Hmmm, maybe there really IS no penalty! Maybe its one of those things where they SAID you can’t go under, and no one QUESTIONED it. And now they are sitting there laughing, thinking “We can say whatever we want! We can say it’s a 5 game suspension for the whole team if they go under! We can say the team that goes under has to immediately pass 3 players starting in alphabetical order to the team just below them in the standings! HAHAHAHAHA!”

I guess I’l start looking in the NHL rulebook, see if the answer is there. But if anyone knows, please tell us…..

Incidently, JP you had me in a cold sweat with that post at first but thanks for the laugh!

I’m old enough to remember the Isles getting JP Parise and Jude Drouin. Those two hungry vets really were key peices of the puzzle just when this franchize was beginning to turn the corner toward credibility. Thanks for the memory!

I was at the news conference when Charles and Sanjay (remember him?) bought the team. Charles told a group of us that he viewed having a pro sports team in a community the same way he viewed having a symphony orchestra, art museum, etc. — as a cultural resource that made the community a better place and helped lure more/brighter/richer people. To his credit, he has endured some losses (though the $20M figure isn’t credible and his accountants can do tricks, plus the depreciation helped mitigate taxes on his other assets).

Charles has made two major mistakes: keeping Milbury for as long as he did, and firing Neil Smith because Neil wanted to run the operation like a normal GM (and have the power that, apparently, Garth Snow has now). Neil, unlike most NHL execs, desperately wanted that job more than anything … and did a tremendous job (Witt, Sillinger, Okposo) in six weeks.

Snow’s track record is mixed. The Smyth trade was a risk that didn’t really pan out, largely because of Ricky’s injury. He got lucky when Smyth took the money fron the Avs (Colorado should be kicking itself over that one!). Blake also took the money from somewhere else and hasn’t produced (think he’d like to come back to the Island, where the fans loved him and forgave him when he screwed up). Snow has done a good job of getting support players and young players signed to manageable contracts (Park, Martinek, Nielsen, Hunter, etc.) Ricky’s deal is too long, but the money isn’t bad. The whole thing now depends on his health.

The Isles have to let Bailey go back to juniors. Can he play in the NHL now? Sure he can. Should he? Noooooo! They can’t be seduced by their little run of success. Sillinger will be coming back; when he does, Bailey has to go. Keeping him would be a waste of a season.

The big question now is the arena. If it doesn’t happen, expect the Isles to move further out (Charles won’t want to lose that TV deal, and he’d never get anything like it anywhere else). Brooklyn won’t be built; Western Suffolk wouldn’t be bad. Watch for Charles to make a push for the Nets after Ratner decides he won’t get his Brooklyn complex built. Charles is a hoops guy anyway, and owning both teams gives him a lot more leverage.

Stumpy32, loved your post and I share your general feeling regarding Wang. I have no problem with him wanting to lose 20 mil vs 30 mil per year, and we obviously don’t have the worst talent in the NHL.

I may have missed it but I think it was JP in VA who asked the question that was on my mind and I don’t recall seeing an answer.

So again,,,what is the penalty for going UNDER the cap floor? Is there one? If you go under for just a few days is there a different penalty? Anyone know?

As for the payroll, there’s a big difference between a team of All-Stars at the cap max and being at the cap minimum (or 2m above) as CB states. They could be in the middle and they’re not.

I don’t believe Wang loses $20m a year. The Forbes article says Wang loses $10m
a year and with creative accounting it’s probably lower than that. Nobody would lose that much money even with the dream of the Lighthouse project gold at the end of the rainbow.

Comparing him to past Isles owners isn’t saying much. Someone who kept Milbury too long, hired an inexperienced backup goalie GM, hired a son-in-law marketer, has a cap minimum payroll and whose team’s games can’t be heard clearly on the radio isn’t credible.

nothing would make me happier than to see marginal prospects and castaways (NY Misfits) rely on each other to beat better teams with better individual players. If this team gets 8th and we’re beat in 4 games, then you’re right. If this team makes the 8th spot and goes to 7 games (and lose) you’re half right. But if this team makes it at Xth place and turns to have a DECENT playoff run (7 games or even more), I’ll be crapping cupcakes and smiles all summer.