Over the past two years, the Islanders have been an extremely interesting team to watch, changing team motif’s and ideas faster than an OCD patient at IHOP.

However, during that time, Ted Nolan’s hard-working attitude and approach was always prevalent. Regardless of who was on the team, Alexei Yashin, Ryan Smyth,Mike Comrie, he made sure his players worked for their minutes. When they didn’t, they were benched. That included players like Miroslav Satan and Rick DiPietro. For being that dedicated to the success of his team and not caring about the consequences, I applaud him.

But in the end, that’s why he lost his job.

There seems to be a logic-famine of sorts on Long Island for the past few months, as Rick DiPietro has more of a say in when he gets to play than his coach and even though we all know now that DP was hurt and Wade Dubielewicz was the better goalie at the time, Isles GM Garth Snow decided to stick by his franchise player, rather than his coach. You can’t blame Nolan for trying to assert himself though, he took the team to the playoffs the year before and had quickly become a fan-favorite and made the team semi-respected again.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to gain the confidence of the organization.

And why would it be? This is the Islanders we’re talking about. A team that let another great coach, Peter Laviolette, go a few years ago because they felt he wasn’t a strong enough presence in the locker room and the inmates were running the asylum.

Sadly, it took almost a half-decade later for the organization to get the real problems out of the locker room out and the organization, Alexei Yashin and Mike Milbury.

I guess golfing partners are really hard to find on the Island nowadays, huh Mr. Wang?

So while Nolan had every right to do the things he did, he clashed with Snow and that was enough to get the ball rolling. Soon after Snow was questioning Nolan’s actions in front of the media and it was becoming obvious. He wanted Nolan out.

In spite of all of that though, I can’t shake off the feeling that if he would have just been a “yes” man, he’d still have a job.

But Nolan just isn’t that kind of guy.

However, his inability to communicate with Snow wasn’t the only reason why he was forced out. Even though he has a good enough track record coaching youngsters, considering his coaching time in juniors, the Isles used this past season as a way of saying he was unable to help the team with their youth movement.

While I myself was skeptical of how he would have handled the youngsters, let me just say this: there is a huge difference between being forced to play youngsters due to injuries and depending on them to produce through an entire season. While I’ll admit I don’t know how well he would have done this season, I will also admit this: he deserved a shot.

Some will now say that guys like Andy Hilbert and Freddy Meyer, who were Nolan favorites, will have to work harder for their spots on this team, because who ever takes over this team will be more likely to give guys like Bruno Gervais, Jack Hillen and Jeff Tambellini more of a shot. While that may have happened this season with Nolan at the helm, there is no question about it now, this team is looking for a lapdog to carry out the plan Charles Wang and Snow have for the organization.

So again, the Islanders find another way to reduce their eve-sinking credibility in the NHL.

The only question is, who steps in?

I know some of you guys are still a little teed off that the Islanders didn’t make a huge deal at the deadline and didn’t trade away players like Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek. Some of you are even mad that the Isles traded Marc-Andre Bergeron. I know this because I received more e-mails about this site yesterday than ever before. Before I get started with today’s post, I want to thank all of you guys for sharing your opinions with me and being so cool about it. Not one person was a creep about it and in all honesty, your comments and e-mails are really what keep me at this. Sometimes I’m so tired from a long day of college and work that I have to literally summon all of my energy to the keyboard in order to write my daily post. Thanks for my making me feel appreciated.

Okay, here’s the think. The Islanders may have cut some of the fat on the team by trading Marc-Andre Bergeron and Chris Simon, but I believe the real fat cutting is beginning right now. Depending on how well players like Fedotenko, Satan and Vasicek play down the stretch, they could in fact play themselves off the team. The Isles have a few extra draft picks now and still have plenty of cap space. I feel that not many people really understand what can be done with this team in the offseason. All that cap space and a handful of players that the Isles can either sign or part ways with, coupled with a host of young players that are proving more and more that they’re NHL ready… I don’t know, seems like fun times to me. They already have a top-tier goalie and a great coach

That doesn’t mean I am giving up on this season though. This team has been consistently inconsistent this season, but they’ve had their moments. When they play solid defense and get the kind of goaltending Rick DiPietro can give them when he’s on, this team gets results. Sure, the powerplay is broken and is partly responsible for the team being on the outside of a playoff spot looking in, but they could have things much worse. I mean seriously, they could be the Los Angeles Kings or the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’re not.

They just have to establish some sort of consistency. At this point in the season, I don’t care if it’s a winning streak or they tank it. I just don’t want to do through another crazy season. Wait, who am I kidding? I’d love to see them make the playoffs on the last day. It would be nuts. However, it shouldn’t have to be that way. They should go into the playoff playing the best hockey of the year and not get in on the skin of their arses.

The way they’ve played the past two games, showing glimpses of what it takes to be a playoff team, but not being able to finish, you can guess where I think they are right now.

To make matters worse, DiPietro wasn’t sharp the other night against the Pens and he’s going to have to be in order to get this team to the playoffs. Is he playing hurt and the media isn’t aware? Mike Sillinger was playing with a hip injury all season and no one knew. His production went down and the media was all over him, wondering why his production was down. DP hasn’t been sharp over the past two games and wasn’t exactly stellar in a few of the games during the recent win streak. I’m not trying to stir the pot here, but it’s definitely a possibility.

Anyway, the Isles have a huge game against the new look Atlanta Thrashers tomorrow that is a must-win. Four points out of a playoff spot and five points out of sixth place, the Isles have to start winning games anyway they can.

It’s go time.

Are the Isles ready?

When I think of the trading deadline, I usually think of the 80s band Crowded House. Not because they kick arse and I’ll use any excuse to talk about them, but because two of their best songs epitomize the feelings felt by fans during the trading deadline.

“Don’t Dream, It’s Over.”

As Islander fans, this is what we’ve usually come to see the trading deadline as, regardless of how many times the team has made the playoffs over the past six seasons. It’s the time of the year, to stop dreaming and realize that the season is over. A time to give up on young players because they’ll want too much money in a few years or a fan favorite who could nab the team a pick in an attempt to rebuild. Things were so bad at one point with this team that long time fans still kind of have this hatred or fear of the deadline. That kind of ‘Ah crap, here it comes again approach,’ where regardless of what you do, you can’t stop the inevitable feces storm that is headed your way.

“Know We’re Getting Somewhere.”

This has been a feeling that the fans that were around during the Dynasty understand better than anyone. Bill Torrey made numerous little upgrades before, during and after the run that fortified the team down the stretch and quite possibly put the team over the top. Guys like Butch Goring immediately come to mind when you think of trades that lifted this team up to the next level, but the acquisition of Ryan Smyth last season did as well. If Radek Martinek and Rick DiPietro don’t get hurt down the stretch and Chris Simon doesn’t go bananas, that trade might have been one of the most important in the team’s recent history. But as fate would have it, it was just another rental in a league that was full of them last season.

This season is kind of in between these two sentiments though. It’s obvious the team is depleted on both offense and defense, but they’re so close to making the playoffs that you don’t want to mess with what you have. At the same time, guys like Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek have been playing great hockey as of late and while you don’t want to trade them when they’re playing like this, it’s better to trade them while their value is high, rather than get nothing for them at the end of the season.

Snow will be the conductor once again this trading deadline though and only he knows how the song will end. All we can do is wait and see what he presses on the jukebox.

In my 15 plus years of watching the Islanders, I’ve usually found myself on the short end of the stick during the trading deadline. Seeing guys like Pierre Turgeon, Bryan McCabe, Todd Bertuzzi, Derek King, Marty McInnis and at least a half dozen more useful and talented players traded away for picks or players way past their prime has put a whole in my hockey loving heart and has been partly responsible for consistently getting my posterior partially stuck in the seats in Nassau Coliseum. It didn’t matter who the GM was, things just never went to see to go the Islanders way at the trading deadline.

Last season was different though. I know what I’m about to say may piss some people off, but let’s me honest, Robert Nilsson has seven goals and only 18 assists this season [Anyone else think the Isles should have drafted Zach Parise, Patrice Bergeron or Ryan Getzlaf instead?] and Ryan O’Marra can’t even average a point a game in the ECHL. For a while last season, the Isles rose above the mediocrity they’ve got themselves stick in and garnered more positive headlines than they had in years. Sure, they got into the playoffs on the last day of the season and didn’t exactly wow anyone once they got there, but I had the feeling that this team was building towards something besides another first place ouster.

That all changed this offseason though as guys like Tom Poti, Jason Blake, blah blah blah, you guys know this story already. So now, despite a month or two of thinking with the glass half-full, I have reverted to my glass-half empty approach. Nonetheless, I know that Snowie is doing what is best for the franchise and isn’t trying to make a huge splash like Milbury used to try to do, he’s trying to make this team better. It’s kind of like Milbury had the Isiah Thomas thing going on way before Zeke got the opportunity to become a GM in the NBA. Rather than develop talent, he would make a quick trade and before it was able to develop into something either disastrous or wonderful, he’d trade those guys for someone else.

Now with Snow, you at least get the feeling that he’s willing to wait until the pieces fall where they should. I think the way guys like Blake, Poti, Kozlov, Zednik, Asham, Hill, Robitaille and even Smyth have played this season [under expectations at inflated costs] has proven that Snow has made the best moves he could for the franchise. Despite still not having a first line and a legitimate number one defenseman, the Islanders are still in the mix. Again, are they gearing for a Stanley Cup run? No. However, that hasn’t stopped them from being competitive and playing hard. As a fan, that’s the most important thing to me. Winning would be great, but watching a team that doesn’t give up despite what ever obstacles stand in the way [the Isles have had plenty this season] has been a fun experience.

So what is the point of this whole diatribe? I think Snow is going to get rid of the players that he think he can’t keep in the offseason to avoid what happened to him last year. Then he’s going to tweak the defense. After that, he may make a small move to get another dependable forward. That’s a far cry from getting Ryan Smyth, but it’s going to be even farther from anything Milbury did before him. I really think Islander fans don’t have to be worried about this team being run like utter crap anymore and while they may be very far away from challenging for a Cup, they’re not dying a slow death. This may come to bite me in the arse later, but I’ll take the risk.

In Garth I trust.

Here are just a few quotes from the Islanders last game that I found quite interesting:

“We’re definitely not happy with the result, but the game itself: I don’t know how much better we could play. Our guys gave what they have.”

Those words are from Islanders coach Ted Nolan. While they originally seem like the generic quotes you’d expect from a coach in the situation Nolan is in right now, I think there’s something more there. “Our guys gave what they have” means to me that Nolan is beginning to understand that this team is done. Sure, the Wild are a far superior team than the Isles, but if they could have played better defense and converted on a few golden opportunities [Jeff Tambellini’s immediately comes to mind] they could have come out on top.

“It’s a good point, but it should’ve been two. We played well tonight. I thought we played hard, but we’ve got to finish the job.”

Very well said by the Islanders captain. They needed a point worse than Glen Quagmire needs a monogamous relationship. In addition, Guerin also said that the Isles need to start finishing more, something that I’ve been saying for a month now. Also considering how many one-goal games this team has been involved in this season, where would they be if they had a few more goals under their belt. On second thought, let’s not think that way, it’s only going to make digesting this season even more difficult.

While the Islanders offensive problems have been well documented this year, I just thought I’d put things into perspective a little more by showing you some projected offensive numbers of a few Islanders players, according to ESPN.com.

Mike Comrie- 23-goals, 37 assists, 60 points

Bill Guerin- 28 goals, 18 assists, 45 points

Miroslav Satan- 16 goals, 28 assists, 44 points

Trent Hunter- 10 goals, 29 assists-39 points

Mike Sillinger- 21 goals, 17 assists, 38 points

Ruslan Fedotenko- 13 goals, 22 assists, 35 points

Richard Park- 13 goals, 19 assists, 32 points

Josef Vasicek- 16 goals, 11 assists, 27 points

Marc-Andre Bergeron- 12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points

Andy Hilbert- nine goals, nine assists, 18 points

Sean Bergenheim- seven goals, 10 assists- 17 points

Now I’m not a rocket scientist, but with more playing time, Comrie should be looking at least a 70 point season. Guerin’s goals are fine, but he should be looking at a 60 point season. Satan should have twice as many goals and about 10 more assists. Hunter’s assist totals are higher than expected this season, but he has to put the puck in the net more. Sillinger has been playing hurt all season and despite that has turned in a decent season. Nonetheless, he’s expected to have about 50 points. Fedotenko, like Comrie, has been getting more ice-time this season and should have gotten about 20 goals and 25 assists this season. Vasicek is having his usual season, but also should have more assists, considering how many opportunities Satan has had this season.

As far as Hilbert and Bergenheim go, they’ve worked hard in both ends this season, but you’d still like to see more offensive production from them. Bergeron has solid offensive numbers considering all the games he was scratched for, but there’s so much else to talk about when it comes to his game like his horrendous defense.

The only person on this team that is having anywhere near a more than solid offensive season is Park. When a role player is the only one exceeding a team’s expectations, it’s no wonder this team is playing so badly.

Make no mistake about it, right now is go time. This season is still worth saving, this team just needs to start playing with some desperation.

The only question is, do they want to?

Over the last few games, the Islanders play on defense has gotten consistently sloppy. Nonetheless, I stick to my guns when I say that Rick DiPietro’s play has not been the reason why this team is stuck in a rut.

However more than a few fans have expressed their opinions to me over the past few weeks, to the point where I have been getting e-mails [from more than a few people] who are complaining that I’m “drinking the orange and blue kool-aid.,” among a few other choice remarks that put a smirk on my face. However, anyone that’s been reading this blog since I started it last season knows that I am the farthest thing from a huge DP supporter. As a matter of fact, I dedicated several posts last season [which aren’t back on the site because it crashed in June, but will be back once I repost everything over the summer] to bashing his idiotic puck chasing and selfish play.

The reason why it was so easy to do that last season was because after about 25 games, Tom Poti, Sean Hill and Brendan Witt were playing some extremely solid hockey. Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli were also working hard and playing tough in their own end, making me extremely teed off that this team was hovering around the .500 mark all season. If DP would have played the way he’s played this season, last year, this team could have been in the fifth or sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, not the eighth.

But enough of the wishful thinking. The reason why the Islanders are under .500 right now has nothing to do with DP. The defense is no where near as solid as last year’s and the offense is anemic. Does anyone remember that the Isles had a 40-goal scorer on this team last season and four 20-goal scorers [and five players with over 50 points], to go along with two defensemen with over 40 points and Ryan Smyth? I’d be surprised if the Isles had more than one player with over 50 points this season. Now ask yourself, does it even matter what type of goaltending you get when your team scores this much. The answer is no.

Right now, DP could go out there and make 35 saves, give up two goals and his chances at victory would be extremely slim, so don’t get on his case when the Isles lose 4-3 against a team that is far superior in every facet of the game as they are. Until the Isles step it up on both ends of the ice, things like this are going to be happening a lot more than the annoying e-mails I’ve been getting lately [which I welcome regardless of their “matter of factness” and annoying self-righteous bravado]. And like I said, this has nothing to do with how I feel about DiPietro. The Isles could clone Tony Esposito and Ken Dryden and put them in net and this team would still be in the same situation. Throw all the stats on DP that you want at me that you got, but they don’t mean anything in the end.

As far as I’m concerned, the only stat that does mean anything is the Islanders league-low 132 goals.

Imagine how I felt this morning on NHL.com seeing the Islanders only six points out of a playoff spot, despite playing their worst hockey since the year after the lockout. Despite injuries and ineffectiveness, this team still has a chance to turn things around. However, it’s all in their hands. If they can find a way to start scoring and limit their mistakes on defense, this season might still be worth saving.

You want to know what that paragraph was? It was the hopelessly devoted Islander fan in me speaking. He still has fond memories of Pierre Turgeon scoring his 50^th goal against the Rangers and crushing hits by Rich Pilon. He stayed positive when this team traded players like Turgeon, Todd Bertuzzi, Ziggy Palffy, Bryan McCabe and Eric Brewer away for nobodies like Kirk Muller, Trevor Linden and cough…draft picks…cough. He didn’t mind the combination fisherman/Isles jersey and actually thought Niklas Andersson could be a consistent offensive threat.

This part of me is currently embroiled in a fist fight of sorts with another part of me, the realist. The one that knew the Jets were finished after week four this season and the one that was pissed when the Isles got rid of Bryan Smolinski and Robert Reichel. The same way that could never understand how the Isles couldn’t get another high profile player to compliment Mike Peca and Alexei Yashin to make a serious run at a Stanley Cup and not a half-assed one.

As of right now, the realist in me is beating the living crap out of the passionate and faithful Isles fan. With every give away by Marc-Andre Bergeron, every filed toe drag by Mike Comrie, every nixed opportunity on the powerplay and bad penalty, the punches come flying in faster than a Mike Tyson spelling bee appearance.

I implore you New York Islanders, give the fans out there a reason to keep watching. Give the youngsters more time on the ice and give Rick DiPietro the support in net that he needs to get some wins. They’ve waited way too long over the past 15 years for this team to give them a smile that lasts longer than a few weeks. On the message boards and mailing lists, some of the more pretentious and pseudo hockey intellectuals have actually discussed the team moving and how it would be more convenient for them. That’s how bad things are right now. The only thing that can silence thoughts like this is your play on the ice. Make it happen.