Grading the Islanders: Part Four

While the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers battle it out in one of the best series in recent memory, Islanders country sits rather quiet, with no real news to trigger up hockey talk. Besides the foot injury to John Tavares that will keep him out for two-to-four weeks at most, Islanders fans sit and wait for the draft and free agency in hopes that this summer could be the year that big things happen on Long Island. While we wait for those two very important days, let us take our fourth look back on the Islanders from this past season. This article will analyze and grade the play of the remaining four defensemen: Mark Streit, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer, and Bruno Gervais. Considering his short tenure with the team this season, Dustin Kohn will not be analyzed.

Mark Streit: What more is there left to be said about Streit? From the minute he signed the contract that has been dubbed the “steal of free agency 2008,” until now, Mark Streit has outplayed his contractual value in every sense possible. When he first signed, many were skeptical about whether or not a number-six defenseman from Montreal really deserved that kind of money for just being phenomenal on the power-play, however, Garth Snow and company obviously saw something that they liked, and that intuition has not led them wrong. While his numbers last year (74GP, 16G, 40A, 56P, +5) were slightly better than this year’s (82GP, 11G, 39A, 49P, +/- 0), Mark Streit still proved to be a solid foundation from which to build upon. Besides three to four games in which he was slightly off, Mark Streit proved to the league once again that he is a legitimate top-pairing defenseman.

What makes Streit so dangerous in the “new-NHL” is not only his great skating and vision, but Streit’s tape-to-tape passing, as well as his willingness to join the rush allows him to be a threat all over the ice. While last year he was able to put up slightly better numbers, I believe this year Streit pursued the physical aspect of the game more, trying to prove that not only can he quarterback a power play, but that he can throw the body around and protect this net as well. There is little to criticize about his style, and I am happy that the Islanders will have Streit’s services for another three years at an extremely reasonable price. The only question surrounding Streit at this point is whether or not he will be the captain next year.

Overall Grade: A-

Andy Sutton: The oft-injured Andy Sutton came into training camp at the beginning of the season in easily the best condition of his professional career. After dropping 20-25 pounds during training in the offseason, Andy Sutton came to camp much quicker, and much more prepared to play the up-tempo pace required by head coach Scott Gordon’s system. What Sutton also brought with him this year was much quicker side-to-side movement, which was completely evident almost every night when he was throwing his body around and literally destroying opponents. It was a nice physical presence that was sorely needed on the Islanders defensive end. On the whole, Sutton came to play this season, and he demonstrated it over and over again.

Sutton’s speed not only helped his game, but it also helped his confidence. As the praise poured on from the start of the season, Sutton slowly but surely began to become more involved offensively, having no problem either leading a rush into the zone or following his forwards in as a fourth forward. His lighter frame allowed for faster skating, meaning it wasn’t as much of a task to have to recover from an offensive rush. Furthermore, Sutton’s passing and defensive presence improved tremendously this year, making him an all-around threat whenever he was on the ice. For good stretches throughout the season, Andy Sutton was easily the best defenseman we had, and he was one of the few that didn’t mind standing up for his teammates. Thanks in part to his tremendous play, we were able to bring back a second-round pick from the Ottawa Senators in this year’s NHL Draft.

The major question surrounding Andy now is whether or not a return to the Islanders is in the cards. With defensive prospects Travis Hamonic and Calvin deHaan signed for next year, as well as the emergence of Jack Hillen and Andrew MacDonald as legitimate NHL defensemen, Sutton’s wishes to return to the Islanders may be in question, especially with an increase in his personal value. If Sutton is to return, expect a 2-3 year contract at or less than the $3 million he was earning over the last three seasons. Anything more and he prices himself out of the Islanders range. No worry for Sutton, though, as I am sure he will be receiving calls from at least 15 teams on July 1^st.

Overall Grade: A-

Freddy Meyer: Once again, Freddy becomes one of the hardest defensemen to analyze and grade. Freddy is the type of player that needs to be playing long-term in order to demonstrate exactly what he can do, as when he is constantly in and out of the line-up or sits for long periods of time, he comes back very rusty and does not perform well. On the flip side, when Meyer is in the line-up for long periods of time, he proves to be a very reliable third-pairing defenseman, who although is small, can still throw the body around nicely.

Offensively, Meyer has never been a tremendous presence. He does not have any trouble in making the outlet pass or joining the rush when necessary, but considering his average speed, Meyer tends to stay back on the defensive end and maintain his defensive responsibilities. He is a fine passer, with average vision, and a decently hard shot, however, Meyer’s use on the power play is limited. Defensively, Meyer plays fairly well, and only encounters trouble when he loses a step to a man, as he does not have the speed to recover. Furthermore, Meyer’s positioning is sometimes questionable, but usually only after being out of the lineup for a long period of time.

Overall, I think Meyer is a good defenseman who takes care of his responsibilities. Is he part of a Stanley Cup winning defense? No, but I do believe he is solid.  For some odd reason, Gordon puts more faith in Gervais than in Meyer, which is nothing something that I can quite understand. If Meyer were given the opportunity to be a part of the team for all 82 games, I believe he would hold his own very nicely, and he would demonstrate his ability to perform at this level. Unfortunately, he has not been given that chance yet. Will he be back next year?

Overall Grade: C

Bruno Gervais: About a year after being drafted, Gervais was touted as being a surprise draft pick and someone with tremendous potential. Up until the second half of last year, that potential was untapped, and Gervais was struggling to maintain his place on the team. When paired with Streit for the second-half of the 2008-2009 NHL season, Gervais played well, demonstrating the potential that Garth Snow and company saw in him. He performed like a second-pairing defenseman, which I believe is the absolute maximum potential that he can reach, but even that is a far stretch right now. This year, when given a full-time role, I must admit I was very disappointed with Gervais, even when they tried pairing him next to Streit once again.

Besides defensive-end turnovers, which occurred very often, Gervais lacked any physical presence on the ice, giving the opportunity for forwards from other teams to overpower him and find easy access to the goal, a problem we’ve had for quite some time now. Furthermore, his contributions offensively do not justify his presence on the ice. The question here in lies: why do Snow and Gordon like him so much? I understand he is a nice guy, and I understand he is a great person to have in the locker room to settle the mood and for interviews, however, none of that wins hockey games, and poor defensive coverage, and a lack of offensive production should mean little to no ice time, or some time in the minors. He is still young, and I am sure there is some time left for improvement, but I just do not envision him becoming the number three defenseman that he has been touted as for so long. His size, speed, and aggressiveness do not justify it, and his timidity on the ice further emphasizes his flaws. A shot of confidence is needed, or maybe a change of scenery a la Chris Campoli, but something must change.

Hopefully the 2010-2011 NHL season brings along better luck for Gervais, but his play needs to turn quickly otherwise he may find himself as the Jeff Tambellini of Islanders defenseman. If Kohn demonstrates a more adept style at the NHL level, then maybe it is time to put Gervais in the minors.

Overall Grade: D+

Now that we’ve completed the Islanders defensive corps, I think it is fair to say an overhaul is necessary. Prospects Calvin deHaan and Travis Hamonic look extremely promising, with Pierre McGuire even comparing Hamonic to Shea Weber during the World Junior Championships. Both of these young individuals have tremendous talent and will definitely turn into great defensemen, however, the question that remains is will they make the squad this year? Garth Snow needs to pursue two top-four defensemen this offseason to bolster our backline, and so that Streit, MacDonald, and Hillen have reinforcements. With such affordable salaries on the back-line, the Islanders could spend a good amount of money and not put themselves in cap trouble.

Be sure to check back in the coming days for part 5, which will begin to analyze and grade the play of the Islanders forwards. As always, feel free to leave any comments or questions in the comments section, or send me an email at IslesNet@Gmail.Com.

-Justin

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