Comments on: GORDON STANDS UP FOR HIS TEAMExpresses faith and loyalty in his young players

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:05:29 +0000

Chris, about the many things that concern me about the Islander’s, a few that quickly come to mind are, why, for quite some time now, have the Islander’s not been going for “Size”. They seem to continue to draft smaller player’s that never seem to emerge. You look at so many of the teams out there, and the are, much bigger, much faster, and much stronger than the NY Islander’s. These trades that some of your reader’s are proposing, make no sence. The NY Islander’s have become and have been for some time now the Kansas City Athletic’s of the NHL. Drafting, and Grooming wonderful talent, only to see a new GM to come in and try and make a quick name for himself. Millbury, Luongo, Chara, we can go on and on with all the “Stupid Trades” he made. And lets look at the Robert Nilsson, O’Marra, and a #1, for Ryan Smyth. The Islander’s would be that much further ahead if this foolish trade was not made. To return to, (lets start with)respectability, the NY Islander’s need to build through the draft, and by signing the right free agents. I am sorry to say this but having been a die hard NY Islander’s fan since the beginning, I am hoping the Islander’s finish last this year, so they can get the “Jewel” of this years draft, possibly Tavares. And by what I have seen so far, that wont be that difficult. Championship Teams, are won with “Blue Chips” and as we speak right now, the NY Islander’s don’t have any. This year for the Islander’s, should be a year of finding out what they have, not trying to be as close to average as they can, by bringing in these older players that probably won’t be here when the Islander’s are. “The NY Islander’s Need A Plan”, period. Chris, always a pleasure, Mark/NJ

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:05:05 +0000

Chris TMC,
I hear what you are saying, and I am by no means questioning your hockey knowledge. Just throwing out ideas. I agree that this team is desperate for scoring. It just seems that if Gordon was not happy with him, and determined that he had to go, There are some contending teams(I know, too early in the season) that have a lot of money committed to just a few players, and might be looking for some secondary scoring. So wouldn’t the fact that the 4 mil is coming off the books be attractive and command a solid young player or more?

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:02:18 +0000

CB, Hes not a heavy but is Tim Jackman going to be called up at all? He can definitely take an NHL shift.

By: John

John — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:47:29 +0000

I take it back, CB. You started your reply with a lower case.

By: tifoso

tifoso — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:29:31 +0000

Ok, I think anybody who wants a trade for a big name-player right now aren’t buying into the rebuild. What sense does it make to trade for a top 6 winger right now? If this team really needed a veteran winger now, why didn’t Snow resign Satan or Fedotenko (or even Vasicek) last July? The talks about improving the team through trades are just silly. Be patient, give Gordon at least until christmas/new year to get something out of this crop of talent. If not, it’s not the end of the world.

I gotta mention this. I just watched Wisconsin Badgers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Kohl Center in Madison tonight. Aaron Ness of the Gophers is a very solid and talented puck-moving defenseman. He’ll never be Zdeno Chara, but this guy is special. He never makes a mistake while puckhandling at the blue line after a bad pass during power play. He always puts his outbreak passes on his teammates tape. Although not a physical player, he knows how to handle himself and he’s responsible in his own zone. Remember, this is coming from a disappointed Badgers fan who just watched his team tie the fifth game of the season after losing the first four…
My point is, this guy is just one of three 2nd round picks in the last draft of the Isles. I think the hedging strategy of last year’s draft is going to pay off later on.

By: Chris TMC

Chris TMC — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:17:33 +0000

Chris: I specifically remember Tambs having a good scoring chance that resulted in a missed shot… he would up bouncing the puck off the side of the net. But one good scoring chance isnt going to get me hysterical for him, because that and more is expected from every forward and even most of the defensemen on the team.

And I think what youre saying about Thompson is valid. Im not seeing whats so great about him yet either. However, I am going to try to be as patient with him as Im being with all the other Islanders kids with limited NHL experience. I think we need to exhibit the same level of patience with him that we exhibit with all the other Isles kids because thats exactly what he is now… another Isles rookie player.

By: Chris TMC

Chris TMC — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:01:56 +0000

We would not get what many of you dream we would get for Comrie. If you go the cap-strapped angle, he is an UFA at the end of this season- so his salary is not going to be much of an asset since they are already under the cap this season.

Comrie is a good 2nd line player even on very good teams. Why so many fans think that a team as starved for anything resembling offense should just throw away the guy Ill never understand. Unless it is back to the idea that many of you have visions of what the Isles would get back for him that are IMO completely unrealistic.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:28:30 +0000

Keeping with the topic of trades, In many of the blogs, when Mike Comrie’s name comes up as trade bait, most agree that the return would be a 2nd round pick or something comparable. We have 2 second round picks in the next draft. I wonder what Comrie + one of those 2nd round picks would fetch. His salary is not over the top at 4 million a year(also not saying he is worth that much). I wonder what a cap strapped team would give up.

By: admin

admin — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:06:53 +0000

that’s extremely kind of you to say, especially on a day when spammers have said otherwise, LOL. Thanks, John. A reminder to commenters: I have to delete posts with really bad words…CB

By: John

John — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:51:14 +0000

CB, you are truly the people’s journalist. If it weren’t for you Islander fans would be calling for heads. Thanks for bringing fan’s words to the team’s ears and giving honest straightforward answers back. Keep up the good work.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:12:17 +0000

A stated reason by Snow for firing Nolan was he did not give Tambellini a fair shot and did not give the kids a shot in general.

This year we have Tambellini showing little and Comeau in the minors while retreads get NHL ice time.

Different coach, same deal except each coach has his favorites.

Snow has to take the fall here. He fired Nolan to cover up the lack of talent Snow has assembled.

By: Rick

Rick — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:28:09 +0000

Vik, Snow & Nolan disagreed last year because Nolan is an ego-maniac who refused to play the young kids. You have it backwards – Nolan is the one who thought he could win with mediocre vets, Snow was pushing for the young guys to play so they could actually develop and the team could really get a clue as to where they stood going forward.

Ted Nolan is a coach, Snow is a GM, so comparing the 2 makes no sense. Nolan has ZERO credibility by the way – if he was so good, someone else would have scooped him up by now. He wasn’t even mentioned for the Chicago job that opened up about a week ago. That went to Quennville, who should have been coaching the Isles in the 1st place.