Dallas Stars defenseman Mark Fistric has been suspended for three games by the NHL for a hit that left Nino Niederreiter of the New York Islanders with a concussion.

Posted under NHL

In 2006, Sean Bergenheim discovered two things about New York Islanders owner Charles Wang: His policy that if a player doesn't sign before the first day of training camp, he doesn't play for the Islanders that season; and that the … Continue reading ?

Posted under NHL

In 2006, Sean Bergenheim discovered two things about New York Islanders owner Charles Wang: His policy that if a player doesn't sign before the first day of training camp, he doesn't play for the Islanders that season; and that the … Continue reading ?

Posted under NHL

There's no sign of Roberto Luongo among team photos that dominate one wall of the New York Islanders' practice facility. There's no sign of Raffi Torres either, which is probably a good thing, too.

Posted under NHL

While I’ve nibbled at this topic a few times, I’ve failed to give a full out answer on what the Isles should do with the first pick. Everyone who reads this site knows I believe John Tavares should be an Islander. But many don’t know why.

Here it is.

Despite the fact that many scouts have said he doesn’t play great defense and is a bit selfish with the puck, those same scouts still see him projecting into a 40-goal scorer. That reason alone, I feel the Islanders need him in the lineup. Simply put, who gives a crap if he doesn’t play defense now. That should change over time and if he’s scoring 40 goals, I could live with bad defense, even if it’s on the Mike Comrie level.

What many people are failing to realize here is that the New York Islanders are desperate and far more than anyone thinks. They need someone on the ice they can believe in and someone they feel can be a guy that can help them get out of this funk they’ve been in since the early 90s. Since that time, they’ve brought in so many people that have failed miserably at the task and it’s time now to set this ship right before it’s totally unrecoverable. So far, Kyle Okposo looks to be a guy the team can build around, but he is not going to be the offensive leader this team needs in order to make the playoffs, nevertheless win a championship. Josh Bailey, too, while he made significant strides in spite of tremendous growing pains this past season, looks more like a 50-60 point guy with character.

John Tavares however is a star right now and the Islanders don’t have any.

The last thing you want to do is go playing around with trades and hurt your chances at giving the fans what they want. While this is a sport and of course, the main goal is to win, sometimes making fans happy is the smart thing to do. As of right now, Tavares is the clear fan favorite, despite Victor Hedman having a group of fans that think he’d be the right guy as well. As far as Matt Duchene goes, the fans don’t know much about him.

What the Islanders need to do now is to protect themselves by putting as much information about these three players on their site and show them meeting the Islanders brass. I’d even go as far as quoting them about how’d they feel if the Islanders drafted them, even throw some video on the site of these guys in action, so they can make their own decision and be forced to go off of what the media tells them. Make the fans aware of what is going on and put them in a situation where on draft day, they are educated and don’t flip out because they have no idea who the team drafted.

Remember, this is a business and the Islanders have to make their customers happy. If they aren’t going to do what everyone thinks they should do and draft Tavares, they should start preparing now in order to deflect that obvious backlash that may ensue.

Posted under Offseason 2009

Despite the Islanders record this season, they’ve had a few players that have never given up this season. Guys that regardless of the score, have fought hard in corners, taken quality shots on net and taken the body.

When thinking of players that fit into this category, Tim Jackman is one of the first players that comes to mind.

Signing a one-year contract extension with the Islanders yesterday, Jackman was rewarded for his hard work, making his return to the team next season an imminent one.

While Jackman coming back may not be a huge signing, it does assure the team of some fourth line grit and toughness.

You can never have enough of that, can you?

“Tim earned this extension by showing his willingness to do whatever is necessary to help the Islanders succeed,” New York general manager Garth Snow told the Associated Press. “We know Tim is excited about being an Islander next season, and we’re just as excited to have him back.”

The thing I like the most about Jackman is that he can fit adequately into a variety of roles. If someone is picking on Kyle Okposo or one of the other youngsters, Jackman has no problem dropping the gloves with them. If the Islanders need someone to go out there and change the momentum of a game and provide some energy, he can do that too. If someone on the top lines is slacking and needs a reality check, Jackman can play with the top line and get himself in front of the net and at least be an option. He’s even shown an ability an ability this season to kill penalties and block shots if he has to.

Because of that, he’s proven himself at this level and absolutely deserves an opportunity to strut his stuff in the NHL for at least one more season.

Simply put, Jackman doesn’t hurt the team when he’s on the ice. He’s a decent skater with good enough speed to be productive in pretty much any role the team needs him to be in. I actually think that he has better hands than most scouts give him credit for. Like Andy Hilbert in the fact that he’s produced more offensively in the AHL than the NHL, I think if Jackman plays 80 games and gets his 12 minutes a night, he could net 10 goals and add as many helpers.

For the time being though, I, like many Isles fans, are just happy to have him back.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

This is always one of my favorites times of the year, but the way things are going with the Islanders this year, things have the potential of getting very ugly, very fast.

Considering the fact that there seems to be a rift between several of the older players and Isles head coach Scott Gordon, many of the team’s veterans could be on the move.

I’m also wondering if Trent Hunter’s supposed lower body injury has more to do with his relationship with Gordon [I have no idea what it is, but if it's rocky, we may have seen the last of him] than anything with his lower body.

As of right now, it just feels like the team has had enough of many of the veterans on the team.

Jon Sim, for example, goes and plays his best game as an Islander and is put on waivers the very next day. The guy has been playing great hockey as of late after a whole season of under-performing and as soon as he gets going, you attempt to give him away? I don’t know if I agree with the logic there. He’s signed for an agreeable one million dollars next season and if he continues to produce, he’ll have a dozen goals in about 60 games. That’s not too shabby for a guy that scored 17 a few years ago with a plethora of ice time. Why they wouldn’t want to just ride him out until he stops scoring is beyond me.

What they are doing right now is slapping him in the face. Putting him on waivers once and not having anyone pick up was bad enough, now putting him back there while he’s playing his best hockey is the ultimate disrespect. Now if no one picks him up, what’s the next step? Throw a player you’ve already proven to have no faith in and that you’ve shown has no value to the 29 other teams in the rest of the league back in the lineup? Like I said, he’s still got another year on his contract and you’ve already made him miserable this season, so what exactly is this guys incentive to play hard for you? That’s the big problem here. Now he has none.

Simply put, doing things like this will inhibit free agents from coming over in the future. Add in the fact that the Islanders obviously already have problems signing players that they need to and this is not good news.

Not good business dealings if you ask me.

Posted under 2008-2009, Random Rant

It’s funny how I wrote yesterday that Mike Comrie was perhaps the only Islander without a contract for next season that could be moved at the deadline.

To be able to get a first round pick though, now that definitely wasn’t expected. Sure, you lose Chris Campoli in the process, but he didn’t want to be here. What where the Islanders supposed to do there?

Campoli apparently didn’t want to stay and the Islanders were done waiting for Comrie to be anything more than a spare part. Take away his first 10 games with this team and I think it’s fair to say that his tenure was an undeniable disaster. Even if the Islanders basically got a washed up Dean McAmmond for Comrie, it’s better than nothing. He’s was pretty much going to be gone at the end of the season anyway. As far as McAmmond goes, he’ll have an opportunity to prove if he can still play in this league or not. Who knows, maybe he may prove the critics wrong. My personal opinion on the matter is that he’s washed up and Ottawa was simply throwing him away, but I have been wrong before.

As far as the first round pick for Campoli goes, I think the Islanders got a great deal. I’ve always held the kid in high regard, but aside from his rookie season, was never able to put it together for a whole year. Now he’ll go somewhere else and score 50 points, but unlike the countless other youngsters the Islanders have given up over the years and got relatively nothing, the Isles now have something to show for it. Now it’s up to them to make the pick count.

I also think that the Isles have enough talent at the blueline in the minors that over the long-term, the loss of Campoli won’t be a huge one. However, we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

Despite the fact that it’s going to be a late first round pick, the Islanders now have options at the entry draft. For all the drama the Isles stirred last season when they traded down for Josh Bailey, I think it’s fair to say that the entire fan base has accepted him and wants to see what he develops into. If they can get two more quality youngsters and throw them into the mix, this will be a huge step forward in the rebuilding process.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

With Richard Park now out for up to four weeks with busted ribs, the Islanders will have to replace his grit and heart and fast. Luckily for them, Trent Hunter is healthy and ready to rejoin the team.

Going over a month without scoring a goal, no one knows when Park broke his ribs, but spending a few weeks on the shelf may be the best thing for him right now. You hate to see a guy like Park hurting physically and especially when the team is playing as poorly as they have been. A guy like Park would a key role player on any first place team, but on the Islanders, his worth is perhaps even more. He’s the heart and soul of this team. However, he’s better off the ice if he’s injured and if Hunter back, the Isles may be able to score a bit more.

Speaking of Hunter, I’d really like him to get going offensively again. In order for the youth movement to continue to progress, the young veterans like Hunter and even Mike Comrie and Andy Hilbert [if they stick around next season]have to get hot. Having Mark Streit and Bill Guerin score 50 points this season is not going to be sufficient enough to help get these kids to understand what it takes to perform at this level.

That’s why Doug Weight’s exodus from the lineup is so huge. When he was averaging close to a point a game, players like Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo had something to shoot for and could watch it being done right before their very eyes. Now, these kids have to bear down and do it all by themselves. Having some of the other guys get hot could possibly give them more space on the ice and give them an opportunity to produce a bit more.

With most of the team not producing offensively, it’ll make it really interesting to see who gets traded. Weight is absolutely off the list, Mike Sillinger is done for the season and Guerin has a no trade clause, leaving possibly only Comrie as the only Islander without a contract next season with any real value to the rest of the league. So with the team being where they are, do they trade Comrie for a prospector a draft pick? Or do they part ways with someone like Brendan Witt or Radek Martinek, who many teams would love to have, especially due to his inexpensive salary?

I don’t know, but it is something interesting to think about.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009

Wow. For a few seconds, I actually thought this team had a chance. While they did a decent job of stopping the Flyers’ top two lines, the team’s fourth line of Scottie Upshaw, Glen Metropolit and Arron Asham made them pay.

It’s funny though thinking that a team could score four goals in such bursts like that and totally change the dynamic of the game.

In the end, good teams find a way to recover from bad bounces and the Islanders have not all season. You can say it has something to do with injuries. You could say it has something to do with the system the team is playing. But when it’s all said and done, the Flyers, who have been battling consistency problems all season, proved that they are in fact a team that deserves to be where they are in the standings.

Giving up three goals in just 1:13 and committing several costly penalties after putting themselves in a hole, the Isles did the same as well.

On another note, while Yann Danis wasn’t horrible, as one goal was tipped off the shaft of a stick, another two off his teammates, his defense fell asleep at times. The combination of Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek have been better as of late, but lack the polish that once had them as one of the best shutdown defensive pairs in the league.

Marty Biron wasn’t spectacular on the other side of the ice, but he made the saves he needed to. He limited his rebound opportunities and the Flyers defense forced the Isles to take low percentage shots. Anytime you can do that and do it against a team as offensively challenged as the Isles, you’ll be in great shape.

A positive to take out of this game was that Joe Callahan played his best game as an Islander, as he was taking the body and clearing the crease. Jack Hillen was also solid, making several nice passes out of his own zone that started Islander breakouts. Sean Bergenheim was also skating hard, but like most of the season, had problems finishing. Like I’ve said before, if he can’t finish, he’s never going to shake the naysayers that see him as more of a niche player.

One guy that shouldn’t have even been in the lineup was Mitch Fritz. I understand that the team wanted some toughness in there, but why not give a youngster a shot instead? What good is it having an enforcer out there when your team is in last place? I understand the youngsters need protecting, but Fritz is a liability on the ice and he proved it, going a -1 in just 5:29 o playing time.

Nevertheless, Fritz isn’t the only player to blame. The way the entire team played yesterday, a slew of players have some explaining to do.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants