Monthly Archives: November 2008
Near the end of Woody Allen’s 1979 classic movie, Manhattan, his character Issac sits on a couch, talks into one of those things they used to call a tape recorder and makes a personal list of what makes life worth living. Our next Checklist, ideal for Thanksgiving, gives you the opportunity to share your list as it relates to the New York Islanders.
For reference, here’s what Woody says in the movie. Of course, it’s an esoteric list and – pre-Soon-Yi – includes some life foreshadowing by ending with the smile of his much-much-younger girlfriend named Tracey, played in the movie by Mariel Hemingway:
“Well, all right, why is life worth living? That’s a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Uh, like what? Okay. Um, for me… oh, I would say… what, Groucho Marx, to name one thing…
“and Willie Mays…and the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony…and Louie Armstrong’s recording of ‘Potatohead Blues’…Swedish movies, naturally…’Sentimental Education’ by Flaubert…Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra…those incredible apples and pears by Cezanne…the crabs at Sam Wo’s…Tracy’s face.”
For authenticity, you have a max of 9 entries for your list and you should mix it up. Shouldn’t just be a bunch of players, but maybe a few players, a few moments – historical, small, whatever – a personal memory, sight, sound or smell, something that’s special to you.
Like our first Checklist on how this season will be judged, this blogitorial needs you to make it work. I have included my shot at it below. You send your list to the Comments space. Have fun with it!
How the Islanders Have Made Life Worth Living
- Bossy’s explanation of how he picked the corners: “I always tried to shoot it in the middle of the net”
- Ziggy Palffy, Kenny Jonsson
- April and May, 1993
- Nystrom, Gillies, Tonelli
- Those two weeks in April 2002 when people were so drunk with their love of the game they started talking about the Coliseum like it was the Montreal Forum
- The perfection of the Cup-winning series vs. Vancouver in 1982
- The look on our twin boys’ faces when Wade Dubielewicz took off his helmet and knelt down to take a photo after warmup last season at their 7th birthday party. (Cole and Luke are at right, in foreground).
- The sightlines from the Islanders press box
- Bill Guerin, savoring every experience, making every friend, giving back and living his sporting life the exact same way I used to dream I would if I was a professional athlete
****
Okay. You take it from here. Happy Thanksgiving.
Only sincere entries related to this subject will be retained in Comments.
To talk about anything else, please go to the Pittsburgh game thread. Thank you.
Here’s the crazy thing about the Penguins frantically coming back in the third period down 3-1. With that aggressive forecheck and their D pre-pinching at every opportunity, Pittsburgh played like the Islanders do all the time. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, of course.
While the Islanders’ less-than-bold play at the home rink – and that tonight’s fold came with Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt on the roster – is troubling, we’re not looking at this one as cause to hyperventilate. (We did that off the loss on Friday in Jersey. Not standing up – that was a disgrace).
Andy Sutton stumbled tonight, Monday it was Ryan O’Byrne putting the puck in the middle of his own net. Bill Guerin has been a bastion of leadership, tonight he took a shockingly selfish roughing penalty. That’s hockey.
Before he left the Coliseum tonight, I guarantee you Scott Gordon had two lists: one of his players able to do something about the Penguins’ persistence (the short one), and one with his players that didn’t have any answers. In his post-game press conference, Gordon was terse, beside himself. This one is going to stay with him until Friday.
In our continual search for the big picture – most of you saw the game and we look forward to your vents in Comments - we had dedicated tonight to writing about the status of Josh Bailey. With two assists tonight, we thought it had really worked out. Whether the Islanders’ 2008 first round pick sticks or not is still the team’s most pertinent story over the next few days.
THE 5-FOR-1 TRADE
(6 if you count Petrov. We don’t, but…)
The Islanders traded from the 5th overall selection in the 2008 draft to the 7th pick and then finally the 9th to take center Josh Bailey. Here is the (almost) final scorecard.
Would Have Taken 5th
Luke Schenn
Instead Came Away With…
Josh Bailey
Aaron Ness (2nd round)
Jyri Niemi (3rd round)
David Ullstrom (4th round)
Toronto’s second round pick in 2009
Islanders insiders also say they never would have drafted wild card Russian right wing Kirill Petrov if they didn’t have the extra third round pick. Petrov, taken with the third of their third-rounders, is the franchise’s most high-end prospect not currently in the NHL or AHL.
The Accounting: The Islanders traded the 5th overall pick to Toronto for the 7th overall pick, plus a second round pick in 2009 and third round pick in 2008. They traded the 7th overall pick to Nashville for the 9th overall pick and a second round pick in 2008. They later traded the third round pick acquired from Toronto to Chicago for a later third round pick and a fourth round pick.
BAILEY DESERVES TO STAY.
SHOULD HE STAY?
The issue is no longer whether Josh Bailey has earned a spot in the Islanders’ lineup. With his obvious talents, work habits and accomplishments, the 19-year old center has earned every consideration to spend the rest of the season with the Islanders.
The only question now is whether Bailey should stay, whether there is any downside, any potential harm, in the kid playing the rest of this NHL season. Judgment Day is Friday, after the Islanders play in Boston – Bailey’s 9th NHL game.
The view here is he should stay.
If the Islanders had a different head coach, I would be concerned. Scott Gordon is not a screamer, an over-reactor, a coach who plays to the cameras and the notebooks. He does not preside over a circus. He does not show favorites.
If Bailey was here at a different time, I would be concerned. This is a rebuilding team working in a system no one else is playing (Atlanta’s is different). Bailey is better served here - through the highs like now and the 8-game scoreless slumps – than in Windsor, where he would be joining a junior league team with a record of 22-2-0. They love them some Bailey in Windsor, but the Spitfires don’t exactly need him. The Islanders need him now, for reasons surpassing this season’s standings.
If Bailey had a different makeup, I would be concerned. He’s a smart young man who has handled the pressure of this 9-game audition with the coolness of Jean Beliveau. Nothing seems to faze him. Bailey isn’t worried, so I don’t think anyone else should be worried for him.
The return of centers Mike Sillinger (ETA: one week) and Mike Comrie (not anytime soon) should not factor into the Bailey equation. There’s enough icetime for everyone and Garth Snow and Scott Gordon have plenty of options, including trades, the waiver wire and luxury suite passes for any of the centers to watch the occasional game. The loss of Frans Nielsen only kicks down the door for Bailey staying that the Comrie injury nudged open.
If the Islanders send Bailey back to Windsor, let it be because they really felt he needed the development time in the Ontario League and the experience of playing at the WJC. It shouldn’t be because the kid can’t handle the pros, or because staying here will negatively impact his career. This isn’t Dave Chyzowski two decades ago. It isn’t Tim Connolly almost a decade ago. Different player. Different coach. Completely different circumstances.
20 WORDS FROM DOUG WEIGHT
We asked the veteran center and Bailey mentor if (Go-Go) Gordon goes easier on the older guys or does any hand-holding with the kids;
Said Weight: “Whether you’re 37 years old or 19 and you make a mistake, Gordo’s putting you in his video tomorrow morning.”
Q & A WITH THE KID
(Seriously: One question, one answer)
The answer might seem obvious, but always fair to ask the question…
Hey Josh Bailey! Where would you rather be: in the NHL in New York making fantastic dough to go up against the best players in the world
OR
With the juggernaut Windsor Spitfires, quite possibly winning the Memorial Cup, and with Team Canada in Ottawa for the holidays, quite possibly winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championships?
Said Bailey in the locker room hallway at 5:10 tonight, “Here.”
SCOUTING REPORT
We asked a visiting scout at tonight’s game to watch Bailey as much as he could for us, while watching the other 37 players for his boss. Here’s his scouting report on Bailey:
“His sense with and without the puck is outstanding. It’s why he was in on each of the first three goals and had assists on two. Like on Bill Guerin’s goal (to make it 3-0), he got knocked down, he got up, skated into position and one-timed the pass to Guerin. He knew where Guerin was. Bailey may have made it look simple, but it’s not for ten-year vets let alone a teenager. He puts himself in good situations to utilize his skill.
“He’s good along the wall, in cycles and in traffic with the puck. Having that kind of poise at 19 in his eighth NHL game is pretty impressive. And with that sense comes vision. He sees the ice really, really well.
“His skating at this level right now is okay, but that’s something you can work on. All the other stuff are gifts, and he has plenty of them.”
Asked whether Bailey should stay with the Islanders or return to junior, the scout said, “I don’t know the kid personally, so I can’t comment on whether he has the maturity to handle it. All I can tell you is that tonight he looks to me like an NHL player.”
Attention, Point Blankers: On Thanksgiving morning, we will post our latest CHECKLIST, the Interactive Blogitorial where you write the story. It’s a special holiday version and we think you’ll have some fun with it, so take some time on Thursday or Friday and get involved. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Comments.
Three hours and two additional reads later, I’m even more mystified by the comments of my Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray today on the Newsday site. Read Jim Baumbach’s Q & bad A with Murray here.
I was in such a rush to get the word out on Baumbach’s article that I included just my brief take. Now that the Islanders’ morning skate is over, some follow-up thoughts…
1. From reading the article, you get the sense Supervisor Murray has no clue of any of the Lighthouse Project steps before it landed in her hands. She comes off like Donovan McNabb, unaware NFL games can end in ties.
With her showboating offer to work on the Coliseum now, does the Town Supervisor remember that Charles Wang and Scott Rechler won the rights to the project because Nassau County wanted their vision for a Smart Growth, mixed-use development? It was the County – even more than the developers themselves – who insisted that the simple refurbishing of the Coliseum was not what the region needed.
2. According to a source, the current estimate to “fix” the Coliseum and make it a major league arena is $400 million. After all the time and money Wang and Rechler have already put into this project, it’s tough to view Murray’s offer as anything except an insult.
3. The Town of Hempstead Supervisor says “We don’t even have the draft of the environmental impact statement yet.” Just a thought, but that may be because the developers can’t draft it until all of the scoping is completed by the various agencies and, you know, the Town of Hempstead.
4. Murray has this wonderful nugget to Baumbach: “As long as four years ago I had offered specifically to the developers to re-develop the Coliseum as a stand-alone project separate and apart from the Lighthouse Project itself.”
Really? Four years ago? Wang and Rechler were chosen as the developers by Nassau County (over three other groups, including one led by Fred Wilpon) less than two years ago. Scary stuff.
5. About those jabs at Gary Bettman, or as Kate Murray calls him, “that NHL guy.” Look, it’s one thing for a hockey blogger and hockey fans to gang up on the league commissioner. Even Bettman knows the drill.
But for the Town Supervisor of Hempstead to go out of her way to elbow the man who runs the league, that’s just not smart politics. Look up how much the Islanders annually fill the Town coffers, Supervisor. Look up how many residents have jobs at night because of the little hockey games here.
Bettman has a lot of say about where NHL franchises play. For all the hockey issues Islanders fans have with the league office, Bettman has been guiding the Islanders owner on the arena development issue since Wang purchased the franchise in April, 2000. With Kate Murray’s statements – not just about “that NHL guy” but more importantly her lack of any vision (or, it seems, understanding) for the project – ringing in his head, Bettman will continue to be a guiding force.
ETC: Freddy Meyer (hernia surgery) is off the IR and will be partnered with Chris Campoli tonight. Expect Bruno Gervais and Thomas Pock to sit this one out.
Scott Gordon on Kyle Okposo: “Hopefully for the weekend.”
In a good bit of hustle, Dan Martin of the Post got hold of Rick DiPietro at Iceworks yesterday. It was announced on November 1 that the goalie had surgery on Halloween and would be out 4-6 weeks. DiPietro has yet to resume skating. Looks like it could be closer to six weeks, if not more.
Comments.
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray sat down yesterday for an interview with Jim Baumbach of Newsday and The Final Score. Jim’s Q & A was posted this morning.
In the interview, Murray takes a shot at Gary Bettman, saying “The NHL guy can wax poetic all he wants. He’s the least of my worries.” She blames the developers for delays – “despite much fanfare” – in receiving the application for the project. Interesting that the Town Supervisor is throwing some darts at Bettman and Charles Wang when they have not thrown any her way.
Asked if a shovel can get in the ground next summer – as many have pointed out is a necessity – Murray says, “I can’t even comment on that. There are so many things that are unknowable at this time.”
Perhaps most alarming is the Town Supervisor’s repeated grandstanding attempts to let her public know that she has made several magnanimous offers to Wang to fix the Coliseum first. We’re not going to get into again why that does not work – and why Murray deep down understands that.
Really tough to envision a groundbreaking ceremony in Nassau County in the summer of 2009.
Reaction to Baumbach’s story?
Five of the reasons why the Islanders are now in position to reach the .500 mark when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Coliseum on Wednesday night…
Joey MacDonald: Better to be steady than spectacular one game, horsebleep the next. Mentored by Mike Dunham and Sudsie Maharaj, MacDonald has brought a level of stability in goal his team could not survive without.
If his teammates in front of him thought he was shaky, they’d be shaky, too. That’s the way it is in hockey. Other than one bad night in Jersey, MacDonald and the Islanders have looked confident, assured.
Bergenheim-Weight-Guerin: As a line and individually. After 25 points last season, who would have thought the countdown to 1,000 NHL points for Doug Weight – he needs 10 more – would begin before December?
Sean Bergenheim, the fire-starter, appears to have landed on the same page with an Islanders coach with more urgency than any time in his young, coach-filled career. (Maybe Snow should go long-term with him).
Bill Guerin’s profile around these parts seems to come and go with the wins and losses. From this standpoint – last year partially behind the curtain, this year in the peanut gallery – the man has done everything he can since the day he signed on.
The Return of the D: While others admirably held the fort, there really are no substitutes for Andy Sutton, Radek Martinek and Brendan Witt. One of the year’s quiet stories was Sutton’s intense preparation for this season before an injury stalled it. But he’s been good. The other team doesn’t like him.
Martinek and Witt, still rounding into playing like Martinek and Witt, are 22-minute NHL defensemen on their worst nights. Maybe Martinek has his one major injury this season behind him. If he and Witt could go the rest of the way, the Islanders would stumble less frequently.
Competition: Most Islanders are pushing the forecheck to its limits as if every shift is their last. With more players on the verge of returning from injuries – and with so many playing so well in Bridgeport – their motivation is sincere.
Four to Count On: While some returned to the lineup and others picked up their games, the quartet of Islanders consistently effective since the season opener were still there. Take a bow – Trent Hunter, Mark Streit, Richard Park and Andy Hilbert.
ETC: No roster moves today, no word if Kyle Okposo, Mike Comrie or Nate Thompson are any closer. I’ll be at the morning skate and will have reports from the Coliseum on Wednesday. Everyone travel safe and have a wonderful Thanksgiving…CB
No doubt you have your reasons. Comments.
(Bill Guerin is not going anywhere. For salary cap reasons, Mike Comrie likely will not be either.)
On July 2, the Islanders signed free agent Doug Weight to a one-year contract. The deal called for a base salary of $1.75 million, but with bonuses the playmaking center could make up to $4.3 million.
As a player signing a one-year contract past his 35th birthday - he is 37 – Weight was eligible for such a bonus package. The Islanders were happy to give the veteran the incentives for two reasons. For starters, they would be properly rewarding Weight if his offensive statistics rebounded closer to his career averages after a 25-point output in 2007-2008. With 21 points (4-17-21) in his first 21 games this season for the Islanders, the move has paid off for both team and player.
But there was additional strategy behind the Weight incentives package. As a player over age 35 and on a one-year deal, those bonuses counted towards the Islanders’ salary cap number. And Weight’s deal – along with the signing of Mark Streit to a deal averaging $4.1 million – took the Islanders above the salary cap “floor” as mandated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
For the 2008-09 season the NHL salary cap is $56.7 million. A less-heralded fact is that teams must meet a minimum player payroll – the salary cap “floor” – of $40.7 million. While it is unclear to the penny how much the Islanders are currently above the floor, a league source estimated the figure at $2 million.
Since Mike Comrie (’08-09 salary: $4 million) began the season slowly and is now on Injured Reserve while the team gives his surgically-repaired hip more time to heal, the point may be moot. But for fans wondering if the Islanders could trade the No. 2 center for a prospect or a draft pick, the answer is clear.
Even if the Islanders wanted to move Comrie for a pick, they could not right now. In just about any major deal the Islanders make, they will need to bring back approximately equal (or more) dollars in salary than they unload.
(Doug Weight: 21 points in 21 games. Good sign.)
As a result, it is highly unlikely Islanders fans will see the departure of any veterans in the next two months – whether rehabbing from injuries (Comrie, Mike Sillinger) or thriving (Weight, Bill Guerin).
The only question that remains is whether one or more of those players is moved closer to the trade deadline. That, of course, will depend on how the players are performing and – just as important, if not more so – where the Islanders are in the Eastern Conference standings.
Make no mistake, the rebuilding Islanders were wise to not Overspend in the offseason. At a surprising-to-some 9-10-2 and in the mix for a playoff berth, if the franchise’s biggest problem is staying a dollar over the salary cap floor, they’re in good shape. And should the Islanders want to add a significant player instead of deleting one, they are in as good a position as any team in the Eastern Conference.
By the looks of how they and the team are currently playing (5-1 in their last 6), Weight and Guerin aren’t going anywhere this season. As for players such as Comrie and Sillinger, time will tell. We do know those moves aren’t going to be made anytime soon. Because of the requirement to exceed the salary cap floor, they cannot be.
ETC: Except for players rehabbing injuries, the Islanders were given today off. Expect last night’s lineup tomorrow when the Islanders host Sid, Geno and the Penguins on March of Dimes Night at the Coliseum…Doug Weight is now 10 points away from NHL point 1,000.
Your reaction to THIS story in Comments, please.
10:25 pm – Ryan O’Byrne made a bad play. The kid from Cornell made the sort of classic goof that will be shown everywhere for the next week and probably a lot longer. O’Byrne scored an own goal that Canadiens fans will never let him forget. (Don’t worry, kid. If Bob Gainey starts shopping you tonight, there will be plenty of NHL teams glad to have you).
But while everyone’s killing O’Byrne – how ’bout those knowledgeable, classy Canadiens fans? – here’s a different angle for you. As the Islanders tried to come back from a 3-1 deficit, O’Byrne and the rest of the Montreal defensemen spent most of the second half of the game with Islanders forwards in their faces. This time with Doug Weight on his nerves, O’Byrne cracked. Because of the team he’s on he’ll live with it forever.
After the game, Scott Gordon said that Doug Weight joked that his Overspeed made it happen. Maybe Go-Go’s boys aren’t giving themselves enough credit.
You have to wonder if O’Byrne would have made such a bonehead play if his opponent tonight was one of the 20 teams in this league that just stand around the neutral zone.
And Another Thing
If the Islanders were clueless, rudderless and didn’t have a system to rely on, that 3-1 Canadiens lead would have been 6-1 by the end of the second.
Go-Go Better Than OK
Point Blank received about 30 pesky emails after the disaster on Friday when Scott Gordon“pulled his puncher” (credit: Logie) after Frans Nielsen was run. Most of them had the same bitter tone: “So you still think the Islanders have the right coach”?
Do you really expect me to be so weak and change my position after one bad night?
The Islanders are 9-10-2. This is without their No. 1 goalie and most of their regular defense for the majority of the early season, all while trying to learn Gordon’s cockamamie highly effective system. As brutal as some of the losses – and a few of the performances – have been, I would have signed up for that six weeks ago.
In reality, Gordon’s biggest problem at times has not been a failure to coach a good game, but talk it. His biggest struggles have occurred when asked to explain some of his eye-opening decisions.
In the overall assessment, I never judge the coaches and players of my favorite pro teams by how they answer questions from the media. I’ve seen too many phonies get credit for being great “leaders” because they give a good post-game sermon.
My advice: less is more, Coach. It’s not easy having microphones and recorders thrust in your face five minutes after a game. Some nights, like Friday, you’re far better off saying, “That’s the way I chose to play it.” Then after you’ve had more time to think about it, go ahead and huddle with a Logan and a Billy Jaffe (and a blogger, of course) to clarify your position. Remember: we may ask for an immediate answer, but you do not always have to provide one.
I’m certain Gordon will figure that part of the game out.
Ullstrom Goes to the WJC
Left wing David Ullstrom, on our list earlier today as one of the Islanders’ top prospects, has been selected to play for Team Sweden at this year’s World Junior Championships in Ottawa.
One of the Islanders’ fourth round picks in June, the 6-3, 200-pound Ullstrom could be a sleeper pick and projects as a skill and power forward. Victor Hedman’s on the team, too, but there’s no reason for Ryan Jankowski and his scouts to watch him!
Culture Club
You may recall how I pointed out Saturday how the “you’re-with-us-or-you’re-against-us” culture of the New Jersey Devils may extend to the broadcast booth, where Doc Emrick and Chico Resch thought the Mike Mottau hit on Frans Nielsen was no big deal. Well, here’s another place where it may extend.
On Friday night, the Islanders were credited by the off-ice officials of the Devils with a grand total of 3 hits. Not Trent Hunter, the Islanders. Not for one period, for the entire game.
Now I know the Islanders didn’t exactly make anyone forget Nystrom and Howatt or Webb and Cairns on Friday night. But understand this: if me, Strummer, Vlad, TuxTax, Dmarie and Willis challenged the Blue and Orange to a pickup game, the Islanders’ off-ice officials would show us the respect of crediting us with at least, say, 4 hits.
Streit for All-Star
Several weeks premature, I concede, but if everything holds to form, Mark Streit should be the Islanders representative at the 2009 NHL All-Star Game. Even on his okay nights – he’s had a few recently – he’s still a much better all-zone defenseman than I thought.
If it’s possible to quietly carry a team, Streit has done it. His ability to run a power play and log more than 25 minutes covered for the Islanders with so many of their defensemen on the injured list. He turned out to be a natural for Gordon’s system – an amazing stroke of fortune, considering Streit was signed more than a month before Gordon was hired.
GM Garth Snow signed two unrestricted free agents to little fanfare in July. Considering one is his team’s leading scorer (Doug Weight, 4-17-21 in 21 games) and the other has proven to be a top defenseman and will likely be his team’s representative at the All-Star Game, you’d have to say Snow got darn good value.
Just Sayin’
Let’s say the Islanders wanted to take another shot at restoring the confidence of Jeff Tambellini by sending him to Bridgeport for a couple of weeks of AHL goal scoring. Tambellini, who has 0 goals and 2 assists in 20 games this season – 1 goal in his last 50 games as an Islander – would have to clear waivers.
Tambellini – 11 minutes, minus-1 tonight – is in the first year of a two-year deal that pays him $550,000 this year and $625,000 next. That’s not big dough compared to healthy scratch Petr Prucha’s $1.6 mill this year, but Tambellini’s deal is one-way and most NHL teams have trouble enough keeping it to a 23-man roster.
Guess what I’m trying to say is, if Gordon and Garth Snow don’t want to send Tambellini for an AHL tune-up because they’re happy with the rest of his game, wonderful. But I wouldn’t lose sleep worrying about losing Jeff to another team on waivers. And if Tambellini was picked up by another franchise and given a fresh start, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing either.
And Finally…
Late in overtime, Josh Bailey skated over the blueline, slowed down and then feathered the kind of gorgeous pass to Chris Campoli for a scoring chance we haven’t seen in these parts since Pierre Turgeon. If Gordon had the kid out there in overtime tonight, you’d have to expect he’ll be out there for game 10.
Comments.
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