IT’S ALL UP TO GARTH SNOW NOW
Plus: The Tavheduch Watch begins
The National Hockey League’s trade deadline is exactly two months from today. Although this may not have been how Garth Snow planned it, the ball is now entirely in the court of the Islanders GM.
Everything is in plain sight, right in front of him. There are no excuses. He knows what his team is. He knows staying above the salary cap floor is not a problem with each passing payday.
At the 40-game mark, the Islanders are 12-24-4, last in the Eastern Conference, last in the league. There is no uncertainty whether the Islanders are “buyers” or “sellers” as March 4 nears. Mike Bossy in the corporate office could sign up Best Buy as “the official sponsor of the Islanders’ trade deadline moves.”
The general manager knows exactly what he has on his roster. There are a pair of veterans in Doug Weight and Bill Guerin on the last years of their contracts at age 37 playing extremely well and leading by example and in word and deed. Guerin and Weight have beautiful young families, are sincerely committed to the Islanders and for good reason appear to have little interest in moving again. Whatever his decision, Snow has to prove he can make smart, tough moves for his team with his head, and not let his heart get in the way.
Snow has a productive center in Mike Comrie, a potential UFA on July 1. There will definitely be some interest in Comrie, re-energized by a combination of that voodoo stim machine in Minnesota and playing with Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau.
He has Brendan Witt, a top defenseman who seems far from a good fit with the current program and is on record saying he doesn’t completely buy into it. Last I checked, Brendan has not retracted his statement or said he regretted making it. On July 4, 2008 the San Jose Sharks traded defenseman Craig Rivet – with three years left on his contract at $3.5 mill per - to Buffalo for two second round draft picks. Witt has two years at $3 mill per left on his deal.
Snow knows Mike Sillinger is no longer an asset to bring back a draft pick.
Snow will get calls from at least a half-dozen teams about Richard Park, under contract for another year at more-than-fair value to the team. He will get offers of third round picks and so-so prospects. Snow will pass because there is no good reason to trade one of the most impressive men to wear the Islanders crest in the last 20 years for such a neglible haul. The decision only gets tough for Snow if teams insist on the inclusion of Park in a much bigger deal, a much better deal for the Islanders’ future.
The GM’s best assets, Okposo and the first round pick in 2009, are not on the table. Add Josh Bailey to the list and that’s about it. Snow is well aware the prospect pool still needs at least one more summer, probably two, of replenishing. Islanders scouts this season are not just looking at top-10 draft prospects. They’re looking at everybody.
With the season half-over and the Islanders only pretenders in the playoff hunt, there are still reasons to watch and support your local hockey club. But in truth, all eyes between January 4 and March 4 are on Garth Snow.
The Tavheduch Watch
The winner is guaranteed a shot at consensus No. 1 pick John Tavares (left) and No. 2 Victor Hedman. Second place gets you either Hedman or cut-above consolation prize Matt Duchene. Now that the Islanders have hit the 40-game mark, the Tavheduch Watch – it’s pronounced just as it’s spelled – will appear weekly on Point Blank.
1. Islanders 12-24-4 28 pts (40 games)
2. Tampa Bay 10-18-10 30 pts (38 games)
3. Atlanta 13-21-5 31 pts (39 games)
4. Ottawa 13-18-5 31 pts (36 games)
5. St. Louis 15-21-3 33 pts (39 games)
TW Notes: Ottawa with 4 games in hand on the Islanders, or is it the other way around?…Of the teams on the outside looking in, I would still not write off the Toronto Maple Leafs (38 points). Ron Wilson can defiantly coax a bunch of wins out of the needy Leafs all he wants, but wait ’til Brian (“descending rapidly”) Burke works his magic before the trade deadline…Of the 5 above, you can make the case that Tampa and Ottawa would take Hedman if they got the first pick. Atlanta needs D – don’t they all? – but the Thrashers would grab Tavares at No. 1.
Comments.
114 Responses to IT’S ALL UP TO GARTH SNOW NOW
Plus: The Tavheduch Watch begins
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Steve C. says:
CB, do you think if Isles package together a couple of vets from the list, maybe also a Martinek or someone else, and a 3rd-5th rd. draft pick, Isles can get in return a young decent NHLer in return, with a minor league dman, from a team close to contention?
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kevin says:
garth will pull through. and good call on burke, remember the sedin twins and the trade he made to get both? guy will prob trade kubina and kaberle for high first rounders. he may shop antropov too but i doubt it because he is young. ottawa may look for kaberle and kubina unfortunatley depending on how you look at it. they will prob trade SJ first and other for it. they got SJ first with trade with tampa bay. i doubt the thrashers will trade much but will look to get duchene to center kovie
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HilbertSnipe says:
Steve C. – If a team is close to contention… Why would they want draft picks and Martinek… or are those just sweetners? I don’t think they would want to lose a young decent NHLer, especially if he is doing well.
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guerin13 says:
i’m really looking forward to the trade deadline. we should be very active sellers and i’m looking forward to seeing what we bring back. 2 months to go!
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what a great pick btw, thhe chicken head is bad-ass
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JayK says:
Hahaha..in this race, we have four games in hand on Ottawa!
Martinek is utterly injury prone and probably has zero trade value.
One big consideration: the KHL is no longer a factor, but is the Swedish super-elite an option for Hedman? Does a team with the number 1 that might otherwise want to draft Hedman, like Tampa, steer away from him because of the possibility he might stay in Europe, or at least use it as a bargaining chip?
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Dally Mac says:
Snow should have a meeting with both Guerin and Weight and say, “listen we need to trade you both for the good of the organization, but here’s a two year deal/ 3 million a year if you want to come back.” There is the security they want, cause I doubt, either will be offered a two year deal anywhere else, and if they do so be it. Say he will try his best to trade them to the same team and see you soon. They can either take it or leave it. They are best friends, a chance to retire togther and probably work within the organization when they retire. A team like Nashville could use the both of them. Weight says if he’s traded he won’t come back so that could be his choice, however, a short 2 month vacation and years of security later might change his mind.
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isles316 says:
CB, Do you think the Isles could send Comrie or Guerin to Los Angeles for one of their d prospects not named Jack Johnson or Drew Daughty? The Kings don’t give up any goals but are losing games because they have zero secondary scoring and guys like Kopitar are having so so years.
I think that would be a welcomed trade for each team.
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If I’m reading this right, you’d be saying to Weight or Guerin sometime before the trade deadline a) we just traded you and b) here’s the contract offer we’ll be making to you after the free agency period opens July 1.
You can’t do this. It’s tampering. You’d be negotiating for the future with a player you know is about the be the property of somebody else. (Or maybe already is, if the trade was consummated). It isn’t any different from picking up the phone right now and telling the agent of another player who would be a UFA on July 1, “Hey, we really like your guy, we’re going to be hot for him come this summer.”
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Makela24 says:
I hate to say this because I like him so much, but what about Trent Hunter being traded. I love what he does in the corners, but seems to me that he slows the pace down as he must be the slowest in terms of speed/transition top 6 forward in the league. I love Trent and would want him to be an Islander for life giving scoring/intangibles…but call a spade a spade. he does not fit this system being so slow.
My other thought is that, if it is clear we are going to finish last, unless a “very good” prospect or low first round can be had for Weight, I say resign him. If we all want Tavaras, somebody needs to be around to tutor him and bailey(and we still have to be on ahead of floor). I can’t think of better guy to be around for Tavaras and Bailey. Same for Guerin. Their role over the next couple of years with young kids could be worth more than a mediocre draft pick. Who are we going to trust to show these guys how to play/act and win in big leagues…Hilbert/Hunter/Park. Love them, but they are not right guys for that.
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tutoring is overated. you trade and get what you can for the available ufa’s next year or other vets. dont trade streit or hunter as ppl have said that. striet is our best dman and hunter is a steal money wise and is our future captain
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Madchef says:
It is great to hear Jiggs on the broadcast, although he is to old to return to everyday. Really sucked when he left to go to Toronto I believe. Howie isn’t terrible but he is a Ranger fan going back to his days on WFAN before Mets. I’m just sayin. Jaffe is great
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The Jaff is the man. Jiggs, I love. Didn’t he do Panthers broadcasts?
When is it going to be CB’s turn to be a guest on HNL?! I think he would be a wonderful fit.
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Jiggs knows his stuff as well so it’s great to hear him. I feel like Jaffe and Jiggs work better together than Howie and Jaffe. I feel like Howie does a decent job and knows his stuff but he is becoming more and more disneyish if that makes sense. I think Jaffe can’t stand that. When Jiggs is doing the broadcast the dialouge seems to flow better.
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Erik says:
I’d love to get another 1st (mid-round) and have the possible opportunity to select a franchise defenseman like Simon Despres or Ryan Ellis.
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How about you’re always welcome back then? You can negotiate with a player for an extention after January 1st. You just don’t come to a conclusion on it. There are ways to get around the tampering stuff. What I said up above, is definitely tampering (my bad, didn’t do a good job of expressing myself), but negotiating and not signing, followed by trading is allowed. Ask Kevin Lowe and Ryan Smyth. But we know how that one turned out.
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JKP on LI says:
Jaffe can be pretty corny, too. I love Jiggs, but considering that we can’t have him full time, Howie is a fine alternative.
It’s pretty clear that Chris wants Witt out of here yesterday. I’d be fine with trading him for the right return, but I hope that the idea of “fitting the system” doesn’t mean we’re going with nothing but speedy/puck mover types. The Yashin-Peca teams would’ve been SO much better with just one Witt-type in addition to Jonsson, Aucoin, and Hamrlik.
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19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
CB- That Picture of the guys with the Rangers Suck Jerseys… OMG … Hilarious .. wish I had that on this AM … but since the director of the youth program I coach in is a Rag fan … don’t think that would sit well while trying to establish myself.
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Looks like last night’s Up All Night version of Point Blank was a resounding success … congrats … I’m not even going to attempt to read back over 600 posts.
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Brief flash back to the Winter Classic … we need that in NYC big time … Isle’s Rangers Battle of NY … EVERY Ranger fan I spoke with at the rink today agreed … they want no part of Boston … for more reasons than one.I suggested to the NHL last year they should do the All-Star game outdoors … maybe a 3 game series outdoors … but I think it might be overkill … ultimately I think it would be cool for every team to host ONE outdoor game a season .. that will be huge … but the NHL is a long way off from there … and southern teams would obviously have a problem keeping ice.
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Trade Deadline? … I’m just as nervous about the trade deadline, and where the Isles will fall in the draft lottery as I would be nervous about where the Isles would fall as a seed for a playoff spot. You’re spot on CB … Garth has to deal with his mind and not his heart … I’d love to have Weight and Guerin back for one or maybe even two more seasons … but our future is in 2 years …. not this year or next year … gotta do what’s best for the Isles future. UFA’s can be reacquired if they like it on LI so much. -
The Chicken Masks came about when we found out that they weren’t going to play the chicken dance song. We actually mad a petition at http://www.savethechickendance.com. The chicken masks even made it onto an ESPN highlight reel. Hey, it’s all about having fun while we are going through these growing pains. That’s why I follow who will be the next home game’s State Farm Agent of the game. We all try to guess what town they will be from.
Seriously, it is definitely an exciting time to be an Islander fan. The next few years will be very interesting and EVERYTHING starts with what Garth does on March 4th. He can not go out on a limb and try to hit a grand slam. He needs to get the ball in play and pick the best guy avaiable. Hopefully we will have a shot at Tavares.
This will set the tone for the team and that they are serious for our future. In turn, this will stimulate the fan base to rally behind the lighthouse project. In a perfect world this will all be resolved by the draft and July 1st’s open season on UFAs.
Come June I predict one of two options will happen. First, We dump all our current beloved players and stockpile a slew of draft picks. We win the lottery to pick Tavares. We take all those draft picks from March 4th and the 3 other second rounders and trade up to get the 2nd and 3rd overall pick. Before you know it, what Chris call “Tavheduch” really becomes a reality. Yeah!!!
Unfortunately, that is not the life of an Islander fan. What is more likely to happen (and this idea is stolen from the chicken headed guy on the right side of the picture) is that we finish 29th to TB. We then lose the lotery to the 28th place Leafs and end up picking 3rd and lose out on the “Tavhed” portion of the draft sweepstakes.
I am a big believer in karma. we havent had any of late. The last time karma visited LI was in 1993. But I think we have finally paid the devil his due for our 4 Stanley Cups from when we were kids. The promissary note get’s paid in full on March 3rd and the key to karma’ next generation is in Garth’s hands.
As I said, it is going to be an exciting few years to be an Islander fan.
Happy New Year,
Roger
NYI Blog Boxer – islandersesoteric.com -
isles72 says:
I flicked between can/rus and tml/ott game last night and couldnt help but notice the sens look like dead men walking .
I’m sure we’ll be hand in hand with the bottom 5 but something doesnt sit right with me when you see the Senators in the mix
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i miss the chicken dance. hey bota do you think you can try and get that back becuase we need some good chants. i think ottawa has the worst secondary scoring. its so unfair that they have heatley spezza and alfreddson and then they are going to get another top guy so then there lones are going to be like
top pick-spezza-heatley
alfie-vermette-fisher -
Kevin – respectively disagree with you. I think there are many examples of young players getting better by having some tried and tested playes to guid them.
1) Ovechin has exploded since Federov going the club. Semin too.
2) Crosby living with Lemiux. When Crosby and Maklin were young, had Roberts, Leclaire, Recchi.
3) Need I mention how many prospects we let go only to watch them flourish elsewhere where they probably had some better players watching over them.Not saying it is a must, but in the absense of a compelling offer for either, would try to keep them. Not like we have a coach with a deep history of developing talent. The more help he can get from playres the better.
On Hunter, also respectfully disagree. Future captain is not on this team yet. I look at Captain as guy you would want on ice in any situation with game on line (5/5, PK, powerplay). I know he plays those now..but only because there is no one better. Also same reason that even if here , don’t beleive Witt is future captain.
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Swan says:
Chris, your blog is such a great read. “Tavheduch Watch”. Nice!
The development of prospects, especially B-level ones like Okposo, Nielsen and Bailey, can be significantly sped up by having veteran leaders who can walk the walk. Players state that all the time (ex: McCabe on Linden, Dubinsky on Jagr, etc.).
I agree everyone on the Team should be available for the right price, except for Streit, Okposo, and Bailey. Hunter and Bergenheim might bring a decent return.
I would resign Weight over Comrie and Guerin. He is the best forward and playmaker on the Team and is an asset as a natural leader/teacher, even if his play falls off next season. Unless Witt really prefers to be elsewhere, the Isles should keep him around. Every team needs at least one crease-clearing, shot-blocking Dman regardless of his speed. Good player like Witt should be able to fit in any system.
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ovie was great before fedorov and semin needed time. malkin and crosby would be the same with or without lemiux. and roberts and recchi and roberts are not here now when they are still young and they are flouishing. and are you serious about three. they needed time to become great. and botta said that gilles was mentoring bertuzzi….
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Actually, we did have karma in 2000. We had the 5th worst record, won the lottery despite single-digit odds, traded Luongo/Jokinen for Parrish/Kvasha, drafted DP instead of Heatley or Gaborik.
It was karma. It just wasn’t good.
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do you honestly think ovie and malkin and crosby would have been dif without them. and if they had an influence then why is malkin doing better now. and snow said hunter would have been captain if they didnt sign guerin ………
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And who cares what team a TV announcer roots for or used to work for?? If you think Howie Rose is a quality announcer, that’s all that should matter. If the Isles get a chance to pick up Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan, I don’t care what team drafted them.
Someone shouldn’t get a job now at JP Chase just because they started their career at Bank of America?? Stupid logic.
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On 26 and 28 (kevin), I agree with you on elite, A+ prospects. These HOFers will be game breakers regardless of the veteran mix on the team (Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Jagr, etc.).
The problem is the Isles have no prospects of that caliber in their entire system. Every other young prospect needs good coaching, teaching and teammates for them to achieve their potential, especially sooner rather than later.
Okposo and Bailey might be the best young players the Isles have in their entire system (Petrov, maybe). They are probably, at best, 2nd line players on a good team. I don’t even think they are sure-fire all-stars, much less HOF-talent.
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skeptical says:
Tavheduch!
BRILLIANT!What I wonder though is if Wang doesn’t have an inkling by draft day that the arena deal will go through, and he probably won’t, will he let Snow draft a bonus baby certain to command millions in 3 years or will they again trade down to avoid that in the guise of amassing more picks?
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cody says:
Do you guys even know what karma is?
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admin says:
I like to try to clear the air when I see words being put in my mouth. So clarifying a few Commentators remarks…
I do not want Brendan Witt out of here. I like the guy, no issue there. My point was pretty clear: he’s a defenseman apparently not suited to this style, was critical of it and has not publicly tried to smooth things over. That’s all.
I don’t remember writing on this blog, as someone wrote above, that Clark Gillies mentored Todd Bertuzzi. I do remember Mike Milbury asking Clark to take a practice or two with Bert, but it did not last long.
Thanks…CB
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just sayin’, the whole point of trading down was to replenish the deprived prospect pool and we got that accomplished so i doubt we do that again unless tampa bay says they will trade their first and more so they can guarantee hedman becuase right now we could use both even though i would rather have JT but i would be happy with either. this is based on us being first overall and lightning being second. they give us first and second and more. toronto gave us their first and third and second next year so imagine what we could get.
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botta i thought u said that last night or today something about gilles bertuzzis dad and his wife. must of read it wrong.
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CB- An added touch to your “Tavheduch Watch” … looking at the bottom 10 teams in the overall standings … The Islanders are the ONLY team in the BOTTOM 10 that has ZERO divisional rivals on that list. That means that the other teams will be picking points off of one another more often with a greater quantity of head to head divisional games … thus adding another variable to how the final standings will play out. Now of course the main variable will be how many head to head games each team will have of the bottom ten … it really does play big time into the “magic number” … the Isles have less games to gain points at this time … and in theory have a tougher schedule with their divisional rivals all in strong positions for the playoff hunt … and the Pens own the Isles this year … so even with them currently on the outside of the playoffs … they are formidable vs. the Isles.
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HyeDray says:
Great job as usual Chris…
I would add that besides the first roud pick in 2009, Okposo, and Bailey—would Sean Bergenheim, Frans Neilsen and Chris Campoli be on the list of your “keepers?”
Bergenheim is still developing even though he is 24. I am seeing more and more from him with each game. Campoli has proven to be a real asset even though he will never be a #1 or #2 defenseman, I think he still has the tools to be a long-term Islander and part of the growing core. frans Neilsen has to stay healthy, but after Doug weight and before Neilsen got hurt, I would argue Neilsen was our best center despite his age and experience. Would love your thoughts. Perhaps a “mid-season” assessment on the development of the younger players? Thanks!
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KP says:
The trade deadline is a critical part of the rebuild. All reasonable offers for any vet need to be done. Holding on to everybody until the last possible second too is probably a good idea as well. Drive up the price on the rentals and there will be lots of buyers who will come knocking on our door come the 4th.
Garth won’t make the mistake he did last year sitting on his hands on the deadline. And I do hope when he jettisons Weight and Guerin loose that he has a handshake agreement to bring at least Weight back next year. These guys have been a great influence to have around and we could probably use their knowledge and mentoring abilities for one more year.
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so if sam rosen started announcing islanders games that would be well recieved. gimme a break.
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Strummer's Army says:
Except the Isles the other teams in the bottom 5 are still trying to do something. We should be wise and send them some assets to improve them in the standings.
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Keepers: 1st rounder, DiPietro, Okposo, Bailey, Streit, Bergy, Harmonic, Neimi, Josneau, Hunter, Neilsen. Sutton probably gets kept but everyone else on defense should go. The D is the worst part of the team. Hilbert should get dealt. I don’t know when his value will ever be higher. If we can get 2 2nd rounders for Witt (or better) then that needs to happen no matter how great a guy he is.
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and yes, I’d prefer to keep Comeau, Figern and Petrov.
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Chickendirt says:
I loved what you wrote about Eklund’s Gaborik rumor. That guy has a lost his mind and I feel bad for anyone that’s been duped by this loser and given him money.
Every day that guy is just popping up more BS and it’s getting worse.
I think it would be hilarious if we made up trade rumors just to mess with that guys head. I’d bet a few of em would be tagged with “more to come”.
I read an expose on the guy that a few people have written. It wasn’t long ago where he also made the claim that he was a former NHL player. Funny that he turned out to be some second rate musician.
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Dan from Westchester says:
CB – 100% agree with your take on Richard Park. Would be VERY disappointed if he just got dumped for little in return.
Can’t understand how anyone could advocate trading Trent Hunter. Yes he might be a bit on the slow side – but the guy brings it 110% every game. Could see him wearing the “C” next season.
Interesting comments about the Senators looking dead in the water — they were staying in the same hotel as me before the Leafs game Saturday. I saw a few of the guys in the elevator and wished them luck before the game. They actually laughed and said — “we need it”. . not exactly oozing confidence.
1st place in the tavheduch sweepstakes with “games in hand” on all — love it. LOL
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THE MAGIC NUMBER
Another stat I have been tracking is the countdown to being eliminated from the playoffs. Not mathematically speaking but from reality speaking. In the last few years no team in the east has made the playoffs with less than 92 points on the season. I have been using 90 points as a benchmark.
Right now with 40 games played we have 28 points. That leaves 42 games remaining or 84 points to attain. The 28 Points we have scored already added to the 84 points that we have remaining gives us a grand total of 112 points that we can achieve if we were to win every game.
112 points less the 90 points esoteric playoff threshold is 22 points or 11 games.
We can lose 11 more games before we can assume we can not make the playoffs based on past years. In perspective, Boston has 62 points and are 50 points (25 games) away from eliminating us from our being able to finish ahead of them.
This is what gives me solace towards rooting for us to go after the best lottery pick we can. We will be out of time and points come Valentines Day.
All these media people can talk about all these what ifs but the esoteric speaks in facts and stats. As any CSI fan can tell you if you have science and math backing you up little else matters.
Why this is important from a viewpoint of what our future holds is that if we are done by mid February, Garth will be able to freely make decisions best for the team.
It really sucks that we probably have to say good bye to guys like Guerin and Weight. I don’t envy Garth having to make these decisions.
We have had some heroic teams in our past and some real stinkers as well. I must say that after all is said and done that this team might be the most courageous of them all. I don’t know how these guys can do it in the situation that they know we are in. Watching them last night playing against the best of the west and still fighting to come back shows the heart of a true Islander team. Hopefully, Garth will be able to keep that spirit intact.
Happy New Year,
Roger
NYI Blog Boxer – http://www.islandersesoteric.com -
Just another thought. If the Isles resign Weight and don’t trade him where does he play next season?
Up the middle we may be looking at Tavares, Bailey and Neilson. Probably Park for the fourth line.
I wonder if the Isles keep weight if that gives an idea what they are gonna do at the draft? Probably Hedman?
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the fact that Brendan Shanahan is still out there hurts the value of Guerin/Weight. You can get him w/o giving up a player or picks and as the season goes on you will owe him less and les as far as salary goes.
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CB- In the unlikely event that Hedman somehow surpasses Tavares the balance of the season in the rankings … do you change the “Tavheduch Watch” to the “Hedtavduch Watch”? … quite frankly if that does happen … I still prefer Taver over Heder for this Isles team… so on second thought … keep it Tavheduch no matter what the rankings.
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DiPi's Massive Head says:
For those who say we do NOT need a veteran mentor for star young players….bah.
Ask Denis Potvin if he remembers Bert Marshall. The GAME is different than anything these young phenoms have played. They are not superhuman stat freak fodder…..they’re KIDS for chrissakes. A veteran who can ease the transition and help accentuate raw skill into league dominating assets will be the difference between Marion Gaborik (mishandled his whole career as a trap player) and Pavol Datsyuk (the amazing talent who had vet Wings to shape him into a modern Guy LaFleur scoring threat…..and who Filatov was compared to).
Vets make raw young kids into men. Mentorship is NOT fodder, it’s a gravely important shaper of young men.
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Let’s redefine keepers here.
I think CB means by keepers players that under absolutely no circumstances would be traded.
How many players on this team fit that definition?
How many players in all of hockey fit that definition? Let’s see…Crosby..Ovechkin..
Phaneuf…Datsuyk…Lidstrom…Malkin…you get the idea. Not many.In all of New York, how many players fit that bill?
Jeter..A-Rod…Eli…Wright..Brodeur..Parise..any others?
So on this team, to declare that the only untouchables might be the first rounder and Okposo sounds about right.
Obviously, there are some players that it makes absolutely no sense to trade, given the long-term contract commitment: DP, Streit, Hunter. But would Garth Snow never, ever consider trading them if another team was willing to take the contract in the right deal? Doubtful.
I mean…Wayne Gretzky was traded! So let’s all get a grip on the word “keeper.”
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I think the Shannahan thing is just more crap made up by Eklund. If it was true, that he’s really in demand, there would have been teams lining up months ago for him. Especially teams like Pittsburgh and Philly looking to move up and Ottawa with a season in need of saving.
Shannahan could still probably score better than most players on their best day but the guy can’t skate anymore. He’d be more a PP specialist and not many teams are gonna waste a roster spot for a one dimensional player with the league this tight.
And the Isles aren’t lookin to trade Weight to Detroit or Boston where their pick is gonna be bottom first or Bottom second. They are looking to get one of the teams on the bubble which will land them a mid round pick in the first or second.
Shannahan probably isn’t going to sign with a bubble a team if he really is “still out there”.
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AZS says:
JayK …well put and I agree 100% …if the “Great One” can be dealt how can we expect anyone else not to?
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Great point Dugan … however … a team may feel they have more flexibility grabbing a player already under contract… Shanny may want a full year’s salary to play 2 months plus playoffs … and some teams may not have the flexibility under the cap … if Shanny was willing (said he wants to play only for the NYR in the off season) … then he’d be in uniform by now… I guess it will be a needs vs. assets thing … A team might rather a rental for a draft pick and balance of salary vs. a Shanahan who has not played all year and may want a bigger chunk of the $pie$ … who knows? Only Shanny can answer that.
That being said … the Shanny situation does give Garth slightly less leverage with Guerin… but Weight is a totally different kinda player than Shanny and fills a different requirement.
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I still want the Isles to be MUCH tougher when they play the Devs next and destroy Mottau.
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JayK was tape to tape with his comment … if the Great One can be traded … and I’ll even add Jagr and Coffey as examples … then there is a price for ANYONE!!
If the right deal was offered for KO … say St. Louis was offering their 2009 1st rounder and 2010 1st rounder … don’t you think Garth would be sweating it out extending the youth movement back another year and giving up a developing player in the process?? Totally hypothetical … and wouldn’t happen … or could it?
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I think a deal for Okposo would have to be better than the hypthetical St Louis deal. A 2009 first Rounder would probably be a top ten and the next years nobody knows.
Either way you are dancing with a huge unkown there as there’s no proof those picks will even get as far as Okposo is now. HF has him rated seventh best overall prosepct in the league right now. The isles struck pay dirt with this pick a little later in draft. Hard for lightening to strike twice like that.
Okposo lately is showing that he has HUGE upside and is playing better this year than I expected. He doesn’t look like a guy that can just score a lot of goals but possibly control a game as well.
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An excellent point can be made in two ways with “the great One” being thared:
The Oilers wanted to ditch salary and had Messier and wanted to retool (and win another Cup). They made a smart trade and were willing to do whatever they could for the benefit of their team.
We are scared of trading Hunter or Park or Witt because we don’t have the credible staff to make a trade that on’t blow up in our faces. If we dealt Gretzky, we’d have been a joke (what’s new?) for it, with whomever we got being a hated disappointment. Thankfully we’d have Chris Dey to preach to fans the marketability of our franchise with whatever never-was we got in return.
The point is it’s TIME for Garth Snow to show he has the ability to do his job, turning our transaction page additions into hope, not one liners. Signing Weight and Guerin and Park – no brainers. I give him credit for ONE trade: Smyth. He screwed up in not pushing harder to sign him or doing his homework; whatever your argumen is. But he’s made ONE good trade.
The coach? The drafts? He’s shown nothing good. The time is now to defend your hiring Garth. I want to see us not looking back at the Datsyuk like Filatov scoring at will….
I want to see us with the personnel to compete and the patience of letting our next Bailey or better grow facial hair before being thrown to the wolves. I want a plan not on rookie desperation and the ignoring of our ineptitude in explaining our roster…..I want to see smarts getting other NHL’ers to respect this club again due to SMART action, not summer pranks that make headlines.
Draft Tavares or Hedman if we get the chance. That’s a start (but something doubtful under Wang’s reign).
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Mueller was after Okposo and will be better. But I sure like Okposo’s play, grit and character, so I’ll bit. But again……we have to take the Muellers and Filatovs from now on, not settle for 2nd bests like we have done. Swing for the fences at all times, as paying fans deserve it.
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ISLESFAN999 says:
Trade all the vets. Trade park for a #3 and a prospect trade witt, guerin, weight trade them all..
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Dipi’s Massive Head;
Drafting players is probably the toughest thing to do in all of sports. You have to consider personality, skill, leadership, temprament as well as the ability to handle adversity.
Looking at all the players from past drafts that are still in the league vs those that are still around it’s really a long term call.
Take this into consideration;
Remember Jim Carey
Remember Jose Theodore
Remember Andrew Raycroft
Remember Eric Daze
Up in Boston everyone proclaimed Kyle McCalaren as Ray Borques “Heir Apparant”.
For as much as people bellyache over Olli Jokinen would anyone have predicted he’d have the longest active streak of games played never having gotten to the post season?
There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s goal scoring and the intangebles a guy brings that makes the team better as well.
Even recall a lot of the guys that were consensus picks and turned out complete busts. Does Daigle, Bonk and Pavle Brendle ring any bells?
How about guys like Manny Maholtra?
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BTW!!!
BIG GAME ON RIGHT NOW THAT COULD DECIDE OUR DRAFT FATE LATER ON!!!
Tampa vs Atlanta!!!!
Tampa leads 1-0 after one period.
Here’s to hoping it goes to a shootout.
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Totally agree……but I’ll offer this: those players all accomplished something in this league and had value.
We either a: listen to the mass consensus (Filatov/Schenn) or b: go by Garth Snow (Bailey).
I’m of the opinion that insanity is the continual repetition of something that does not work in the hoes that you’ll have different results. Thus…..the next time we have another brilliant idea coming out Garth will sit on a cork so it won’t escape.
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VAlentino says:
unload the boat….sell the farm…..do whatever you gotta do to ensure TAVARES pulls on an ISLANDERS jersey.
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Guerin, Weight, Witt, does not matter, we will NOT get anything close but a third round, possible second round pick. For those who belive we can get a first rounder is dreaming. I also disagree with you Cb that Ottawa would pass on Taveras as a #1 pick. They would get some serious grief for passing over Canada’s #1 prospect. Tamap Bay should be ashamed with the scoring talent they have on that team. They could probably score a first rounder for a St.Louis or Lecav trade. We just do not have that type of star potential for a first rounder.
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And isn’t it so unlikely (Ranger karma with us) that they’ll go to shootout with Tampa winning? The hockey Gods will have the game voided for some reason with both teams taking a loss the way this decade’s going.
GO TAMPA!!!
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Right now Snow doesn’t look so bad for passing on Filatov. He’s been mired in the AHL and isn’t exactly lighting it up last I checked a few weeks ago.
As far as Schenn goes I didn’t have the Isles picking a Dman in that draft. Center was where the organization was weakest (as mediocre as we are organizationally on D) given that Sillinger, Comrie and Vasicek aren’t exactly long term pieces.
We did well overall last year in draft by trading down. The Milbur days he wouldn’t even add more picks after making a nutty selection. We have Hamonic, Petroc, Toews, Dibenitto and Martin. A few others to give us some depth.
It’s all good. We get Toronto’s second rounder this year as well.
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They seemed to believe Hamonic would be a good enough defensive defenseman to justify passing on Schenn. Time will tell if that’s right or not, but they at very least look like they have a plan. That’s more than we could say for a very very long time.
I’m on board with keeping vets to mentor the young players, and I wouldn’t trade some vets if they only bring back low draft picks or marginal prospects in return. However, there will be more veterans in next year’s free agent pool if mentors are that important, and any serious offer needs to at least be considered.
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CLARIFICATION: Before anyone jumps down my throat, I’m not saying I think Hamonic is better than Schenn. I am saying the scouting staff seemed to think he would perform the role WELL ENOUGH to allow them to take an offensive player in the 1st round.
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Filatov’s been quite impressive recently.
Look up Filatov in Google’s news results. He’s projected as Datsyuk II but he’s been dominating the tourny for Russia.And glad to see someone agrees with knowledge being passed on by experienced vets rather than Snowesque pickups like Thompson/Jackman or good but not high calibre guys like Hunter/Park.
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I got your point nick.
LOL
Overall I think I would have felt bad for any Dman getting drafted by this team. The way that get shelled at time I think they would have gotten killed here or stuck in the minors for too long.
Lasts nights game against San Jose, Boston game, Pittburgh game, Rangers game etc. There’s been a lot of em this season.
Just too overwhelming to bring up a young Dman or develop any of em on this level right now. If we can improve our forward lines a little bit more where they can sustain some pressure then I think we can look to start really developing some Dmen fresh out of the draft.
Right now it would just get too ugly and we may be better off with the vets we have for the time being.
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Everyone needs a mentor to show them how to be a pro, that’s very important. Even if Weight and/or Guerin were traded I’d do my best to bring them back, but again I wouldn’t deal them just to make a move.
As for the Filatov debate, right now it’s too early to tell and it’s a waste of energy because it doesn’t change reality. Drafting is and will always be subjective. For example, if I ran the team I would’ve done the first trade down to 7 and then drafted Colin Wilson in that spot, and I’ve seen as much live action as the guys who wanted Filatov. I just have to hope they know what they’re doing, and I have to say some of Garth’s decisions are starting to look pretty good.
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If we pick Tavares bringing back Weight won’t be worth it. That means someone ala Tavares, Bailey or Neilson goes down or sits.
In that case I might try to resign Guerin now and part ways with Weight. Guerin has a NTC and is the captain of thie team. Unless they feel Hunter can take over for him?
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Final comment from me on Hunter. Like I said, love the guy and what he brings, but if you are trying to implement a system, you need players to fit it. Given you must work as 5 man unit and transition quickly as well as forecheck all the time, set up more for quicker players. I think this is a little bit of Witt’s problem as well. That is why I think you see Park thriving (and to some extent Hilbert). They try just as hard as Hunter, but are both much quicker. Not an indictment on Hunter as a player (because I think he is great) probably much better in trap set up than here.
To try and make the analagy with another sport. Look at football and the Jets. They traded away Vilma (who was really good) because he did not fit the 4-3 system Mangini was implementing (or 3-4 can’t remember). Great player, just did not fit system.
The more i write about it, the more I beleive that if the organization is behind Gordon and his system, you trade the Hunter’s & Witt’s and keep the Park’s/Hilbert’s.
My list of primary tradable assets would be, Hunter, Witt, Comrie, Weight/Guerin (per previous convesation…only if these two got 1st rounder or top prospect).
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Tavares having Doug Weight AND Bill Guerin (Cup winners)
or
Tavares having one of the above and another line having Tambellini or Jackman or Thompson or Fritz is on the bench.
Nielson and/or Bailey don’t need to be sent down unless the second choice is too hard to make (we need Jackman being beaten up or Fritz charting line combos for Gorton?).
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BringTheReign says:
If we finish in last place, what’s the farthest down we can fall in the draft? just one spot right?
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Yes, just one spot. The lottery is only to establish who gets the first pick. After that, they fall in line on the basis of record.
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Snow needs to trade
WITT
GUERIN
WEIGHT
COMRIE
PARK
SUTTON
MARTINEKTrade those six for prospects, young nhl players and draft picks. We really need players 26 and younger as far as im concerned. Also stop getting 3/4th line players we need quality not quantity!!!
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I think what some people fail to realize, is that every team in the league that is re-building will trade the majority of their UFA’s. If you think Burke is going to keep his UFA’s you have got to be kidding yourself. Last year we drafted quanity this year we need more high picks to draft some homerun quality. Stick to the plan. Be happy there is a plan.
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james says:
My fear is that the Snow has some heart and doesn’t trade any of the vets while the other bottom 5 teams get rid of all of theirs. We continue to win some games the last month of the season and the other 4 teams are filled with ahl prospects and lose em all. Don’t let that become a reality Garth. Trade trade trade!!!
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Dadi says:
Atlanta – Tavares
NY Islanders – Hedman
St Louis – MSP -
Garth should not trade for the sake of it. If Weight, Guerin, Park, etc don’t command high picks, or potential future pieces, then there is little reason to trade them. We need to trade, but trade smartly. Milbury traded, traded, traded, but usually it was done without care. Snow is smarter than that–if the draft is any indicator. I’d like to see the Islanders draft Tavares.
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Whatever Garth does, there will be those that will call for his head, and those who will think they could have done better. It will be interesting for sure and the decisions will hardly be easy ones.
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7th;
I totally agree with you there. This draft looks like one where people are gonna second guess him for years. He takes Tavares idiots are gonna try and claim he’s stupid and should have taken Hedman.
And vice versa.
Right now, as I read aross the “internets” it looks like people are playing this game with last years draft. Mainly with Schenn and Hodgson.
Not that Toronto was stupid giving up their second rounder to us for a guy that would have been there at 7.
It never ends.
I get annoyed sometimes when our fans go out on a limb do this. Although sometimes I get that it is justified.
It seems this gets to be a crutch though for sports writers and fans that have nothing lese to talk about but to kick the Islanders.
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isles14 says:
Something everyone seems to be overlooking. If we trade all of our vets, who exactly is going to mentor our kids? They will NOT get it on their own. Guys like Guerin, Weight, and Witt are invaluable in this regard. I’m not saying keep them all, but you can’t trade everyone either. Our kids will be much better off learning from guys who have had success in the league than trying to figure everything out themselves. You have to keep some vets around. Proven ones. It’s as essential to the kids’ development as ice time. Ask any proven vet, any winner, and they’ll rattle off a list of names of vets they had around when they were breaking in. So easy on the “let’s trade everyone with more than 200 games experience” talk. It’s short sighted and to do it would be detrimental to our development.
Also, CB you have to admit you don’t want Witt here. I don’t think he needs to retract anything because the day after he said it his coach came out and agreed with him. It also sparked conversation within the group and I think they have played a little better defensively since then. I’ll take Brendan Witt on my team any day-regardless of the system.
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the guys below the rest of the team for the right price should def be traded..
Streit
Hunter
Campoli
Meyer
Okoposo
Comeau
Nielsen
Hilbert
Bailey -
Meant to say keep the guys below and trade the rest…
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When did Okposo become a “B-Level prospect?” When I look on here at these comments, people are saying Okposo is going to be so-so and just an okay player. Has anyone been watching the games lately? Have people forgotten that he is 20 years old? The kid is going to be a star in this league, just give it some time. Every scout in the league continues to say the kid is great…
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Westfall says:
Since we’re talkin’ trade, here’s one that makes sense for both teams: Comrie, Hunter, Campoli and a 2d rd pick to Ottawa for Spezza. For the Isles, they get a legit #1 center and a bonafide offensive threat. The guy is getting killed up in Ottawa and the low glare here on LI might be what he needs to get back to the player he was in the ’07 playoffs. For the Sens, they get a young, offensive D-Man and a high pick, a solid 2-way, youthful winger in Hunter, and cap relief next year as Comrie is a UFA (the deal is basically a $$ wash this year). Thoughts?
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ShardZ says:
If they do draft Tavares and keep Weight, depth chart at center would look like: Weight, Baily, Tavares, Nielson. Park could be moved to wing, Sillinger won’t be back, we could get a solid NHL player for Comrie, and Thomson was never meant to be more than a depth player anyway. This way, should someone get injured, Park or Thomson can still slide in on center. Depth is important.
It is important to have a big strong shut-down defenseman, this is true, and Witt is good at playing that role, but it does not need to be him. If he must be traded, so be it, but I hope that the team does not leave that spot empty. On D, I beleive we should keep Streit, Sutton, Campoli, and maybe Gervais. Just my opinion -
What has to be kept in mind is the salary cap floor for next year. The cap floor has increased each year, and the Isles are barely above it this year. All of their UFAs (Guerin, Weight, Comrie, Sillinger, Hilbert, Jackman, Pock, MacDonald) total about $17m toward the cap. Snow has said himself how tough it is for the NYI to attract free agents, so how the heck are we going to replace that $17m? Sure, we will have a high #1 pick, and some of our RFAs will get a slight increase (eg. Comeau), but before we begin the fire sale, consider that veterans like Guerin, Weight, and Witt have all publicly stated they WANT to be here next year. Sure we’ll add draft picks if we trade them all, but then to reach the cap floor next year we will have to overpay some second rate free agents (recall $2.9m for Ruslan Fedotenko).
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Here’s a question for those who refuse to accept that Garth was not bright on draft day:
Bailey was rated, what, 11th? He might have made it to 13th or 14th, might have made it to 10th.
We draft Filatov (or Schenn) and use our first pick. We still have Petrov (our own pick before GMG trades) and we have a few extra picks.
Why not take the KNOWN homerun and trade picks or assets for the 10th or 11th pick? No prime players, the give would have been a reasonable player/vet and we’d have Filatov AND Bailey?
Must we always remain obediant and not question the “wisdon” of Snow/Isles? Being a fan is being here after YEARS of stupid moves hoping for the best. Being BLIND is demanding that everyone be on the same page and insist the Isles were brilliant time after time.
Filatov, Bailey and two second rounders less, we’re a MUCH MUCH better team.
Maybe next time we hire Thomas Pock as our GM?
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Good point Westfall. We need vets or better players to make league minimum (a sign of demanding quality by the owner?).
The cap floor is going down next season a bit, FWIW. We can trade the vets and give Sutton $5M/yr
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DiPi’s Massive Head:
How do you propose we had enough picks to get into the top 15 of round one?
The reason we amassed so many picks was because we traded down from #5. Nobody in the top 15, probably top 20, would trade out of that position to get two more picks in the later rounds, nor do we have the assets to get a first round pick in what was very regarded as a very exceptionally deep draft.
Westfall – Spezza was quoted in Logan’s article a few weeks back when he wrote about the couldabeen with Spezza and Heatley being Islanders and Spezza didn’t have a good thing to say about the arena or playing here. He’d be miserable here, would probably sulk and want out. He’s not a finisher. We have enough playmakers, we need someone who can put the biscuit in the basket.
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Absolutely correct TMC. The draft pick may not be a “crapshoot” as some people call it, but it certainly isn’t something that is surely and soundly known.
I would like to see the Isles keep Weight… honestly. I enjoy watching him play, and I stand behind the commenters who say that it is important to have mentors. Although it is what a coach is for, mentors and leaders on a team can teach some intangibles from their insight and experience. I know when I was younger playing hockey, I looked up to the older guys on my team to teach me things or give me a different take on something besides what my coach told me. I now do the same to younger, less experienced guys on my team this year AND IT HELPS! We don’t need an abundance of mentors, but I would like to see Weight stay on the Island, IF and only IF we do not get good value out of him whether it be a stand alone trade OR a package deal. It is the smart thing to do. Do we have a lot of centers? Yes. Can centers play the wing as well (and successfully) if there is not enough room down the middle? See Richard Park.
We are in good shape for this draft. I think we will stay in last place. I think Garth has a pretty good idea how good Tavares is and I also thinks he understands what we need. He is not a dumb man. I know, what he understands and what he actually will do this draft day will make or break this franchise, and this franchises fan base’s opinion of him… including mine. I think he will do the smart thing and draft Tavares if given the opportunity.
My dad states it in the best way possible about the Islanders…”You can say all you want about what if Milbury and the franchise didn’t trade him away for a bag of pucks or drafted him instead of him. The bottom line is that it is a WHAT IF. Can’t live in the past but must work for the future.”
Can’t wait for these two months to end, so we can get a snip-it of what we are going to do on draft day.
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Oh yeah, and someone please agree with me that CB should be a guest on Hockey Night Live. Please.
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One of a number of links that project Okposo as a second, possible first line forward: http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/kyle_okposo
Every scouting report I’ve read, before and after 2006, has Okposo as a definite 2nd liner with a possible upside as a 1st liner. Incidentally, that is still what he looks like to me.
I like how he is being to develop and I still have hopes he will become the stud power forward the Isles haven’t had since Bertuzzi. But I don’t think he is elite level prospect (e.g., Crosby, Ovechkin).
This is an unfair comparison, but Toews, taken before Okposo, has 35G/50A in his career so far. Mueller, taken after Okposo, has 30G/48A. Okposo has 6G/11a. They are all 20 yrs old and will continue to develop. Toews and Mueller are clearly 1st line prospects. Okposo, right now anyway, looks like a small step below.
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SIR WILLIAM says:
Hello Chris, What effect do you think that the salary cap decreasing will have on trades? Several teams are at or close to the cap right now. The NHL will experience the economic downturn just as much, if not more, than any other sport league.
So several forward looking teams may be happy to move good solid players that they will not be able to fit under the cap next year at the trade deadline.Your thoughts on this?…SW
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Brian G says:
Maybe trading Weight & Guerin together could get a 1st round pick & B-level prospect back
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The rumor is the cap will drop 1.5 to 2 Mil for the 09-10 season…but the 10-11 season the cap could drop another 5 to 10 mil. So the Cap floor will also be dropping.
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Trading for Spezza wouldn’t fix our problems. Firstly, the Sens are not going to take Comrie, Hunter and Campoli for Spezza who is a top tier player. Secondly, the Isles are not one massive trade away from the cup, they are years away from competing for the cup. The Islanders need to keep drafting, and keep finding players that fit the system.
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I think you’ll see Spezza to the Panthers for Bouwmeester provided Bouwmeester is signed long term beforehand
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Brian G: Wow. If the cap were to drop $5 to $10 million, which given the economy doesn’t seem that crazy, the impact on a lot of teams is going to be enormous…and beneficial to us. The percent of the cap for the Rangers taken up by Redden, Gomez, Drury and Lundquist will soar, forcing them to drop a lot of good players, and the same forces will be in play at a lot of other high-priced teams, like Philly and Pittsburgh. By contrast, while we’ve made long-term commitments to DP, Streit and Hunter, the dollars involved are not that great per annum, and we’re going to have a lot of flexibility to pick up players cut loose by other teams, or those who are having a tough time finding a home when they become UFAs.
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I actually found a great site with all the cap information: http://salaries.hockeyanalysis.com/teams/
Quick analysis shows we’ve got about the 6th or 7th lowest commitment to salaries in 2010-2011. Yashin’s deferred money is included there.
Some real interesting stats in there. For example, Vancouver has minimal commitments for that year, but that’s in part because they haven’t signed up Luongo or the Sedin twins to an extension. Also, the Canadiens have a lot less money committed than we do. Every other team in our division is on the hook for more than $37 million year after next, while we’re about $21 million.
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the bomber says:
i will tell you one thing, i know he may still be injured, but i think those of us counting on Petrov being a great nhl power forward are going to be sadly disappointed. He looks like about the 9th best russian forward from what ive seen, and i hear last year he was considered a better prospect than filatov but for the russian league complications, well they are no longer even in the same ballpark. filatov is dynamic. petrov is trent hunter…
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JP39 says:
I’m not sure if anyone has already pointed this out in the above comments – and if they did, I apologize in advance – but although I am not 100% certain, I believe that Ottawa has Tampa’s 1st round pick in this upcoming draft from the Meszaros trade back in September/October before this season started. If Ottawa does indeed own that pick, as I believe they do, that could be very interesting as they could have two possible top 5 picks in this draft. Would they consider trading one, or would they keep both? Who knows, I just think that’s a very interesting twist if it is true.
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Good memory. I just went searching, and it was for a first-rounder, but it was for the San Jose first rounder that Tampa Bay got for Boyle. So it won’t be a top 5 pick.
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Nope… its the Sharks’ first round pick that goes to Ottawa because of that trade, not TB’s.
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Gotcha, that actually makes more sense. Thank you for the clarification on that one, JayK and Chris
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SIR WILLIAM -The NHL will experience the economic downturn just as much, if not more, than any other sport league.
Much “more” very likely. The league’s overall assets are dwarfed by the others, and NHL owners are much less wealthy (for lack of a better term) than owners in the other sports. If Bettman’s people overseeing the league’s financial well- being are not very worried right now, they should be. There already is talk of some teams possibly having trouble meeting their payroll not too far down the road.
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There is know question that Garth Snow is the most important islander at this Time! And he must prove his Worth.
Garth Snow must make the right moves or he should be Fired plain and Simple he is a GM with no experience and is in Training at the sacrifice of the Islanders. -
Mike says:
Watching the WJ’s it looks as if snow has already dropped the ball on not drafting Colin Wilson? I’m sure if we had a shot at Tavares snow will SCREW it up by trading down or with the Isles luck losing the lottery.
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I’ve never liked the NHL lottery. Bottom five rolling just for the first overall, and then by ecord the rest of the way through? Eh. Better than some systems but there should be a way to really differentiate the NHL from other leagues.
I’ve always wondered about the idea of a tournament for the draft – two seven-team pools playing home-and-home, with the top four from each pool being seeded into an eight-team table, best-of-three series all the way through. (The other six get to draft ninth-through-fourteenth.) The winner of this tournament drafts first.
I can see problems with this solution, like any other, but it does give every team in the league at least one extra home date that would almost certainly sell out. Helping the bottom line helps the overall health of the teams and league. It would generate a great deal of excitement, which the league definitely could use. With such short series it wouldn’t necessarily put the worst teams at an unfair handicap. (Just look at all the 1 v 8 upsets in the playoffs, over seven games. If Arturs Irbe could lead San Jose to a big playoff upset against Detroit, why couldn’t Kari Lehtonen (or RDP!) lead the Isles to a three-game upset of a team like Buffalo?) It would push teams to try to win the whole year, since just missing the playoffs wouldn’t automatically stick your team with a middling pick.
It would also give extra (meaningful) games to developing younger players saddled on bad teams – playing for the right to get better teammates.
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…that should read, “…Lehtonen lead the Thrashers (or RDP lead the Isles) to a three-game upset…” etc etc. Ugh, I really should get more brain food so I can think good.
This will be a very interesting trade deadline for the Islanders. At very least, as you pointed out, CB, there is no doubt the Islanders need to get as many assets as they can. I’m hoping for a 2nd first-round pick this year, either using one of our trade chips or our extra 2nd rounders to move in.
I’m also readying my David Poile voodoo doll hoping he trades us Colin Wilson for Weight, Guerin, and one of those spare 2nds (yes I know that’s crazy, but I can dream).