formulating a response to opposition. They were never out front, and that caused a lack of trust and transparency issue with voters as exit polls indicated.

None the less, I believe Mangano tried his best, as did Suozzi — but in both case, they were swimming upstream, against different waves.

Kate Murray, Joseph Mondello and the Town of Hempstead Board (Better known as the Hooples of Hempstead)
I think the thing that bothered me the most about Kate Murray is that she remained silent during the early stages of the project. In politics we refer to this as “going fishing.” She did not want to be viewed as  “in favor” or “opposed” to anything. In fact — that is her entire being — to appear to be doing something without actually doing a damn thing. She is the quintessential Long Island politico. She is not terribly bright, and likely takes her directives from Joseph Mondello among other republican operatives.

For years she said and did nothing with regards to the Lighthouse Project. She and the entire Hempstead board sat on their duffs. Which seems to be par for the course. In place of jumping on to work with a man like Charles Wang — work to develop something both sides could agree on, she gave no indication of anything, for or against anything. She reserved comments and critique until is was too late — too late to vote her out of office, or her entire board — and far to late to find a compromise. As I said, part of that falls on Charles Wang, and Tom Suozzi, but the Hooples are just as culpable.

Some say the Lighthouse project was too large and needed to be scaled down.

Alright — that may have been true for some, but it certainly did not occur to the Town of Hempstead to pass legislation to zone the Hub property — that is not until the project was already dead.

Some felt that there were traffic concerns as well as other environmental issues.

Perhaps so — but at what point in the discussion was that communicated to Charles Wang and the developers so that it could be addressed in a timely manner before he had spent years and millions of dollars on his proposal? Was it early in the effort or late in the game? Again Charles should have been more prepared for the nonsense coming from Hempstead, but Hempstead should have had the zoning set up somewhere earlier in the process then it did — early enough to work with a developer like Wang or Rechler.

Others say this was a political move from the outset. That Murray, Mondello and the republicans were against it for fear that the demographics of the Town of Hempstead would change as the Lighthouse would attract people with Democratic voter registrations. Further, they were displeased with Wang and Suozzi being so closely linked. Unfortunately, if an idea comes from a Democrat, it has to be voted down by Republicans. And as we just saw, if it comes from a Republican, the Democrats have to hate. For lack of a better way of saying it — it’s nothing but bull shit, and we — the fans, taxpayers, the citizens have sit down and eat that bull shit.

Disgusting as it might be, I don’t want to make this about one party or another — because they both have let us down on a great number of issues.

But in this instance, Murray is the wicked witch of the South. The Queen of the Hempstead Hooples — ALL of them.

Government can work. It can be a place where things can be accomplished and the people (us) dont get screwed. She and her entire lazy, good for nothing board should have been out front on the Lighthouse from day one with Charles Wang.  They should have scheduled a meeting with Charles Wang as soon as he won the RFP with the County, and they should have been diligent in creating zoning for the property long before Wang had put his proposal into the Town. Had that happened, Wang would not have wasted millions of dollars on his proposal. He would have been able to see from the outset — zoning says I can do W, X, and Y, but I can’t do Z.

The last part about Murray — where the hell was she during this referendum vote? Where was her Town Board? This is what she wanted, remember? She was quoted several times as saying that if Charles Wang wants a new home for his team, we could have approved in 5 years ago and it would already be done. Well, this is what Murray wanted. She certainly took advantage of the photo op in May on the dais with Mangano and Wang. Where was she when the shit was hitting the fan from Jay Jacobs? (don’t worry, I have plenty to say about him too). I could say the same for puppet master Joseph Mondello. He sure was loud when it came to defeating the Lighthouse. Where the hell was he when his democratic counterpart was stirring up a shit storm of stupidity?

It makes me wonder — do these people gave a damn about anything other then staying in office to earn a paycheck off our tax dollars? Frankly, I would not trust either one of these fools or any member of the Town of Hempstead Government to wipe their own ass properly.

Tom Suozzi
The man tried — just like Ed Mangano — but he too made serious errors. First and foremost he should have directed Charles Wang to the Town of Hempstead. Like Kate Murray, Suozzi was interested in other things — not the Islanders, and not the development. Suozzi had his eye on the governors mansion. I am sure he felt that “solving” the hub would be a nice catalyst to Albany. The only problem was that he was not the person who should have been cutting deals and making promises to the Islanders and its fans. The power of development is with the Town of Hempstead — as county Executive he should have known this. In the end, I think he saw Wang, and shined him on that he could help get the project done, all the while taking Charles’ campaign dollars (which is why I think Suozzi fed him the bull shit.)

In addition to this, he pissed all over the Town of Hempstead, and the County Legislators — when he started out making a deal with Charles Wang. He did so without opening the development up and having an original RFP. That is wrong — plain and simple.

Lastly — he dropped the ball completely on his own re-election bid, and failed to remain in office. Perhaps he should have been more focused on his own backyard, than the ones in Albany. This may not seem that significant, but it further delayed things because we were then faced with a change of power and party that had largely supported Charles Wang and the Islanders. Of course we have since learned the only people that Democrats support are Democrats — and the only people Republicans support are Republicans. Sad but true and especially true on Long Island.

Jay Jacobs — The King of Stupidity, and his Court Jesters
Jacobs was little known to the bulk of Islander fans who were not politically active, but he is known now — and that is not a good thing for Jacobs. Within a few weeks, he set himself, and his party — and any chance they had to recapture office back quite a bit. I don’t think there is an Islander fan that will support anything Jacobs has to say, at this point — and his candidates will be answering questions about this during the next election cycle. He targeted this vote and defeated it without too much trouble. In the end — a tax increase of any kind is a difficult sell to anyone — Democrat, Republican, Liberal or Conservative — it’s a tax increase and it sucks. We as fans were willing to overlook it, but how many of you fans, regardless of age and political affiliation, are prime voters? (A prime voter is someone who never ever misses an election, including school board).

Mangano and Wang’s error in making this a special election, played directly into Jacobs’ hands, who was the instrument in defeating the referendum. He could use any and all of his resources to defeat the referendum and that is precisely what he did. The King of Stupidity may very well lead the Islanders right out Nassau County — along with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the county that will fall on our shoulders with no hope of being  mitigated by future revenue sharing or the addition of a major tenant again. Not to mention, about 2,000 plus jobs! What major sport organization would ever award a franchise to Nassau County ever again after witnessing the debacle of the last dozen or so years?

What is particularly dumb is that Jacobs actually suggested 2 things that make little sense to me.

First and foremost — PSLs. Something so unpopular, and frankly pointless. I should “pay for my seats” before I pay for my seats? I think there should be legislation barring the practice — for any league or sport. If the seat is going to cost $200 rather then $100 because the cost of construction has to be factored in — fine. I will make the decision of whether $200 is worth it to see a game live or I should just stay home. Don’t disguise it with something as hollow as PSLs.

I think making the argument that Charles Wang and the Islanders should be “privately financing” a new arena is laughable. We are on a ferris wheel that never stops. Wang started out with an attempt to privately finance a project and it was killed by the Republicans. Then we tried a publicly financed project and it was killed by the Democrats — round and round we go…..Bueller…Bueller…Bueller…
Some will argue that the privately financed project was too large and one has nothing to do with the other. Others may argue that they don’t want to see public funds used, and they don’t want taxes to go up. Then there will be those who say Charles Wang can afford to build it himself, and does not need our help.

To all of this I say it is never that simple!

The privately financed project was a large scale full vision for the area. He had no partnership or good faith discussions with the Town of Hempstead to work things out either to scale down or work withing a zoning framework – see above.

The public attempt at financing the construction was not going to pass because Republicans had killed the Lighthouse — so Democrats had to kill the referendum and people did not want taxes to increase.

As for the argument I have been hearing that Charles can afford to build it himself — yes, I suppose he probably can. But then again, are these the very same people who cry foul about a nickel more in taxes or someone who earns a few billion dollars in income to help offset costs of running the country — to wit I say — you are contradicting yourself. Either the billionaires can afford “it” or not.

The bottom line is this — everyone has let the Islanders and its fans down. A friend of mine said something to me that I thought hit the nail on the head. In 1972, Nassau County decided to get into the “arena business.” If they are now in a place where they don’t want to do it, or don’t see the value in it, they need to just let us know that they want OUT of the arena business, and freely allow the Islanders to find a new home elsewhere. I don’t believe for a moment that any of the politicians — ANY OF THEM — give a shit about the Islanders, their fans or the people — they only care about one thing — keeping their jobs, and making the other guy or gal look bad. In the process, the People get screwed.

I don’t care who is in power — they are both very bad at their jobs — and it seems to be the case especially in Nassau County, and I can attest to the fact that it is just as bad in Suffolk.

My Conclusion
New York City seems to be poised to make something happen with the Islanders, and Queens has long been my desired choice for Charles Wang and the Islanders — and that goes back to before the end of the Lighthouse mess. I have long held that Charles has been too soft in his dealings with Nassau County — be it the Town of Hempstead or the County. He has tried this on two separate occasions and with both political entities — and both have let him down. It is high time Charles Wang become a little selfish. He must find the best deal possible for HIS team, and HIS business. To me, the answer is, and really has always been Queens. The word is Queens is ready for Charles Wang, and ready for the Islanders. It is time the Islanders prepared themselves for Queens. The round puck no longer fits in the square backwards ignorant hole that is Nassau County and its backwards thinking politicos. The zoning in Queens is essentially set up for this kind of a development and the political will seems to be in place to support the project apparently across the board. Am I the only one who sees this as a “no-brainer?” Why is Charles Wang putting himself, and his fan base through this torture any longer?

It is time Charles. You faught the good fight — not once, but twice. Why go back for a third round of physical and emotional abuse. The people of Nassau have spoken — rightly or wrongly influenced by both the Queen Hoople of Hempstead and her Board, or the King of Stupidity and his Court Jesters. They don’t want you, or the team. You tried both a private venture and a public venture. There is really no third option. Pack up the gear and move west about a dozen miles and an oasis can be built — they are waiting for you! Don’t go dark….don’t go silent again. The time to act is now. We have 19 months! Get to work.

UPDATE August 16, 2011

Ironic, I thought, but typical. Today, Newsday is reporting that Nassau County has 8 preliminary proposal for the Nassau Coliseum property — some of which would offer no arena at all. But one thing every single one of the 8 proposals have in common? Not a single one of them offers a privately financed option. Not one. Every one of the 8 proposals call for a publicly funded development.

So let me see if I have this right.

1) There was a privately financed project, it was called the Lighthouse. It was awarded to Charles Wang as he won the bid at the time, and was willing to have the entire project privately funded. because of a lack of proper zoning, and a good faith partner in Hempstead Township, as well as a lack of political smarts, and willingness to find compromise, the project was killed off — largely by the Republicans and the Hooples of Hempstead.

2) The new County Executive, together with Wang, decided to come all the way back to what Hempstead Township essentially wanted in the first place — a stand-alone arena. But, because of the lack of additional revenue, which I can understand, Charles Wang said that he would not pay for the construction. As such, a public referendum was created. Here, we saw the Democrats and King of Stupidity along with some others kill off the referendum.

So we come to the above mentioned “Plan C” for Do Nothing Nassau – and all of those who DO NOTHING and have DONE NOTHING — be it Jay Jacobs who made all the noise about public cost, or Kate Murray, who got her way and did nothing to help the referendum cause, have no offered NOTHING in the way of keeping the Islanders in Nassau County.

Ill say it again — those who shouted the loudest complaining that the Lighthouse was too big, or not good for the community, and those who cried foul over the referendum bond concept have offered a total of zero, zip, nada, bupkiss…

It is amazing that when it comes time to actually DO the work, to put the concepts down on paper and offer something other then hurling bombs and barbs at those who do create — be it jobs, or ideas for a new arena — when those people are asked to think of ideas — you will notice how quiet they become — so quiet you can hear a rat piss on cotton!

As I mentioned in my close from above — Charles Wang continues to pine away for a Nassau County that will never ever come to grips that this is not 1950, and it can’t rush into 2050. This is a County driving people and businesses away with bad decisions, and bad policy. The Islanders could easily follow suit — and at this juncture, I believe they should make it very obvious that unless the County steps up to the plate within the coming few months, they are gone. I have long been calling for the Islanders brass to be publicly seen with, and openly negotiating with other municipalities. Unfortunately they have yet to do so. Nassau County will never take Charles Wang seriously about his threat to leave if he keeps saying, “…this is my home, and this is where the Islanders belong. I have not given up on Nassau County…” Everytime he says things like that he undermines his own ability to negotiate a better deal for his franchise. Everytime he utters comments like that the Kate Murray’s, Ed Mangano’s, Jay Jacobs’ of the County turn to each other and say, “see….we know he won’t really leave…”

Charles, the time has come for you to face reality. Nassau County does not want you, care about you, or your hockey team. Start looking to Queens please….

Its 4:40pm and you might be just trying to leave the office to head home.

DONT FORGET TO VOTE. I know its raining, and there has been hail the size of golf balls. I KNOW and I am aware it sucks.

When Kyle Okposo gets knocked into the boards, he gets up, and get back in the game.

When someone made a run at John Tonelli, he got up, and found his grove to take the pass from Trottier to ice a game.

This is your chance to be tough — to make sure that your line mates, your d-partners, and your coach get to continue to play hockey in Nassau County and Long Island. If you think there is a tomorrow or that they will “work it out” later, you are deluding yourself. Make damn sure you get you ass to the polls and vote yes.

Rain is not a viable excuse.

The only excuse is death — and if you don’t vote yes, that is what you get — the very real possibility of  the death of this franchise.

Its the 3rd period and the Islanders are down 3-1 with 5 minutes left. A tie wont get it done. They have to have the win.

So stop whining about the rain, your significant other will understand if your 5 minutes late so you could vote.

GET IT DONE!

Aside from the trade of Trent Hunter to the Devils for Brian Rolston, there is pressing news for the New York Islanders and the Islander faithful.

This Monday, a vote will be held that largely will determine the fate of the franchise. Charles Wang has said repeatedly, this is the end of the line for the New York Islanders, and Nassau County. I agree. For those who think there could be a “Plan B” — this is the Plan B. The Lighthouse was “Plan A” so unless there is a Plan C — this is IT!!!

This is no different then the NHL playoffs. The first and most important step in winning — SHOWING UP.

The opposition will be present. Anyone who thinks the “nay-sayers” will stay home or will somehow forget there is a vote is delusional. The large bulk of the voters will be PRIME voters — which is made up of a lot of seniors on fixed incomes and my guess — a large majority of those will vote NO unless they are like my folks — who have been fans of the Isles since the beginning like their son!

We have argued back and forth on the proposal, the Lighhouse vs. this plan, private vs. public funding, democrats vs. republicans… and I am dead tired of it. All of it. This is supposed to be a blog about Hockey, and I want to spend my time writing about the trade the Islanders made yesterday and not this issue.Nonetheless — this is what we are faced with, and the blame can be discussed on another day and their is enough to go around.

The time for argument is DONE.

The first round of the playoffs begins and end on Monday. If the Isles are to make it to Round 2 — they have to win on Monday!

A nominal tax fee does not matter.

Political affiliation should not matter.

Your work must not matter and should not stop you from participating.

Your family — while they come first, should not stop you from getting to your polling place.

Your girlfriend or boyfriend must not stop you and can wait a few moments for you to go to the polls (and they better vote yes or dump them :-)

The dog can cross his/her paws for another 5 minutes while you vote.

The bottom line — you HAVE TO BE THERE!!!!

Decisions are made by those who show up.

As most of you know, I have spent time inside the political system. I have seen votes come down to as few as a dozen or so people out of thousands of total votes cast. If you think it does not matter or that you deciding to not participate wont add up you are dead WRONG. Ask anyone who has lost a close vote for anything.

This is not the electoral college fans — this is a popular vote. It is not obscure or complex with delegates. If 100 people show up, you need 51 votes for the measure to carry. Do you want to be the person who blows this off and the vote goes down by 1 or 2 votes?

Don’t think for a second you dont count, or wont matter.

The time for debate is DONE! VOTE YES on Monday!!!!

IMPORTANT…

There can be no political signage or campaigning within 100 feet of ANY polling place. If you see ANYONE trying to sway voters outside of a polling place, if you see any signs, people wearing buttons that say vote no etc…. use you cell immediately and call the board of elections at 516-571-2411 AND notify the poll workers inside the polling place IMMEDIATELY.

Not sure where to vote — check this out. https://voterlookup.elections.state.ny.us/votersearch.aspx NO EXCUSES!

Comptroller George Maragos reviewed the proposed deal reached between County Executive Edward Mangano and Islanders owner Charles Wang to build another arena in Uniondale and said the agreement is still too fluid for his office to develop a firm economic analysis.

Maragos acknowledged at a news conference in Mineola that many of his concerns are being negotiated. He said that if they are addressed, “I think it would be a good deal.”

Maragos said he is concerned that Arenaco, a Delaware corporation formed by Wang to serve as the county’s tenant, “has neither the assets nor credit history to stand behind its commitments on the minimum payments to the county and construction cost overruns.”

Because of these concerns, Maragos said, Arenaco “should guarantee its commitments on the minimum annual payment and payment of cost overruns” in the deal. In addition, Arenaco’s “commitment to pay 11.5 percent of revenues from non-Islanders events needs to be clarified. A part of this revenue as well as a part of auxiliary revenues should be guaranteed.”

An economic analysis by Mangano’s outside consultant, Camoin Associates, appears to be optimistic but not unreasonable, Maragos said. He also referred to a recent review by the legislature’s office of budget review.

“The assumptions and the resulting projections in these studies vary significantly,” Maragos said. “The studies are informative but they are not substitutes for contractual terms required in an agreement to ensure that the County taxpayer is protected. Each of these studies made assumptions that cannot be corroborated with the proposed agreement terms on revenue sharing, revenue guarantees and cost overruns,” Maragos wrote in his 15-page report.

This is the main point I have been trying to get across. The deal as it stands has lots and lots of questions and concerns. It needs to be clarified, and the details firmed up. It seems all along the vague, unclear elements of the deal about how money and revenue from the deal would be distributed are a thorn in the side of many — including those in County Government.

The Democrats in Mineola of course are not in favor of the deal for a number of reasons, not the least of wish is to try to stick it to Republicans. They have been pushing for the vote to fail on August 1. The $58 dollar increase in taxes to all Nassau residents was a big factor in their campaign. Some new math however is showing that the tax increase could be (and I want to stress COULD BE) as little as $14.00. This is significant, and Democrats best be rethinking their position. That being said — I would still like to see a clear cut, concise and detailed iron-clad agreement presented to voters as soon as possible that will show where ever penny will go once this proposal is put into effect. Without knowing for sure where moneys will go, and how they will be allocated — not to mention the cost overruns associated with public funded projects (another reason the LHP would have been better) — how can anyone have the details and vote for it in good conscience. Of course we die-hard Islander fans may make a deal with Beelzebub to keep the Islanders on Long Island.

My one question in this lastest article comes with regard to asking Charles Wang to pay for the “cost overruns” associated with construction. Ironic that the county would make such a request. The man was willing to pay for the entire thing along with the development of a great job creator and tax base then this alternative we are stuck footing the bill for — yet overruns (i.e. pocket lining of local pols.???) should become Mr. Wang’s responsibility?

In the end it could be anywhere from $58 per year on your tax bill or as little as $14…perhaps something in between or maybe more then $100 and just as easily perhaps, even less then $14. In the end, they just don’t know, and that is the point Maragos is trying to make. He is trying to get everyone to cross ALL of the “t’s” and dot ALL of the “i’s” and THAT is excellent detail work.

I suppose we are left saying, at this point, what ever it takes!

Vote Yes August 1.

And it is not just about August 1. It has to be about more then the people vote — which ultimately has little power. The purpose of August one is really to communicate to County Legislators that WE THE PEOPLE want this deal.

I will of course be voting to support the project. But, I am very concerned that Charles Wang and the Islanders are not taking the threat of the opposition of the arena deal very seriously. And when I see articles in the paper — where “…Charles Wang could not be reached for comment…” it becomes even more concerning. As with the Lighthouse Project, I can’t help but feel that his silence is a problem. If you allow your opponent all of the space, all of the time and all of the media resources as you stay quiet, then your opponent will define the argument. And that is exactly what is happening here — again. In the vacuum of information and details as well as the lack of push back from Wang, the opponents are making all of the news, all of the noise, and they are using the argument of a tax hike as a successful weapon to beat this deal big time!

The only solace is that the opposition decided to use a Friday to make their first big public push at LIRR stations. Reports are that they handed out fliers with a ‘Vote No” and an “X” through the Islander logo. I believe that was a mistake. Friday is “Take out the Trash” day. People are thinking about weekend plans on Fridays. Monday’s are the best days in my opinion because people reconnect with the news, and it can be a great opportunity for the proponents to make a stand on Monday, and try to control the news cycle for a few days. For a change, the Islanders and their proponents need to put “boots on the ground”

As a died in the wool Democrat, I am disappointed and frustrated by Jay Jacobs most recent remarks about the coming vote, and he is obviously rallying his caucus of legislators to vote NO when it comes to the legislature should the referendum pass. Much like the Suozzi years, the party on the “outside” is voting NO. During the last administration we saw Democrats in favor of the Lighthouse Project and Republicans against it. Typical.
As such, a strategy is needed. A plan to combat the  powers trying to derail this project. To me, there is nothing better then a door-to-door effort. It is better then a TV campaign, and better then just handing out leaflets. It shows someone is taking the time to come to see you and knock on your door. People like to be asked for support and assistance. Therefore, the strategy is simple.

The Islanders should run a door-to-door campaign in districts that are represented by DEMOCRATS first and foremost.
The mission should be do two things.
1) The person knocking on the door needs to have a clear message of why this plan can help the County.
2) The voter should be asked if he/she/they will be voting and if they are supporting the plan.

If they are against the plan, it has to be noted. That person should NOT be part of the Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) effort. If the voter is planning on voting, and is identified as a supporter, that is someone who you need to push hard on to get them to the polls. Calls should be made reminding them to vote on July 31.

The idea here should be to get heaviest support for the deal in areas that are represented by the Democratic legislators. Therefore, if the vote on August 1 passes, it puts pressure on the legislators to vote for the plan breaking ranks with the caucus and pushing the supermajority through as needed. Ultimately the vote August 1 is the first hurdle, but the supermajority vote is equally critical, and fundamentally trumps the people’s vote should they vote in favor of the project.

Of course all of the districts within the County should be visited. But my thought process here is that support where there are Democratic legislators are poised to try and kill the project when the time comes to approve the vote with a supermajority, they will have to give much consideration to what will hopefully be overwhelming support within their districts for the bond to pass.

If there is any assumption that the opposition is weak, or disorganized, or just a handful of noisy people, the Islanders and its fans will lose, and lose big. The moment you underestimate you opponent, you will see yourself on the losing side of any battle. We can ask Tom Suozzi about that.

I am not a fan of this project from Ed Mangano & Co.. I want to be clear about that. I think its a crappy deal for all of us as citizens and taxpayers. The part that is most frustrating is that Charles Wang & Co. would have financed the Lighthouse without spending a single public dollar and Hempstead said no — in effect saying they would rather use taxpayer funds to build a new arena. That is the ultimate shame in this entire debacle. What is more troubling is that the vote is a tough sell. Opponents are correctly challenging the proposal as tax hike. In a time where people feel taxes are already too high, and where the County has been taken over by NIFA, it is an uphill battle to convince them to pay $58 more per year in taxes for a hockey team. Sure — to us — its worth it, because we love our Islanders. But to Joe and Jane Jones who have never been to a hockey game, they could care less.

There are great many questions and doubts I have about the deal. But at the same time, there are always going to be questions, and doubts. Nonetheless — the Islanders trump all politics for me. I want to see the team succeed, and I want to see a new arena done so the discussion on these blogs can be about hockey.

I urge all of us to spread the word. If nothing else, every Islander fan must take the 5 minutes out of his or her day to go to the polls to support this proposal or we risk losing the franchise.

But I am miffed at the reaction some Islander fans are having. I am going to go out on a limb, and say some fans overreaction to Martinek’s departure is  staggering. It is as if Martinek is a 4 time cup winner with the Islanders who scored 60 points per season. A reality check…

Games Played for Radek Martinek — Year by Year
2010-11 — 64
2009-10 — 16
2008-09 — 51
2007-08 — 69
2006-07 — 43
2005-06 — 74
2004-05 — LOCKOUT
2003-04 — 47
2002-03 — 66
2001-02 — 23

Point by Radek Martinek — Year by Year
2010-11 — 16
2009-10 — 3
2008-09 — 10
2007-08 — 15
2006-07 — 17
2005-06 — 17
2004-05 — LOCKOUT (best season with 12G – 18A- 30pts in CzRep)
2003-04 — 7
2002-03 — 13
2001-02 — 5

While Martinek had some solid play, I wanted to get a feel of why so many Islander fans are crying so loudly for a mid-level #3-4 defender on the Isles who would be a #5-6 on most other teams?

This is not as if we let Mark Streit go…. or decided to cut ties with Dennis Potvin. This is a solid player that plays a roll, but by no means is a top player.

As the numbers above indicate, this is a player who is seldom in the line up due to injury — bad luck or otherwise. It is hard to hear and read the comments coming in because this was also the same group of fans loudly calling for the need to upgrade the Islander blueline. I find it equally puzzling that Isles fans would believe that resigning Martinek would suddenly stabilize the blueline, and was part of the solution.

Does the team need to add a defenseman? YES.

Was Martinek the answer? I dont believe he was.

I believe an upgrade is still available, and I am not so sure Snow is done with trade options. The season is still several months away. Trades may yet come much like the Wisniewski deal came in August. At least 2 free agents are on the boards now and could be helpful to the Islanders — Bryan McCabe and Scott Hannan, the later being particularly interesting as reclamation project. Neither player would be “core” solutions for the Islanders, but shoudl the core of the team be centered around free agent signings, or drafted talent?

Panic by Islander fans is staggering. They are seemingly looking for instant gratification that year-after-year has never come during free agency. They equally seem to believe that free agent signing will be at the heart of team success.  This is followed by the natural reaction to complain that Snow has not tried, or does not want to go after these free agents or is not willing to pay them. Of course, we could have drastically overpaid as many GMs did on July 1. A different GM could yield different results. But are you in favor of your GM trading away Kyle Okposo, Frans Neilsen, Travis Hamonic, Josh Bailey and perhaps even John Tavares for “established” players…???

We tried that method of “rebuilding.” You know — the one where we trade away future stars for slightly above average talent. We had THAT GM here for 11 seasons. And where did it take us? What did it get us? Future stars like Zdeno Chara, Roberto Luongo, Todd Bertuzzi, the afore mentioned McCabe. The lack of patients and wild and careless trading that some fans spew — that was out GM. Marian Gaborik/Dany Heatley……could have been. Zach Parise. anyone?

No. I am not in favor of paying Christian Ehrhoff — who had a good couple of seasons — a 10 year deal. I am not in tune with paying Ville Leino — who up to this point was a 3rd/4th line player who had one average year of 19 goals $4 mil per. Sorry. We have been down that road as well, and it got us nothing.

I would like to see the Islanders add a defender. There is a clear need. I would be OK on a max 3 year deal if the player is young enough. McCabe would be a reasonable fit for this team on a 1-year deal as a PP specialist. I would like to see that veteran presence on the blueline to take some pressure of a returning Mark Streit, and the younger players. The addition of a vet gives the De Haan’s, Ness’, Donovan’s some time to develop properly.

The biggest concern through it all for this team — HEALTH.

Which brings us back to the original point. Why would you want to retain a player who has never played a full season in the NHL? Part of the equation for the Islanders must be games played. So when viewing a player like Scott Hannan — if he is brought in as an example — we see a player who can play a nice shut down roll, who at 32 years old should have plenty left to contribute, and has a history of playing 75+ games per season, including 6 season over 80 games — putting up the better numbers then Martinek. How is that not an upgrade?

Feel free to express your view. Id be curious to hear the argument for keeping Martinek over a different player….

Perhaps I am in the minority, but yesterday was vintage Garth Snow, and vintage New York Islanders and right now — that is the way it should be. Garth Snow and the Islanders did exactly what they were supposed to do, and I support and applaud their work — or as some may want to believe — their lack of work on free agency.

As I mentioned several times leading up to the draft, leading up to free agency, while on the live blog yesterday — even on the radio during an interview — The Islanders have to be smart, and very careful with the next few seasons. The team is going to transition from “rebuilding” to contending over the next few seasons in my view, and I think in the view of Garth Snow, and other within the organization. And I don’t think it is careless talk to think the Islanders could become a very serious team in the coming 2 seasons.

Adding an overpriced veteran player is not in the best interest of the Islanders at this time — and certainly not going to help the long term outlook for the team. If anything, it could cause damage to the plan that Snow & Co. have been meticulous in executing beginning in 2008.

Facts are a troublesome thing. They have a bad way of poking you in the eye and it can be tough to ignore once they do.

FACT: The Islanders top 6 is more or less set. It would have to take something pretty dynamic to disrupt what was a dynamic top 6 for the Islanders last season. Despite injury problems up and down the lineup, the Islanders had 5 players with 20 or more goals, and 2 players who cracked the 30 goal plateau — the third player — Tavares with 29 goals (oh so close). Not too shabby for a top 6 that many Isles fans seem to malign

FACT: P.A. Parenteau is this generations version of Derek King. Poor Kinger. I recall how fans would boo Derek King at almost every turn — and that was while in the midst of his 40 goal season. I never understood why. Seemed like a solid goal scorer, good fellow…strange I thought. Well now it seems the guy taking his place is most notably P.A. Parenteau. I have written extensively on P.A. over this past season, and the fact remains that Parenteau put up 20 goals and a 53 point season. Every one is clamoring to see P.A. replaced on the top unit for an “established” player. While P.A. has not come close to matching King’s numbers, the reality is that he is putting up points that — based on some of yesterday’s frenzy — you would think Islander fans would go ga ga over.

Thomas Fleischmann — in 45 games he had 31 points. Signed by the Panthers to a 4 year, $18 mil deal. I would have liked to add Fleischmann because I believe he would be a nice edition. Not to replace PA, but to help solidfy a third line. But not for that money. Not with his recent injury issues.

Ville Leino — most of us — myself included — would have liked grabbing Leino. In 81 games he had 19 goals, and hey — look at that — 53 points. Almost identical numbers to P.A. He got a 6 year contract yesterday from the Sabers for $27 mil. Before last season, Leino had 3 NHL seasons of experience, never tallying more then 6 goals.

Joel Ward — singed a 3 year $12 mil deal yesterday with the Caps. 29 points for Ward who would have been a nice fit as a grinder for the Isles.

P.A. Parenteau — signed mid season to a 1-year extension by the Isles — 53 points just to remind you — 20 goals — and his salary you ask… $1.25 mil.

If this does not classify Garth Snow as having some sensibility, and a solid understanding of the salary cap, and the value he can get, then I don’t know what else to say. I understand that the addition of a new name — or a “name” players is meaningful — but Scottie Upshaw who played all 82 games last season had 34 total points and will be payed $3.5 mil over the next 4 seasons by the Panthers. So if Upshaw and the others above are worth that kind of money — someone explain to me how much Grabner would have gotten this season if he went to free agency? How about Moulson?

FACT: The Isles even have a third line that is looking set. Some may disagree with me — sure. And hey, thats all good. But with the aforementioned top 2 lines more or less set, we come to line #3. Which now would likely be composed of Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, and…well, my guess would be Nino Neiderreiter. This is all before we enter July 1 folks. Bailey may have struggled last season, but there is nothing to suggest that both he and Comeau will be signed, and in Comeau’s case, possibly to a multi year deal. Nino looks like he is ready at this point. There is little else he needs to accomplish in Juniors. He should help Comeau create room for Bailey, and in Capuano’s “let em play” system, I believe Bailey will learn to relax.

FACT: Reasoner is a big upgrade from Konopka. I liked Zenon Konopka as well as the next Isles fan. He made us feel good about being Isles fans. He is solid in the faceoff circle and tough as nails. But I did not see him signed by anyone yesterday by 12:30pm. In contrast, Reasoner is as good as Konopka in the faceoff circle, better defensively, and can chip in 10 goals or so. He was signed for a very reasonable 2 year contract at $1.3 mil per year. He will bring solid value to the Islanders.

FACT: Our young players are becoming too good to send down. Seriously, is there anyone out there who thinks Andy MacDonald or Travis Hamonic are nothing more then fringe NHLers? If there is, please stop reading now. There is no reason for us to argue — we can respectfully agree to disagree (p.s — no need to make it personal …like some…).

Andy MacDonald has established himself as a second pair defender who is still growing into the NHL roll. Hamonic shows he has the capability to join him. Mark Streit will be back next year, and while I expect him to be rusty and off his “A” game, the Isles have half of a defensive unit that many teams would like to have. To this we add a capable and very good #4 guy in Milan Jurcina. The rest as of now is rounded out by Mike Mottau and Mark Eaton. While I realize that none of these guys are Denis Potvin, the situation is not as bleak as some fans make it out to be. My hope is that Snow will make a key addition here if possible. But I am NOT in favor of paying Scott Hannan, Bryan McCabe or Nick Boynton $4-$5 mil a season. I mean is Wisniewski worth his deal? or Ehrhoff? I don’t believe they are.

And this is not just about Defense. While the Rangers were able to get their dream signing in Richards, lets say we mad the pitch that landed Richards. So does that mean Tavares is not the number 2 center? What happens to Bailey? He becomes the #4 center? Do you make Tavares unhappy and try to shift him to Richards’ wing? How will that affect Tavares’ think when it is his turn to re-sign next year? And if you bring in a winger to play with Tavares and drop P.A. down to the 4th line as so many have suggested — does P.A. put up the point he did last year with 7-8 minutes per game?

Lots to consider, right?

FACT: We have to be very careful with the Salary Commitments. You bet I want to be very cautious — or we will end up like the Blackhawks. Unable to retain the players they cultivated to win with. Moulson, Okposo and Grabner are locked up. Streit has 2 years left. But, we still need to come to terms with Comeau and Bailey, and we also will need to start thinking about a new deal for JT. But what about the contract for Neiderreiter in 3 seasons. What will it take to keep him if he meets his potential? Same with Stome. How about De Haan — don’t forget about him. This is how you build a team and a core. This is largely how the Islanders did it in the 1970s without a cap. Sure it was a struggle, losing is never fun — and that was without a cap! Today, the Wings are a good example of retaining a core group over the long haul — and gee — how telling, Jimmy Delvellano is a key part of their organization — just like he was with the Isles in the 70s and 80s.

I believe Snow is very much thinking ahead to next season, and beyond and what it will take to lock in key core pieces in the coming years. I applaud him for his diligence on this matter because I believe that home grown talent is the best course to chart for long term viability and success.

Free agency is not like the trade deadline. It doesn’t just last a day and its over. It has just started. There are plenty of good deals the Islanders can execute that will compliment the team they have been building. The goal of a free agent should not be to build a core — it should be to compliment the core.

I think Snow may have made his pitches to certain players yesterday, but as we have seen — they wanted more money then Snow was RIGHTLY willing to pay. When the next CBA comes up, I hope that the owners will realize that they have little to complain about. Now when they are willing to pay $4.5 million for average at best NHL talent.

I am more inclined to remain patient over the next weeks. Snow has earned my trust with his shrewd and value packed deals time after time — We can look at Streit, Moulson, and Parenteau as examples of careful signings that have and will continue to be a benefit to the Islanders. Snow WILL get to the cap floor without any issue. Plenty of skill and talent to help the Isles remain today and will be there tomorrow. As for a potential trade — I suggest we be very careful. Trades in 1999, 2000 and 2001 are what has kept the New York Islanders mediocre. Building the way Snow has will be our best chance to continue our forward progress.

Is it the money or terms that bother you? Or is it neither. Ehrhoff signs a $40 mil deal with a 10 year term!

Just a day after being acquired from the Islanders, Christian Ehrhoff signs with the Buffalo Sabers.

Is Christian Ehrhoff worth a 10 year commitment to a hockey team like the Islanders? I dare say not. And as I had mentioned yesterday after being disappointed that the Islanders could not get the top tier defender under contract, this could be a blessing in disguise.

The cap hit may be $4 mil per season to the Sabers, but Ehrhoff will earn $18 mil of his deal over the first two seasons. Wow!

I hope things work out for the Sabers on the deal. But I am very much against the idea of the 10 year + deal. Perhaps it is because the two deals the Islanders were involved in that were for long terms of that nature were disasters — but I am hard pressed to find any of these mega contracts that are truly worth it. Ironic that Charles Wang started the trend — because I don’t think he is too keen on repeating the mistake ever again.

If this was the kind of deal that Ehrhoff was seeking from the outset, I am thrilled that Garth Snow walked away from him. The last thing this franchise needs is to sign another long-term bad deal. I will be very curious to see if anyone raises an eyelash to be critical of the deal — only because had the same exact deal been signed between Snow and Ehrhoff, the hockey pundits would have cried foul that the Isles overpaid, and are a joke for signing a good not great player to such a contract.

This completes the Ehrhoff experiment. Garth Snow was shrewd to make the attempt — he tried to get something done for his team. And he deserves credit for it. But he deserves equal credit for having an even handed approach to how he deals with contracts. He and his team have an idea of what a player is worth, and while I think he is willing to negotiate, he has a bottom line, and if it does not match, he won’t be bullied into a panic move. When it did not work with Ehrhoff, Snow was able to regain the 4th rounder he lost.

These long term contracts for life are just not panning out for the teams that engineer the deals — thinking they have some how outsmarted the 29 other GMs. Too many variables exist in sports to lock someone in at these high prices. What’s your thought? Would you have been happy if Snow had signed Ehroff to a 10 year deal?

On day 2 of the draft the Islanders shipped out defender Bruno Gervais to Tampa Bay for “future considerations” and on Monday, they did not give Jack Hillen a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent on July 1. To add to that, it is expected that UFA Radek Martinek has played his final game as an Islander as well.

This has left the Isles with an interesting mix on the blueline.

Certainly the return of Mark Streit will be a huge boost to the Islanders. Streit gets my vote (if I had one) as captain of the team, and while I expect him to be rusty from the year away with injury, he should make the team, and the blueline much better. To this the emergence of Andy MacDonald and Travis Hamonic is evident. Both players solidified key rolls last season in the midst of injuries to other players, and it is hard to imagine the season starting without either suiting up in blue and orange in October. Thought he may not get the credit, Milan Jurcina rounds out the top 4 as the “big guy.” He wont score a lot of goals, or add many points, but his presence is apparent when he is on the ice.

Outside of those 4, the team has Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau who are good depth players, but hardly top 4 blue line help. Plus, both are coming off major injuries and it is unknown what they will provide. Ty Wishart showed he can play but at this point is he capable of being more then a depth player? Too early to tell perhaps. My guess would be that Calvin de Haan plays in Bridgeport for a season, and that Donovan and Ness are not ready. This means an upgrade is needed if the team is going to have a really solid defense.

Enter Christian Ehrhoff.

The Islanders acquired Ehrhoff’s negotiating rights for a 4th round pick in 2012 from the Cunnucks. This is, if nothing else a bold, and I believe calculating move by Garth Snow. With Bieksa, Pitkanen, and Brewer all resigning with their current teams, management felt a window was closing. Perhaps Ehrhoff was always the target and this was planned at the draft, however the Islanders have a major opportunity to lock up an emerging top 2 defender with major playoff experience. The upside to Ehrhoff’s game would seem to be like have “another Mark Striet” in the fold. Ehrhoff had a 50 point campaign last season, brings size and is still young at 28 — entering his prime!

Some wonder if Snow did not just throw a 4th round pick into the garbage. Anything is possible. Ehrhoff could say “no” to the Islanders as much as Nabokov did last season. However, I have to believe, as Chris Botta indicated in his blog — Michael Grabner should making the short trip to visit Ehrhoff in Germany to sell him on the Islanders.

With plenty of cap space, and a need to spend to get to the floor, the Islanders will likely offer Ehrhoff similar money to what Bieksa just signed. The rumor that the same deal that Bieksa received was turned down by Ehrhoff. Perhaps it was, but then again, we won’t ever know. It is a rumor. A 4-5 year deal in the mid 5 million dollar range is not out of the question. That seems to be the going rate for this type of player, and the idea that he could come to the Islanders for less is unlikely. I am sure that pundits will say that the Islanders will overpay to get the contract done. That is what they all said about Mark Striet when he was signed at $4.5 million per season. Today, that contract looks like a steal!

This move demonstrates Snow is serious about addressing his clubs needs on the ice. It certainly should communicate to fans and the hockey world, the Islanders are as committed to building a winning hockey team as any of the other 29 teams. The question is — will Ehrhoff sign. The ball  or I should say puck — is in his end of the ice, and it is now up to him.

AUTHORS NOTE — AS PER THE NY ISLANDER WEBSITE — CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF’S RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TRADED TO THE BUFFALO SABERS FOR THE SABERS 2012 4TH ROUND PICK

Today’s news that Ehrhoff will not be a part of the New York Islanders was disappointing. He could have made a nice impact on the Islander blueline. Still this could be a blessing in disguise.

As I mentioned in the main body of the article, Snow took a calculating risk to add a key element to his hockey club and improve the teams chances at a playoff berth in April 2012. The player may not have signed, but the word is out the Snow is serious about his intentions. He was fortunate to receive approximately equal compensation from another team so late in the process.

I had some thought about the nature of Ehrhoff’s reluctance to sign with the Islanders. I am not so sure it is only the lack of stability with an arena. I am not sure it is the money because like Dan Hamhuis and Paul Martin and Ryan Smyth — management was willing to spend the money. Is it the lack of skill on the team? I find it surprising that players would fail to see that the Isles boast a pretty sharp lineup albeit a young one that perhaps has yet to prove anything.

No — I am wondering if there is something else happening. Perhaps those who wish can comment below — but is there a single NY Islander with a no trade or no movement clause in his contract?

I understand that DiPietro’s deal and health make it a NTC, but I can’t think of  a single Islander with a NTC or NMC in his deal. And I am wondering if that is a club policy. And, I further ask — is that policy a part of the reason players don’t sign on Long Island. It is just a curiosity. Mind you I have no proof — but it is curious. The recent deals for Moulson, Grabner and Okposo don’t have the clause in the contracts. Neither did Mark Streit’s.  Very interesting. I will research this as best as I can…and will post when possible on further news as free agency approaches.

That's about right for what I look like and how I am feeling as it relates to this project, except the guy in the drawing is a bit older then I am, I dont ware glasses — and lets face it — he has more hair then I have.

I have a strange sensation coming over me today after reading yet another article about the “upcoming” vote for a new arena for the Islanders. The positive energy and feeling seems to be getting sucked out of my body as if a vacuum cleaner is pulling it directly out me, and the feeling of dread is replacing it. The song “Sympathy for the Devil” is playing in the background, but it does not sound all that good when hearing it in association with the impending doom I am feeling with regards to the arena vote. While there are entities that are “nay sayers” or those who don’t like an aspect of a plan, this seems altogether different.

Scenario: The vote held on August 1, costing $2,000,000 passes. Then, after much debate and deal making, all so the local politicos can get their piece of the pie —  “stealing” the money directly from our pockets and putting it into their own pockets — the legislature approves the vote, and earmarks the project as a “go.” The land is set, the Islanders are set, the local pols have been greased — and everyone is starting to celebrate. And right there…as people begin tailgating parties in the NVMC parking lot — a gigantic trap door opens from the sky, and screws every Islander fan to the wall of the current arena. Just like this little illustration I found online.

The industrious souls turning that screw on what was supposed to be our day of Jubilee — NIFA. Ah yes, that pesky organization that now runs things in Nassau County. All because of the two Toms — Tom Gulotta destroyed the county finances, and Tom Suozzi did not fare any better in fixing them — could not get it right. Add to that Ed Mangano who has — well — done nothing much.

Mangano and the powers that be in the County together with Charles Wang are doing everything they can to ram this thing through. As I wrote in a previous post — they are hoping no one finds the light switch to see what it is that is smelling so damn bad. But the stench should not be ignored. It MUST be ferreted out.

The supreme command in Nassau County is NIFA. Period. Without their authority — the vote we plan to make on August 1 means very little — well, I suppose that is not true. It means we want something we can’t have, and it also means we may have broken some of New York State’s laws, and we spent an extra $2,000,000 we don’t have.

We are doing our best impression of the Dodo bird. It seems everyone is walking off the cliff and very few people, if any are stopping to review the details — you know — the details, where the devil lives.

Is this vote a binding referendum? Is it a non-binding referendum. Right now — no one seems to have a definitive answer. An attorney in the County Executives office seems to think it is binding, but Mangano is calling it non-binding. If it is non-binding, then in reality, what is the motivation of the legislature to approve the raising of funds for the project? What is NIFA’s desire to see this through? And if it non-binding, it is essentially and opinion poll, as indicated in the recent Newsday article — and do we need to spend $2,000,000 million on an opinion poll?

Then there is the the question now being asked if the vote is even legal. The law in New York State is apparently very specific as to what can go to a referendum vote and what can’t. Perhaps that needs to be answered before we shell out the dollars for the vote.  Perhaps the smartest move thus far with the legality question is from Nassau’s Democratic Elections Commissioner, William Biamonte, who said he would ask the state attorney general for an opinion on whether the referendum is legal — as per Newsday. Finally, someone asking the people who know (I hope) the answer. But he said he would ask the question — saying he would do it, and doing it are different things.

Then there is the question of a Super Majority vote in the county legislature. Not out of the question, but certainly far from guaranteed. A lot of pieces would have to have fallen into place by the time the legislature begins its debate — one that I am sure will be hotly contested. Deals will need to be made. This legislator wants one thing, while that one wants something else. There is an old political saying — two things you don’t want the people to see — how they make sausage — and how they make laws.I am sure everyone — Democrat, Republican, Independant and the odd Martian will have his/her hand out looking to skim from the top for a  re-election run.

But all of this still does not get the Isles and its fan on the road to a new arena. In the end, there is still NIFA. Ah yes, back to where it begins — the folks with plenty of screws, and plenty of screwdrivers. Is NIFA being engaged in the process? Have they reviewed the plan? Are their questions being answered by Mangano & Co. Will they be sold on the benefits of the proposal?  Will they require a modification, and if so, how flexible is the County, Charles Wang, and the rest of the benefactors of the plan?

The potential for us — we fans — we people of Nassau County — to get screwed, and look exactly like the guy above — is pretty big If this goes to a vote on August 1, and it is all for naught — then the guy depicted above is going to have many, many twins. There are holes and question all over the place with this proposal, and the closer we get to the vote, the more vague, ambiguous and obtuse the answers seem to get. In fact — there don’t seem to be answers — only more questions. Yikes!

I am not trying to see this project “killed.” Assuming the vote is legal, and there is indeed a vote — I will be voting for the….um…the plan…no that’s not it….the referen….nope…not really a referendum…..hmmm…..binding…no..non binding…. oh crap….I give up…okay….I will be voting some time on August first in favor of what ever will grant the Islanders a new home.

But — I have to point out once more, because no one else seems to be talking about it — there once was this guy, that most of us did not really like, who wanted to build a palace, a great big palace for his team, and the people of Nassau — and he wanted to pay for it himself, with some help from friends. Imagine that — and oasis in the middle of what looks like a great big crack den — all at no cost to Nassau taxpayers. But people in Hempstead — or I should say Hempstead Town government — killed the project.  They said the plan was too big….would put too much burden on the roads….the schools….hurt the environment. Funny…I never met a Long Island republican who gave two shakes about the environment before this. Maybe the truth is they did not like the man proposing the project, and did not see a way to skim off the public funding for the project — because they was no public funding. It was all to be paid for by investor, create thousands upon thousands of jobs, and affordable homes…. what a shame — now we get to pay for it!

All in all — I hope the questions get answered — and we don’t end up like our friend above….Looks painful!

The Isles are showing committment to the players with contracts to Okposo, Grabner and Moulson where in years past burgeoning talent would have been traded away.

There is a lot of news for Islander fans this May. Just like the good old days. The difference this time is off the ice rather then the on-ice dominance the Islanders were all about in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The news now is not  bad, though, we are not reading about a return to the finals for our boys — but that day may yet come. Perhaps most don’t believe that. But there is something happening in these last months that has me — optimistic. And while that could change quickly — it is still a good feeling. Dare I say it, some commitment seems to be in the air on Long Island.

The Islanders recently announced that Michael Grabner has been resigned to a cap friendly $15 million deal for 5 seasons. He is joined by his second half linemate Kyle Okposo — also signed to a cap friendly deal which is a bit less in dollars, but for 5 seasons. Two players who have clearly become part of the franchise core are locked up.

If that was not enough, there is a great deal of positive energy surrounding the plan to build a new arena. In a previous post, I was prepared to hold my nose and vote for the passage of the bond act — and I still plan to do so. There are details that need some attention to be sure, but it could be a lot worse for the Islander faithful. We could be packing our bags and heading to Winnepeg.

Garth Snow and Charles Wang — the later of whom I have been pretty tough on — have come through in a big way these past months. They have sent some strong messages to the fans, the players, and the hockey world, that they are committed to Long Island, and to building a winner. If the decision by the GM in 2008 to build through the draft, just like his 1972 predecessor had done, was not a clue, the commitment to retain 2 up and coming stars, and now the decision to focus on just an arena by the owner is clearly a sign that the Islanders are making the play to be here for the long run.

It has long been assessed that Charles Wang had little to no interest in building just an arena for his hockey club. The economic viability was not going to be enough to foster a profit for the team, and he was tired of losing millions. Like him or not, losing millions of dollars even if you have millions, is no picnic. For the owner to essentially “OK” the concept to build the arena as a stand-along entity and worry about the development of the remain acreage is a sign of maturity and better understanding — something that had eluded Mr. Wang in the past. By making the development first about the Islanders, and retaining the reason for the development in the first place shows a new approach — and it take the Islanders out of the political fray. The Pols can haggle over the land deal on the side to see who can bilk the most from the tax payers later. At least the team and its fiscal benefits to the community will be retained with a new building. Let me clear — the surround community NEEDS the Islanders just as much as the Islanders need a new home.

In addition, it seems the owner sees the error of his ways last season. Mr. Wang became all to aware that his team was not ready to command top ticket dollars. And with that the cost of the concessions, and to watch the team lose — fans were staying home. During the season, they made some seats available at great prices, the team started winning, and fans returned. It appears with this years ticket plans, Charles Wang is poised to fill the building on a more consistent basis, helping the on-ice product, as well as the bottom line. While it may not be enough to offset the loses, the additional ‘green’ will ease some of the pain this season.

While the owner seems to have come to his senses, the GM did not waste much time this year. Garth Snow decisively dealt away players who were not going to be part of the teams future, continuing to add picks and prospects. Dwayne Roloson — a true professional who enjoyed a great run — had to be traded. At 41 years old, he is hardly the Islander’s goalie of the future. Snow was able to retain good value for Rollie, and Ty Wishart could crack the Isles line up as a much needed big body on the blue line next season. As the season slipped away, Snow turned James Wisniewski into a 2nd round pick from the Habs, along with a 5th round pick in 2012.

But it was not all about trading away talent. The season was also an evaluation of players who should find a home on Ling Island. P.A. Parenteau and Milan Jurcina were extended for one more year as their play was clearly showing they belonged. And without too long to wait, the Islander GM locked up consistent producer Matt Moulson for the next 3 seasons.

Those of us sticking through this entire history can recall a time when players completing their ELC’s were traded away because the owner was not going to pay their salaries. Fast forward to the present and the last few months is a display of commitment for the Islanders organization. There is still some work to do, as Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey need to be addressed, but the message has been heard loud and clear. 15 years ago, Okposo, Moulson, Grabner and others would have been traded at the deadline. I mention this because all to often we hear fans complain that the Islanders trade away talent rather then pay for it and retain it. The Islanders are clearly preparing to take the next step as a franchise, and the core youth are beginning to make this team their own.

How does this new commitment effect the draft and free agency rapidly approach?

The Islanders are likely going to add a top tier talent to their very talented prospect pool in June. And on July 1, the Islanders will surely have some targets to sign. But with the arena still in question, along with the on ice product, I have doubts the Islanders will land the most prized targets of free agency.

I have doubts as to who the Islanders should pursue no matter how many players may be willing to sign on Long Island even if the arena deal were set in stone! The franchise is in a very unique place. The deep and talented prospect pool and a young core are showing real promise. 10 years ago, the franchise was in a very similar spot — except the names on the roster back then were different. Guys like Luongo, Jokenin, Connolly, Chara to name a few – and the chance to add to them with guys like Spezza and Gaborik or Heatley. That team seemed on the verge of taking that “next step” too. But those young players were cast off for more “proven” talent. The result was a mediocre mess. So before everyone cries about the free agent we did not get, or the trade that Snow did not make – think back to that time and of what could have been…

The Commitment to the rebuild is at stake here, and so far Garth Snow has held true to his plan. Perhaps I am alone, but I hope he is very careful about who he plans to add via free agency, and who he may consider trading. Naming names — I would say that trading a player like Josh Bailey is premature. Dealing Calvin De Haan or Travis Hamonic or Frans Neilsen is probably not a good idea. I would add Blake Comeau, the Kirill’s, and El Nino to that list among others. Teams that have had success for the long term have done it by retaining most of their core draftees. Perhaps we can target a top 4 defenseman by releasing Bruno Gervais, not resigning Martinek, and trading or waiving Mike Mottau and/or Mark Eaton — but I don’t want to see the ice time of young players like Hamonic suffer. He is not going to learn or get better from the bench, and he clearly shows he belongs in the NHL now. There is still the possibility that Ty Wishart and Calvin De Haan make a play for a roster spot, and while Wishart makes sense, De Haan likely needs a season in Bridgeport before coming to Uniondale. A solid veteran presense to ease the pressure on Streit and provide valuable lessons to a young core is paramount.

Overall, the franchise is in a far different place then it was just 3 seasons ago. The rebuild has been painful at times, and we all knew it would be. The team still missed the playoffs by a healthy margin this season, yet somehow, it seems poised to take a step forward next year. Of course, health will be a big part of the ability for the team to compete and make a run at a playoff berth. Time will tell. But for the first time in a number of years — I am looking forward to September and October.

Radek Martinek: B
Staggering as this may seem, Martinek played more games (64) on the Islander blue line then any other player except for Jack Hillen (Hillen also had 64). I think it is safe to say Martinek is a good all-around defender who can chip in the odd goal, and add some assists, but overall he is not a spectacular offensive player. Where he is gifted is his ability to play a reliable game. He will not hurt the team unless he is out of the line up. He is a UFA come July 1, and it is quite possible he is done as an Islander. The defense is deep with younger players who are hopefully less injury prone then Martinek has unfortunately been. Still, he has been a good player for the Isles.

Jack Hillen: C+
Ironic, but I think Hillen with all of his skating ability had a hard time finding his game under Scott Gordon. But with Gordon gone, Hillen seemed to regain his confidence and had a better second half. Early in the season Hillen looked lost. He seemed as if he did not know where he was at times. But by seasons end he was his old self. The Islanders may want to extend him a deal for one year to see if he can put it all together as an Islander.

Mark Streit was desperately missed all season for the NY Islanders. His return will hopefully add much needed maturity and stability to a quickly improving Islanders blueline

Travis Hamonic: B+
With 62 games, this was Hamonic’s rookie season. It came and went without too much fan fare outside of Long Island. Those in the Islander “know” were not surprised to see Hamonic play well — but perhaps it was surprising to see him do as well as he did with such limited experience. The numbers show that the Islanders found a potentially very good second round gem. Hamonic put up 26 points in 62 games and was looking better and better with each game. Equally impressive — he was a +4. He made some typical rookie errors, and while there may be some growing pains yet to come, he is showing that could develop into a top 4 defenseman.

Andrew MacDonald: A-
Talk about a late round Gem — A-Mac proved that last season was no fluke. When he was out with injury, the NYI struggled to fill the void. A-Mac has been outstanding, and is only getting  better. Could this 6th round 160th overall pick be a top pairing defender? Right now, it looks very possible. He knotched 27 points through 60 games and was a +9. Certainly no small task. He and Hamonic could be a real force for the Isles for years to come.

Bruno Gervais: D+
A very likable guy, Bruno has really struggled the last few seasons. He has not been able to play a consistent game, and led the defensive corps with a minus 14 this season. He is not finding the offensive flare that many had hoped and with his contract expired, and young potential blue line help on the cusp, Gervais’ time as Islander is likely over.

Milan Jurcina: B
Many felt that the big blueliner was not that much of an important signing, but Jurcina brought some stability and solid play to the back end. Much like Martinek, Jurcina goes about his game quietly — and does it well. The team did far better with Jurcina’s big frame in the line-up. He deserved the contract extension, and it might prove to be smart to see him on the ice with a maturing defensive corps and Mark Streit.

Mark Eaton: C+
Getting hurt early in the year did not help, and I am curious to see what he brings with Jack Capuano behind the bench before passing real judgment on Eaton. He is a good bottom paring defender, and should be used as such. Earlier in the year, Gordon relied on Eaton for too much.

Mike Mottau: C-
With Striet going down, Mottau was signed to a good 2 year deal, which was smart. But like Eaton, he is likely better suited as a bottom pair defender. Depending on free agency and training camp, one of Eaton or Mottau could be waived or traded as part of a package.

Ty Wishart: B-/C+
Trading your “best” player for a guy like Wishart can’t be too easy on Wishart. Fans may seem to want Wishart to be a top pair guy. What is clear is Wishart is no bum. He has some work to do but he should become an NHL defender with a roll to play. But will it remain with the Isles? Lots of depth on the blueline could see Wishart as the odd man out.

Dylan Reese: C-
Reese has proven that he can be a reasonable depth defenseman, but he is hardly the solution to the Islanders blueline.

Mark Katic: C
Katic was the first pick the Isles had in 2007. He was only here for 11 games, and I liked what I saw of his skating, but he is still a project. Like Reese and Wishart — will there be room for him “long-term?”

James Wisniewski: B+
The Wiz played well while here. He certainly put up offensive numbers. Defensively — I wonder what he may have looked like paired with Striet? We will never know — unless the Islanders find a way to sign him on July 1….  His big minus number — -18 with the Isles is a concern. His +/- did not change wildly during his time with a better Canadiens squad (he went +4 with the Habs).

Overall the Islanders missed Mark Streit — in my opinion the next captain of the Islanders. While some feel it should go to Okposo, I would rather let the young Okposo just have to worry about his own game and not the captaincy at this stage in his career. A healthy Mark Streit will anchor the blue line – likely with Andrew MacDonald — forming a very good top pair for the Isles. Following that up with most likely Milan Jurcina and Travis Hamonic, the Isles have a reasonable top 4. Certainly a free agent addition to stabilize the mostly young group would not hurt. Any one of Bryan McCabe, Scott Hannan, Hal Gill or even a return of James Wisniewski would offer an improvement and provide a little more time and space for players like Wishart, Ness, and others who are still too young and not quite ready.

Hope to finish my forward review next week — but I would tease with this — the Islanders have a potentially potent offensive force moving ahead…

This is not about any one person — Mangano,  Kate Murray, or Charles Wang. Its purely about the people, and the decision before them — including me, and all of us who live in Nassau. In the end, regardless of who anyone wants to “blame,” but politically, Long Island is filled top to bottom with light-weight ego-driven self indulgent fools who I would not trust to drive a car, let alone come up with a plan to build and finance a major sports complex.

I was on board with, and I liked the idea of the LHP and what it represented. I liked even more that it would have been privately financed without costing the taxpayers of Nassau a dime. It created jobs — long and short term. All is good economically, but there were real questions, and Wang seemed either to pig headed to move on those issues, or just did not handle it right. Either way, the project was DOA to Murray…and not just because of the size/scope of it.

I always have felt that the smart move would be build the arena — brand new, not refurbished — first, and then worry about the rest of the surrounding area. Get the Isles settled, and let the rest be debated without the Islanders being tossed around as the political football. What I like here, is this plan does just that — it takes care of the Islanders issue. But what I don’t like is that it will be publicly financed — and though it is a bond, and not a direct cost to the County, it is still a concern.

What we must know, before there is a vote, is if NIFA is going to allow the deal at all. There is NO POINT in the county spending upwards of $2,000,000 on a special election on August 1 if NIFA is going to kill the project. Talk about wasting money — and then, I would have a major issue with Mangano.

Making it a special vote on a special date is also a bad idea. PRIME voters are the only ones who are going to come out — and PRIME voters tend to be older Americans on fixed incomes — so asking to cough up another $400,000,000 is not going to be easy. Sure, Islander fans say they plan to show up to vote, but “saying” and “doing” are two very different thing. I have had a fair amount of experience in the political world, and the biggest challenge for any candidate or cause is not selling it, it is making sure the people who are in your corner physically get off their collective asses and vote. August 1 is not election day, and that will make it even harder. It can work if there is a very aggressive get out the vote effort, but for that, all hands in County HQ for democrats and republicans best be on hand. I would also urge Charles Wang to make sure the Islander players remain on Long Island to knock on doors….

Putting sports franchises into politics is a bad idea in my opinion. It skews peoples views, and someone like me, who is passionate about my team would vote his team loyalty when it may not be “the correct” thing to do — which is what concerns me about this vote that we all face.

A county that is buried in red ink now using a bond act to finance an arena is very risky — lets face it. The debt load could become a problem if the revenue sharing numbers don’t work out — translation — if the Islanders really suck and over price their tickets, they are going to lose money — a trend that we have been seeing for nearly 2 decades now. So what makes anyone think the Islanders will be able to yield a profit to share from? Oh sure — I get it — there are other attractions that will take place at the arena. The circus, a truck pull, concerts, but all totaled — will that be enough to offset the costs and debt load? It is a very “if” argument. Something to consider before walking into that booth and pulling either lever.

On the other side of the argument, the team is showing real signs of improvement, and it could be a case of “build it and they will come.” If the arena is built, the Islanders could sign better talent and retain the skill players they have. Plus if the arena is new, has better sound, lighting, an sight lines for premium concerts, it will become a destination location that will bollster the profits and the “plan” works.

Either case is based on if. It is almost as though we will all vote and pray.

Not the best circumstances.

My choice?

I will hold my nose, vote yes, and pray — and I think a great many Islander fans, who think this through will be joining me in that prayer. Because I could vote for this thing and hand my 10 year old son a gigantic tax bill. Fortunately, he loves the Isles as much as dad — but it is still a concern I have. So together we have the power to make a decision not all that dissimilar to what took place yesterday with school budget votes.

We all hate to pay taxes. And that will be the case regardless of the dollar amount, who is in the oval office, congress, or the local Mayors office. If it’s more then $1.95, most of us — even a “godless bleeding heart” like me — hate the idea of paying for it.  But on August 1, I will vote yes, even though it may cost me — because I can’t bare to look at my son one day in April 2015 and say, that is the last time you will ever see that Islander logo, the last time you will see an Islander skate up the ice, and make a down low feed for a highlight goal. You will never experience and Islander captain hoisting a Stanley Cup or even dream about what it would be like… I just can’t do that to him.