Aside from Doug Weight, the Islanders don’t have any real playmakers and John Tavares needs someone to pass him the puck.

This is where Alex Tanguay fits in.

He’s in desperate need of a change of scenery and is coming off an injury-plagued season last year, where he still managed to score 41 points in 50 games. He also doesn’t need to shoot the puck much, probably about 110 shots will do the trick, and can still score 20 goals a year. He makes the most of his shots and is incredibly unselfish with the puck. Sure, he’s fragile and sometimes inconsistent, but I still think that if he plays with Tavares, it could be something special.

The fact that the rest of league has passed up on him means the Islanders can get him cheaper than they could have done before. If they sign him to a two or three-year contract, they get him through his early 30s and if he doesn’t perform, they could always trade him to a contender for a draft pick.

However, if he performs, Tavares and who ever else is on the line with him and Tanguay, most likely Kyle Okposo, will be able to learn from a guy will some experience and will be able to get more of an opportunity to step up their game as well.

Low-risk, High-reward if you ask me.

Posted under Offseason 2009

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

Jason Pitton- I saw him play at Islanders prospect camp in 2005 and didn’t get much of an impression from him. Four years later, I guess you can say the same thing. Pitton’s numbers are less than mediocre as he’s battled inconsistency and injury. With guys like Tim Jackman and Joel Rechlicz either on the big club or in the AHL, the 6′2, 215-pound Pitton may not have the versatility the team needs right now. However, with Mitch Fritz likely gone this offseason, the team may keep him around in case they need another tough guy.

Blake Comeau- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; this kid has the makings of a great role player, but he has to take his destiny into his own hands. While I have little doubt that the Islanders will re-sign him this offseason, he has to come into next season’s camp in the best shape of his career and has to force Islanders head coach Scott Gordon to keep him with the big club. If he does that and can shoot the puck some more, there’s no reason why he can’t find himself in the 15-20 goal and 40 point range. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, but as far as a non-top six forward goes, those are damn good numbers.

Jeremy Colliton- Every time he’s been up with the big club, I’ve enjoyed watching him and I think he’s got a lot more offensive ability than people give him credit for. However, much like Ben Walter, I think he’s been lost in the organizational shuffle. Because of that, he’s better off trying to go somewhere else in order to accomplish his dreams of being a NHL regular.

Sergei Ogorodnikov- Don’t know much about him aside from the fact that he had a decent year in the ECHL a few years ago and he’s got some international experience until his belt. At 23 however, the questions remains as to how effective he can be at the NHL level and when he’ll get there.

Jamie Fraser- I think he’s another no-brainer. He’s got the same great hair as his relative Kerry, who is one of the best officials in the league and is a good leader. On the ice, he’s got a big heart and that’s one of the reasons why he’s a fan favorite in Bridgeport. A good player on both sides of the puck, Fraser, in my mind, should be one of the first players called up if the Isles get hot by the injury bug again.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under Offseason 2009

The first year I started this site, I had a plethora of trolls that hated when ever I would dog Islanders goalie and resident heart throb Rick DiPietro. They’d say things like “Give him time,” “His mistakes aren’t enough to outweigh his ability,” or even “Shut up loser; you have no idea what you’re talking about.” Last season however, before he rammed his head into Steve Begin, my attitude began to change and I found another player to pick on, Andy Hilbert.

Unlike DiPietro, who, I believe to this day still has no idea just how talented he really is and repeatedly goes out of his way to make the superstar play, rather than the smart one, Hilbert is smartness personified. As a matter of fact, I think he knows his game perhaps better than anyone else in the league. He knows that he’ll never be the 30 goal, point per game player he was in the AHL and has modified his game in order to stay in the league. As far as I see it, he’s one of the hardest working players in the league today as well.

As a fan, he irritates me because he can’t finish and he always seems to be around the puck. If someone like Jon Sim had as much moxy and awareness on the ice, he wouldn’t be in Bridgeport and would have ended the season with more goals than he’s ever had in a season.

As a journalist, I love the transition he’s made in order to stay in the league and love his heart. He’s the kind of player that won’t hurt you by being on the ice and like I said, works his tail off. However, at the same time, those attributes don’t always translate into numbers and that’s why I’ve often complained about his play.

Simply put, if the Islanders feel that either Trevor Smith or Jesse Joensuu is ready to play in the NHL full-time next season, Hilbert, despite his responsible play, should fall victim to the Islanders youth movement. However, considering the fact that like Nate Thompson, he has proven he can play in Islanders head coach Scott Gordon’s system makes him an intriguing option. An unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, the most I can see the Islanders giving Hilbert is a one-year contract, hoping he stays healthy and continues to thrive with Gordon, while the youngsters continue to develop in Bridgeport.

At 28 years old, Hilbert can play it safe and earn a decent contract that could keep him somewhere for a few years in hopes of finding a linemate that can help him take his career to the next level, preparing him to sign one bigger contract before he hangs up his skates. He can also sign a one-year contract somewhere and go for the gusto and prove to the rest of the league that he’s more than an immensely talented and hard working third liner.

Stay or Go- If the Islanders don’t have confidence in players like Joensuu just yet, I’d sign Hilbert to a one-year contract and if he’s playing well enough at the trading deadline, I’d ship him off for a pick. If Joensuu and Smith come to camp ready to earn a job, Hilbert’s hard work alone would secure him a spot.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under Offseason 2009

Not a bad game overall and without a doubt better than what this team was doing the last two games against the Hurricanes and Penguins. Definitely good to see Bergenheim get in there and get a goal; same thing goes for Jackman, who hasn’t given up on a shift all season. Yann Danis made 27 saves, many of which were with traffic in front of the net, which, at the very least, kept the Islanders in the game.

Today, against the Eastern Conference leading Boston Bruins, the Islanders will try and go out in style the same way the did last season when they beat the Rangers on the last day last season.

If all goes well, the Bruins will dress Manny Fernandez, who got the start last night, and make sure he’s ready just in case uber-dependable Tim Thomas [Did you ever think you'd say that about the guy four years ago?] goes down for the playoff run. With the Islanders luck however, Thomas will be in net, as the Bruins too look to go out in style and crush an Islanders team that doesn’t stand a chance.

At any rate, should be an interesting match-up. Lets see if Kyle Okposo can have a good game as well and make sure the Islanders have a 20-goal scorer on this team this season. If not, it’s going to be something many Islanders fans remember for years to come.

Streit wants a sniper- Islanders All-Star defenseman Mark Streit knows what he wants the Islanders to go after this draft.

I’m sure many of you will agree with him as well.

“I think we need a sniper, a goal-scorer,” Streit told Newsday. “I think when Ricky (goalie Rick DiPietro) is healthy and we have our whole ‘D’ corps, we have a pretty good defense we can build on. We have a lot of good talent up front, and obviously, one other guy who could put the puck in the net wouldn’t hurt next year. But that’s out of my hands.”

I’ll be there- As part of my winning the 2008 Islanders blog of the year, I won a pair of tickets to any non-Rangers home game this season and decided a few weeks ago that today would be the perfect day. I’ll see you guys there. Driving all the way from Brooklyn, the Islanders better not let me down, or they’ll be hell to pay.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

For the second game in a row, the Islanders have made me sick to my stomach.

Pretty hard to do considering the fact that as a child, I’d watch Faces of Death while eating ice cream.

Nothing like cookies and cream and monkeys getting their brains bashed in if you ask me.

Last night’s game however, proved to be much more than disgusting; it was pitiful.

After Bill Guerin scored and looked down, it was obvious- even after being traded away a few weeks ago, for a paltry fifth round pick, he felt bad for his former team.

Six unanswered goals is hard to stomach and especially considering how hard the team came out in the first period.

What is even tougher to understand is how bad the Islanders powerplay was. Spoiling two separate five on three opportunities, the Islanders powerplay needs some serious work. However, with all the injuries the Islanders have dealt with as of late, what did you expect.

Even Islanders coach Scott Gordon knows his team will going to have a rough time competing the rest of the season.

“Right now, in our lineup, we don’t have a lot of firepower,” Gordon told the AP after the game. “I think we hit four posts during the course of the game. It’s not going to come as a surprise that the puck is not going to go in as easy as it would for some teams.”

In other news, the Islanders signed 2007 third-round pick Mark Katic and 2008 sixth round pick Justin DiBenedetto to three-year, entry-level contracts.

Katic is coming off his best season in juniors producing more than solid numbers of 13 goals, 41 assists and 54 points in 63 games. With Chris Campoli gone to Ottawa, Katic will first have to prove himself in Bridgeport, but will eventually at some point in the future have an opportunity to be the slick skating offensive defenseman the Islanders will need in the future to compliment Mark Streit.

Scoring 45 goals and 48 assists in 62 games with Sarnia this season, DiBenedetto proved he could still put up big numbers without Steven Stamkos around and with the team in need of young and talented forwards, DiBenedetto not only makes the organization deeper at the position, but he could challenge for significant time in Bridgeport next season.

If the injury bug takes over again next season, who knows, we may see both of these kids.

For time being however, they have both been assigned to Bridgeport.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

He’s back.

Yes, Joey “Pickles” MacDonald isn’t ready to give up this season. Despite playing his heart out for most of the season, MacDonald in fact may be without a job next season and he knows it. That’s one of the reasons why he needed to be on top of his game last night. Making 42 saves and getting some help from the pipes behind him and two youngsters in Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey, the Islanders and Joey Mac earned a much-needed win against the Detroit Red Wings.

I can almost guarantee that Mikael Samuelsson and most of the Wings had trouble sleeping last night.

“Time and time again we had great opportunities, I thought our execution was really good, but I thought they were desperate,” Babcock told the Associated Press. “The goalie was good, they blocked shots, they competed really hard.”

Wow, that should be a line in an Alanis Morrisette song, The last place team was desperate and beat the first place team. Isn’t it ironic? Don’tcha think?

At any rate it shouldn’t matter how the Islanders won, just the fact that they did win and against a team like the Red Wings, is something that they should be uber proud of.

Josh Bailey has been talking more about improving his shot this summer and Kyle Okposo [who is another guy who has been getting better and better this season] has said on numerous occasions that he’s been working with him in practice on it. Starting to see a difference? I think so. He’s got much more confidence when the puck is on his stick and even though I believe he’s a great passer, he’s definitely got the ability to put the puck in the net more than he has this season. Seeing that development occur right before your eyes is pretty damn fun if you ask me. Earlier in the season, he would have been out by the circles, rather than in front of the net fighting for the garbage goal.

The same process is beginning to take place with “The Great Dane” as Nielsen seems to be getting better and better every time he steps out there. 29 points in 51 games may not be too enthralling, but considering the fact that he has 10 points in his past 13 games, it’s easy to see that he’s not the same player he was earlier in the season.

I think it’s fair to say that most of the youngsters are going through the same thing.

They are taking their Flintstones vitamins.

They are 10 million strong… and growing.

Sing it with me.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

A few months ago, I ran into former Ranger tough guy and fan favorite Nick Fotiu, who shared his thoughts on the rivalry with the Islanders in the late 70s and 80s. Over the course of the interview, Fotiu also spoke about how he was actually Scott Gordon’s coach at one point in his career, making the interview that much more interesting to Islander fans who otherwise wouldn’t have been interested in what Fotiu had to say [especially since he made a name for himself checking the hell out of every Islander he could get his hands on during his heyday].

After the game, I had an opportunity to ask him a few questions about just how intense the rivalry was between the Islanders and Rangers.

The Drive for Five: You played a big part in the Islanders/Rangers rivalry in the 70s and 80s. What was it like for you?

Ron Duguay: What made it exciting aside from the teams being so close in proximity, was the fans. I’m sure that there were probably more fights in the stands than on the ice at times and it was fitting since the fans were the ones that really created this rivalry. On top of that, both teams really enjoyed playing against each other and there was a respect. It wasn’t like when we played Philadelphia, when it was a gong show. When we played the Islanders, it was hard-nosed hockey.

TDFF: Was there a player on the Islanders that you were scared to hit the ice with?

Duguay: No. I just knew and was always aware that if I went into Denis Potvin’s zone, I was going to get hit and hit hard. Other than that, I think everyone always played hard and were respectful of each other.

Photo Patrick Hickey Jr.

Posted under 2008-2009, NHL, Random Rant

Damn was that pretty.

From Bruno Gervais and Frans Nielsen fighting for the puck and to Kyle Okposo finishing the play and jumping into the arms of his teammates, this is what I want to see for the next few years.

If that wasn’t enough, I think the Islanders have struck gold with Mike Iggulden. Talk about net prescence. In every game he’s played this season, he’s gotten himself in a place to cause damage. Tonight was no different as he got himself right in the slot and took advantage of the fact that Josh Bailey, another kid who is playing good hockey over the past few games, was in front of the net, looking for a rebound as well. If Iggy can continue to play this way, I can see him on this team next season.

What do you guys think about that?

Personally, I could see him on a line with just about any of the youngsters. He doesn’t hurt any of them and is a good puck distributor in addition to possessing a good shot. I like his defensive game as well.

Right now, this team feels like they are beginning to form their identity. Void of real veterans besides Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt, the youngsters have taken control and are holding their own and the young veterans like Tim Jackman and Mark Streit are playing more than solid hockey as well.

Slowly, but surely, every signing by Mike Milbury or Garth Snow during the Ted Nolan era is either adjusting themselves to Scott Gordon’s system or is leaving via trade or free agency. As this trend continues, this team will get better and more exciting to watch.

It’s happening right now, can you see it?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve loved the fact that they can come out and play well against teams like New Jersey and Montreal that are trying to cement playoff spots. Because of that, the next few games against Boston and Chicago will be even more enjoyable to tune into. Now who said playing spoiler wasn’t fun? Sure, many fans of this team have given up on them this season, but the real fans will come back next season when they see all these kids come back meaner, faster and stronger.

It’s only a matter of time. Add in a few key signings and this team will be right where it needs to be. I can smell it. It’s just going to take some time. This band can play.

Tonight, simply put, was 60 minutes of fun hockey. Plenty of penalties due to hard work, a few fights and a plethora of great saves, especially the Carey Price stop on Jeff Tambellini late in the third made this one of my favorite games of the year.

Posted under 2008-2009, Post Game Rants

It’s been fun watching these babies progress lately, huh?

Simply put, if this can keep up the rest of the season, the Islanders will be in much better shape to challenge for a playoff spot than they are right now. Well, OK, maybe I’m dreaming a bit here, as this team is still in need of a legitimate sniper and a healthy Rick DiPietro before they can even attempt to make the playoffs, but it’s fun to dream right?

At any rate, with the experience the Islanders youngsters have gotten this season, I really believe some of these kids have what it takes to be huge building blocks in the team’s future.

Like I said yesterday, I really feel that Kyle Okposo has what it takes to be a perennial 30-goal scorer in this league. If he continues to take the body, skate hard and shoot the puck, I think he can be a very similar player or give the Islanders the same jolt that Zach Parise gives the New Jersey Devils. His rookie season, Parise put up very similar numbers that Okposo is putting up now. It wasn’t until his second season that he truly began to show signs of what he is now. I feel the same thing will be the case for Okposo.

While he’s a bit older than some of the other youngsters, I see Blake Comeau eventually developing into a guy that score a dozen goals a season in a checking line role and provide the bench with leadership, charisma and hustle. With six goals this season and I believe 14 in about 100 games of NHL experience, his offensive game still needs more refining, but many of his problems early in the season had to do with conditioning, rather than his own individual skill level.

The case with Josh Bailey and Frans Nielsen I believe are different ones that Comeau, as I feel they are beginning to show that they have the ability to be more than effective centermen. I think they both have to shoot the puck more, but I do love their playmaking ability and of course, “The Great Dane’s” ability in the face-off circle. Of the two, I think Nielsen has more polish, but overall, I do believe Bailey will be the better overall player in the years to come. Nielsen I see developing into a 10-15 goal, 35-40 assist guy, but I think Bailey can be a consistent 40-assist man in this league. Even attempting to predict his goal totals is a tough task, but I do think that if he takes the initiative and shoots more, he could score anywhere from 15-20 goals next season.

However, in order for all this to happen, these kids will have to continue to work hard this season and prove that they belong.

If not, they’ll find themselves back in Bridgeport.

I don’t see that happening though.

Posted under 2008-2009, Isles Thoughts 2009