A couple of things to get to in this entry, so let me not waste any time…

The new uniforms- It’s not that I don’t like them, but compared to some of the other team’s new garbs, the Isles look to have gotten the short end of the stick, no pun intended.

The front of the jersey looks fine to me, but those orange sleeves are an absolute eyesore. Instead of having them in orange in two separate places on each sleeve, they should have just had them orange on the ends. As a matter of fact, I don’t understand why they couldn’t have kept the same model they had before and made it work with the layout of the new jerseys. The Bruins, Red Wings and Rangers all did that and their jerseys look fine. How that jersey managed to get past so many people without anyone asking why the sleeves stood out as much as they do is beyond me.

However, I do love the numbers on the front of the jersey. That kind of old school look I am a sucker for. That to me, is the only thing that I feel should have been done in addition to the old jerseys to make them stand out more. Nonetheless, I do plan on buying it once I have the time, but that’s only because I feel that as one of the only Isles fans in Brooklyn, I need to wear the colors proud. Regardless of that though, I think they could have been much better than they are.

Now, take a look at the second picture that I touched up on the computer, that’s what the team’s new jersey should have looked like. A slight update to an already nice looking jersey and not this crazy three-toned thing they’re going to have to wear all season.

Bryan Berard tryout?- I’ve been hearing about this for weeks and if that’s the case, I don’t think Bruno Gervais is going to like it. They just signed Campoli to a three-year deal and with his offensive upside and improved physical play last season, you have to think that Gervais would be the one to go back to Bridgeport, not Campoli, if Berard still has some juice left in his boosters.

Personally, I’ve always liked Berard and even though he’s had a rocky go of things over the past few years, his ability on offense is tough to question. If he’s healthy, he might not only replace Poti’s lost offense, he could be the missing piece to the team. I mean c’mon, who would argue with Bergeron and Berard on the powerplay? Ok, sure they’d give up a few short-handed goals because those guys don’t exactly excel in the defensive zone, but they’d score more than enough goals and assist on plenty more to make it worth it.

Jason Allison? Again, at an affordable price, this guy can be another important piece to the puzzle. Even he skates like he has feet made of cement, the guy is a great passer that would be able to score 55 points if given plenty of time on the power play, which would help the Isles offense immensely at this point.

As much as I used to like Bates, he doesn’t have what it takes anymore to even center the fourth line, unless for some reason, he’s escaped the injury bug and is ready to be a more consistent player. With that being said, I do think that Nokalainen would be a decent choice, but with Allison, we could let him center the third line and put Vasicek on the fourth and have plenty of depth there. Again, while I’m not a huge fan of him being on the Island, it would a depth signing that would help the Isles stay competitive with some of the explosive offensive teams in the conference.

With a few weeks to go before camp starts, it’s going to be interesting if any more moves are made.

Posted under Isles Rumors 2007, Isles Thoughts 2007

Another article that should be on Sports Day in the next few days…

Before injuries to both Rick DiPietro and Radek Martinek last season, the Isles defense was among the very best in the NHL. Down the stretch leading to the playoffs however, despite the solid play of Tom Poti, Sean Hill and Brendan Witt, it looked like the defense needed a sparkplug. While the late season acquisition of Marc-Andre Bergeron proved to be a huge one for the Isles that bolstered the team’s defensive core, the team was still eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres.

When the season was over, the Isles hoped to keep Poti, who was coming off one of the best seasons of his NHL career and were looking for a solid replacement for the aging Hill, who was also suspended for testing positive for performance enhancers at the end of the season. Unable to keep Poti, who signed a big money deal with the Capitals, the Isles first made a few depth signings, inking former Phoenix second-round pick Matthew Spiller and former Blue Jacket Aaron Johnson to minor league contracts and signed 2006 sixth round pick Andrew MacDonald to a three-year entry contract.

While the deals weren’t exactly what many Isles fans were looking for, the Isles now have three young and hungry D-men that each give them something different. At 6’5” and 233 pounds, Spiller is a big body that has no problem blocking shots and getting in peoples faces. A few years away from being an NHL regular, Spiller has the potential to be a steady stay at home defenseman once he gets a little more mobile.

Playing in 61 games for the depleted Blue Jackets last season, Johnson looks to be the first D-man called up if Freddy Meyer can’t cut it as the team’s seventh defenseman or if Martinek returns to his injury prone ways of the past. Possessing a solid shot from the point and keen passing ability, Johnson may find himself on the point of the Islanders power play sometime in the season. However, his defensive ability is far from solid, making him too much of a liability right now and someone that could definitely benefit from time in the minors to brush up on his defense.

Signed a few months back, MacDonald has better offensive ability than Johnson, but lacks the size of Spiller, making him an interesting option sometime during the season. Averaging 35 points a season in juniors, MacDonald, who is also a solid skater, would be a perfect match on defense for someone like Brendan Witt, who takes the body and doesn’t cover as much ground as he used to. For the time being however, MacDonald will be in Bridgeport, where he will obviously be logging serious minutes on special teams before an eventual cup of coffee with the Isles sometime during the season.

However, despite the signings of Spiller, Johnson and MacDonald, the biggest signing the team made on defense this offseason was that of Andy Sutton. At 6’6” and 245 pounds, Sutton gives the Isles the size and strength at defense that they needed to make up for the loss of Hill. While Sutton isn’t nearly as offensive-minded as Hill was, he has no problems blocking shots or taking the body and is much younger, making many Isles fans feel like he’s an upgrade from Hill.

With Sutton and Witt taking the body for the Islanders on defense, the team will still need solid seasons from youngsters Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais, who will have to prove after a few years in the organization that they’re ready to be real contributors. In addition, Bergeron will have to make sure that his 21 points in 23 games with the Isles last season was no fluke, while Radek Martinek will have to make a hasty return from a leg injury that ended his season last year.

If Martinek and Bergeron can provide offense on the power play and Witt and Sutton provide the veteran leadership needed to push Campoli and Gervais to the next level, the Isles should have more than enough depth on defense. However, if Witt and Sutton can’t keep up with the Crosby’s and Ovechin’s of the NHL and Martinek gets injured again, expect a long season for the Isles on defense.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

This article should be on NYSportsDay.com in the next few days, but I figured I’d let you guys see it first.

After losing most of their offensive stars from last season in less than a week, New York Islanders general manager Garth Snow knew he had to act quickly to make sure he put a competent team on the ice this season.

Signing Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek among others this offseason, one can make the argument that the Isles may have just as solid a team as last season, when no one predicted they’d make the playoffs, only to finish in the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

For a long stretch of time last season, the Isles were the talk of the Atlantic Division, winning games with grit, hustle and speed, thanks to a breakout season from Jason Blake and the resurgence of former captain Alexei Yashin. However, injuries to Yashin, goaltender Rick Dipietro and to defensemen Bruno Gervais and Radek Martinek would halt their hot streak, as the team managed to squeak into the playoffs thanks to amazing goaltending by third-stringer Wade Dubielewicz.

Not having the offensive firepower needed to defeat the Buffalo Sabres, the Isles were sent home in five games. However, things were upbeat on the Island as the team looked to resign leading scorers Blake and Ryan Smyth. That was until the free agent shopping spree begun in the NHL and the Isles watched both Blake and Smyth take contracts with Toronto and Colorado, leaving them even more prone to disaster, considering they bought out Yashin’s contract to appease both Blake and Smyth, who reportedly didn’t get along with the underachieving superstar.

To make matters worse, after a week of no moves on Long Island this summer, fans were going berserk and were hoping Snow could make a move that would alleviate the pain caused by the departure of not only Smyth and Blake, but also of Viktor Kozlov, who signed with the Capitals. Signing Fedotenko first and then Guerin and Comrie, Snow has done a solid job of replacing the offense lost by Smyth, Blake and Kozlov. As a matter of fact, it’s possible that both Blake and Kozlov will never have the same success they had last year on the Island and Comrie and Fedotenko, with ample ice-time, can both put up similar numbers as the former Islander they’re replacing.

As far as Guerin goes, he’s one of the only players in the NHL that can score 30 goals on any team he plays on and as the Isles new captain, he’ll be leading the charge and playing key minutes on the power play and in crucial game situations, making another 30-goal season an almost possibility.

With Guerin, Comrie and Fedotenko eating up most of the special team minutes, expectations for Vasicek won’t be nearly as high, but that doesn’t mean the 6’5” center can’t make a difference. While he may remind many Isles fans of washout Oleg Kvasha, make no mistake about it, Vasicek makes a living in front of the net and isn’t scared to push back, making him an ideal third line center and someone who could benefit the games of gritty wingers Chris Simon, Trent Hunter and Jon Sim, another new addition to the team who will be counted on to add some offense.

Having six 20-goal scorers last season, the Islanders had a balanced attack and had all four lines contributing on offense that led to their success. While they may not have the big names of Smyth, Yashin and Blake anymore, they still have more than enough depth to hold their own on offense, but will need breakout seasons from their new additions to swim in the tumultuous waters of the Atlantic division, rather than sink.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007

Last season around this time, the Isles picked up Sean Hill, who wound up being the glue on defense that kept the team together down the stretch last year. This season, it looks like Danny Markov could be the next piece of the puzzle the Isles need to escape the losses they suffered during the big free agent push.

I know I may be overly-positive at times, but I can’t begin to stress how badly this team needs to sign a guy like Markov. The guy is an animal on the ice and with players like Simon, Hunter, Witt and Markov taking the body and players like Hilbert, Park, Sim and Sillinger working their tails off, I think this team has enough moxie to challenge for a playoff spot.

However, if they don’t sign a tough as nails defenseman and don’t find a way to get a real third line center or give a guy like Petteri Nokalainen a real shot shot [I really can’t see Shawn Bates holding down that spot after how mediocre he was last season], this team may not have enough depth on offense and defense to do much. I know Isles head coach Ted Nolan will be doing whatever it takes to make sure these guys work hard on the ice, but considering how improved some of the competition has gotten this offseason, the Isles need something more if they are going to make the playoffs.

Look at it this way, the goaltending tandem this team has in my mind is one of the best in the league, so why not make sure that the defense playing in front of them can limit the shots and the offense can score goals? Without those intangibles, DiPietro and Dubie are going to be playing for nothing. I’m totally confident that if this team can block some shots and score a few goals, they’ll be able to challenge for a playoff spot.

That is, however, if they make a few moves. The buzz on the message boards and rumor sites is that Andy Sutton, Markov and Josef Vasicek are on top the Isles list. I think if they can manage to pick up either Sutton or Markov and add a big center that can score 40 points and take the body [not necessarily Vasicek, who reminds me too much of Oleg Kvasha] then again, they’ll challenge for the last two playoff spots.

In the NHL, it all starts with good goaltending and luckily, that’s one thing the Isles have in abundance right now. Now, they just have to build around their strengths. Hopefully the next time I write this blog, I’ll have some good news to talk about.

Posted under Isles Rumors 2007, Isles Thoughts 2007

Whew, I got scared there for a while.

I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but for some reason, I’m always worried when the Isles have a solid player that needs to be resigned. Having lived and survived through the M & M era [Maloney and Milbury, two men ironically not known for their thin candy shells. I guess we can classify them as Peanut M & M’s then] a part me of always gets worried that whatever player is in question, he’ll find a home somewhere else.

Thankfully, that is not the case with Isles winger Trent Hunter, who the team just signed to a one-year deal with a modest raise. My only question is why was it only a one-year deal?

To me, Trent Hunter is the kind of player that you would want to build a team around. With two 20-goal seasons under his belt and still only 27 years old, Hunter still has a huge upside. The only problem Hunter has I would say is his offensive consistency. Last season at the All-Star break, I predicted the guy would have 20-goals and considering the fact that he had eight through the midway point of the season, it was a crazy prediction, but I knew the guy was going to catch fire eventually and thankfully he did.

Playing on a line with Mike Sillinger really brought out the best in his game and he blossomed in every situation he was put in, turning out what I think was a pretty solid season. He also continued to look pretty damn sharp in postseason action, something that the Isles will definitely need in the years to come. Add in the fact that the guy can play on the PK and on the PP and takes the body every night, I don’t understand why the Isles wouldn’t want to lock him up for a three or four year deal. They just signed Campoli to a three-year deal and Campoli still hasn’t cemented his role on the team yet.

I believe Hunter has.

Despite this though, I can see the Isles logic, even if I don’t quite understand it. They want Hunter to go out and continue playing his arse off on every shift and continue to earn his spot. Complacency in young players with high salaries runs rampant throughout every professional sports league and the Isles are contempt on making Hunter the biggest and best lunch paler in the NHL and when the time comes, they’ll give him a salary that keeps him on the Island for the rest of his career.

We can only hope so.

Or I’m going to have to change the banner on this site.

Posted under Isles Thoughts 2007