BARE ISLAND: Free Agency Day 1 In Isles Country
BDGallof | Jul 01, 2010 | Comments 33
All it takes is one day of free agency to have the draft good vibes come crashing down. You’d have thought Isles fans all committed some group hari-kari from the tone of frustration and melodrama on boards, site comment sections and Twitter. It happens when the blind are leading the blind, with stories on potential suitors, possible trades, and all that leading up rumor and innuendo.
Truth is laid bare for all to see each year. Long Island is not a premier destination, organization nor on the playoff cusp to attract top tier talent.
Hope and patience sometimes leads us all to have some desire for that free agent magic pill so we can move past the abysmal years of humiliation and embarrassment.
Sadly, that rise must wait is the glaring truth as players go to more desperate and pressure-filled locations. The caveat is that those players do so at inflated costs and for more years than deserved.
As hockey pundits and stalwarts shake their head or laugh at other deals, it should be recognized that once upon a time that was our role. We were the ones laughed at. Now we are not quite player in free agency, yet also not the butt of jokes.
If you look at those teams who were players in this desperate hour it was the gamblers who have the most to lose. Playoff pretenders or standing descenders who have to scrape back up or hold on.
The premium prices paid here are exorbitant. Years and millions tacked on already retail prices makes it look like someone went nuts with the Saks 5th Avenue price labeler.
There is this thought from some fans that Garth is somehow sitting back. As some might remind us, it takes two to do this free agency dance. The top ilks are getting down to brass tacks with teams paying premium on need.
In fact, the Isles have been active…within reason. They have gotten into some negotiations, but have been locked out in the end either by destination issues, or just simple desires by those players to be on a perennial contender.
Katie Strang reports that the Isles were in on a few free agents, in some cases, actually offering more money. It makes sense, because the Isles are in a bind where they must take on salary to be at the league minimum. But it is also early in process for the type of frustration and panic that seems to reverberate within the Isles faithful. I get the issues, but there are some hard and fast immovable facts…
Islanders must find the hungry youth or vet who they can offer more featured time and opportunity. Then it does not remain just an issue of location, money or venue…it becomes about right fits.
We can all carry on how the Islanders are on the rise, and we CAN say our prospect pool and farm system has come very far, but we are still a distance to being that discernable place that players, especially free agents, can get behind. Where those outside Long Island BELIEVE.
That is the truth of the matter. There are some answers and upgrades out there, but there is also the realistic situation that the Isles are not as far as we like them to be. It is on these days that truth might smack us in the face, slapping down our idealistic notions and unfettered optimism. Perhaps we are too victimized by the hyped hopes that the rumormonger’s parasitically suck off of Isles fans.
In either case, the time is not yet nigh, and it is far from over. But be wary of expectation, and hope for merely a step up or two.
The Isles will get to the cap floor, be assured. Now will they suddenly be world beaters? Hardly. But they will get better.
That is the more honest notion here. Then hope for the best.
Just my suggestion.
Filed Under: Featured • Featured Rumors • New York Islanders
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by BDGallof. BDGallof said: BARE ISLAND: Free Agency Day 1 In Isles Country http://bit.ly/9wnLIl #nhlfa #isles [...]
Great, level headed blog, as usual. I think this particular UFA class is extremely overrated and a lot of these teams will regret either the amount of years or the amount of money.
I’m on 15/16 now, by the way.
I really think this is the worst UFA class in recent memory
Let’s just face facts. I had very high hopes we could get some 2nd tier free agents, but it looks like nobody with any talent wants to sign here. What a shame, looks like another long year.
I hate reading fan comments where they assume that because the Isles did nothing today it must be true that Garth also did nothing. The Isles will get some free agents signed, but this is what rebuilding looks like. I’m fine with it.
Fans have a right to be upset especially season ticket holders when they jack prices up and parking the fans should expect to be better buy more then just a little. I blame the isles and snow they don’t know there fans well enough you can’t come out and say you want to make they playoffs and stand by and have every team your competing with get better and you can’t get a piece to the puzzle on day one.
@wf76 – How many puzzle pieces were out there yesterday that fit OUR puzzle?? I don’t think very many. This was not a great crop of UFAs. Do we still need size on Defense? yes of course. But that can still be had. This is the START of the FA period not the end. and it certainly isn’t trade deadline day. I’d rather look back in 3 years and be happy I was disappointed yesterday then look back in 3 years and say well that was just a panic move that screwed us up today..
Good blog B.D, but as a paying customer we should all re-think our position sometimes. We as fans (and our 1 media outlet) make their job way to easy. The last I checked, this is a results driven business. Am I supposed to plunk down another grand on tickets because Garth Snow tried? I understand the bind we are in but I want to see results. If we cannot sign someone then Snow needs to start getting more creative, whether it is looking towards a trade or signing a RFA.
@wf76 – The problem is that too many Islander fans piss and moan about every single move the team makes. You keep saying the fans should expect better when a vast majority of the fan base chooses to not show up to games and whine about every single move Snow makes. You don’t think UFA’s notice the 7,000 people at the arena during the week? You don’t think they see how neurotic the fan base is? Really? It takes 2 to tango…Snow can offer any UFA whatever contract he wants, but some people act like that UFA is under some kind of obligation to take the deal.
I realize it’s a chicken and egg argument, but fans’ utter refusal to support the team is a huge reason that we seem to be stuck in an infinite loop. The fact remains that we were not Dan Hamhuis or Paul Martin away from being a legitimate Cup contender. There will be more Moulson/Streit type signings this year, the team will get better, and there will be more pieces next year.
I’d like to see how many sports franchises ,and that would include the Yankees who played in front of a ton of empty seats in the 1980′s before they went on their playoff streak, would be drawing fans if they had the Isles track record over the past 17 YEARS. Please don’t put this on the fans this is on the incompetent, inept ownership and management of the past 17 YEARS that’s why the Isles are in the predicament they are in right now where top name skilled free agents won’t sign here. Don’t expect fans to pay major league prices for a minor league product that is a consistent loser.
I put a lot of it on the fans who insist on hanging Garth Snow for Mike Milbury’s crimes.
I put a lot of it on the fans who insist on hanging Charles Wang for the crimes of Pickett, Gluckstern, Milstein, and in the case of Spano, the actual crimes.
The things that I truly don’t get about my fellow Isles fans are a) the massive sense of entitlement, and b) the constant refusal to accept that their behavior plays any role in the franchise’s perception, because it does. You can’t tell me with a straight face that players don’t notice the best and worst of opposing fans.
I’d like them to win a Cup in my lifetime just as much as you do, but I genuinely don’t see why you think Garth Snow and Charles Wang owe you anything for how bad the team was under other regimes. Snow isn’t the best GM in the league, but he lives in reality and has been able to stick with a plan for more than 10 minutes. Milbury isn’t in charge anymore; get the hell over it already. If you don’t see a difference between this rebuild and all the other phony rebuilds you’re not paying attention.
If you really think it’s that bad, don’t stay out on the ledge. Jump.
Devil fans have a sense of entitlement, Yankee fans have a sense of entitlement, but to say Islander fans have a sense of entitlement is way off base. Charles Wang has owned this team for 10 YEARS and has not won ONE PLAYOFF SERIES, if you want to let him off the hook for that and make excuses for him go right ahead however I think he deserves plenty of blame here. At least I’m not a Wang sycophant like you sonny boy I was going to games in the 70′s before you were born so don’t tell me how a fan should act.
You absolutely have a sense of entitlement if you think the team needs to do certain things just to make you happy, or if you think that they need to make reckless decisions because of the failed plans (from other people in the past).
Funny, too, considering that Wang’s group has given me a ton of heat because of the times I’ve criticized him on the Lighthouse blog that you call me a sycophant. I’m not a sycophant, I’m trying to be patient….though it does amuse me that you’ve seen them win the Cup and are more angry than I am.
I want the Islanders to become perennial Cup contenders, not to blow cap space on guys who make them just good enough to squeak into the playoffs and get demolished by the Devils/Capitals/Penguins/whomever. If you were going to games in the 70′s then you remember how that team was built…through a slow, painful process that added pieces after the core came together. The fact that we’ve been waiting a long time doesn’t mean that this particular plan has been in effect all that long.
Have patience…or don’t. It’s possible to expect more without loud self-flagellation.
The Isles road to the cup was not a slow painful process Nick the Isles had plenty of success in the 70′s and won plenty of playoff series in the 70′s, which included a stunning upset of the Rangers and coming back 0-3 against the Pens to win that series, before winning the cup in 1980 so to compare the 1970′s Isles to this debacle of the past 17 years just shows you don’t know what you are talking about. The only thing that has me pissed is YOU knocking the Isles fans I’m well aware of the situation Snow is in right now however Wang has made many screw ups over the last 10 years so he gets no pass from me.
You cannot change the past. But what some have to accept is that the changes for the future are not immediate nor sudden. It is a gradual change.
If a product has a terrible track record over the past 17 years, I don’t care what type of product it is, you can’t expect people to keep purchasing that product. It would be a lot easier for fans to accept a rebuild from teams like the Devils and Red Wings but hearing the Isles talk about a rebuild after all these years of futility you really can’t expect the fans to spend their hard earned money in this economy to watch them rebuild AGAIN. I believe they are headed in the right direction and feel if they sign free agents it should be for short term contracts but I won’t knock anyone for not paying money to see them play.
Accurate B.D.
We have come a long way, but not far enough. A playoff birth, winning a round in this century, and settling where we play post 2015 are huge factors that must be answered. The drafted core has to do the on-ice thing. Management has to decide on the location of the franchise.
Those Islander Fans who are part of the neurotic fan base have a right to feel neurotic and or frustrated. This franchise has not won a playoff series in 17 years. Take a look at all the ex-Islanders around the league that have produced for other teams that they played for after leaving this franchise. Take a look at all the draft picks and lost draft picks this franchise has put their fan base through. Look at the Neil Smith debacle. It went on and on and on. Take a look at the Lighthouse Project where at first we blamed the Town of Hempstead and it now can also be blamed on an owner that has not addressed his fan base in direct terms since last October. This is from a franchise that was the model of a sports franchise back in the 80′s. Times have changed and this franchise has the appearance of at times has being stuck in the mud. Fans realize it and UFA’s realize it. It’s not easy being a Islander fan and sometimes you have to realize why the base and the core fan feels that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In this economy when jobs and money are tight..those fans must be understood and we must understand them when their are 7,000 in the building on a Tuesday night. Those that chose not to show have a right because it’s their money. They have not lost their love for this franchise. We can not merely be just cheerleaders. There are two sides to every story. Will alot be patient…absolutely but also remember when at times are patience runs thin.
Did George Steinbrenner wait until Yankee Stadium was filled before he spent money and put a winning team on the field? I don’t think so. Steinbrenner realized if the Yanks didn’t win his stadium would be empty so he started winning and not only has his stadium been filled since the mid 90′s but he also was able to build the Yes Network and make no mistake about it without all those playoff and world series appearances the Yes Network would not be what it is today.
I’m not going to re-litigate George Steinbrenner, but what you’re saying isn’t backed up by the facts. The Yankees under his leadership always spent money, the big difference is that in the late 70′s and then from the 90′s to today they spent smart money and supplanted it with homegrown star talent. You’re knocking my version of Islander history when it’s true that they won the Cup in their 8th season after starting to build in a league with far fewer teams. They waited for the core to form and then took the next step with targeted acquisitions like Goring.
You can be “mad” about my “knocking” Islander fans all you want, but it looks pretty clear to me. Whether or not you like or accept it, this team isn’t going to win the Cup in a day, the past is irrelevant to that, and there are too many neurotic fans who cling to the past as justification for complaining about whatever mortal offense the Islanders committed today. Think about it…all this from you because the Islanders went a single day without a free agent signing….that’s a bit much. There’s no Kool-Aid here, just a realization that this team is not a Cup contender for having signed anyone from yesterday.
“If you were going to games in the 70’s then you remember how that team was built…through a slow, painful process” once again Nick it was not a slow painful process the Isles had much success in the 70′s nothing like the past 17 years. Where have you seen ME knock Snow for not signing any free agents on day 1 this is what I stated: “I believe they are headed in the right direction and feel if they sign free agents it should be for short term contracts but I won’t knock anyone for not paying money to see them play.” again where did I knock Snow Nick?
One more thing Nick the difference between Steinbrenner and Wang, George knew he would have to win in order to bring the fans back Wang thinks just promising the fans that they are going to win and all this rebuild hype will bring them back well it wont.
Bottom line: this team (a.k.a. Snow/Jankowski) can not get the job done on July 1, whatever the reason is. Crappy team? Crappy arena? Front office with history of nonsense? Whatever it is, outside of Mark Streit, this team has been unable to address a position of need with a quality free agent in the past three off-seasons.
I am tired of the “stay the course” “slow and steady” talk. I’m tired of the lowered expectations and the acceptance of mediocrity. This team is not going to improve just by drafting young players. At some point, they are going to have to compliment the core kids with skilled, experienced veterans. If the Isles can only bring in Asham and Sutton this summer, this team will miss the playoffs again.
Time to get something done, Garth. Make a trade if necessary. Atlanta made two solid trades with Chicago and got three good players. Versteeg was sent to Toronto. Bobby Ryan is out there. Get something done.
Busta move, the Islanders just signed Mark Eaton for two years at $2.5 million per year. Fans will come back to the games with that move! :-)
Isles signed Mark Eaton….defensive dman who can skate, to a 2 year deal. not a bad deal, not a mindblower. but definitely an upgrade
Perfect 2 year contract.
Isles are apparently chasing P-A Parenteau and Milan Jurcina and I heard Snow made the biggest offer to Alex Frolov, but I need more confirmations.
This team still needs to add toughness in my opinion.
Parenteau and Jurcina get 1 year contracts according to Strang.
I guess Parenteau can replace Tambellini in the shootouts.
Charles Wang has been at the core for many of his Franchise’s misery. Let’s look at the history.
1. Trading away Roberto Luongo and center Olli Jokinen
for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.
2. Acquiring Alexi Yashin and then signing him to a 10 year
contract knowing that when he first got Yashin that he sat out for a year with Ottawa before he came to the Isles. Yashin was not SAINT in the clubhouse. Which leads to POINT THREE.
3. Getting rid of Peter Laviolette as coach only to see him
win a Stanley Cup and coach the 8th place Philadelphia Flyers to within one game of winning the cup.
4. Signing Rick DiPietro to an outlandish 15 year contract without wondering what if my franchise player gets hurt during this tenure and not realizing THAT NOT ONE TEAM WOULD
TAKE THAT CONTRACT IN A TRADE !!!
5. NOT FIRING MIKE MILBURY FOR YEARS UNTIL THE DAMAGE WAS DONE LONG INTO MILBURY’S TENURE !!!!!
6. Firing Neil Smith 40 days into his tenure as GM for wanting to restructure Rick DiPietro’s contact.
7. Making Front Office moves by committee.
8. Not Drafting Zach Parise.
9. Not saying one word about the Lighthouse Project since
October… only mentioning something when Howie Rose pressed him in an interview last season.
10. SHALL I GO ON ????
Remember Mike Milbury did not make one decision unless he had Charles blessing and EVERYTHING GOES THROUGH CHARLES.
So buy the team and run it yourself.. Otherwise shut up…
It’s called a chat forum Mikey. So sorry if I insulted you intelligence…that is if you have half a brain which from your reply I doubt. Thank you for wasting my time responding to you. Now go eat a doughnut and have a nice day.