POCK IS HERE TO PLAY
He’s on a one-way deal, and injuries are mounting
First thing we learned about Thomas Pock after our last post was all we needed to know. Pock is on a one-way salary for the 08-09 season at $675,000.
Folks, NHL teams do not pick up 26-year old defensemen (that have played 57 NHL games over 5 pro seasons) with one-way deals on waivers unless…
1. They have a spot for him at the NHL level
2. They really like him
3. Injuries have caused a depth problem
4. All of the above
In the case of Pock and the Islanders, it is No. 4. Make no mistake: Thomas Pock will be a member of your 2008-2009 New York Islanders. We still do not have confirmed details of the injuries that prompted the Islanders to take a player from their top rival, but you have to believe Chris Campoli and perhaps Andy Sutton have ailments that could keep them out a few weeks. At least.
Let me reiterate that because the Islanders are not issuing complete injury reports to the media - and therefore to you, the ticket and merchandise-buying fan - this is simply guesswork. But having been there before, let’s call it educated guesswork. You can also call Pock’s acquisition not the happiest of news for Brett Skinner, Chris Lee and maybe Jack Hillen.
The GMs that hide injuries will tell you Garth Snow keeping the Campoli and other injury news close to the vest may have bought him some time to acquire a defenseman like Pock at the right price. If every GM in the league knew the Islanders’ blueline was hurting before the opener, they all could have held out for a third round pick for a fringe player. If Pock is what the Islanders think he is, Snow did okay for himself - the sneaky bastard. As I grumble about the injury report thing, only fair to explain the other side of the story.
I’m always interested in what the fans have to say on this subject. Bring it on in Comments.
16 Responses to “POCK IS HERE TO PLAY
He’s on a one-way deal, and injuries are mounting”
Please Wait
Garth isn’t a “sneaky bastard.” He’s just smarter than most. And quite often… he proves it.
Obviously Campoli is hurting. Thats a given. Pock has NHL experience and I think that is the bottom line here. He has more goals than Tambs at the NHL level. Isles just need to work on his defensive play.
i guess it was a good choice but id rather have gervais in there.
I think that this UNBELIEVABLY STUPID POLICY is going to make things awful for the fans and the players. Nobody has a flippin clue whats going on with all these players, so all things like this will do is make people go berserk speculating. This fanbase is already prone enough to drama and assuming the worst, but now there is actually reason to, because the organization will give not even a word of comfort, nothing. This policy is a horrible idea. HORRIBLE. I have already been seeing people ranting and raving speculating wildly about injuries and players. And who can blame them? This is what the organization is driving us to!!!
I am the kind of person who likes to wait for the facts and try to let reason prevail. But there will not be any facts, and there will not be any reason TO prevail- just wild speculation, rumors, and uncertainty. I was mad enough about this last season but this is INEXCUSABLE.
It was bad enough that Ricky was playing hurt when he SHOULD have been getting his surgery. He would have been ready in plenty of time for this season to begin. but, no. And then there was Comries “secret surgery” that I only had a clue about from seeing pics of him with his flippin GF. There were pics of Guerin in a sling, too. But nobody tells us JACK.
So how many players is it that already were, are, or have been injured so far this preseason?
Sillinger- Recovering, we presume. But will he come back???
DiPietro- Recovering as well. but will he start the season???
Campoli “Not his shoulder from last season” otherwise who the heck knows ??? Will he even play???
Guerin ??? From whatever was bothering his arm??? Who knows???
Sutton ??? Out a few days? A week? a month? A season?
Bergenheim ??? Seems to be back but what was wrong???
Tambellini ??? Seems to be back but what was wrong???
Niemi lower back fracture, out 2-4 weeks.
This is all 100% completely and totally WRONG.
Lets go Islanders. Way to go Snow. Lets hope he is a good dmen. I thought he was decent.
If they liked Pock so much, they could have had him last year when he was put on waivers.
Hey Chris, good job on the site. Hey any chance you lobby for Butchie like you did Sugden? Who knows more about winning than he does? Personally I think he should be the head coach, but since we seem to have a good one with Gordon, any chance Butchie gets the assistant coach spot? Seriously, what does Scott Gordon really know about winning stanley cups on Long Island? Hope he listens to Trots and Butchie and Morrow, guys like that. Nothing would be more frustrating if Gordon doesn’t know how to get his team to beat the rangers. Some of the coaches that come through here don’t seem to know how to do it. Think about it, when Butchie was here, his teams played the rangers hard, even though they were last place teams.
Yes, Snow is a sneaky bastard? Couldn’t we get anyone better? Seemed like it was in desperation- he took from the closest waiver list. BOTTA- WHATS THE INSIDE SCOOP WITH THIS GUY, BUG/SMALL CAN HE FIGHT, SKATE?!?!
First off, I am trying to find common ground between this policy and the old policy. I know I don’t share my medical information with everyone, but on the other hand, I also do not play for a professional sports organization. It absolutely sucks for us, the ticket buyers and team supporters to not be in on “the know.” All I want to know is how long they will be out…
Second… Pock. I like the acquisition regardless where they are going to use him… but I like it especially if Campoli is going to be out for a while. For those of you who think this is a step back on “The Plan” by not bringing up Hillen or Lee instead… I think your crazy. They will mature in Bridgeport as well… it is professional hockey… and I guarantee you they will get their shot in the NHL this season the way these injuries are already happening. Pock can be a big minute guy in B-Port and or a 5 or 6 dman on the Isles roster. Plus, I go to the University of Massachusetts and he was a BIG TIME d-man for Amherst and a big impact player in Hockey East during his four years here.
Third, Paul Newman. For those of you who have recognized his humanitarian work more-so than his acting, I recommend you check out a 4 minute piece my brother put together for Newman’s Own. My brother does video work and has been working on this short piece for some time now and has been aware of Newman’s rapid decline in his health. The link is… http://www.Newmansown.com and it is located on the bottom right of the page. R.I.P. Paul.
Fourth, awesome blog CB, it really has exceeding all expectations I have had for it. I can’t wait to see this thing bumpin’ in the midst of the Isles regular season glory haha!
OK, let’s play the speculation game… Campoli isn’t slinged or bandaged. Would a broken clavicle (collar bone) be sling worthy because that is the Petrov injury and popped into my mind for some reason. Often when people fall or crash into something as Chris did they’ll try to catch themselves with an arm and the clavicle will break. Could also be a shoulder separation with hopefully no torn labrum. C-Botts should have gone “Hey Camps!” and given him a playful shot in each shoulder to see if he winced.
I understand the thinking behind this new injury policy but the problem is it reeks of self importance. The NHL has this miniscule percentage of people who would even care about this and the problem is THEY REALLY REALLY CARE!
So now you’re creating a disconnect with your most rabid fans. Not good because they are the lifeblood of the sport. For NYI especially you have a fan base that is going to try and stay patient through what could be a rough year. And now they are going to have do so while not having any clue about the status of anybody.
So you’re gonna take people with a high probability of instances of frustration and up the ante.
I have a question… If God forbid someone has a real tragedy will that be covered up as well. Does this new policy of CIA level clearance for injury disclosure have the potential to create a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario where a corpse is propped up next to the other “healthy” scratches?
“We didn’t want to give other teams an edge in selecting Funeral Homes.”
Matty’s being absurd again… That’s right because this is absurd. This is entertainment folks. We finally have some media showing up to give us some air time and we institute a media blackout. If the Isles are good at nothing else it’s their impeccable sense of timing that we should admire. haha. Let’s just “no comment” all the beat writers back into their holes to cover the WNBA playoffs and interview Met fans crying like they just lost a loved one. You can’t write this stuff.
khabibulins on waivers… not stating that I would want him… i just saw it and I am brainstorming who would pick him up…
get real, Dee.
Todd Walsh: Butchie is a great guy, but he is never going to be coach here again. It would be absolutely RIDICULOUS for Botta to fight that battle, it makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever. Goring does not want to be coach of this team, there is no reson for him to be coach of this team, and he should not be coach of this team. Saying so and bringing this up here and now when our new coach, who is on a multiyear deal, has yet to coach a single frickin game is also ridiculous. Additionalyly, it has absolutely nothing to do with what Botta was talking about here!
Get the Bulin wall…ha ha…I guess we’ll see the extent of Ricky’s injury. Like the rest of the guys I don’t understand this injury policy. The NFL discloses all injuries, as do the rest of the major sports. Why is the NHL taking this road? Seems counter to the rest of the sports.
Anyway, I was hoping Hillen would make the team, doesn’t look that way now.
Oh please how many other sports hold out injury info to the media thats nothing new. Is it fair? probably not. I honestly don’t know what the answers are for this team, other then to say..its a work in progress and it’s goin to be a long time before we fans see what we’re hoping for, a run for the “cup” What I’m hoping for is to see some good hockey being played that shows promise.
Pock may not be something special, but its nice to have a Umass Minuteman on my Isles. It was tough to root for him playing for the Rangers.
I hope he pans out and plays well.