I mean seriously, is there nothing that Garth Snow can do to make Islander fans happy?

Does it really matter if they are or they are not?

The short answer — No.

Frankly, I think most if not all Islander fans would turn on Jesus Christ himself if he were the GM. I therefore am not suggesting its personal. Not in the least. I am not going to defend Snow or Wang. Both have made good and bad decisions at various times in the past. But I am left in awe at the never ending stream of gibberish coming from Islander fans about everything….They are NEVER happy.

Going into the 2012 offseason, Garth Snow was tasked with the following…

1) With only 3 regular defenders returning, additions of at least 1 top 4 defenseman was a requirement, and he should make every attempt to obtain a bottom pair defender .

2) Team toughness was something that lacked as game after game stars like John Tavares and Matt Moulson were getting their collective asses kicked.

3) Size was something that needs to be addressed as the Islanders were painful to watch against bigger, stronger opponents like the Flyers, Bruins and Penguins — completely over powered by the size and strength of these teams.

4) Defensive prospects are needed. After the “big” three of Ness, de Haan and Donovan, the blueline prospects were limited and close to NHL graduation.

5) A second line center to push Neilsen back to the 3rd line center position where he really belongs.

6) Resign P.A. Parenteau if possible but do so without overpaying.

I don’t think there would be too many Islander fans would would have argued with my list of 6 issues above.

I left off the big one — a new arena or a settlement of some kind that would keep the franchise local and stabilize the long-term survivability of the team. That is more of an “office” issue despite it having major implications to what Snow can and can’t do moving forward — and its a huge issue for another day.

So lets take a look at what Garth Snow has done to date — about a month into the official end of the playoffs.

1) Trade 2013 2nd Round Pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Lubomir Visnovski.
Before walking to the podium at the 2012 draft, Garth Snow began his off season — trading away a high pick in next June’s draft for a proven top 4 defender who can play in most situations and possibly echo captain Mark Streit’s offensive production. Clearly this was a move that allowed the Islanders much greater depth on the blue line and giving the young Islander defensive prospects a little more time for development. Is there anyone who believed Snow would dress three rookies going into October? You may not like him fans, but the guy is far from stupid. Right from the beginning Snow addressed his blue line by adding a top 4 defender. The one question mark with Visnovsky is his age and contract situation. My guess is that this deal is very much like a one year contract. He has to prove there is something left in the tank, and he will need to produce. Should he manage to put up a 35-40 point season and finish +10, I would hope the Islander could extend him a few seasons.

2) Defensive Prospects Abundant in 2012 Draft and Drafted Often by Islanders
One more thing that Snow can cross off his “to-do list” is increasing the depth among Islander prospects along the blue line. The Islanders not only took hulking Griffin Reinhart (my personal top choice after Ryan Murray) but they took 6 more defenders to add to the growing prospect pool.

The Islanders have the aforementioned de Haan, Donovan and Ness all pushing for roster spots in the NHL next season, and Ty Wishart and Mark Katic as reserves behind them — but that is fairly thin to say the least. During the 2011 draft, the Islanders began to address the blue line and the size issue. They drafted a pair of 6’4″ towers in Scott Mayfield and Andrey Pedan. They added the 6’3″ Reinhart, 6’2″ Adam Pelch. 6’5″ Loic Leduc and 6’4″ Doyle Somerby. along with 3 other defenders. Prospects have a lot to prove of course, but with the prospect depth along the blue line now on Long Island, Snow addressed a major weak spot.

Note about 2012 Draft: I don’t care what the Columbus Dispatch suggested about the Islander rumored attempt to trade all of their picks to move up to the #2 spot. Frankly, it is nothing more then rumor. It has not been confirmed as anything more then hearsay at best, and neither the Islanders or Blue Jackets confirmed it. I would not have been as upset as some Islander fans seemed to be — suggesting we are a joke in that circumstance — if we came home from the 2012 draft with Ryan Murray and Visnovsky, Id be pretty happy. As it is, I am quite pleased with Snow’s haul at the 2012 draft.

3) Islanders Dip into Day 1 of Free Agency Addressing Needs
As July 1 approached much speculation about the Islanders and free agency was abound. There are some Islander fans deluding themselves into believing that if they were the GM they could convince anyone to come to the Islanders to play here. The immaturity of that concept speaks volumes about the level of denial most Islander fans seem to live in. Countless sources confirmed that the Islanders were going to be looking to address their needs with under-the-radar signings that are low risk/high reward and can fit within what is now a 3 year window of the life that this franchise currently has remaining.

Islanders Sign Brad Boyes
One of the earliest deals of Free agency, the Islanders obtained Brad Boyes for a very cost effective $1,000.000. With the possible departure of P.A. Parenteau, Snow wanted to be sure he brought in a potential replacement. While Boyes struggled significantly last season there are several reasons this signing makes sense. First it fits the franchises financial and time line requirements. Second, Boyes could benefit greatly playing on the top unit in Parenteau’s spot and regain a 20-25 goal form that he enjoyed in St Louis where he was teammates with Doug Weight. I expect that Weight will be able to get some leverage out of Boyes. This deal makes a ton of sense for the Islanders. At 30 years old, Boyes is in his prime and can easily bounce back to a higher production level. It could go the other way too — can’t deny that, but if the numbers are not there with JT & MM, he can slot in on the 2nd unit and Okposo can take the top line spot. This gives the Isles depth and flexibility.

Islanders Sign Matt Carkner
In a second move, the Islanders addressed three areas of need in one signing. They added a needed bottom pair defender, size and toughness all in the name of 31 year old Matt Carkner. At 6’4″ and 237 pounds, Carkner is going to make it difficult for opposing forward to just push his teammates around. He is excellent in the room, and once more gives time for the Islanders to mature their young defenders in Bridgeport as it should be. For those who think this is a player who can’t take care of business on the ice — he has a +/- of ZERO through 162 career games. While not the second coming of Bobby Orr he clearly is not a liability on the ice or just a one trick pony goon type of player. He will help round out the defense for the Islanders which now has a Streit, Visnovski, Hamonic, MacDonald and Carkner. At $1.5 million over three season, it fits the Islanders game plan financially and on term.

Islanders Sign Eric Boulton
The third move of the day came in the form of 6’1″, 225 pound Eric Boulton. Brought in as a 4th line grinder who can help protect teammates, the Islanders have solidified a tougher line up. Unlike Gillies, Boulton can play a little with 11 NHL seasons under his belt. I was a little puzzled by this move, and I feel it is more of a depth signing then anything else. Unlike the Boyes and Carkner deals which are clearly addressing needs, the Boulton deal seems a bit redundant at this time.

As we pass through the 4th of July holiday, Garth Snow and his team have addressed 4 of the top 6 issues that we faced going into the off season. A tougher defense with the addition of a true top 4, size, physicality, and depth via the draft on the blue line.

P.A. Parenteau left the Islanders for a bigger payday with the Avalanche. Yes — no denying it sucks big time for the Islanders and its fans. He was a solid player for 2 seasons with the Isles.

Many Islander fans disliked Parenteau from the beginning and never warmed to him — that is until the man signed with the Avalanche. Well — now Garth Snow is a total idiot for letting P.A. go without getting anything for him…. To this I say — you can’t have it both ways. He can’t be worthless one moment and Mike Bossy the next. I don’t for a moment believe Garth Snow is stupid. I am sure he tried to get P.A. signed, but he offered a deal that was on his terms, not P.A.’s. What does that mean? Well, it means the Islanders have a glut of young forwards, and having Parenteau here for 4 seasons at $16 million made little sense. As it was, the team was looking to have Nino Niederreitter as  taking the top spot from Parenteau this season. And Nino was all set to open the 2011-12 season along side Tavares and Moulson until injuries wreaked havoc on the kid all season and he never found his stride. So how much value did the Islanders put in PA.? Not as much as they put in Nino, Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, Andres Lee, Casey Cizikas, David Ullstrom, Kirill Kabanov. There are a great many young forwards all pushing for roster spots. We can’t play them all and keep them all. Someone has to go. If they could have held onto P.A. at their term great, but if not, it is not like there is not an opportunity for another forward to step up.

The other piece that has yet to be added or filled is a true second line center. Still very early in the summer, Snow has time to invite someone to camp or make a trade (see glut of prospects). So much has yet to be determined moving forward. Where will the cap be? Is there an amnesty buyout that will see the Islanders rid themselves of the last Milbury disaster holdover? Will other teams need to make deals to become cap compliant?

As reported yesterday via twitter by Newsday beat writer Art Staple, the Islanders are more or less done with free agency. That is a bit disappointing. I feel that a player like Jason Arnott or Dominic Moore could be had and be a good addition for the Islanders. Perhaps the Islanders want to give one of Strome or Nelson a chance to fill that roll. Maybe they will have Neilsen stay as the #2 center and have either Ullstrom or Cizikas play the #3 spot keeping it warm for one of the 2 “studs” from the 2010 or 2011 draft. There is nothing to suggest that a player like Arnott, at his age would not be a camp invitee.

The Islanders are technically ‘done’ rebuilding. I would characterize them now as building. We saw a trade at the draft to add a player for NOW rather then for the future. We are hearing rumors and rumblings that Snow is trying to make deals. (Staple reported the Islanders have made an offer to the Ducks for Bobby Ryan). Those offers may not come to fruition, they might be rumors, but clearly Snow is open for business. He has even been indicating as much in conversations he has had with season ticket holders before the draft — suggesting that the Islanders now have the assets to make deals that 3-4 seasons ago they just did not have.

The biggest thing facing the Islanders ability to build toward a winning franchise is the lack of a place to play hockey. 2015 is now around the corner, and with no plans on a new arena and the future hinging on a preseason game in Brooklyn, things look very questionable. So why would anyone want to sign here as a free agent if they won’t know where they will play in 3 seasons?

Despite having some rare success and addressing needs early this summer, Islander fans are still bashing management. And yes — Ryan Suter is a better player then Lubomir Visnovsky, but anyone assuming the Islanders had a prayer in obtain a tier 1 free agent at this time was kidding themselves. I did not write this post to take the arrows for Garth Snow or Charles Wang. There is plenty I am not thrilled with when it comes to my beloved Islanders. But none of that ire is due to anything that has happened this summer. The GM did what we have all argued he needed to do to address problem areas.

Fans complained they needed another top 4 vet along the blue line. Check.

Fans asked for defense and more defense at the draft. Check.

Fans wanted to be bigger and tougher. Check.

The premier UFAs will come to the Islanders when the core of mostly home grown youth can get itself into the playoffs. That will make selling the team to free agents more appealing, as this too would be a destination where a player can come and win. But until this group of Tavares, Moulson, Hamonic, Okposo, Bailey, Grabner, Streit, Neilsen and Martin and others can sting together a winning season, I would go into the off seasons expecting very little.

I suspected we would bring in a defenseman via a trade or free agency. We brought in 2. Other then that, my expectations were minor. Garth Snow has said time, and time again he will not deal away his young and promising youth for a band-aid fix. For the millionth time I am typing the same thing — that is what Mike Milbury did  – he traded away all of the franchises promising youth for quick fixes that amounted to what we had in 2007-08.

It has taken Snow and his team 4 years to rebuild the team’s core youth pool to something respectable and promising again. The Islanders are at a very interesting crossroads. They are on the cusp of being a very difficult team to play against, and they could be a team to make the playoffs in 2012-13. They need 7 more wins this season then they had last season to be a viable playoff contender. With added size and strength on the blue line they could push for a playoff spot. There is no way I can stand here and believe we have no chance at the playoffs even with the “ifs.”

Management should care of course if the fans support the teams new acquisitions or a trade. Low fan support is part of the problem facing the Islanders. But at the same time management can’t make decisions based on the fans’ likes or dislikes of a trade, waiver pickup, or draft selection.

My point to Islander fans through this long article — the sky is not falling, doomsday is not here. There are positives from where this team is today based on the additions Snow has made thus far. A little support may go a very long way. Especially as we near the Brooklyn game. I will continue to remind fans in every article — BUY YOUR TICKETS AND SUPPORT YOUR TEAM!! Brooklyn may not be optimal, but it remains a better solution then Quebec, Kansas or Hamilton. Let’s Go Islanders!!!

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!

Slava Voynov is on his way back to Manchester. It’s an easy move to understand, as the team was carrying an extra defenseman and it seems that coach Darryl Sutter has settled on Alec Martinez. Thus, it was time for Voynov to head back to the AHL, where he can play large minutes every night and continue his development.

Jarret Stoll was also placed on injured reserve with the ever-popular ‘lower body injury.’ No timetable has been set for his return.

And then there’s this – forwards Jordan Nolan and Dwight King were called up from Manchester. In a nutshell, they’re two of the Monarchs leading point producers and the two biggest forwards not named Ray Kaunisto. At 6-foot-3, both are just an inch shy of twitter phenom-to-be RayK71.

Speaking of 71, that’s the number Nolan will wear when he makes his NHL debut tomorrow vs. the Islanders. King will wear #74, the same jersey he sported during his six-game NHL stint last season.

King, originally selected in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Draft, had posted 11 goals, 18 assists 20 penalty minutes and a plus-6 rating over 50 games with Manchester this season.

Nolan, a seventh round selection at the 2009 NHL Draft, has probably been the Monarchs most improved player this season – with nine goals, 13 assists and 119 PIM. Both players also spent a little bit of time with the Ontario Reign (ECHL) after first turning pro.

At practice on Friday, they skated on the second line with Mike Richards and that appears to be the way Sutter will go vs. the Islanders – at least to start the game.

Missing out on all the fun was Brandon Kozun. The 5-foot-8 right wing was very impressive during the team’s Rookie Camp in September and has been consistently tallying points lately, after getting off to a slow start. His game is about speed and creativity. Plus, he recored 108 and 107-point seasons his final two years in the WHL. So, at some point, you have to figure he’s going to get a look. Just not this week.

For more on all the players listed above, please see the links below.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor 

RELATED ARTICLES:

Prospect Brandon Kozun puts the ball in the Kings court

Terry Murray on Kozun being cut from training camp

Camping Guide – Interview with Jordan Nolan

Is Slava Voynov the LA Kings savior?

Alec Martinez loves Sutter, even when he scratches him

Willie Mitchell has already revisited his past once this season and he’ll be doing in again on Tuesday night when the New Jersey Devils come to Staples Center in LA.

“Where it all started. That’s the first thing I think about when it comes to playing the Devils,” the 10-year NHL veteran said. “It doesn’t matter how many teams you’ve played for, and I’ve played for a couple, you always have fond memories of where it all started.”

He debuted for New Jersey on March 25, 2000, nearly four years after they selected him in the eighth round of the 1996 draft.

Life’s come a bit full circle for him, as he now hands out advice to younger players in LA about the experiences he went though as a prospect coming up through the New Jersey organization.

“I think in life in general, you try and learn your whole way. That’s the journey of life, learning. If you ever think you can stop learning, you’re in trouble,” Mitchell said, as we reflected back on pieces of his career that have molded him into the player he’s become.

“As a pro, I try to learn every day. I tried to learn from guys before me, guys who spent a lot of time in the league. I was fortunate enough to start in one of the best environments ever with the Devils – Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Larry Robinson, Jacques Lemaire, I could go on and on. There’s a lot of Stanley Cups there. And you don’t win those without having a good model for success. I tried to learn from those guys.”

Some of those lessons have steered him towards being a certain type of player, just don’t necessarily call him a leader.

He says he’s simply tried to be himself since joining the Kings – not a “rah-rah guy who tried to be overbearing at times.” Instead, he’s offered to be someone who guys can talk to, someone who’s there to listen and can offer a suggestion or two on how to navigate through difficult situations.

“A lot of times in this league, we think we’re a lot better than what we are and when we’re not playing well, we think we’re a lot worse than what we are,” he said. “That can be tricky. And I don’t think that experience happens overnight, you don’t learn that right away. That’s how I try to help out. So be it if people think that’s a voice or a leadership role. You don’t strive to be somebody like that. If it comes to you, then that’s flattering.”

He entered this season at the mid-point of his present situation, having signed a two-year deal with the Kings back in the summer of 2010. Still, he thinks the two halves in Los Angeles will be different, with the most difficult part behind him.

“There’s no doubt I was a player who had some risks (attached) to me coming in,” the 34-year old defenseman said. “Although I had a wrist and a knee injury last season, with the head, everything was good.”

This summer was different for him too, both on and off the ice. Last year, he wasn’t able to partake in most of the extracurricular activities he enjoys in his free time, nor was he able to work out much. This summer, not only was he able to do more, Mitchell says he probably hasn’t trained this hard in over decade.

“Outside of maybe when I was 22 or 23 years old, when you’re young and full of energy and the NHL is upon you and you’re just working out like a madman – and sometimes working out without a purpose, you’re working out so hard – this was probably the hardest summer of training I’ve had in a long time,” he admitted.

“The other part that’s just as important, I think, was that I did a lot of things I wanted to do. When you have a concussion, you can’t just go out fly fishing or go out on your boat and relax because the sun bothers you and all those things. Having a chance to get all of that out of your system makes you that much more excited for the season to start.”

That’s lead him to feel pretty confident of late – with one caveat, “Not that I’m going to run up and down the ice like a Drew Doughty. But, I’m going to have a much more consistent, better season.”

He’s not only happy about the work he put in this summer, he’s more than pleased with the changes GM Dean Lombardi made to the Kings roster.

“The organization made some great moves. Being a veteran player, that’s a place you want to be in. What goes a long way to players is when the ownership group and management goes out and brings in players like they did this year. To us, it says they believe in this group. And when you have your ownership, your management and your coaches believing in you, that says a lot. That gives you a big boost of confidence.”

He went on to say, “I absolutely enjoy it here.”

Which brings us to the future.

It’s understandable if Lombardi doesn’t want to talk contracts with any defensemen for a few months. But, if the Kings approached him at some point about signing an extension, is that something he’d be interested in?

“That stuff takes care of itself whenever it does,” he said.

Well, that’s not a very Willie Mitchell answer. All last year he was brutally honest – and insightful – when answering questions. And now he’s going to pull up easy, with a cliche?

“No, I’m dead serious with that answer,” he said when pressed harder. “I think no better experience than that for me was having my concussion and going into free agency (in 2010). I was in a similar situation than I am here. I was having an excellent season (in Vancouver) and if I got through that season, whether it’s term or dollar figures, it might have been a little bit different.

“As a player, all you can do is control the things you can control. For me, that’s going out and being the best teammate I can be for my teammates and being the best player I can be for the LA Kings. That’s what I’m going to try and do this year. If I do that, that’s going to work out quite nicely for the Kings and myself. I’ve done enough contracts after 12 years in the league. You come to know those things always work out how they’re supposed to.”

Fair enough.

There’s a long season ahead, size things up for the team.

“I’m really excited about this year and what’s ahead of us. I don’t want to get too far down the road. But, I think the number one thing for us is to win our division. I think we have a really good shot at doing that. Then, if we win our division, we get to where we want to be and that’s in the playoffs. That’s our first step and that’s our only focus right now. Once we get there, our next step is, obviously, the big prize. To have a shot at being one of 16 teams in the tournament is what it’s all about it.”

So far, so good. The Kings enter the weekend 4-1-1, with the overtime loss coming in New Jersey just over a week ago.

LA will take on the Stars tonight and then host the Devils for a rematch next Tuesday.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

RELATED ARTICLES:

Willie Mitchell on his bro-mance with Mike Richards

Mitchell on injuries, ice time and pre-season chaos

Mitchell not sure what went wrong with the Kings

Willie Mitchell has seen this all before – quotes from the 2011 playoffs

Mitchell says Kings ‘dominated’ vs. Detroit – a game LA lost 7-4

Kevin Westgarth on Willie Mitchell’s fight

the photo above appears courtesy of Ikiri Photography

Please avoid the 10 players below at all cost because of the injury risk they pose. Let another participant take a risk on them and reap the rewards of a safer pick. Players are ranked in team alphabetical order.

1. Brendan Morrison, forward, Calgary Flames Morrison had off-season surgery after suffering a knee injury late last season and isn’t expected to practice fully with the team during training camp. He will most likely need a few games to get his groove back and with the emergence of youngster Mikael Backlund, don’t expect Morrison to repeat last season’s numbers. Don’t expect the aging 36 year-old Morrison to crack the 30-point mark this season.

2. Kyle Quincey, defenseman, Colorado Avalanche After missing most of last season with a very serious shoulder injury which forced him to only 21 games, Quincey will be hard pressed to reproduce the offensive numbers he posted in 2008-09 (38 points with the Kings) and 2009-10 (29 points with the Avs). The 26 year-old rearguard will need time to regain his rhythm and will likely have a very slow offensive start. Also, the acquisition of Erik Johnson as well as the emergence of rookie Stefan Elliot will push Quincey lower on the depth chart and will reduce his playing time. Don’t expect more than 20 points from him.

3. Kristian Huselius, forward, Columbus Blue Jackets Still recuperating from a torn pectoral muscle he sustained while lifting weights, Huselius doesn’t expect to be back until early December at the latest. He also had hip surgery in the off season. Don’t expect him to play more than 40 games this season and that’s optimistic. Steer away from him.

4. Gilbert Brule, forward, Edmonton Oilers Brule was traded to the Kings for Ryan Smyth earlier this summer only to see the deal voided because Brule had not been cleared to play this season. Brule has been working with a sports psychologist in the last months to deal with his off-ice issues (family problems) and on-ice issues (concussion, lack of production). With the depth the Oilers now have at forward, Brule is most likely to odd man out and is not worth drafting in any kind of draft format. Don’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.

5. Ed Jovanovski, defenseman, Florida Panthers After signing one of the worst contracts of the summer with his former team, Jovanovski goes from a defensive-minded team to another goal-starting club. Jovocop good offensive days are long gone and his fragility was displayed last season when he only participated to 50 games, recording only 14 points. Stop living in the past and don’t on the 35 year-old veteran to play more than 65 games and record more than 25 points.

6. Andrei Markov, defenseman, Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens re-signed Markov to a three-year $17.25 M contract this summer to prevent him to hit free agency despite the fact that he only played 52 games in the past two seasons because of serious knee injuries. Markov is currently skating with the injured players at the Canadiens training camp and he will most likely not be ready to start the season. Don’t expect him to play every game, especially on back-to-back games as the Canadiens will handle him with care. Let another GM take a chance on him.

7. Travis Zajac, forward, New Jersey Devils Zajac suffered an Achilles tear doing off-season workouts in mid-August that will sideline him up two three months from the date of the injury. Now the situation is a little bit murkier and Zajac could miss more than the two months he originally was expected to miss. Other players who suffered a similar injury have missed up to six months 9suc as Justin Williams in 2008-09 who played only 12 games that year). Avoid Zajac at all cost this year.

8. Rick Dipietro, goaltender, New York Islanders The ultimate band-aid boy, Dipietro’s locker is surrounded by bubble wrap to avoid any fluke injury to happen (a la Dan Boyle). Even with all the precautionary measures, Dipietro manages to land of the disabled list of an extended period every year. The last time he played a full season is in 2007-08 during which he played 63 games. Don’t touch him with the arm of your worst enemy. Draft Nabokov instead as a 3rd string goalie.

9. David Perron, forward, St. Louis Blues After sustaining a concussion when he was checked by Joe Thornton and playing only ten games last season, Perron is still battling lingering post-concussion symptoms and will miss the start of the season. Don’t gamble on him as his return is uncertain at this point. Grab him on the waiver-wire instead should he be able to hit the ice later in 2011-12.

10. Mason Raymond, forward, Vancouver Canucks After suffering a fractured vertebrae during the Stanley Cup finals, Raymond will start the season on the injured reserve still recovering from this serious injury and will be out until at least mid-November. Raymond’s production declined (39 points) last season after scoring 53 points two years ago and with all the depth the Canucks have up front, he will be hard pressed to crack the top-six forwards when he returns, especially with the addition of Marco Sturm.

Jonas Hiller (vertigo), Peter Mueller (concussion) and Tomas Fleischmann (blood clots) are high-risk high reward players to draft carefully because of their situation. They are currently not injured, but they present a big injury risk so downgrade your expectations.

As most of you know, Marc Savard will miss the whole season with post-concussion symptoms, his professional career is most likely over.

We also know that Sidney Crosby is trying to also recover from post-concussions symptoms, so manage your expectations regarding Sid the Kid. Let a another GM waste a draft pick on him in the first few picks, but if he’s still available in the second round, he is worth the risk as 60 points of Sid the Kid will likely net you 80 points anyway.

For more news and updates on hockey and the NHL in general, follow me on Twitter.

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The draft is all about accumulating potential talent, never about selecting based on positional need at the NHL level.  In a time when fans often fall into the trap of letting the line between fantasy sports and real sports go blurry, it is important to remember that except for a few elite prospects, many of the players selected, even the high first-round picks, may not jump directly to the NHL this autumn.  It can take three, four or more years before a player hones his hockey sense to a level befitting a professional, fills out physically and refines his skills to the point where he can make a contribution on an NHL roster.

If and when defenceman Joe Morrow, the Pens’ first choice (23rd overall) last Friday, takes the ice at Consol Energy Center in October, 2014, the composition of the Pittsburgh defence corps may look markedly different than the stable group that will skate into the 2011-12 season.  Injuries and trades always lead to unexpected outcomes, thus Pittsburgh took players, irrespective of position that they simply liked for their potential at becoming a solid future NHL player and to resolidify their pool of blue line talent.

Minutes after drafting Morrow, Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero spoke briefly with NHL Network reiterating the importance of having defencemen in all situations.  ”We didn’t want to pass him up even though he’s a defenceman. A lot of people think the Penguins use their forwards, their wingers in particular but I think we’ve found out that in time, defencemen are great assets and you can move them if you have to because everybody can use good defencemen or like centre ice-men, you can never have enough of them.”

Morrow, 18, played his best hockey this season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) playoffs.  He suited up for all 21 Portland Winterhawks’ post-season contests helping his club reach the WHL Final where they bowed out to the Kootenay Ice.  Morrow topped all WHL defencemen with 6 goals and finished second with 20 points in the playoffs.  In each of his three major junior seasons, he has improved his point production and this year, led all Portland defencemen with 49 points.

“Joe is a really good skater; he’s got a great shot and can play a physical game.  He really gets up and down the ice and his skating and shooting and his impact strength are three real assets for him,” Shero continued.  “He’s going to go to the Canadian [World Junior] Selection Camp this summer and that’s a step in the right direction for his career.”

It is not surprising that Morrow scored well at the comprehensive fitness testing during the NHL Scouting Combine earlier in June.  He was the top-rated prospect at right-hand grip strength and the peak leg power output test while placing second in the vertical leap.

The next stop for Morrow will likely be the Penguins’ prospect camp next month where he and other Pittsburgh draftees from this and past years will begin or continue the challenging but exciting path on the road to becoming an NHL player.

Whether Burke decides to import two first-round prospects to the Toronto Maple Leafs or package them, along with other assets, for that elusive number-one center is a win-win situation considering the team’s needs. But if the bombastic Leafs GM is true to his word, there’s a significant chance he actively pursues that number-one pivot his club so desperately requires. Burke made it clear that such a trade would not occur on the draft floor and it would have to be worked out in the days leading up to June 24. Well, considering he had said there’s “several lines in the water” regarding potential trades, it’s logical to assume this Friday would be a prime time to pull the trigger. Not only would this elevate the Leafs as a serious playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, but it would increase its allure for any potential unrestricted free agents on July 1—and the Leafs would still require a puck-moving defenseman and bottom-six forward.

While a trade could occur at any time in the off-season, Burke doesn’t have the luxury of gambling should a team move its trading chip to another club or pull any deals from the table. While there has been much speculation surrounding Brad Richards’ potential destination on July 1, Steve Simmonds is reporting the Leafs are not one of them. Now, take this report with a grain of salt, as it is the only one of its kind and is based solely from hearsay. Then again, Simmonds is a respected journalist among the Toronto Sports Media, so whether you believe the article is entirely up to you.

All this leads to the potential centers Burke may target on Friday in Minnesota. And one that has been linked to the Leafs in the rumour mill is the 25-year-old, Paul Stastny. The Colorado Avalanche were supposedly shopping the $6.6-million center at the trade deadline, but the team quickly denied the reports. Well, surprise, surprise, Stastny has re-entered the ol’ rumour mill and none other than Howard Berger has confirmed that, once again, the Avalache are willing to trade its number-one pivot to make room for the blossoming Matt Duchene.

If this is indeed accurate, one must naturally assume that Burke will engage in trade negotiations with the Avalache. Hockey forums are aflame with trade possibilities, and almost all of them include the Leafs’ top prospect, Nazem Kadri. Unfortunately, the Leafs would likely have to relinquish Kadri if they were to realistically acquire Stastny. While such a trade makes just about any Leafs fan uncomfortable, it actually makes sense when you consider that Stastny hasn’t even reached his prime and has already established himself as a 70-point player. While Kadri could reach that plateau and even contribute more to the ice, he is unproven. And the Leafs, under Burke’s current blueprint, require proven players to fast-track the Leafs to respectability. Considering the team’s lack of depth up the middle, Kadri may be the sacrificial lamb to finally acquire an elite centerman.

Normally, the idea of trading away Kadri on a team that is just now adding depth to the prospect cupboard would seem absurd. And perhaps it is. But considering the circumstances, acquiring a number-one center now, as opposed to years down the line when (and if) Kadri is ready, could elevate the Leafs to new heights. Not only would Phil Kessel have the number-one center to reach his goal-scoring potential, but the powerplay would improve and the addition of such a player would add new dimensions on offense, which as a result could give some breathing room for a defenseman such as, say, Dion Phaneuf—who’s dying for another 15+ goal season. Now, what else is included in a deal to land Stastny is up for debate (Gunnarsson and draft picks?) but it seems near impossible for Kadri not to be the focal point for the Avalanche.

If the Avalanche are indeed willing to part with Stastny, though, expect Burke to make a serious pitch for the number-one center.

Is it Friday yet?

ronguillet@gmail.com

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The problem, however, is that those options would not improve the Leafs up the middle, but rather on defense and bottom-six positions. And if Burke is set on acquiring a number-one center to finally ail the Leafs’ most glaring need, he will likely have to go the trade route or send an offer sheet to a restricted free agent—an unlikely scenario considering Burke’s stance on the tactic. While there are other centers available in free agency, the most prominent names include Michael Nylander, Tim Connolly, Jason Arnott, Michal Handzus and Brooks Laich. The most enticing center available, both in terms of offensive potential and age, would have to be Laich.

Laich, 27, had an underwhelming season, dropping from the 20-goal, 50-point plateau he established himself at the two previous seasons— it should be noted that all of the Washington Capitals’ top pointers suffered a drop in production with the implementation of a defensive strategy, rather than the run ‘n gun strategy they were previously (in)famous for. He did manage to rank second among Washington forwards in blocked shots (54), fifth in hits (113) and finished with a 51.3 faceoff percentage. While none of these statistics are particularly overwhelming, he is no doubt a valuable commodity as a secondary scorer. But therein lies the problem. The Leafs have an abundance of secondary scorers that cannot adequately fill the role as a first-line forward for a full season. Adding a center of Laich’s caliber would bolster the Leafs’ depth up the middle, but the lack of an elite centerman would, once again, cost the Leafs precious points in the standings. It is due to this fact that Burke will no doubt explore other avenues if he wishes to remedy his team’s biggest woe. Otherwise, the Leafs will continue to spin its tires in the post-Sundin era.

While there are a number of intriguing free agent forwards—Tomas Fleischmann, Ville Leino, Simon Gagne, Erik Cole, Radim Vrbata, Michael Ryder and Jussi Jokinen among the list— players of such caliber shouldn’t be viewed as a necessity for the Leafs. With the likes of Clarke MacArthur (assuming he re-signs), Nikolai Kulemin, Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri and potentially Matt Frattin on the Leafs’ forward ranks, Burke should focus on acquiring more crucial needs.

With all that said, if Richards decides to sign with another team on July 1—assuming it doesn’t take him weeks to decide—expect Burke to actively pursue a center through trade. Who that might be is anyone’s guess—Jeff Carter and Paul Stastny have been linked to the Leafs before. And if Burke is offered a deal to acquire a number-one center at the NHL Entry Draft on Friday, does he pull the trigger and avoid the risk of losing all his options? Only time will tell, but the next couple weeks will be defining for the Leafs and Burke.

Considering the circumstances, if I was a betting man, I’d put my money on Burke offering Richards a lucrative long-term deal. If the Leafs are that desperate to acquire a number-one center, it is logical to absorb a large amount of money towards the cap as opposed to relinquishing an already limited amount of internal assets.

Bring on the Draft.

ronguillet@gmail.com

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Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi paid a steep price on Monday to acquire the player he needed.

Or did he?

In Dustin Penner he got a 29-year old left wing who’s under contract for one more year and brings plenty of size, at 6’4″ 250 lbs.

The deal was Penner for Colten Teubert (a former first round pick), the Kings 2011 first round pick and a 2012 third round pick this year, based on LA’s playoff performance (it will upgrade to a second rounder if the Kings win the Stanley Cup this season).

Teubert was originally selected 13th overall in 2008 after the Kings made multiple deals to end up with the pick, including moving Mike Cammalleri to Calgary.

Below are 10 Points on Penner – news, facts and random items to help you get to know the newest Kings forward…

* Penner is a former Duck, who now becomes one of the few former Anaheim players to ever end up wearing a Kings jersey. He left there under some rather controversial circumstances though when the Oilers signed him to a five-year, $21-million offer sheet (something most GMs have been unwilling to do). In fact, it created quite a war of words between the Ducks and Oilers.

* He’ll be another former college player in the Kings locker room, having played at the University of Maine. They’re already near the top of the league in this category – with guys like Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, etc. having all played NCAA hockey.

* In 2004 Penner and Maine went to the NCAA Championship game vs. Denver. In the semis they beat a Boston College team that included current King Peter Harrold and former King Brian Boyle.

* A few years later, the big left winger won a Stanley Cup in what was officially his rookie season with the Ducks – even though he had played 19 NHL games the season before. Per NHL rules “To be considered a rookie, a player must not have played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons.”

* He wore #17 in Anaheim and #27 in Edmonton. Obviously, those numbers are taken by Wayne Simmonds and Alexei Ponikarovsky.  If he goes with #37 in LA, he’ll become the 11th Kings player with that number – joining a list that includes former Duck Kip Brennan, former Oiler Denis Grebeshkov and fellow Maine Black Bear alum Patrice Tardif, who was part of the deal that saw Wayne Gretzky leave LA for St. Louis.  [update: he'll wear #25 - his college number - in his debut for the Kings on Thursday night]

* Over the last four plus seasons he’s only missed four games.

* Last year he played in all 82 games and scored a career high 32 goals and 31 assists.

* Away from the rink, his significant other is a Montreal-born actress who recently has been living in LA.

* He’s expected to play on the top line with Anze Kopitar. He also was teammates with Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene from the 2007-08 season in Edmonton.

* Penner says he was playing ping pong at the time of the trade. And he’s glad it went down went it did because he was about to lose $50 to Shawn Horcoff.

The most positive aspect of the deal?  The Kings didn’t have to give up any players on the current roster – namely Wayne Simmonds.

Penner needs to produce though to make the hefty price not seem so bad.

For now, it seems it a bit rich.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Kings Kids Are All Right – Or Are They?

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Drew Doughty is Odd Man Out in LA

Chris Botta and Brian Compton have been doing a great job with the SNY pieces. The Isles casting off of their once paid blogger has turned into a boon as he’s stepped into a more video centric role that has him focusing on the Isles without fear of reprisals from the overly sensitive if/not completely paranoid (and sometimes childish) proponents within the organization. Whether you like his blog, or not, the video pieces have been a must for any Isles fan in the dirge of lacking coverage or the automatons who the Isles brass now hire or muzzle.

A fine example of the SNY videos is the Islanders Interactive, where they field queries from fans.

However, I will publicly disagree with both of their assessment that Snow should trade the 1st round pick if it drops beyond top 4.

Per NHL source, the chance of the Islanders dealing their 1st round pick, whether top 4 or not in the top 4, is “not likely”. The Islanders prospect gauging process has been in gear all season, and per that source, there are “elite” (meaning top 6 forwards and top 4 dmen) prospects in this draft….not just in the top 4.

No one pick will turn around the Isles system and team. The idea of a rebuild is that the conglomeration of picks together developing will turn it around and then add to it. So, within that framework, which we have seen for the last few years, it will be likely held onto…used to key into a type of player that fits that mold.

Source: “It’s silly talk to get fans to think of Milbury. Rebuild process is slow, but it’s the only way.”

Trading up and down is always a possibility but the chance of the of the Isles to trade out of the 1st round is simply not going to happen. Isles are not going to swing a deal for the Kessel’s of the world. How did that trade work out? That has been a red stamp on the process of trading out of 1st rounds for “established” players. Not to mention, elite players within draft trades will cost the 1st round pick, de Haan and more. Isles will never do that.

This is not a team just one player away from competing.

There is a boon of prospects in the Isles system. You can be assured they plan on adding in others. In fact, if you look at the Isles and the prospects in their system, and now Moulson signed to a three year deal… is there really room for a Rob Schremp in the next season or two?
Any addition will be a laser-like pick to add to the mix, whether he develops before the lease or up or not. A draft strategy is to get the best player available that can make the NHL jump, not to worry about when they will develop.

If you look at the last few top picks in the draft, they have honed in with laser-like precision on definitive players. They have never dropped out of the top round of the draft for a reason. If you look at any draft year, the majority of top players occur in the beginning rounds. They trail off incredibly after that 1st, 2nd and certainly the 3rd round.

The Isles, much less any other team, with the salary cap and CBA in place, cannot afford to miss NHL-level players in drafts near the start. It is a crucial importance to retain and choose wisely. Trading out of the top rounds is taking that probability and dividing it into fragments. Not wise, nor fits the Isles established system.

Of course, you never know the offers you might get. Some GM might be a lunatic. But probability rules here. In other words, it likely won’t happen. Isles will hold onto the 1st pick and might do their little draft day shimmy to move back for a player a few spots…or maybe even move up.

But that’s it.

PS: Isles are 29th out of 30 at this juncture.

For the past few years there has been a couple of healthy trends in the hockey world; trade rumors and of course anything Canadian.

TSN, CBC or any of the major players in the hockey coverage world brought in their own ‘insiders’, they increased coverage on the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, or any other Canadian team. TSN the main to capitalize on these trends benefited the most; they grew exponentially over the past few years and now are one of the largest sports media outlets in the world.

Today I wanted to discuss the latest and most interesting trend that is starting to appear; it’s cool to hate on the Leafs.

The idea of an All-Star Fantasy Draft was a unique one. It was new and it added some hype to the event. A lot of writers will tell you it was overhyped by TSN, as is most important days in the hockey season.

But the thing that was ‘overhyped’ was the draft’s last pick. So much effort was put into  “What is going to happen to the person picked last?!?!” It got to a point that when Toronto’s Phil Kessel was Mr. Irrelevant, the fans immediately had a field day, laughing hysterically at the misfortune. Following suit, the folks over at TSN  began analyzing the fact the Brian Burke’s star acquisition was considered the worst of all the all-stars.

The fact remains, Kessel was an all-star. Not to mention the fact that every player picked before him save a few were picked because they were ‘buds’ with the captain. To quote the line said before every pick “This next pick, he’s my boy _______(enter players name).” That line became a cliché by draft’s end.

The reason why Kessel was ostracized and the fact that he was the last pick was emphasized was simply because of the newest trend emerging in the media business world is: fans love to hate the Leafs. Write an article about how the Leafs lost the last seven out of their twelve contests see how many more views it gets than saying the Leafs won the last seven out of twelve.

Secondly, and lastly I’d like to mention the NHL player polls. To state for the record, I love the player polls. It gives the average fan a chance to see what the players think about common questions fans answer on a day to day basis. As a result of this poll, Leafs coach Ron Wilson, was voted the coach whom the players would least want to play for.

It’s not the biggest deal, however. Players who don’t want to play for him could mean so much more than “Wilson is a bad coach.” Maybe players don’t want to play for him because he demands a lot out of his team or because he coaches a team with a losing record.

But, lo and behold articles after articles hit the web, especially out of the main media outlets, about how players thought Wilson is terrible, and the worst coach in the league. Proving yet again, the media is starting to capitalize on the Leafs hate trend.

What does this all mean? Absolutely nothing. I decided today to try and enlighten a few fans on subjects they don’t normally think about. Maybe it’ll even deter a few people from watching TSN for more than just the games. Personally I don’t care. I simply just don’t like media outlets blowing stories out of the water for the purpose of a reader increase. I instead like to call them out for it. Believe me or not, look at the evidence and judge for yourself.

Demand more out of your media. Demand hard hitting articles that truly capture your interest like they use to.

Matt Reed
Writer for The Reed Review, The Checking Line, Hockey Independent and Inside Hockey
http://twitter.com/NHLMattReed

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Thus this newest incarnation of All Star Game formats – pitting “Team Lidstrom” versus “Team Staal” based on a live Fantasy-style Draft – didn’t really excite me until yesterday night.  Part of the reason is that All Star Games in all sports are really about cheering for one’s favourite home team players in an essentially non-competitive pick-up contest.  Thanks to injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ quartet of 2011 All Stars has been cut in half, leaving first-timers Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury.  Yes, I’ll be cheering when Letang and Fleury make good plays tomorrow, but in an exhibition where offence is the only thing that matters, Pens’ fans will find a general lack of opportunities to cheer for their All Star representatives.

However, the flames of excitement burned within once more when Eric Staal, captain of the host Carolina Hurricanes and Team Staal, stepped to the microphone to announce the first overall pick last evening.  Having played Fantasy Baseball for eight straight seasons last decade, the concept of alternating picks to fill out a roster suddenly set off a Pavlovian response inside me.  (Shameless self-gloating: In my two final seasons of Rotisserie Baseball, I won back-to-back championships, then promptly retired thus producing an answer to the question: What do Mario Lemieux and I have in common?  We both retired at the top of our game at age 31, with back-to-back scoring titles).

Thankfully, Jana Kimmel was a good sport and participated in a Fantasy All Star Draft with me this morning and we will keep score tomorrow afternoon (+1 for each goal or assist by our skaters; -1 for each goal against by our goalies) to “play for all the marbles” as she aptly stated.

Back in the “real” Fantasy world, what is there to say about the real Team Staal and the real Team Lidstrom (click for full rosters)?  Right off the bat, Staal set the tone by placating the home crowd with his “nothing’s fina’ than Carolina” first overall pick: teammate Cam Ward.  Like the savvy veteran that he is, Lidstrom made a fairly easy and wise choice with his top selection, choosing this season’s top scorer, 38-goal man Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, instantly creating 2/3 of a potent line since Lightning forward Martin St. Louis was already selected as a pre-draft alternate captain on Team Lidstrom.

GOALTENDERS: Lidstrom was shrewd at drafting his goalies.  Routinely, the All Star Game becomes a blowout and hapless netminders turn to fish out pucks from their own cage seemingly every other minute.  Two of the last four All Star Games were among the highest-scoring ever.  With Tim Thomas (1st in save percentage), Jonas Hiller (5th) and Fleury (6th), Team Lidstrom might be able to keep goals allowed at more respectable levels than Team Staal’s Henrik Lundqvist (8th), Cam Ward (11th) and Carey Price (13th).

DEFENCE: Lidstrom secured two cannons from the point by the seventh round acquiring Shea Weber with his fourth selection and playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien with pick #7.  His blueliners also include himself, Duncan Keith, Keith Yandle and Brent Burns.  Staal snared the undisputed hardest shot champion Zdeno Chara along with Mike Green (an alternate captain), Dan Boyle, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and brother Marc Staal.

The edge goes to Lidstrom’s defensive corps.  The Detroit captain did his homework, choosing four of the top six goal scorers from the blue line (himself, Byfuglien, Burns and Weber) and Burns is one of the most accurate shooters this year, finding the back of the net on one-sixth of his shots.  Staal chose young, talented, puck-moving defenders like Letang, Karlsson and Staal but they are a bit green compared to Lidstrom’s sextet.  Snagging Keith Yandle was just overkill.

FORWARDS: When it comes to assessing All Star forwards, it is wise to be brief simply because the talent level on both squads tends to be very high and very equal.  As well, as the saying goes, anything can happen in one game.  For the record, Lidstrom’s dozen has scored 231 goals this season while the twelve forwards on Team Staal have netted 255 goals.  Staal drafted snipers and has the advantage on pure goal-scoring ability, placing six of the top ten goal scorers on his team (to just two for Team Lidstrom).  No doubt Team Staal’s Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin, both 27-goal scorers, will line up frequently together and look to earn Vancouver bragging rights against playmaking centre Henrik Sedin.

Perhaps Lidstrom can take advantage of pre-existing chemistry as well by pairing teammates on the same lines (e.g. Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Stamkos and St. Louis) to counteract Staal’s firepower.

FEARLESS PREDICTION: Team Lidstrom 10, Team Staal 7. MVP: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles.

One last word: Can you tell Canadians and TSN love hockey?  Did you know the sun rises in the east?  Did you know water is wet?  I just can’t get over how much coverage TSN dedicated to the Fantasy Draft.  On its website alone, there are fifteen different video segments related to last night’s events that can be viewed with in-depth analysis.  Remember, that is fifteen videos about the Draft only.  The Skills Competition and All Star Game are yet to come and hockey’s annual showcase of its best players will continue to be covered exhaustively all weekend.

And no true hockey fan will mind one bit.

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Jana had first overall selection and chose All Stars for Team Staal.  PenguinsMarch picked players for Team Lidstrom.

We stuck with the NHL format for the first three members of each team.  That is, the captains and two alternates were predetermined before we started alternating picks.  Jana and I also agreed on a simple scoring system to create a vested interest in the All Star Game: 1 point will be given for each goal or assist scored by a player. 1 point will be taken away for each goal given up by a goalie.  If we tally up our fantasy points and end up in a tie, the tiebreaker will be the number of combined goals scored by the two real NHL All Star Teams tomorrow afternoon.

Jana predicts 9 goals in total; I’m going with 17.

The first table shows our final rosters.  The round and overall draft position are shown in brackets after each player’s name.  The second table shows our picks in order with some brief commentary.

Below, the draft in round-by-round order with micro-analysis (and some cries of agony).

Proving our Fantasy imitates last night’s Fantasy which imitates reality, it is no surprise that Kessel and by extension, the Maple Leafs bring up the rear.  I can already see it coming.  Third period, Kessel’s team down by a goal tomorrow.  Jana leads me by 1 point.  Kessel gets a breakaway with five seconds left; he totally dekes the goalie but as he shoots, a visiting Toronto fan throws a waffle at the crease, knocking the puck off his stick.  The horn sounds.  Kessel fails.  Team Adrian Lidstrom loses.

All Star Games in every sport have become boring.

We all know it.

If the game is in your city, it’s a great experience – as it was here in Los Angeles in 2002…a weekend filled with legends of the game everywhere, the fan fest, a skills competition, etc.

However, the game itself isn’t much to get pumped for unless you’re there live. Even the honor of being selected to play doesn’t seem to mean what it once did, with more and more athletes finding reasons to have a mini-vacation instead of attending the event with their peers.

Major League Baseball attempted to give theirs a little umph a few years ago by affixing a meaningful prize to the winning league – home field advantage in the playoffs. Sounds great on the surface, but it’s hard for fans to invest emotionally in July for an outcome that may or may not mean something to their team three months later. Not to mention the nonsensical correlation between a team gaining such a critical advantage for a championship series by an All Star team victory.

This year the NHL takes its turn at trying to spice things up a bit and I love what they’ve done.

The game will probably be the same, perhaps only slightly better.

However, there is much more intrigue leading up to tonight than in any All Star Game of recent memory.

At 5pm PST the All Star Draft will get underway on live TV. If you haven’t heard, gone is the Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference format. Instead, each team has been assigned a captain (Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes) and three assistants. All other players have been put in a general pool and one by one they’ll be selected to their teams, just like kids on a school yard or frozen pond.

With that in mind, I sat down with a few Kings players to do a mock draft before they all went their separate ways this weekend.  First up, defenseman Drew Doughty.

To keep things simple, we each took one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards. We also removed Anze Kopitar from the list since they’re teammates.

Here were the candidates:

GOALIES

M. Fleury (PIT), J. Hiller (ANA), H. Lundqvist (NYR), C. Price (MTL), T. Thomas (BOS), C. Ward (CAR)

DEFENSEMAN

D. Byfuglien (ATL), B. Burns (MIN), T. Enstrom (ATL), M. Green (WSH), E. Karlsson (OTT), D. Keith (CHI), N. Lidstrom (DET), K. Letang (PIT), M. Staal (NYR), S. Weber (NSH)

FORWARDS

D. Backes (STL), S. Crosby (PIT), M. Duchene (COL), P. Elias (NJD), L. Eriksson (DAL), C. Giroux (PHI), A. Hemsky (EDM), P. Kane (CHI), R. Kesler (VAN), E. Malkin (PIT), R. Nash (CBJ), C. Perry (ANA), H. Sedin (VAN), D. Sedin (VAN), P. Sharp (CHI), E. Staal (CAR), S. Stamkos (TBL), M. St. Louis (TBL) and P. Kessel (TOR)

Doughty picked first, then we alternated selections. The teams below are shown in the order taken…

Disagree with those players? What would you have done?

To see the results of mock drafts with Matt Greene and Anze Kopitar simply click here.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Terry Murray’s Plans for This Weekend – how to improve the Kings for the second half

What The Others Are Doing – Smyth, Johnson, Clifford, etc. on the break

Shane Doan would pick Kopitar at All Star Draft

Jonathan Quick Isn’t an All Star? – why 37 is the target for Quick and the Kings

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twitter.com/PenguinsMarchHockey Independent on Facebook

This will be the 16th annual Top Prospects Game, an event which allows stars of the CHL’s three circuits: the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, to show their skills in a nationally-televised setting before potentially being selected by an NHL club in the June draft.  Forty players were selected by the 30 NHL general managers and NHL Central Scouting four weeks ago and divided into two rosters.  Popular Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry will be behind the bench for Team Cherry while all-time Maple Leafs’ fan favourite Doug Gilmour will coach Team Orr.

Cherry’s squad will be captained by Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL.  Couturier was the “Q” scoring champion last season and was the youngest member of the silver medal-winning 2011 Canadian World U20 Junior Championship team.  Last Monday, Central Scouting rated Couturier #2 among North American skaters in its mid-term rankings.  Team Orr will be captained by 17-year old centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.  He won WHL rookie of the year honours last season after scoring 65 points in 67 games.  This season, he has raised the bar higher with 56 points in 43 games and was one of the final cuts from Team Canada’s World Junior Team Selection Camp in December.

The Central Scouting top-ranked skater, Kitchener Rangers’ forward Gabriel Landeskog, was originally named to Team Cherry but will not appear due to a high-ankle sprain he suffered during the World Junior Championship last month when he played for Sweden.  Despite being shelved, Landeskog still leads Kitchener in goals with 25 in 32 games.  If he ends up being drafted first overall this June, he would be the first Swedish-born player to be taken with the first pick since Mats Sundin by Quebec in 1989.

On Tuesday, the Skills Competition will feature Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Shooting Accuracy and Showdown Breakway Contests.  The evening will conclude with a 3-on-3 game played in two 15-minute periods.  On Wednesday, the Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game will start at 7 pm EST, televised across Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS.

John Tavares, Tyler Myers, Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Patrick Kane and Jordan Staal are just six of the many Top Prospects Game alumni who have gone on to become prominent NHL players.

What he describes is the vast difference of building through drafts, as opposed to what Toronto has done when though they took Schenn and Kadri, they gave away what would have been Tyler Seguin and next drafts pick as well.

You can bet those of the braintrust on Long Island are noting that difference. It is what is commitment to a rebuild through drafts as opposed to what usually many times does not work: player swapping for the win-now.

As some Isles fans have gnawed at the bit, the Maple Leafs situation is a strong reminder to why the Isles take the long but they feel sure route here. Shortcuts, inherently by probability, do not usually work. Players who are available are usually…expendable for a reason or not quite to the proper template/chemistry schema.

Will Kessel, who has an upside and downside be the difference maker on Toronto? Clearly the standings and stats say no at this juncture.

Toronto has limited options on who to surround him with, and as a player like Seguin seems to develop quickly on Boston, you have a sobering reminder of staying the course…for the standings might have looked the same without Kessel anyway.

But in few years a stable of Seguin, Kadri, and Schenn could have been cornerstones…not to mention this coming draft year as well. A draft that is erroneously marked as a “weak draft”.

According to a NHL source this is not the case.

“People need to stop expecting Crosby and Ovechkin.”

Evidently there is considered to be elite top line and pairing players in this draft even if there is no wunderkinds to make more hype to those who look for the next big thing.

A draft is about the eligible new crop of potential NHL players, not the next big star.

The point is, succumbing to the win now philosophy and pressure goes against the slow yet surer solution of a patient rebuild. If you trust your scouting, measuring and analysis, you can find those cornerstones to turn a organization around.

Not a guarantee, yet nothing is. One only has to look at last years Stanley Cup champs however to remind ourselves how the long route can pay off. Blackhawks didn’t start spending until they had sealed up their core.

The Isles very likely watch with a keen eye what transpires in Toronto. It is proof positive of why they do what they do and the path they took. Of course, we will have to measure in a few more years, but there are some interesting notes and observations to be taken even already.

Having met and interviewed Seguin at the Draft in LA, I’d have never traded away that pick of #2. But hindsight is 20-20, and the move to get Kessel seems a lot about succumbing to fan pressures over the best practices policy for an organization who needs and deserves to be turned around.

A draft and scouting program that is geared to find those NHL potential players has become key in the new NHL that has a salary cap and very little room for error. It has become almost a necessity to get max value for your picks. And becomes necessary, unless poised for a cup run, to retain those picks at all costs.

This is why the Isles will never trade their top picks in this coming draft and have not bowed to the pressure even in the slide on the ice. Any vets come with draft pick or prospect costs. Something they are absolutely unwilling to pay out.

The Isles own vets for picks and prospects is another story altogether, as we have seen them gain picks and more. As other teams deal away picks, they are a commodity for the Isles who are convinced and committed to this route even if the time is has taken, especially in lieu of venue and history factors have made the fanbase less than patient.

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Kuhnhackl, 18, was drafted in 2010 by the Penguins in the fourth round, 110th overall and is playing his first season with the two-time defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.  He is fourth on the team in scoring with 33 points and 17 goals.  Després, 19, was taken by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2009 draft, 30th overall and is completing his fourth and final year with Saint John of the QMJHL.  His solid play on the blue line is a reason why the Sea Dogs (29-4-2) are the top-ranked team in the CHL.  Després leads all QMJHL defencemen in points per game.

After Canada defeated Sweden 4-1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto last Tuesday evening in a pre-tournament exhibition game, Hockey Independent had a chance to speak with Després.

HI: What have you thought so far about your two games here at the World Juniors?

It’s unbelievable.  I’ve enjoyed the experience.  We have a very good team and we try to progress every day.

HI: You’ve competed in international tournaments before.  You were at the Under-18 summer tournament.  Do you find that the pace of this is just the same as other international tournaments or is it an adjustment getting to that level?

It’s a little adjustment.  I mean, the transition game of the Europeans is very different than our style.  You’ve just got to adjust to it and play inside the dots and play your positions well.

HI: Has [Canadian World Junior Team Head] Coach [Dave] Cameron talked to you about a specific role that he wants you to have?  I know you’re more of an offensive-minded defenceman in Saint John, but what role does he see you having once the games begin?

He wants me in more of a defensive role.  He wants me to play good defence.  He wants me to move ahead of the puck, play physical and use my big body.

HI: Back in September when you were at the Penguins’ camp, you were probably one of the last players to be cut.  What was that experience like, playing with world-class players like Crosby, Malkin and Letang?  What advice did they give you before you headed out to Saint John?

They told me, before I left, to keep working on my good habits.  Try not to get into bad habits in practice and just try to get better every day and come back at camp stronger next year.

HI: Was that the same thing [head coach] Dan Bylsma and [GM] Ray Shero might have told you?

Yeah, well it was longer than that but they told me to keep working on my game and play the same way as I played in Pittsburgh.  It’s hard to do it in Saint John but I try to work on that and I still play like that – good stick on puck, good body positioning.

The editor of Prospects Hockey magazine joined me in the mixed zone and asked Després some additional questions.

PH: How many exhibition games did you play [in Pittsburgh]?

I played in four exhibition games.

PH: We’ve seen 19-year olds come back, high draft picks … It’s tough to say if they struggle, but it can be a letdown coming back.  What was it like to go back and play in junior?

The first week was really rough.  I was down, but then I just practiced with my friends who went to the (QMJHL) Finals last year and I’m trying to enjoy as much as I can, the last year of junior, because junior is not the same as the NHL.  It’s a lot different: guys have families and stuff, so I just try to enjoy it as much as I can.

PH: How would you compare the Saint John team this year to last year?

I think it’s similar, very similar.  I think that we’ve got a lot of depth.  We can roll four lines and we’re able to produce a lot of offence and our young guys stepped up [in the place of Nick] Petersen and [Mike] Hoffman, who produced a lot of goals last year.

PH: What did you know about this guy (pointing to Sean Couturier of Drummondville) growing up?

Actually, I’ve played against him twice a year so I haven’t played against him a whole bunch.  Actually, this was the first summer that I met him.

The last time the Kings went looking for help on the left side it took almost the whole summer to figure out that Ilya Kovalchuk would be staying in New Jersey.

Fortunately, this time around, it only took around 10 days to officially announce Marco Sturm had been traded to Los Angeles.

While it may still be another week or so until he sees game action (more on that in a minute), now’s as good a time as any to get to know the newest King.

We’ll get you started with 10 Tidbits on Marco Sturm…

1. He was born in Dingolfing, Germany – home of the world’s largest BMW plant.  Several other German players have made the NHL too, most were goaltenders (Olaf Kolzig being the most famous) or are currently playing for the Nashville Predators (Marcel Goc and Alexander Sulzer).

2. Sturm will be the second German born player to wear a Kings jersey. Randy Gilhen was the first back in 1991-92 when he sported #15 for 33 games.

3. He shares his September 8th birthday with Kings legend Rogie Vachon, former Kings forward Teddy Purcell and one of the most exciting players from last year’s NHL draft class, Nino Niederreiter (NY Islanders).

4. Late Sunday night we reported Sturm had been assigned jersey #10 by the Kings, a curious move as (a) it is/was Brayden Schenn’s number and (b) Sturm has no previous ties to the number. He wore #19 for the Sharks and #16 most recently for Boston.  No word yet on why or how that number was chosen.

5. One of the most important things Kings GM Dean Lombardi has said about the trade is “His contract doesn’t take us out of pursuing other things near the trade deadline.” Meaning, relax everybody, this isn’t THE deal. It’s a low risk, potentially high reward trade that adds some depth. They’re still looking for a legitimate top-six forward. Just remember, over the half league is too – it’s tough.

6. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was adamant via numerous tweets that Sturm was happy about the trade and wanted to play for the Los Angeles Kings. And why not? This is something coach Terry Murray has talked about lately, thinking players would be out of their mind to not want to play in such a great city, with great fans and world class facilities.  Ryan Smyth waived his no-trade clause to join the Kings, as did Sturm.  Rob Scuderi and Willie Mitchell signed as free agents.  Perhaps others are starting to notice.

7. Sturm scored the overtime game winner at the 2010 Winter Classic played inside historic Fenway Park (video here).

8. In an ironic twist to the entire saga of the last few weeks, the trade (and subsequent passing of his physical) allowed Sturm to complete an interesting circle. He was drafted by then-Sharks GM Dean Lombardi at the 1996 NHL Draft in St. Louis…the same city he joined the Kings in for his first official practice Wesnesday. More on that aspect of the story can be found here.

9. As everybody knows by now, the delay in completing the trade with Boston had to do with the health of his knee. Specifically, his right knee, which incurred a torn ACL and MCL during last year’s playoffs (video here). The injury happened during his first shift in game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Just a year earlier he had missed significant time after tearing the ACL and meniscus in his left knee. Both situations appear to be somewhat behind him.  Yesterday afternoon he passed a strenuous round of tests in Los Angeles and the trade was official. His first game as a King could be as early as next week, perhaps the home game vs. Edmonton on Thursday.

10. Stat Check – Sturm has 466 points (234g, 232a) in 855 regular season games. In 52 playoff games he’s posted 19 points (8g, 11a). He’s been a plus player in 10 of his 12 seasons and scored over 20 goals seven times. Further, in 302 games with the Bruins he had 193 points (106g, 87a) – giving him a .64 points-per-game ratio, 16% higher than his career average. So, he’s been productive over the last few years.

General wisdom suggests that it usually takes a player coming off major knee surgery about a full season to recover to their previous levels of performance.  There have been numerous examples of this around the NHL, including Michal Handzus with the Kings.  However, it should be pointed out that Sturm had 22 goals, 15 assists and was a plus-15 last season (on an offensively starved Bruins team, their 206 team goals were the lowest among all 16 playoff teams)…all while coming off the above mentioned knee surgery the prior year.

Exactly where he’ll play with the Kings – first line? second line? – is still to be determined. However, he should be able to provide some solid depth at left wing.  If he’s able to increase his point production down the stretch this season, this could be a steal for Lombardi.

If not, it cost the team nothing. It’s a no-brainer move.

And besides, go back to point one. The Kings aren’t done shopping.

Their big gift just won’t be waiting under the tree this year. Instead, it’s most likely coming at the Trade Deadline near the end of February.

The Mayor
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The Mayor appears courtesy of MayorsManor.com, where you can find news, interviews and inside information on the LA Kings.   Follow the Mayor at www.twitter.com/Mayor119.  Here are a few related articles you may enjoy…

Marco Sturm:  Five Points on the LA-Boston Trade

Sturm Completes the St. Louis Circle

How the Sturm Trade Affects Schenn

Welcome to LA – 10 Tidbits on Willie Mitchell

Welcome to LA – 10 Tidbits on Alexei Ponikarovsky

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Everybody has that friend or family member who just always seems to find drama. No matter what they do, every time they seem to turn the corner, there’s another perplexing situation sitting there waiting for them.

Brayden Schenn may be that guy for the LA Kings.

Simply take a stroll through his 18-month relationship with the Kings to get a taste of what I’m talking about.

The Draft… It probably all started right from the official beginning at the 2009 NHL Draft. Toronto GM Brian Burke was openly lobbying all teams to make a deal with him. The Leafs already had Luke Schenn and were desperate to add his little brother too. Instead, Kings GM Dean Lombardi took Brayden with the fifth overall pick and a picture (now somewhat infamous) of an extremely irritated Burke instantly started circulating online.

The Game… Within a few weeks most had forgotten all about Schenn, he was still years away. The organization and their fans became focused on acquiring the players necessary to return to the playoffs. However, to the surprise of nearly everybody, the Kings thrust his name back into the current consciousness just 26 games into the following season when they signed him to a one-day contract. He went from playing for Team Canada in the Super Series (a top junior hockey tournament) to suiting up for LA against the Vancouver Canucks. For one day. In, out and gone back to the Brandon Wheat Kings.

The Knee… Over the past summer, some were saying he had a strong chance to make the Kings this year (a notion I disagreed with many times here on MayorsManor, as there just wasn’t room for another center without a trade). Then, on the eve of Rookie Camp opening word got out that he had sustained a knee injury while training in Canada. Speculation starting running rampant that he could be out for several months. Nobody could get a straight answer on the severity of things, even after he was brought to LA for an MRI. However, once main camp opened, there he was, part of Group B and everything was fine.

The Rule… He remained with the team during the first month of the season, playing in six of the first seven games. Then, things starting getting weird. Healthy scratches, hand-wringing on what to do – keep him or send him back? It all centered on the NHL’s agreement with the CHL. A junior level player can only play nine games in the NHL before his pro contract kicks in. Were the Kings willing to ‘use up’ the first year of his entry level contract, especially considering he would probably only be playing four to eight minutes a night?

The Other Rule… Stuck on ‘eight games played’ for what seemed like forever, Schenn was then sent to Manchester. Wait, what? Wasn’t he too young for the AHL, making the decision either juniors or the NHL? That’s what everybody thought. Leave it the Kings to find some loophole allowing them to send him to the Monarchs for a two-week conditioning assignment.

The Return… Once that stint was completed he was brought back to LA, still sitting on eight games played in the NHL – making him eligible to play in the game last Thursday vs. Florida.  However, he was scratched and soon sent back to junior hockey. Leaving many people to wonder, why had the Kings stretched this whole thing out for over a month?

The Trade… Rumors swirled throughout November that the Kings might be looking to include Schenn in any package they would be offering for players like Jarome Iginla. A trade never happened, so who knows.

The Other Trade… Right before Schenn was returned to Brandon a new theory was emerging. Perhaps the Kings were in fact OK with him playing some more junior hockey – however, they were wanting him to be traded from the Wheat Kings to a contending team. Which is sort of where things stand at this point. Schenn returned to his junior team on Saturday night and scored a goal. Of course! Speculation north of the border says Brandon will most likely be looking for two first round picks (WHL) and a young player in exchange for Schenn in the weeks to come. The rumored front runners are Portland and Saskatoon (his hometown).

The Other, Other Rule… If you think the story went away once he was returned to the WHL, think again. Just yesterday came some grumblings that there may be some confusion about whether Schenn can return to the Kings this season. Having only played eight games, he may be able to play one game at the end of the regular season and still be eligible for the playoffs. Wow, it never ends.

The Schedule… Schenn is expected to play two more games for the Wheat Kings (Wednesday and Saturday), before reporting to Team Canada’s selection camp for the World Junior Championship (he’s a lock to make the team). The WJC opens play on December 26 and if Canada can get to the gold medal game, that would take him through to January 5. The Wheat Kings have a weekend series on January 7/8. Then, the WHL trading deadline is January 10.

So, only one thing is certain at this point – the Brayden Schenn story is far from over.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Coach Terry Murray on the hold up with Brayden Schenn

Comments from Schenn the day before being returned to the WHL

Comments from Schenn after eight games in October

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Tough to be an Isles fan these days, huh? Everyone is feeling the pain it seems.

My own belief is we are in the middle of a media pile-on, and some facts and realities have gotten a bit lost. Just my take, and fine if nobody agrees. I think the pile-on has upset the fanbase even further
who really thought, like the team did, that a corner would be turned. Instead the opposite…leaving a bitter taste in many mouths.

Blame can go around, but always best to really give an objective take and stance. How? I invited some highly respected Isles and non-Isles blokes to join us for a blogger roundtable of sorts to gauge particulars about the season, situation and the bigger picture.

Our esteemed group (thus far…more might be added later):

Russ Cohen, Founder and Owner, Sportsology Network, Co-Author, 100 Ranger Greats. He is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and a frequent guest on XM Home Ice radio. Russ Cohen spent over two decades growing up on Long Island and he now has a few books on sale this holiday season. Check them out!

Dominik, Lighthouse Hockey. One of the better Isles blogs out there and even-keeled fellows. Dom doesn’t need access or to go toe-to-toe with others (what i probably do too often) in order to provide great Isles coverage.

Nick Giglia, LetThereBeLighthouse Blog and author of the original Lighthouse Project petition. Also one of the first victims of Isles LHP blowback before myself, Botta or others got the high hat from the Isles organization.

Jess Rubenstein, The Prospect Park blog. Since 2004 he’s been covering the prospects of the New York Rangers and now also covering the prospects of the New York Islanders.

“Trottier”, one of HFboards Islanders section best, wisest and most respected posters.

Matthew Rappaport, Isles Prospect blogger and a well-respected HFBoards poster

Chris TMC, Islanders GM at TheNHLArena. Runs their Isles section and is a educated fan.

Plus our own…

Tony Stabile, Isles Blog Box member (aka…they didn’t throw him out yet), as well as featured blogger here on HI.

Andre Garabedian, Isles blogger on HockeyIndependent who debuted this year. Also knows as HyeDray on the boards.

And for comedy relief, Scott Gallof 1/2 half of Sibling Rivalry and NY Rangers blogger currently convalescing from his blogging injury this season (aka: The Clap). That’s right, he hasn’t blogged since March of last year. Someone get a petition for this coach potato to get off his ass.

Blogger Roundtable Rules Given were….

Feel free to expand where you feel the need to. Try not to go more than a paragraph each, if possible. You can do a sum up of your own take on things at the end. Some here are Isles fans, bloggers, Isles blog boxers, former announcers, board moderators, and some not even Isles fans.

1) If you predicted the Isles standings this season publicly or personally, where do Isles the current standings compare to your expectation?

RUSS:
I’d say it fell under expectations but I didn’t pick them to make the playoffs. Injuries are a part of it but I think when you are that far under the cap they could have prepared themselves with a better blue line and I think that’s a big part of their problems.

DOMINIK:
A little bit lower, though not quite as much once I learned of the long-term injuries to Okposo and Streit. After the Wisniewski addition, I figured a better powerplay and more stable defense would make this team similar to but better than last year’s: Staying in the playoff bubble until late, but ultimately falling short. Once those injuries happened, I feared much worse.

NICK:
Like most people, I’d thought and hoped the Islanders would take a big step forward this year. Sadly, after the promise of the first 7 games the team plummeted back to earth. Hard. I wondered at the time of the Streit and Okposo injuries if the Isles would be artificially bad this year, like the 08-09 Avs, and therefore be poised for a huge improvement next year. However, I wonder if that’s a cop-out on my part and an excuse for often listless play.

TROTS:
I fully expected NYI to be at the bottom of their division and a non-playoff team. I did not expect abject failure as we are seeing. It is exceedingly hard for a team to play itself out of “contention” prior to January/February, given the bastardized Nu NHL point system. NYI has somehow managed to do so.

CHRIS TMC:
I didn’t’ have really high hopes for this season to begin with- but I thought that, with a healthy roster and some progress from the kids, they could surprise everyone, be a bit ahead of the rebuild schedule, and fight for a playoff spot. That idea unfortunately went down the tubes in preseason as far as I was concerned. Now my expectations mainly deal with the Isles figuring out which players are worth betting on and which ones aren’t.

MATTY:
I publicly predicted that this was the first year the Isles would begin contending for a playoff position.  I thought that even after the Okposo and Streit injuries, the Isles would be out of the bottom five in the NHL.  The team stood to improve in a ton of ways.  They showed synergy and fight in the second half of last year.  It seemed like Gordon’s system was setting in, and players’ actions were much more natural.  The young kids showed signs of improvement.  You figured things would actually move forward.

TONY:
I try not to predict before the season starts as injuries and other factors can change so quickly (as we’ve seen with the missing Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit). But I don’t think anyone could have could have predicted this mess.

ANDRE:

Interestingly, I did not do an “official prediction” post, though I did write up a preview. Based on the belief that there were improvements to the defense, and the anticipated growth of the young core of players, I felt the team would compete. The playoffs were a nice thought, and with anything possible over an 82 game season, I did not rule it out, but it was far from assured. The team is clearly not meeting my own expectations. Many of the young players have not produced, the injuries — not only to Mark Streit and Kyle Okposo, but the game-in, game-out constant announcement that another player has gone down with an injury has not helped. In the 25 games played, there have only been a few where a player has not been lost to at least some time.

SCOTT:
Par for the course.

2) How much do you think losing Kyle Okposo, who is a first liner and Marc Streit, their top dman and PP QB, affected this team? How does that effect fall into your expectations for the season and this season’s current reality?

RUSS:

Every team has to be able to succeed despite injuries. When a team loses a power play quarterback and their top defenseman that’s a huge loss. With all of that said there should have been somebody else who could step into that job without missing a beat.

DOMINIK:

Simply, no other team in the league has taken an injury impact that large. People can gloss over “just two players” etc., but it happened to be two of the best three on an already thin team. Few teams survive that; thin teams never do. This is a league of many very good players and a few exceptional players per team who reliably make a difference. Take two of the latter away and…here we are.

NICK:

See above (#1 answer). I wondered if injuries to 2 of their top players would make the Isles artificially bad this year, and it’s definitely affected them. Guys are playing above their pay grade and skill level in most roles right now.

TROTS:
Losing KO and Striet have obviously hurt, the later moreso, as NYI’s defense is impotent in all three zones. That said, their loses should not be exaggerated, as it points to how painfully shallow this team’s depth is.
It is not unreasonable to state that a mere “respectable” team would at least tread water (.500) with these types of loses.

CHRIS TMC:

I miss Kyle Okposo so much I cant frickin stand it. And its not because I thought he was going to suddenly look like a 27yo vet star out there, but because it seems to me like he is a kid who others really rally around. The Isles really need him.

MATTY:
In retrospect, both those injuries were equally crippling.  Let’s forget for a second that they’re both great players.  Streit and Okposo were clearly the heart and soul of the team.  Even if their play couldn’t have changed the losing streak, their leadership might have stopped the bleeding and saved Scott Gordon his job.  After they went down, there were no true leaders left.  In the meantime, the Isles sorely missed their speed and defensive responsibility more than anything.  The power play was fine until the injuries really started piling on, and they brought in enough rough-and-tumble physical players.

TONY:
The loss of Streit has been tremendous, he is a leader on the bench and on the ice. He should be the Captain of this team as Doug Weight has proved unable to stay healthy and leaves a tremendous void on the bench. Okposo is a big loss as well as Tavares lost his top wing and has been forced to play with career minor leaguer PA Parenteau. Please remember that Okposo has not scored 30 goals in his career yet so he can be counted on as help….not as the answer.

ANDRE:

As stated above, the injuries in general have not helped. Losing two key players before the season even starts is a huge blow. Still, there was enough depth to have the team be productive in my opinion. They would certainly be weaker, but never could I have imagined this poor. I wrote a piece that many Islander fans were in full blown panic the day it was announced that Striet was lost for the majority of the year. Most fans — perhaps correctly — were all over the net suggesting the season was over. I have a different approach. I wanted to see how the team played before consigning them to a lost season. It turned out, the team was capable of some success as we saw early in the season, which makes the current situation with certain players all the more frustrating.

SCOTT:

A bag of dung is still a bag of dung even if it has some sprinkles in it.

3) Who do you blame for the “the streak” also known as the 14 game losing streak, or more aptly….Gordo’s canning? Was the coach to blame?

JESS:

The road to Gordon’s canning started when the injuries happened as they (the injuries) first exposed the lack of real depth in the system then became the excuses for everything from not carrying De Haan and Nino to the eventual termination. Gordon never had a chance once the key players went down.

RUSS:
It was a combination of everything. I think the team might have been tuning out the coach but we’re not seeing any real Improvement under Jack Capuano so they have to go back to the drawing board and make some roster changes.

DOMINIK:
If I could peg blame for a streak, I’d be in Vegas right now. Every game is different. They played better in a few of those losses than they did in some of their early season wins. That’s the nature of sports and luck. If I’d blame anything specific, it would be that a young team wasn’t as equipped to handle that, and some of them lost their way. That streak is rare, but far more likely once you’ve lost two of your best players.

NICK:
Scott Gordon, like most coaches, was a convenient scapegoat for the poor play. I wonder if a lack of veteran presence in the room affected the Isles in their ability to bounce back from the first few losses rather than letting it fester into the awful thing it became. At the end of the day, accountability has to come from in the room and not from the executive level, and while they make the right noises I wonder if some of the young guys have learned how to be pros yet.

TROTS:

Charles Wang. If the owner i$ commited, the GM ha$ resources and subsequently, the coach has assets with which to work.

CHRIS TMC:

I can’t blame Gordon. The blame game is such a slippery slope- as soon as you point to one thing it starts a downhill domino effect that gains momentum as it takes us nowhere. Without getting into that, if I had to blame one main reason for it I’d blame the Islanders not having even a single vet winger in the top 6. They dont even have a guy like Richard Park anymore- not like I think he is a savior but, as we can all see, even having a guy like Parkie (Richard Park) was better than watching a bunch of kids not being able to figure out WTH they are doing wrong and not knowing how to change it. A coach doesnt build the team, he only works with what he is given… and whoever is not on IR.

MATTY:

It depends on how far back you want to go.  Approximately, the blame lies with the players.  Ultimately, the blame lies with ownership.  I thought Wang might have known what he was doing when he installed Snow and had them actually rebuild the program from the ground up.  I’m pretty sure I thought wrong.

TONY:
The streak can be blamed on a bunch of things, injuries, poor play, a coach’s unwillingness to make changes, lack of talent, lack of scoring….etc. I was never a huge fan of Scott Gordon’s and I always felt he waited too long to make necessary changes. His firing in my opinion was just a matter of time.

ANDRE:
Pointing a finger of blame on one or two people is to easy. Mistakes are made in game that are compounded by other mistakes. Errors in judgement about personnel by Snow and Gordon, poor choices of line combinations, bad decision on the playing system, and mostly, bad execution of play. That covers just about everyone from the GM, right through to the last man on the bench. Perhaps the GM put too much faith in young players like Comeau, Bailey, Tavares, Neilsen and Schremp to produce offensive stats. The coach many have decided to play a system that he was comfortable playing, but did so without having the personnel to execute the system properly. His was a high speed skating system — and most of our players are not exactly blazing fast skaters. The players — for a reason we may not be aware of, were making very poor choices with and without the puck. The goaltending in a few games was disastrous. It is a collective problem that can’t be put on one person.

SCOTT:

How can any player truly feel motivated playing in a festering cesspool like the Coliseum or having a purple dinosaur that belongs to the indoor football league team dancing around the rink?  Even as a Rangers’ fan, I am embarrassed watching a game in that arena, just as fellow New Yorker. It’s painful. I can only imagine how it is for a player.Was a coaching change needed, probably. But it’s just a reactive solution to a much deeper issue. There seems to be a distinct lack of team identity and pride since the Pierre Turgeon days.  The only time it seems this team is remotely motivated is when they play the Rangers.

4) The following, courtesy of the HockeyDB.com, is the NY Islandersdraft history. Describe your thoughts on the Isles drafts since Milbury and his group were kicked out of control of them back in 2006. Do you think that those drafted are better or worse than those picked during the previous tenure? Is the farm in better shape or worse shape since 2006 in your opinion?

RUSS:

I like to give drafts five years before I really analyze them but I can give you a midterm report card on them so far.

2006 – Anytime you can get two everyday players out of a draft you’re doing well. In this draft they had 13 picks so I think hoping for three is fair. I’m pretty sure Rhett Rakhshani will make it as well so I would give them a B­-. Jess Joensuu and Kyle Okposo will be NHLers for a while.

2007 – The jury is out on this year but I’d have to say I think Blake Kessel will eventually make it to the NHL after a few seasons in the AHL after he finishes his college career.  Jason Gregoire has a good chance as well.  They had five picks and no first rounders and still might get two players out of this draft. I’d give them a B- for this one.

2008 – The Islanders had 13 picks in this draft and they got Josh Bailey right out of the box.  Travis Hamonic should stick in the NHL now that he’s getting a chance and Kirill Petrov is a real talent who will soon turn 21. If they can sign and bring him over he will have to spend some time in the AHL but could play in the NHL someday.  Matt Martin is playing now, and I like David Toews, he could make it in a few years. I have to give them an A+ .

2009- John Tavares and Calvin de Haan will soon be playing together at the NHL level.  They might get a third player from this one so right now I’d give them a B+ for this one so far.

2010 – I really liked their 2010 draft. I’d say it’s too early to give them a grade for it but I would expect them to get at least two players from this one as well.

DOMINIK:
It’s better, without question. While I try to exorcise Milbury’s damage from daily thoughts, it’s myopic to consider the condition of this team without recognizing that there are zero major players left from his draft years. Milbury’s biggest draft contribution to the current team is a quality defenseman, Radek Martinek, who was an 8th round pick in 1999. Give me another NHL franchise so developmentally bankrupt for such a stretch. That’s a wound that takes more than four drafts to heal

JESS:
The 07 draft was a waste as other Jason Gregoire and the longshot Blake Kessel there is no kind of help out of this draft for themThe 08 draft shows promise as besides Bailey and Hammonic, I see a goalie in Poulin, Toews is showing promise.09 is where I see the upswing besides Tavares and De Haan, Cizikas is a gritty true heart and soul player works hard at both ends, and Anders Lee (6th) might be the steal of that draft as this is a power forward with linebacker size but small man skills and soft hands.

10 offers Nino and an underrated Brock Nelson, Kabanov is the gamble worth taking and Tony DeHart a depth defender.

The better question is have those drafted been developed to the best of their potential? You can draft all the great talents but if you fail to invest time and well as effort into helping these prospects reach their potential then they will fail to become contributors. The Islanders need to decide either develop everyone or rush them as the mixture is just not working.

NICK:
I don’t see how anyone can doubt the dramatically improved nature of the Isles drafting during the Snow years. There are always picks that are questionable in hindsight, but overall the drafts are very strong. Look at. 08: the Isles have 4 players in that draft who’ve made the NHL when some teams don’t even have 1! At this point Blake Comeau and DP are the only Milbury draft picks who may have a role moving forward. It’s Garth Snow’s team now.

TROTS:

I honestly do not know how to assess the drafts, 2006 forward. The verdict is still out. There was a major case of “premature fanjaculation” with it came to expectations among some NYI fans when it came to the recent drafts, that much is certain.

CHRIS TMC:
Even before the current era, there have been a number of times over the years in which the Isles drafted great and it got them nowhere… because they traded them all away. It looks to me like the Isles are now pretty much going to the other extreme- prospects and draft picks are practically like crack to Garth Snow. I do think the Isles have a great group of prospects though- a good sign of drafting well is when guys move up significantly in the eyes of the hockey world after they are drafted: Poulin, Lee, Cizikas, Hamonic, etc.

MATTY:

The selections have undoubtedly been markedly better.  Milbury couldn’t have screwed up worse.  I still think the 2008 draft will come up aces.  Bailey and Hamonic will be awesome if they’re developed correctly.  Petrov is a beast, but they have to bring him over.  Donovan is phenomenal.  Martin has been rushed, but he has it in him to be a valuable asset.

As for the rest of the drafts since ’06, I still think you have to give it time.  ’07 yielded players like Gregoire and Kessel, who have hope of becoming NHL players.  De Haan looks very good and should be another piece to the puzzle.  Anders Lee is tearing it up.  So there’s some hope there if the Isles can keep the talent together.

TONY:
For every Roberto Luongo and Todd Bertuzzi there was a Robert Nilsson. Milbury’s drafting techniques were both solid and unpredictable. I like that Snow has tried to build a team of character players as well as talented players (swinging for the fences on a player like Kabanov was uncharacteristic of him but a smart idea nonetheless). The problem isn’t the Islanders’ prospects; it’s the veteran talent (or lack thereof) that is their biggest problem.

ANDRE:
The draft is a funny thing. It is very much “hit or miss.” The early Milbury years were not all that terrible. What was terrible was Milbury’s psychotic nature and lack of patients. He drafted well in 1996, top heavy but good in 1997 and good in 1999. From that point on — in coincidence with when Charles Wang came into the mix, the wheels came off the wagon. Milbury, hog-tied by a lack of financial support was inclined to keep his picks and allow them to grow. But as soon as he was given carté blanch, he went nuts, and traded away most of the young talent that are now stars/super stars for “established” players that locked the team into mediocrity, and sapped any and all skill from the minors. His drafts in 2000 is a legendary disaster, and his drafts in 01, 02, 03, 04 and 05 were either equally terrible or weak, despite finding some reasonable skill.

In comparison, it is far to early to grade the drafts by Snow, and the one under Neil Smith. The 2006 draft looks like it has yielded 2 regulars with very good potential in Okposo and MacDonald. Joensuu, Rakhshani also show some promise. 2007 was a bust with only 5 picks, although Mark Katic and Blake Kessel have some ability. The 2008 draft looks promising but it is far to early to determine if Snow hit a home run or a single. Bailey though struggling, could still mature into a solid #2 center, Hamonic is a blue chip gem, Petrov could be a star if we can get him to Long Island, Matt Donovan David Ulstrom, Kevin Poulin, Matt Martin and Justin DiBenedetto are all at varying degrees of development and all showing real potential. The 2009 draft yield Tavares, and De Haan is a blue chip prospect. Cizikas looks promising, and the two big goalies have potential. This final draft has 3 players — Niederreiter, Nelson and Kabanov all with good potential. Though not NHL ready, the players from Snow’s drafts have restocked the farm superbly. Certainly, the farm is in far better shape then it was prior to 2006.

SCOTT:
I thought the islanders have done pretty decent in their drafting in the post-Milbury era. Better than Sather, sad to say.

5) In looking  at those drafted since, if some make the NHL, do you think the Isles will be a better team with those drafted as opposed to the current state?

RUSS:
The players that make it will help the Islanders but it takes time for all of these young players to gel as a unit. Right now the Islanders are a team that is clearly rebuilding, and they have been, and now you have to wait and see how the team develops.

DOMINIK:
Certainly. Looking at Hamonic, probably de Haan, plus a pool of Ullstrom, Anders Lee, Cizikas, Poulin, Donovan, Nelson — no clear stars but a lot of shrewd picks (de Haan may have been a reach for his slot, but should still be a legit player). A good pool of potential NHLers including several I didn’t mention. Some of those guys should hit.

JESS:
Yes I see potential and I see talent among the Islander prospects but what I am not seeing is them being pointed in a single direction. If Tavares is the building block then start putting other pieces around him.

NICK:
I think the Isles have a very solid stable of prospects, some of whom are being pressed into service now (see Joensuu and Hamonic) and others on the horizon (Niederreiter, de Haan, Poulin, Petrov, Kabanov, Rakhshani, Gregoire, Nelson, Cizikas). I believe they can either help form complementary pieces or be used in trades to fill in the gaps with established players.

TROTS:
Depends. Will those “making” the NHL with NYI be NHL worthy? Or simply inexpensive cheap thrills that Wang is throwing as a bone to the fanbase, regardless of their readiness. (Yes, I’m cynical.)

CHRIS TMC:
I certainly hope so. If they aren’t, the Islanders do not deserve to even BE an NHL team. I mean, you HAVE to be better than, well, horrible, once the kids you’ve been drafting and counting on for years are all playing. I know I would like to see at least one productive vet winger there somewhere in the top 6 to help these kids get to that point, but that is a different rant altogether.

MATTY:

Sure they will, but they need to surround the kids with actual players.  Hamonic shouldn’t have been in the NHL this year.  Neither, for that matter, should Martin.  They actually ended up making the wrong decision with Niederreiter and sent him down when they badly needed him.  He proved he was ready and they rewarded him by sending him on a plane to the other side of the country.  The subsequent tailspin probably wasn’t a coincidence, either.

TONY:
Without some veteran talent, the Islanders will continue to flounder. Edmonton has a very young team, with veterans like Kurtis Foster, Ryan Whitney, Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky. The Islanders do not have a veteran player of that stature on this team.

ANDRE:
Tough question because there is making the NHL, being good in the NHL and then excelling in the NHL. Then there is still the question of which of these players will make it to the NHL, and which will make it as an Islander. Though Garth Snow has shown patients in letting his picks develop, he still has the option to trade away some of these players. Should these players reach their potential with the Islanders— yes, the team will be better. But, that does not mean that some of them shouldn’t be considered in trades to add to the core of the team as a whole if the deal make long term sense.

SCOTT:

Having a team of drunk, inbred paraplegics may be better than their current state, so yeah sure.Seriously, it’s time to cut your losses with DP, the only thing more impressive than the 14 game losing streak is DP’s years on the DL list.

6) Name three to five key things outside the team playing that have affected your judgment of the rebuild, the future, or just your
opinion of the Islanders. Order them from 1 (most important) to 5 (least important)

RUSS:
1)      Player development is a huge part of the equation for young players and I don’t think the Islanders have some missing pieces in that area.
2)      You have to spend money to make money and they are too far under the cap to field a quality team. I think a quality; competitive team would bring in a lot more fans.
3)       Bad luck. They’ve had their share. Rick DiPietro may never be the same and that could hurt their rebuild.
4)      The arena. Players want to play in a first class building and the Nassau Coliseum hasn’t been that for over a decade.
5)      I still don’t know what the team stands for. I don’t know what the “Islander Way” is. I used to know but I think that message is now lost and needs to be redefined.

DOMINIK:
1) Ticket pricing: I don’t know why you raise ticket prices in this economy, with this on-ice product, while also asking fans to be patient with a rebuild — and after the lease revision created more outside revenue opportunities. It seems a slap to your most loyal customers and prone to backfire. The inevitable single-game discounts that follow upset current STH. The Blues ownership who bought that club from Wal-Mart-in-law Bill Laurie made the same mistake. The next year they made amends, people came back, and the environment is better now.

2) Attendance and media coverage: Given the above, low attendance is not surprising. But the combo of that and media coverage makes this the most challenging part of the rebuild: The will to stick with the plan despite tough stretches and avoid short-sighted moves (panic trades, budget-busting deals to the wrong free agents with baggage) requires thick skin, but it’s exactly where they must avoid mistakes of the past.

3) Wang communication: Given this setting, fans are pretty depressed. They don’t know what’s happening after 2015. Even if Wang doesn’t either, he should go Leonsis on the fanbase and communicate as often and as openly as possible. Engage the followers who are eager to follow, and they will keep an open mind. Throw them a bone, and do it often.

JESS:
1- Lack of Scouting and Development head
2- Lack of direction as to how the franchise should move forward
3- The “circle the wagons” mentality that has taken over the franchise.
4- I wonder about Islander fans themselves as I am seeing firsthand why the media pulls away from daily team coverage. I have been covering the Islander prospects since training camp and have seen less than a 1% response from any Islander fans. The Islanders have some great prospects who deserve coverage but the lack of interest might force me to pull the plug on the Islander prospects.

NICK:
In order:

Their attitude toward writers and other personnel whom they don’t feel row the party line.

Radio silence on the Lighthouse and all future plans.

Increase in ticket prices.

Size of scouting staff.

TROTS:
None of these stand alone; they are intertwined:

Wang’s Lighthouse charade

His early signs (summer, 2002) of not being willing to invest the resource$ to improve the team. On the heels of a solid 90+ point season, that summer he did…nothing. That has been the continual pattern moving forward: doing just enough to keep fan interest alive. We see that today in the drafting of a(n) overhyped “savior” and surroundng him with AHLers.

His ability to turn off, or fire, quality people: Janks, Trottier, Lafontaine, Lavy, and Nolan.

CHRIS TMC:
1. The New York Islanders need at least one productive vet winger there somewhere in the top 6 to help these kids. The biggest argument I get whenever I say that is how the Isles cant afford to give up draft picks or prospects. Well, they are going to have no choice. You cannot ice a team of all kids with a cap floor, and you cannot give all these kids contracts. It is impossible. I am not advocating trading JT and Okposo and the Isles 1st rounders for the next 3 years for some big star or a long term contract, I am advocating getting an average top 6 NHL winger for a couple of years. That’s all. Yes the Isles have to give up something to get him… but IMO they are giving up a lot more by NOT getting him.

2. The New York Islanders made a rather large mistake in raising ticket prices as much as they did. I understand that it correlated with the Islanders (finally!) gaining some revenues from other shows at NVMC, but I think the raised prices (bettered by only the Caps and Hawks, mind you!) are both unfair to current season ticket holders and ultimately a disincentive to potential STHs. I also think that the last-minute online “deals” that the Isles keep putting out there are not successfully reaching the people they need to reach and are ticking off the STHs even more. If your $40 tickets are now $17 because of some deal, will you be a STH next season? Under-publicized last-minute promotional ticket sales that not enough people ever even hear about make season ticket holders feel cheated for buying season tickets at inflated prices in the first place. In todays struggling economy, with a rebuilding team, maybe someone needs to sit down with the Isles organization and do that old guns and butter exercise.

3. The New York Islanders have made absolutely baffling PR moves in recent times. Raising ticket prices & parking before the on-ice production of the team improved, praising Jankowski then dumping him without explanation, saying nothing (and letting MSG speak for the organization) regarding dumping the extremely popular Billy Jaffe, jerking Trottier around saying they would give him a new position that has yet to be offered, an unprecedented loyalty to intern-turned-beatwriter Katie Strang and ONLY Katie Strang, even though she is behind a Dolan paywall, the list goes on and on. I do not understand these moves and what frustrates me about them is that handling these things in a better manner would not cost money, they do not depend on the Lighthouse or the teams W/L record or anything like that. They could handle these things better if they saw them as a priority- but for some reason, they don’t seem to be. Even the great things they did- spending millions on renovating the players areas, revamping the ice machines, etc barely got mentioned. Why they wouldn’t choose to make a huge deal out of things like this is beyond me.

MATTY:

#1: Incorrect development of players.  By far the biggest issue.  Yo-yoing Bailey was the last straw.

#2: Lack of organizational continuity.  They now canned another coach.  Capuano was great where he was, and now they’ve overmatched him in the NHL.  Trottier was VP of PD, now he’s gone.  There’s no system in place anymore to really develop the valuable youngsters into competent pros.  That’s alarming, to say the least.

#3: Lack of commitment from ownership.  Doesn’t really encourage anyone to stay motivated and think long-term.

TONY:
1. The fact the team has gone silent. The year the Islanders let go Ted Nolan and they planned to start the “rebuild”, Snow and the team held open houses, Q&A sessions and town halls at the Coliseum. Ever since the downfall of the Lighthouse project, the team has gone silent, and quite frankly, it’s pissing the fans off. There is no one talking about direction, (either of the team’s play or where they might be playing in 2016). Someone needs to step up and talk to the fans as they are tired of being isolated.

ANDRE:

1) General Apathy: We can discuss ticket prices, the PR issues, and personnel decisions, but I find those all fall specifically under a very bad owner and under its own category. The general apathy of the fan base — the customers for Charles Wang — is most troubling. The franchise is on life support as it is, and with the current state of affairs on its last legs. If Mr. Wang thinks it is bad losing $10 million a year, he is poised to lose much more. If the fans decide to stay away — as they have been the past month, Wang’s financial losses will mount. Even with a new owner, even with a new building deal in place, and let assume a new GM and coach — do the fans come back? I suppose only winning will bring them in, but none of that is a guarantee even with new ownership or management.

2) The Owner: Charles Wang failed in his one key job — getting the Lighthouse approved. How that happened is a long story, but his failure to get the Town of Hempstead on Board, and then compounding that failure with countless other PR nightmares, and the deafening silence shakes my belief the team can succeed with a hockey ignorant but meddling owner. I seriously doubt the team can manage any success with this owner — at all.

3) The GM: Snow has, on paper drafted reasonably well. Other then Tavares, there has not been the Crosby or Ovechkin like generational talent waiting for him. There have not been any big “gaffs” like when Milbury left Heatley or Gaborik, or Parise sitting on the board. But I wonder if Snow might be relying far to much on young players. I was disquieted by the lack of the use of the cap space the Islanders have in acquiring players from teams like the Blackhawks, Bruins, Flames and Flyers. He pulled off the deal for Wisniewski, but what about players like Versteeg and Byfuglin.

SCOTT:
1: Stigma (From Spano to the Gorden’s Fisherman Jerseys to now all this Lighthouse brouhaha; the Islanders have had a plethora of negative attention since their last respectable run back in 93′)

2: Facility (No explanation needed. I’d rather watch a game in Bridgeport)

3: Marketing (seems to me the Islanders media department have always been vastly out of touch, much like the NHL marketing, in general)

7) Should have Garth Snow gone with a NHL coach right away or before this season’s end or continue with Jack Capauno?

RUSS:
I think Garth Snow made the right decision here. See what Capauno can do, and if they still have a bad season they can get another coach next year but you have to give a chance to coaches from within the organization and the Islanders did that.

DOMINIK:
I’d answer that the same as I do with free agents: Sure, the right free agent would be great, but would he come to Long Island? I don’t think Ken Hitchcock is the right guy, but even if he was, would he come or would he do a Quenneville? The hot junior/minor head coaches may take convincing to walk into this mess mid-season. So the right NHL coach would be preferred, but I don’t see the right NHL coach who is available right now. The Isles just need the right coach, period — and it remains to be seen whether Capuano can be that guy short- or long-term.

JESS:
Some would argue that Snow did not have a NHL coach when he fired Gordon, promoting Capauno IMO was a mistake when you stuck him with the “interim” tag. Want an “interim” then you promote one of the assistants. You either believe in Capauno and make him the coach or you don’t.

What happens if when you finally get most of your injured back and you are still not winning? Going to fire Capauno? Keeping Gordon as a “Special Advisor” is also a sign of a franchise that does not have direction.

NICK:
Jack Capuano seems like a nice person but he was not the answer in this case. I’m of the belief that if you’re going to make a change you need to get it done as quickly as possible to help the team coalesce around its new identity. Scott Gordon had issues with the media and seemed a broken man toward the end, but I disagreed with the decision to fire him when an experienced NHL coach wasn’t ready to step in.

TROTS:
He should have kept the NHL coach he had. Just another easy diversion, the latest whipping boy for Wang’s failures. I believe that Snow is just a pawn in the game.

CHRIS TMC:

It’s tough for me to answer this question because I think he should have stuck with Gordon. Its unbelievable how unlucky this guy was- he never once had a healthy team- ever! He signed on for a long-term rebuild, was given a rebuild roster sans vet assistance anywhere in the top 6, and then takes the fall for that. It’s really a shame. But if they (Snow? Charles?) wanted to get rid of Gordon, I think they should have taken their time and found someone permanent. Its not like I dislike Capuano (I don’t) but that’s just how I feel. When I see how Gordon was ultimately treated, I think back to Ted Nolan NOT wanting to coach through a full rebuild… and I can at least understand a bit more why he felt that way.

MATTY:
I would’ve kept Capuano in Bridgeport, where he was doing just fine, and promoted an assistant like Allen or Chynoweth.

TONY:
I understand why he brought up Capuano, but he needs to bring in his new permanent coach before season’s end. I wrote that Bob Hartley would be the perfect guy considering he and Snow have a relationship already and he can kick some ass in the locker room. If it is indeed Hartley, he’ll need to evaluate what he has, before the season is over to know before training camp and it’s too late to make roster changes.

ANDRE:
This is another tough one. The competitive side of me wants to see an NHL coach brought in immediately. But there is a side of me that does want that first overall draft choice again. The prospect of drafting Sean Couturier, a play-making Left Wing for John Tavares is very juicy! This is a guy that fits every single need the Islanders are desperate for. He is big at 6’4″, he plays left wing (that is how he is listed) scores goals, gets tons of assists and plays a two-way game. Despite this, I have to wonder how the constant losing effects the players I already have. In the end – no matter how much I would love to see Couturier in blue and orange, I bring in a new coach right now. Capuano is a good guy, but he is not an NHL coach. We need to get the line combos right, get healthy, and bring in new systems as soon as possible. A culture shock is required and Capuano is the old regime. Bob Hartley would be my choice.

SCOTT:

Is Sparky the Dragon available?

8) How much has the current slew of Islanders stories affected your perception of the team as compared to the start of the season. Do you see the Isles more negatively or positively due to those pieces? Did those pieces present anything that you or others might not have known?

RUSS:
I have to say that it hasn’t helped. I think they have been too reactive.

DOMINIK:
It’s made me more aware of the pent-up frustration among even patient fans. It’s made me see how a really bad month can sour people on a 3-5 year process. Sadly, I can’t say the stories presented anything I didn’t know: It’s all simplified rehash of the same stuff for the same general audience who doesn’t care for context. Worse, the Times piece presented things I knew to be wrong or completely devoid of context.

NICK:
The season of partially accurate hit pieces on the Isles to cheaply fill up media space happened sooner than I thought. It’s become such a tired act for me; we should make Mad Libs or some kind of flow chart detailing these hit pieces because they all follow the same formula and dredge up the same exact things. I’m tired of it and if makes me lose respect for the outlet.

TROTS:
The recent Isles news affect my opinion not one bit (and it should not be exaggerated). The news simply validates my long-held perception of how the franchise is run, and the abject fraudulence of the person at the top.

CHRIS TMC:

There has been a lot of crap published lately when it comes to this team. But its not like it all been lies, its about HOW things are presented. I think the Isles are an easy target to begin with- and with their horrible record this season it’s made it that much easier to churn out articles shooting down the team in every way imaginable. But aside from that, there are two things that bothers me about them: One, pretty much everything in these articles is rehashed- no new insights, ideas, just churning out the same things again and again. Two, I think that a number of these stories have been blatantly agenda driven in both their timing and their content- and are not the objective, independently researched articles they are presented as being. That is really unfortunate.

MATTY:

It’s all been tremendously disheartening.  My entire faith in any coherence and commitment from ownership has been totally shattered.  I’m still shell-shocked.  I now begrudgingly have to side with the curmudgeons, naysayers, and lunatics who decried what seemed like a pretty good plan given the circumstances when Snow took over.  Everything they said about Wang– and, apparently, Snow– was right.

TONY:
The Islanders problem is they refuse to defend themselves in the media. Therefore everything they do looks like they don’t know what they are doing. I do believe that Charles care’s about this team and is adamant about keeping it in Nassau County, but has to keep his mouth shut since they continually string him along promising a new building (the same one he’s waiting for the last 10 years). Charles needs to get himself in front of the cameras and the fans and explain what the hell is going on and where he intends to go from here.

ANDRE:
There is no question the losing is going to affect everything about my perception of the team. But the poor decisions by the owner, paranoia about bad press are compounded with more bad decisions and followed with a lack of PR. It surprises me that Charles Wang ran Computer Associates. Perhaps he should have stuck with that venture. This is not a tech firm. I see the franchise as more of a punch line today then ever before.

SCOTT:

I know that Chris Botta was forced out, yet I couldn’t tell you who is the Islanders’ third line. Islanders marketing needs to uproot their collective heads from their own hindquarters.

9) What do you think is the largest contributing factor to why fans aren’t coming out to games this season?

A) Higher ticket prices
B) Scott Gordon fired
C) Standings
D) Lighthouse Project limbo
E) Ryan Jankowski not re-upped
F) Isles Cupcakes
G) Write in your own ___________________________

RUSS:
I think the ticket prices are a big part of it. Long Island fans will pay higher prices if the team was really good. That’s the way it is. I had a friend go recently and he lost out on a chance to get $40 dollar tickets and had to pay $50. I think that’s too much based on the product on the ice.

DOMINIK:
A and C, but mostly C. People don’t support basement teams. When teams rebound, fans eventually return.

NICK:
Cupcake Gourmet is amazing so it’d better not be the damn cupcakes!

In all seriousness, higher ticket prices are to blame. With no marquee acquisition and the economy in the dumps, it seemed very bad business to do that. It’s alienated the season ticket holders, who know have no incentive to buy packages given the deep discounts. This in turn depresses ticket sales on certain days.

TROTS:
“C” followed closely by “A”. Haven’t tried the cupcakes.

CHRIS TMC:
My gut says that it is C… that’s why things are as bad as they are now. But even in the first 8 games of the season (when things looked pretty good) the attendance was not outstanding by any means… so I think A is a HUGE factor in this as well. I am going to far fewer games myself… my reason is A, and I know I am not alone. I guess I have to say its is both of them more than anything else.

MATTY:

Out of the ones you listed, it’s the arena.  Why?  It reflects that ownership does not care about the fans.  You read my letter to Isles management before the season started.  I stick by every word of it.

TONY:

3 things….ticket prices, lack of communication and finally, the fans are tired of coming out and watching a bunch of minor league players try to keep up with the likes of the Washington’s and Pittsburgh’s or the league. Sim, Hunter, Parenteau, Comeau, Gervais and Hillen isn’t going to be able to keep up with Washington’s OV, Semin, Backstrom, Green and Knuble, and might I add that if Michael Grabner (who might I add may be our best player at this point) hadn’t been gifted to us by Florida’s Dale Tallon, Andy Hilbert would have been on the opening night roster.

ANDRE:

I think it is all of the above. Losing is the biggest reason. No one wants to spend $200-$300 to watch the team lose again! Jankowski, Trottier, Jaffe, firing the coach, the injuries, the Lighthouse….all of it!

SCOTT:

C) Standings

10) Do you see Charles Wang selling the team or moving this team coming 2015?

RUSS:
I think they will be moved. As I said many times last season I feel like Queens is now their best option.

DOMINIK:
I’ve never been good at predicting Wang’s actions. Don’t even know how much the man is really worth. The best thing I can say is that I still wouldn’t bet on this team leaving the metro area.

NICK:
I hate to be a consultant here, but it depends. I don’t think Charles Wang is inclined to sell, and despite some fans whining I don’t think he doesn’t care about the Islanders. However, his patience is not infinite, and the cold hard truth is that the team currently doesn’t have a home after 2015.

CHRIS TMC:
No to the selling, and there are a few significant reasons why- Neulion for one (which makes Charles Wang and his wife more significant to the NHL than most people realize) and the fact that I think the guy genuinely does care about this team. If he didn’t, why spend millions on the players areas and ice surface quality and not even tell everyone about it? It just doesn’t make sense. As for moving the team, that is definitely possible. But when you consider the teams cable contract, which goes on for decades more, it stands to reason that the Isles would not be moving out of their current cable area.

MATTY:

I see him selling or moving earlier than that, personally.  But he’s a horrible businessman, so who knows?

TONY:

I do not see him selling now since the franchise is worth a fraction of what he paid for it (not to mention the $250 million he’s lost on the team). I can see the concerts and parking helping a little bit but as I said, it would make no sense for him to sell now. He’ll probably wait out this Shinnecock Casino talk, though I highly doubt that’ll happen (like the Lighthouse it makes too much sense).

ANDRE:

No. I think Wang is going to be here at least until 2015. The team will remain in Uniondale until 2015, but that could be the final season in Uniondale. He may finally do what he should be doing — looking at another venue outside of the Town of Hempstead for an arena.

SCOTT:

Hard to say, but I can’t see things continuing as they are.

11) Does it bother you that bloggers big and small are removed, or do you think that teams should have that right?  Does it bother you that stories about the Isles are now being written by the Media department and listed as “News”? What is the ultimate effect does this have on blogs and fan?. Do teams have a responsibility to provide independent news or is does it not matter?

(BD note: Katrina used to work for Newsday and is a good writer. Kimber was an amazing writer when he worked at Bridgeport. So it’s not about skill, but what role they play when they also wear the Media/PR hats)

RUSS:
Listen, the team can do whatever they want but I’m not in favor of removing writers because they are reporting to the fans to keep them updated on their favorite team. Other teams have writers who get paid by the team so that’s not shocking to me.

DOMINIK:
Teams do have that right — to me this isn’t a “team vs. blogger” issue but rather a “team vs. media” issue. They’re clearly open to bloggers. However, the merits of removal I can’t say without knowing the dirty details of what transpired. I argued that credential-removal would be my absolute last resort if I were in control, and would be preceded by behind-closed-doors shouting matches. (Again, I don’t know whether or not that transpired, as only one side is addressing the matter.) When I was in PR, we always went that route before freezing an unreasonable scribe out. The backlash from media when one of their own was tossed is predictable and, I hope, anticipated.

As for team-produced news, sadly it’s unavoidable in this dispersed multi-channel age. The club simply can’t count on a single entity outside of Newsday (cough) to show up and report thoroughly on every game. I would say teams should do what the Kings did with Hammond, but the reality is that’s always going to create a conflict, even with someone as great as Hammond (e.g. What happens when things go poorly, or a new management comes in?). That’s why I’ve called for several years for the NHL to do what MLB did: Create a separate entity with independent beatwriters whose coverage is solely for the MLB team sites. Unfortunately, even if the league were that imaginative, I fear the huge disparity between U.S. and Canadian markets may be an obstacle to that. U.S. teams desperately need it, whereas Canadian teams may say they’ve got plenty to deal with already, thanks.

JESS:
Guess being independent of any team, gives me more freedom since I really do not have to answer to any NHL team and other than the NHL draft the NHL itself. The problem of course remains largely with the PHWA as while they came to the aid of Chris Botta (and I admit I am no fan of his work) but they have been stalling on a national policy for bloggers. How can the NHL address bloggers when the supposed MSM media (PHWA) can not come up with a working solution after 10 years or in several cases allows their membership to trash on bloggers.

I may not like it but a team should have some say in who they grant access to their press box and players as long as the PHWA does not have a policy in place that addresses bloggers.

Still the bigger question should be whether news on a team website should be viewed as actual “news”. Like it or not, the goal of the team website is to sell the Islander product and hockey as a whole. What they pass off as news could seriously be considered like an ‘infomercial” since at the end of each “article” is a sales pitch. Still if a team employee is producing a “news” article they should ID themselves as a team employee.

Other NHL teams have been doing it for years so it is really nothing new that the Islanders have become like the rest of the NHL in controlling the content on their own website.

It should have no effect at all as long as both bloggers and fans accept that NewYorkIslanders.com’ number one goal is to sell you on the team and it’s related products. Fans will know which blogger to take seriously and who to not based on the blogger’s own actions/reports.

Teams should not be expected to provide independent news since the goal is to sell the fan on their product. Give the fans credit as they will now a shill job from a real news report.

NICK:

I believe the high profile blogger in question who started this kerfuffle actively manipulated his readers and is a major contributor to the current state of the fan base.That having been said, I believe the team’s actions are wrong. They did if to me, they did it to you, BD, they did it to Billy Jaffe, and we won’t be the last. It’s one thing to say you want independence, but they seem to not like it when we actually act independent. Regardless of their reasons in the recent case, which at least should’ve been a warning first, the Islanders stepped in it here. It reinforces the Mickey Mouse image that in many cases doesnt apply but in many more does.

TROTS:
Yes and yes. It speaks volumes to the amaturism of the franchise and, moreover, a pathetic case of insecurity.

If a public business has any integrity, it absolutely does have a responsbility to encourage independent and critical thought. But if you can control criticism, as NYI is trying to do, you can lessen (eliminate) any pressure to change. That is Wang’s M.O., make no mistake.

CHRIS TMC:

I do not believe that the Islanders are in a position to turn away anyone who wants to dedicate their time and effort to covering this team. I will come right out and say it- IMO they have definitely handled this Chris Botta situation in the wrong way. If they decided they do not want him to be the primary pro blogger for this team, they are certainly allowed to come to that decision. But they should first accept that he IS a source of news for a large number of Islanders fans. Their decision to cut him off without offering ANY equivalent alternative was an error on their part. If that was how they felt, they could have hired another pro team blogger. I thought that they might move that way when they were first doing “Islanders Authorized” on the official site, but they unfortunately seem to have abandoned that instead of expanding on it. If they had hired another paid professional blogger, sure people who prefer Chris would be upset- and they would certainly have the right to say to- but at least fans in general would not feel so cut off from the team they love. Part of being a professional organization is letting the media roll off your back. Its seems like the Islanders want to control the media to an extent that no other professional organization would even be able to imagine.

I don’t think the Islanders have a responsibility or an obligation to do much of anything media-wise, other than to be accessible to those electing to cover the team. However, I think that it would be a wise move for them to make an effort to be more accessible- rather than respond with continued silence and both proverbial and literal closed doors. Its never easy to face the media when there are as many things going wrong as there are right now… but I think the alternative is ultimately far more difficult to deal with.

MATTY:

It’s highly, highly disturbing that they can even get away with it.  It’s awful.  I blame Bettman for that one, because he’s supposed to step in and cease these types of practices.  The civil libertarian analog of this deplorable situation– the idea that there should be some sort of freedom of the press when the team is governed by an umbrella organization that’s supposed to be dedicated to its customers– is dead-on from where I’m sitting.  What’s to stop every NHL team from deciding that bloggers can only gain access if they’ll sugar-coat everything? Does fan uproar not matter at all?It speaks to a larger issue: that commissioners in all sports are slowly losing sight of the idea that they exist for the pleasure and entertainment of their fans.  Money did a ton of negative things to all of the major North American professional sports, but perhaps the worst was the introduction of a serious disconnect between the people on the inside and the people on the outside.  Many of the players, even in a famously down-to-earth sport like hockey, entirely lose touch with the concept that the fans are responsible for their paycheck.  But I guess that’s a different discussion entirely.

TONY:

I believe the team does have the right to make decision’s about who they allow coverage to. For bloggers, (at this point in time) it’s a privilege to be granted access not a requirement. I do believe the team needs to be responsible about how it goes about choosing who it does or doesn’t allow access to (as not to punish someone for telling the truth, whether it’s pleasant or not). As for team’s media department publishing stories about the team, if your looking for an objective story on a team….chances are you’re not going to be looking on that team’s website for it.

ANDRE:

Part of the 1st amendment of the country is freedom of press. Mr. Wang and Mr. Snow are experiencing some kind of paranoia to pull credentials of a reporter or blogger. Despite that, the New York Islanders are a privately owned business that serves a customer base. Under that premise — the team has some rights. It is bothersome, petty of the franchise and small-minded. It is one more of those things mentioned above. I read nothing of the “news” off the team website. It is going to be skewed and one sided. Ultimately, the management of the franchise needs to get a grip on reality — the team is performing badly, and there are several issues off the ice. A proper decision-making structure, and professional administrative behavior would solve most of the off ice issues. The lack of good “politicking” is sinking the team further and further into indifference. Pulling the creds of a blogger/report is just one more thing!

SCOTT:

Anyone who believes anything from a teams’ own media department deserves to be misinformed. Politics, private agendas and news have always been intertwined since the William Randolph Hearst days, nothing new there.the Islanders Media Department should be more worried about ticket sales and winning a game or two than what bloggers are saying.

12) Do you see any hope with the Lighthouse Project? Who is to blame for it’s current status?

RUSS:
I was told the Lighthouse was dead last year and reported it on XM radio. Can it be revived? I guess anything is possible but I don’t expect that to happen. I think Mr. Wang should have revised the project and made it less costly considering the bad economy.

DOMINIK:
Not a chance as I understand it, but it’s far from my expertise. I guess Murray is villain #1 because it’s unclear to me if she would have stood for any version, and her lack of imagination is simply breath-taking. But I also don’t know how willing Wang was to compromise and which of his misreads of Murray were fatal, nor which other sympathetic politicians might have been culpable in its failure. No one looks good in that situation, though it’s played out as those who know L.I. politics best always told me it would.

NICK:

The Lighthouse Project needs a miracle. Kate Murray and her visionless sheep in the Town of Hempstead started us down this road by never taking the proposal seriously, but there is enough blame to go around. Right now, Charles Wang is the most responsible for the current state because his silence has led him to lose control of the conversation. Opponents and misinformed people with an agenda are allowed to speak unchecked, and the support base, always too reliant on Isles fans, has fractured and gone to infighting.

We could do something amazing here. I want to believe, even though I see little reason right now.

TROTS:

I’m sure there are mulitple culprits. The point is, Wang has used the LHP as the excuse behind everything the franchise has and has not done over the last decade+ to improve the product on the ice. Increasingly, more people are wising up to this point.

CHRIS TMC:

The Lighthouse Project. I still believe it is exactly what Long Island needs. But the Town of Hempstead is simply too enthralled with the status quo… and the notion of someone essentially donating a few hundred million dollars to fix up part of their jurisdiction without giving him any way to make that money back. Incidentally, do not fault Charles Wang for wanting to make money- there will not be a team owner who doesnt. If I had to pick who to blame for its current status it would have to be the politicians who are pulling the strings behind people like Kate Murray and Anthony Santino. Ultimately that area WILL be built up, and it will be more like the Lighthouse Project than it will be unlike it. The only thing that is holding it up now is that there are powerful people who do not want someone like Charles Wang to be the one who makes the money from doing it.

MATTY:

I see no hope or future for it, and I primarily blame Charles Wang.  It’s easy to take potshots at Kate Murray, but these politicians are corrupt to the core.  Wang didn’t play the game properly.  That’s on him. While my family did not have the privilege of growing up fabulously wealthy and powerful, we did get glimpses into that world because some of them were clients of our business.  I can confirm the obvious: the right amount of money and favors can get you anything on Long Island if you know what you’re doing.  Wang came into this with billions of dollars and crucial alliances.  He had to know he was responsible for greasing the palms of both political parties and several other grassroots organizations.If Wang was a visionary and a problem-solver like he claimed he was, then he would’ve found a way to get this thing done.  Somehow, with overwhelming popular support, the backing of a rabidly insane cult of a fan base, unlimited funds, an alliance with one of Long Island’s most powerful real estate honchos, tremendous goodwill from monster hospital contributions and community efforts, a foothold in the region (especially in the Town of Oyster Bay), and (recently) an economy that begged for an infusion of private investment this large, he still managed to screw it up.

If you’ve done your research, you know how Charles Wang got to where he is, and that’s because two hackneyed mantras held true.  First and foremost, behind every great fortune is a great crime.  Second, shoot first and ask questions last.  When Wang was faced with the choice of (a) making a mess to save his own skin or (b) exhibiting some semblance of personal responsibility, he always chose (a).  It rocketed him to the top and eventually precipitated the steady downfall he’s now experiencing.  It’s just a shame that the Isles have to be a part of it.

TONY:

No hope whatsoever. The Nassau County policitians are solely to blame for this mess. There was never a chance the Town had any intention to let this project happen. Corruption has been a staple of Long Island politics for decades…..nothing has changed.

ANDRE:

No, the project is dead in the way it was conceived. I put a big chunk of the blame on Charles Wang. He came to the dance without a clue about the proper political landscape. He “played” the County for support when he should have been making the backroom deal with Kate Murray and the Town of Hempstead. County support was important, but you must know how to play the small minded politics of Long Island. The other blame has to fall on the management in the Town of Hempstead. Their small minded, protect their own political turf values were a big reason the plan would never go through. The silence currently employed by Charles Wang compounds the errors made during the entire “negotiating” process. Charles Wang can give the fans — his customers — a real shot in the arm if he just makes a decision and makes it known to the populous. To me, he has three choices. 1) Either he lets the proverbial “shit” roll off his back and accepts the Hempstead “plan” and ends up with a new arena and 1/3 of his desired plan. 2) He cuts a deal with Queens and works with the Wilpons for a new “Lighthouse” in Willits Point 3) He sells the team and makes it someone else’s problem.  Ultimately, I would like to see Charles Wang out of the New York Islanders picture — even if that means the franchise moves. What good are the Islanders if they will never succeed with this owner?

SCOTT:

Nope, and I think it’s a shame.Charles Wang, LI politics and the Town of Garden City.

13) PARTING THOUGHTS…

((this will be added to as they come in…))

NICK:

This battered fan woe is me bullshit is getting old. The “fans” talk about how passionate they are, yet they seem to go out of their way to find excuses to not go to games or dwell on the negative. I’m also frustrated by the need to tie the current owner and GM to previous owners and GM’s.At some point we need to show real support, because you start to wonder if a fan base like this deserves an NHL team.

CHRIS TMC:

The Islanders are my team, they are our team. I wish that there was more intelligent discussion regarding the Islanders- I can only hope that winning will lead to that. I think that we will have a wait for that to happen, but IMO having hope for the future and what this team will accomplish is what makes one bleed blue and orange.

ANDRE:
Thanks to BD and Hockey Indy for doing this round table. Lots of diverse and compelling insight from a number of sources.  I am a fan of the New York Islanders, and will remain so even with this owner — who deserves a large bulk of the blame for the teams current troubles. Regardless that I would like to see the team in different hands, there is little doubt I would continue to follow the team. I’ll go to games when I can — but it is not like I can go as a season ticket holder, or even a few times a week — not at these prices. I am one of those guys being priced out. I still can’t imagine that this owner ran a successful business. There is little doubt I consider that he is treating his customer (us) poorly. This does not absolve others. From the Town of Hempstead right through to the GM, coaches and players themselves. Ultimately, things have to change, and I am sure most fans hope they do. This is a viable hockey market. But with a team this poor, you could be in Quebec, or Winnipeg, Hartford or Oakland — all cities that had teams — and it would not make one shred of difference. Fans are going to stay away because watching your team lose on any given night is a bad way to spend your hard earned money.

I just read a report covered by Neil Best at Newsday that Chris Botta’s blog, IslandersPointBlank.com has been shut down at the hands of the New York Islanders. The NHL has stepped in to help mediate the issue between Chris Botta, who was an Isles executive for 20 years, and the Islanders. The blog was started when the Islanders themselves came to Botta to sponsor the blog. Since its inception the blog has become a popular place for Isles fans. Mr. Botta has been able to develop a new career path through the blog, and has become a senior writer at AOL Fanhouse, and has become associated with SNY presenting stories about the Islanders, often interviewing former Islander players such as Ray Ferraro, Kevin Weeks, and Glenn Healy.

The blog has been “shut down” since late Wednesday. The most recent news Mr. Botta wrote on his blog had much to do with the Islanders recent firing of Scott Gordon, and a review of the Islanders as a team — specifically the results on the ice. The review by Mr. Botta was reasonable by most accounts, and while not favorable to the team, and critical of the state of the rebuild, it was fair in its assessment of the results the Islanders have seen thus far in the season — including what was a 10-game, now 11 game losing streak.

To be fair to the franchise, the Islanders have not prevented Mr. Botta from writing on his blog according to team spokesman Kimber Auerbach. What has happened is that Mr. Botta’s press credentials were pulled — banning him from access to players, management and all games in a press/media capacity. He can go to a game — but he would have to buy a ticket like the rest of us. The Hockey Writers Association is protesting the move. Part of Mr. Botta’s appeal as a blogger was his former connection to the franchise, leveraging his credentials, as well as his relationships around the Islanders, and the hockey world.

What is terribly troubling here is that this is another example of the childish behavior or a management team, and an owner that does not have the ability to properly run a business — in this case a sports franchise. The pulling of credentials of one of the few day-to-day bloggers/reporters of the franchise because of what team management believes to be unfavorable accounts of the franchise represents what is the paranoia, fear and child like behavior of Charles Wang. This comes shortly after Billy Jaffe was not granted his contract to continue as a commentator for MSG reportedly because the Islanders brass felt Mr. Jaffe was offering to many unfavorable reviews of  team performance. The same exact fate was bestowed upon Joe Micheletti, who held the commentator position prior to Billy Jaffe’s hiring.

I am not a doctor, but it is a safe bet that Charles Wang is suffering from severe paranoia disorders, not to mention a disturbing trend of very poor business decisions that are sure to have the most ardent Islander fan completely abandon the franchise.

This kind of silly behavior from a grown man in a public endeavor like an NHL franchise is staggering. The idea that a reporter is prevented access from covering the team because of a truthful account — even if it is unfavorable — is comical at best, and extremely sad at worst. Clearly, that is not the American way, and cuts against the idea of freedom of speech. This is akin to the current White House administration banning reporters from Fox News because they don’t share the slant Fox has on its station — or conversely, when President Bush was in office, his administration banning MSNBC because he did not like their coverage.

The sad truth is the Islanders are now on the verge of utter collapse. As a fan since the franchises earliest days, through the glory of four consecutive championships, the brief re-birth of the early 1990s, the devastating days of Mike Milbury, and now the paranoia and questionable mind of an owner who’s viability I must call into question — lets just say — it is becoming increasingly easy to walk away from the team — adopting a who cares attitude.

I am not the only one.

The Islander faithful are responding to the franchise in an appropriate manner. Last nights game had one of the worst attendance results in team history. Less then half of the arena was filled with spectators. When you mishandle and abuse your product and abuse your customers, they will respond by abandoning your product and service. In speaking with a fellow fan and friend yesterday, I was surprised to hear his own indifference, and malaise toward the team as a whole. Mr. Wang has had to severely reduce ticket prices using “special” offers and promotions to try to get fans to the games. The response has been overwhelmingly poor. At this rate, Mr. Wang will long for the days where there were 8,000 fans in the building.

The Islanders as a hockey team can be viable. The franchise can become a profitable entity. But we fans are kind of fickle. We want to be able to participate as spectators and watch our team have some kind of success. But to spend on average a few hundred dollars on a game where the arena is crumbling, the food is horrible and over-priced and the on ice product has a better then 70% chance of failing on the ice makes little sense.

I support rebuilding the team on the ice. But at some point some improvement needs to be seen — even during the rebuilding of the franchise. Someone posted a response to my last post, suggesting the team should not be any better. Ultimately, while I would not have put this team in the playoffs by any means — I was not prepared to suggest it was impossible or out of the question. Injuries have been a problem — again. What is perhaps a larger problem however — and my overall point — the youth on the team have seemingly regressed. While John Tavares had a better game last night, he has struggled this year. Josh Bailey and Blake Comeau look flat and uninspired. Rob Schremp looked ineffective in the few games he has played thus far. The hunger and drive of the players seems to be non-existent. In addition, the line combination make little sense and are almost set up to fail rather then succeed. Barry Melrose, on his most recent podcast with EJ Hradek commented on the Islanders recent woes. When asked about the draft and rebuilding, Melrose added that the Islanders have drafted well but they are still missing that super star quality player. He likes Bailey, Okposo, Tavares, Neilsen, Streit and some others, but that “Crosby” like player is still missing.

Ultimately, the franchise is a reflection of its management. I am not ready to condemn Garth Snow as a failure. He has done what he is supposed to do at the draft. He has a tough job in convincing free agents to come to Long Island for many reasons. Charles Wang is just another reason. No one wants to work for a boss that has a history of behaving as a man child with delusions of grandeur. That reason may be bigger then the condition of the arena or question marks surrounding the future home of the team. Convincing other GMs to consider trades is yet another issue. If Snow can work out a deal, it may cost the team a valuable young player — especially if the player coming to the Islanders is under a longer term contract. As an example, James Wisniewski was acquired in a deal on the cheap because he will be a UFA and he was a salary dump for the Ducks. But can the Isles retain him after the year. I have serious doubts. Others have doubts of the ability of the Islanders to retain players like Tavares and Okposo if they continue with their current state of disarray.

It might be harsh to suggest it, but the ultimate fate with the New York Islanders begins and ends with an owner that is unstable. The franchise will not have any chance of success under this owner unless he decided to become completely hands off — which we know wont happen — or sells the franchise. All of the talk of Wang keeping the franchise on Long Island rings very hollow today. Being a fan of a sports team is supposed to be pleasurable, fun, exciting, and entertaining. I don’t know a single Islander fan who exhibits any of these feelings. So what is the good of an Islander team with Charles Wang as the owner on Long Island vs. an Islander team purchased by another entity such as Jim Balsillie and moving the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario and naming it something else? Frankly, I would still follow that team. Would you?

There are those who feel Scott Gordon should be fired and Garth Snow should blow the Isles up, trading away promising youth for "proven" talent. We have tried that once before and I don't think it worked out to well.

The current players on the Islanders are the same players who got off to a hot start and were atop the Eastern Conference. So can the players suddenly all be so poor as to warrant a declaration that the rebuilding Garth Snow has done is a failure and the players potential has not been reached? Should he blow up the current team and its youth and attempt to build through free agency and trade the way his predecessor did in the late 1990s and early 2000′s? Can he come out now and suggest that Scott Gordon has done a terrible job and will be replaced immediately after just 2 seasons behind the bench? And how about Charles Wang — should he announce that Snow failed as a GM and will be terminated?

I’m sure the frustration of watching our boys in blue lose the last 7 games does little to prevent you from answering affirmatively to the above questions, but I have a different view.

While I am just as frustrated, and changes are indeed needed, this is exactly the time where we need a GM with a calm, cool, and steady approach. Fortunately we have that in Garth Snow. Another GM would have induced a panic trade — and a bad one for his franchise. The only real assets the Islanders have are essentially personnel tagged as core players. Any impact move Snow will make would involve the trading of players such as Frans Neilsen, Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, and John Tavares. If could, and more then likely could include one of Travis Hamonic, Calvin de Haan, Nino Neiderreiter, Brock Nelson, Kirill Petrov or Kirill Kabanov. It may include Matt Martin of Kevin Poulin. Are you ready to part company with these players? If you are we can simply disagree — but I am not ready to make a trade of any of these players unless I am wildly over paid.

Snow has done what he could to this point to build a team through the draft and with smart acquisitions. For those who argue that he has done a good job in free agency because he failed to lure the big fish to Long Island — I would make the counter argument that neither Bill Torrey nor Scotty Bowman would have been able to make an impact signing when you are faced with the uncertainty of the franchise. Players who are looking to sign a 5-6 year deal want to know that not only will they have an opportunity to compete and win, but also that they will be playing where they sign for the duration of the contract. The NY Islanders are in a cloud of uncertainty thanks in large part to Kate Murray and her Hooples of Hempstead. Until the long term viability of the NY Islanders playing on Long Island, or Queens or where ever it is settled — the franchise will find it very difficult to land that impact free agent. As such — Snow has bought the team time by building through the draft — which was desperately needed — and is killing two birds with one stone.

Scott Gordon has done the right thing as coach to build an identity for the Islanders. He was the correct choice for Snow 2 seasons ago — and he remains the correct choice now. While not the Islanders policy, it continues to be an error of Wang to not offer Gordon and extension. Sending the message to players up and down the roster that there is faith in the coach to produce would go a long way toward maintaining some stability within the franchise. Part of what Snow and Gordon have done is maintain a longer relationship then the Islanders have seen between coach and GM for a long time. The team has built an identity around that relationship. Making a change now would be detrimental to the franchise — as much as a panic trade would be. Gordon’s systems work when they are executed. The same could be said for Al Arbor or any other NHL coach or for that matter coach of any sport. Making a change only serves to further unsettle and disrupt the growth the team has seen.

There is no question that injuries over what is now three seasons have not helped. Losing Andy Sutton for the better part of the 3 seasons he was here, Radek Martinek has missed huge chunks of time. Kyle Okposo has also missed significant time since he became and Islander. Mark Streit this season is a big blow. Now heap on that Milan Jurcina, Andy MacDonald long term, and it begins to pile up. While not an excuse, the reality is the team has significantly more depth then in years past. Gordon has seldom had a full roster to put on the ice.

Moving forward, Snow should remain patient. He has thus far, and I would hope that he continue to move ahead in a reasonable way. A trade should not be out of the question by any means. As I said at the top — moving a younger player for an upgrade would make some sense if it can be a long term deal. However, before we all look to grab a bad defenseman and injury prone Sheldon Souray off waivers, or pine for an injury prone no trade claused Marc  Savard in a salary dump move we need to realize the long term impact. My gut tells me that retaining players like Tavares, Bailey, Neilsen, Okposo, De Haan, Hamonic, MacDonald, Streit, Neiderreiter, Nelson, the Kirills are necessary. Perhaps before a trade is engineered — what could be a better option would be to take a look at Jesse Joensuu, David Ulstrom and Dustin Kohn. If Snow can engineer another Wisniewskiesque deal — by all means, the Islander GM should take advantage.

As for the players — simply put — and I don’t know why — they do not seem interested in moving their bodies and skating. That is the biggest difference with the team as a whole. They are getting beaten to the loose pucks and chasing more often then not. Secondly — they are deciding to pass rather then shooting. This goes for nearly everyone. The only player who seems to have not changed is Matt Moulson. Even in the past game, Tavares — deadly from the face off dots in — chose to pass rather then shoot. Blake Comeau and Josh Bailey have also stopped shooting. When they shoot, the shots are going wide much to often. The boys need to keep working on shooting, and accuracy — and with Gordon’s system and in this NHL — you must skate. It won’t matter if it Gordon or someone else, skating is the new NHL.

I am not in favor of a crazy wild trade. Im sure 29 other GMs are salivating at what is happening to the Islanders in the hope that history will repeat itself as it did in the late 1990s when a young and struggling Islander team began to trade away the likes of young unproven players like Eric Brewer, Roberto Luongo, Zdeno Chara, Todd Bertuzzi, Olli Jokenin, Tim Connolly and decided to pass on Jasson Spezza, and Dany Heatley in favor of “proven” talent. We must not make the same errors again. The coach and GM are doing what needs to be done — and while there was talk of the rebuild being “over” we should all know better. They are still a season or two from contending — but only if they stay on course.

Another name for this button — which resides at Islanders corporate headquarters — is the "Milbury Button." Those who push this button become instantly ignorant of all things related to the game of hockey.

So much for my last post warning that Doomsday was not upon us — if you gauge the average Islander fan, 4 losses in a row bring unyielding and wild panic. Fascinating! I only wonder if some of these frantic fans have ever played a competitive sporting event in their lives. I can understand the frustration of seeing the team struggle and lose. And as someone who was around during the pinnacle of success, it is difficult for me to see the futility over the past years. But to begin to suggest coaching replacements, trade proposals, and draft selections on November 2 is so far fetched and premature, it suggests to me that perspective has been completely lost, and these folks should get back to work because they are spending too much time worrying about a few games in October.

I share the frustration of the Islander faithful. But when I read this morning on HFBoards a thread which began “Who Should Be the Next Coach” I wanted to wretch. I made the one line comment of how ridiculous the thread was, and of course a couple of fans jumped up and down on me suggesting I should take a look at the last time the Islanders won a playoff series.

Now I could have gone into a long winded tale about how foolish it is to suggest that Scott Gordon, the current crop of players and management are responsible for the Islanders not winning a playoff series in recent memory. But the simple fact is that Scott Gordon and these current players, and this General Manager have next to nothing to do with the Islanders of the 1990s and early 2000s. To suggest otherwise is plain malarky. The fact the Isles last won a playoff series in 1993 has no barring on whether or not Scott Gordon should be the coach of the Islanders, or if Josh Bailey should be traded. The Islanders are in year 3 of a rebuild — not year 18 as being suggested by some fans.

Back in 1987-88, the Islanders were on their way to winning the Patrick Division title. Finishing the regular season with high hopes, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the upstart New Jersey Devils. That was the last real gasp for the Islanders dynasty years. It had been quite a run, but the 1988-89 season saw the team miss the playoffs and falter. By the time the 1989-90 season came around, Bill Torrey had begun to rebuild the Islanders for the second coming of the franchise. With continued patience the team made some trades that found them back to respectability by the 1992-93 season. Unfortunately, by that time,  the team had been sold, and Bill Torrey was no longer the GM. But his work led the Islanders to an amazing run in the 1993 playoffs. The team was poised to begin a new era of prominence. Sadly, the team was broken up and through a variety of bad owners, bad managers, and poor decisions, the franchise is still trying to recover.

The poor judgment and lack of patience of Mike Milbury is the reason the team has been waiting so long to win a playoff series — and it has nothing to do with Garth Snow or Scott Gordon. Snow and Gordon have actually been doing what Milbury and Don Maloney before him should have done — displayed some patience.

Today, the Islanders are a team at a crossroads. They have choices before them. They have a young coach who is in the final year of his deal, quite a number of young players who have trade value. Not since the late 1990s have the New York Islanders boasted such a strong mix of talent within their franchise. It has taken 3 full seasons to get to this point, beginning with the 2008 draft, continuing through the 2009 draft, and most recently in the 2010 draft. Over that time, some of the players selected by the Islanders have begun to grow and succeed as NHL players. Hitting the panic button is what every GM since Bill Torrey has done in these situations. Coaches have been fired, trades have been made — all of which are being advocated now.

4 games ago, everyone was quiet. Now 4 losses and it is time to blow-up the team. I keep hearing how the team that began the season with wins and success was now incapable and devoid on NHL talent. So I suppose that includes John Tavares? How about Josh Bailey? Perhaps Dwayne Roloson is not an NHL goalie?

Are you one of the fans ready to panic?

Lets trade Tavares. we can get a few “name players” for him.

Lets make a move to send Neilsen, Comeau and Martin away and bring back a 30 something vet who can help us win.

Kyle Okposo is never going to be all that good — we should trade him as soon as he gets back.

Calvin De Haan and Travis Hamonic can help us get a quality NHL defenseman — lets make the deal!

These are the kinds of things we are hearing, and these are exactly the kinds of trades that crippled the Islanders for the past 15 years. But none of them are at the hands of Scott Gordon or Garth Snow. On the contrary, the Islanders have been building. And they are not standing still either. Sim was placed on waivers, and Matt Martin is getting an opportunity to play. Rob Schremp and Michael Grabner are coming back from injury for tomorrow’s game against the Hurricanes. Kyle Okposo will be back in December along with Milan Jurcina.

This is an NHL team. John Tavares is already doing very good things to begin his sophomore season. Matt Moulson is playing just as well as he did last year. Mike Mottau has been a solid addition, and James Wisniewski  is in the top 3 among NHL defenseman in points. Bailey, Comeau and Schremp now need to continue to build on the successes they had last year.

If you are not convinced, I suggest you listen to what Pierre McGuire had to say about the Islanders on Chriss Botta’s islanderspointblank.com. Still not sure about Gordon as a coach? Talk to Brian Burke who tapped Gordon as an assistant coach for last year’s olympics. Ask someone at USA Hockey how he did in Europe after the year was over this spring. The coach is not problem. the team lost a few games. There is a full season still ahead of the Isles, and until at least 30 games have been played, passing judgment on the coach, or the players is not fair. There is far too much hockey to be played before we should be even talking about a coach, the draft, free agency, or trades.

I am tired of trading the young players we draft only to see them become stars elsewhere. Panic leads to bad decisions. I don’t want to push the Milbury Button, and thus far we have had a GM not willing to push it either — and im thankful for that!

Isles Vs Canes
The Islanders take on the Canes tomorrow night on the road. It is a shot to see how Grabner will look after a few games with a groin pull. Schremp comes back, and it will be interesting to see how he does back in action. While some players are coming back, losing Jurcina and MacDonald to injury in the past weeks have been very rough. We now are left with playing Bruno Gervais who has continued to struggle. Ultimately, the Islanders defense has held up despite three key injuries to Streit, MacDonald and now Jurcina. This is the same team that played well to open the season. They are capable of finding that game once more!

The team as a whole needs to step things up. While all 4 losses are not on any one player, it is clear that the rust on DiPietro is fairly severe and the idea he is the “number one” has been left for another day. Scott Gordon mentioned in Newsday today that DiPietro and Roloson would be sharing the work. This is a good first step for the Isles. Giving the lions share to DiPietro — who is not ready — would be a mistake.

Equally, I feel that some line mixing needs to occur. The addition of Matt Martin should add a welcome dose of energy. The return of Rob Schremp as the second line center will rejugle the lines further, and the speed of Michael Grabner will be welcome.

The Islanders need to be more aggressive and harder skating early to try and get that elusive first goal. They equally need to stay healthy for a 60 minute effort. They have lost a player to some form of injury in nearly every game this year and while the injuries vary in severity, they need to get through a game without losing a player.

I think I am taking a huge chance that most of you wont understand the graphic I created above. If you need help with the reference, during the cold war a group of scientists created the "Doomsday Clock" as the two super powers, the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R stared each other down — pointing enough nuclear weapons at each other to blow us all up. (Bulletin of Atomic Sciences)

Garth Snow, General Manager of the New York Islanders has announced in a recent press conference that in the past week, reality has hit the New York Islanders with a bad loss to the Panthers in Florida, and back-to-back losses in the home and home to the Habs of Montréal. “With 3 consecutive losses, the Islanders have dropped in the standings and slipped in the minds of many Isles fans,” said the GM. “While some may decide to move the hands of the clock closer to Midnight, I like them just where they are. I’m sure the trade rumors are going to begin to pop up on any number of blogs and boards, but we are going to maintain our course of moving the franchise forward without the nuclear option,” continued Snow in a confident tone.

Okay — I would hope that you can see this is my poor attempt at humor — and to those of you old enough to remember the Doomsday Clock from the Cold War days, I hope there is at least a courtesy smile on your face. But despite my not giving up my day job — I agree with my fictional press announcement and must suggest that we need to relax. It is 10 games into an 82 game season, and while you may lose some ground in the first few weeks of the season, you have time to close the gap and make up time. It is no where near close to midnight for the New York Islanders of 2010-11.

What has gone wrong over the last 3 games? Why the skid?

I’m not sure much of anything has gone all that wrong. But there is going to be some ebb and flow both to the Isles, and other teams over the course of the season.

First — The Islanders are not going to sneak up on anyone — especially in the Eastern Conference. Not anymore. The word is clearly out and the team is not a joke — not anymore. A third of the credit goes to the man in the picture above. The easiest part of his job is now done. Drafting well, having the smarts and patients to keep the players he selected, and letting the develop properly. The hard part is ahead of Snow. Who stays, who goes of the prospects and picks to add a needed piece or two via trade? A question for the days, weeks, months and season or two ahead.  The second third goes to Scott Gordon — who has implemented a viable system for the team, and got the boys to buy into and learn the systems. The team now has something it lacked for years because no one in the GMs seat had any patience with the long list of coaches who came and went in 1-2 year stints — an Identity. Finally, the last third — and in some ways the key part of this — the players have been executing on the ice, and off the ice with their workouts, strength training and commitment to being better players.

Second — The Islander ran into a very good Habs team this past week. The Canadians are no joke. They are well coached themselves. They have highly skilled personnel that know how to win. Several players have Stanley Cup rings — Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez both have cup rings with the Devils, Travis Moen won it all with the Ducks, and Hal Gill won it with the Pens. They should be a playoff team and could make some noise this Spring should they remain healthy, and on pace. (Anything can happen, but they are a good club.) As for the Panthers — well, Thomas Vokoun always plays us well, and we did not get the big goaltending we needed to hold on in that one.

Third — The injuries continue to mount. In fact — someone tell me — have the Islanders played a game without losing a player? I just learned that Milan Jurcina is out after a hamstring injury last night. It appears to me that Bailey, Moulson, Comeau and Hunter — while all playing — likely are still banged up. And let’s not forget, some key guys are still out. Despite this, the depth on the team is holding tough, and playing good hockey.

However this continues to shake out — including what is likely to be a tough game tonight against the Flyers, the Islanders are doing well. So the point is, why move us closer to blowing up the team because of a few losses? Despite the tough loses to the Habs, the team played pretty good — particularly in last nights contest. One mistake cost us the game. They do need to be a bit more aggressive and playing with more urgency to be sure — but that should not be the signal to begin to trade away important young pieces. I raise this because the aforementioned blogs and boards will undoubtedly begin to suggest trades are needed, and more importantly then a few raging Islanders’ fans who think everyone who wears the blue and orange should be as great as Bossy, Trottier and Povin, past GMs have gone the nuclear route and gone with “established” name players that lead the team to a low point in 2008.

Now it seems again — the man in the picture above is not that kind of guy. He is much more inclined to let players develop, and stick with a plan. And as much as the Islanders don’t want to use the words — they are still rebuilding. And if that is indeed the case, then you don’t use atomic weapons to blow up the building you are trying to build — right?

Doomsday is not here —  “there is still plenty of time on the clock,” so says Garth Snow — I hope.

El Nino back to Portland
While some disagree, this was the right decision in my mind. Nino didn’t play poorly, but he did not “need” to be here and undergo the same baptism by fire that Josh Bailey and John Tavares endured in previous seasons. The Islanders are boasting significant depth this season throughout the lineup. Defensively as well as on the forward unit. Michael Grabner, Matt Martin, Jesse Joensuu are all here, and in the case of Martin and Grabner, they are already contributing. Robbie Schremp is close to returning, and Kyle Okposo will enter the conversation by the end of November. Snow is 100% correct in his assessment that Nino needs the ice time, and situational play on a regular basis, and he wasn’t going to get it in New York this season.

The Islanders have begun to function just like all of the other teams. The draft picks now have to be more than ready to make the team. They have to be good enough to take a job from someone else rather then just walk onto the ice.

Congratulations Matt Martin
While he almost had a Gordie Howe Hat trick, Matt Martin took on big Hal Gill, hit everything in sight, and scored his first ever NHL goal. Martin played well in other call ups, and while I may be in the minority, I believe he should be in the NHL and with the Islanders if he is going to continue to play at the intensity and level we saw last night. Should Martin make a spot for himself, the odd man out has to be Jon Sim — who has not played poorly, but has not played so well that Martin can’t take his spot away!