Monthly Archives: February 2009
12:25 pm – The Islanders have begun practice at Iceworks, and Bill Guerin is nowhere in sight.
More denials from Montreal, New Jersey and Boston. Carolina too, but that never made much sense to me. Remember: Cup contender, Eastern team.
Pittsburgh? Philadelphia? Washington? (A text of a minute ago says the Caps folks are mum at their practice at the Verizon Center).
Or maybe the original deal is dead. And if it’s dead, Billy stays off the ice at practice and has still played his last game as an Islander. Although Guerin doesn’t say much on the record, Greg Logan’s story today on the partially-fractured relationship between Scott Gordon and some of his veterans means one thing.
On the matter of Guerin returning to the Islanders, that ship has sailed.
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11:53 am – Bill Guerin is at Iceworks (not practicing), but I am not. The Islanders are scheduled to practice there in about a half-hour, but the wireless is not working at the team’s Syosset practice facility.
Funny thing about the crapped-out wireless. It’s been on and off for me and Logie since the Islanders hit the skids in early December. You know anything about that, Scott? (These are just jokes, Coach. It’s Islanders Country Held Hostage, Day 2).
Billy’s walking around, smiling, not saying anything. I’m still at home at the laptop – discs herniating, one at a time. You know the minute I get in the car and make the 30-minute drive to the Land Without Wireless, the trade news will break while I’m on the Southern State.
For a giggle while you wait this out, check out some of the proposed Guerin deals in Comments.
In the last hour alone, I’ve received two calls telling me the deal is not with Montreal. I appreciated the calls. However, this is now at the point where even if Billy Guerin texted me himself with the identity of his new team, I’m not sure I’d believe him.
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10:10 am: Although you’ll probably stay with this story til the very end, it would be so tempting for me to assist in dragging you along. But we’ve now gotten to the part where I can advise that if you want to go to church, go for a jog, grab some pancakes at the diner or hang out with your families (nooooooo!), it’s fairly safe to say you have a few hours. This is based on a text from a friend I trust big-time:
This could take all day.
So what we could be looking at is a rare assemblage of reporters at an Islanders practice (on a Sunday!) – not there to watch forechecking but in wait for Guerin news. And there’s a great chance the practice will end without anything coming of it.
The holdup, of course, will lead to some speculation that this is a bigger deal (yes, going against what I wrote all of two hours ago). This will lead to speculation that the Islanders and their trade partner (or both) have acquired players they want signed beyond this season. This will lead to wild guesswork. Maybe Billy is simply exercising his right to take his time to green-light the deal. Maybe he’s the one looking for a contract extension.
We’ll stand by our prediction that the trade is for a pick and maybe a prospect. But it wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t share a follow-up text from Our Guy:
Something is holding it up.
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8:15 am, Sunday, March 1 - Now we can say this trade has taken two months to complete.
Good morning. A thorough, but blurry check of the information superhighway and series of text messages to informants has uncovered nothing but more speculation. Washington joins Montreal and New Jersey as possible destinations for Bill Guerin, but who knows? Nobody.
Hey, how about this scenario? How about the deal craters and Guerin remains an Islander for another day? One thing is 100% certain: even if it did – we’ve all seen crazier things in Islanders Country – Bill has played his last game as an Islander.
The emails and Comments have begun about Logie’s major story on Scott Gordon’s relationship with his players. I just added the following Comment to the more than 500 so far:
I’ll get to the Gordon-veterans issue with a relatively brief post when this Guerin thing is over. Unless a story is cheesy or (in my view) improperly reported, it’s not my place to get into the work of fellow writers covering the Islanders. But I will have some basic comments much later in the day, or perhaps not till Monday if the Guerin Watch becomes an all-dayer. For now, the focus of the blog and this thread will be on Guerin. Discuss Greg’s story on Islandermania.
I’m also keeping an eye on potential other Islander deals.
A reminder/recommendation: yes, this Guerin mystery has become a bit of a phenomenon. (Friday set a new record for Visits and Hits, Saturday doubled it). Since it’s just hockey and show business, not real life – except for the Guerin family – it’s been a lot of fun.
But as the hours pile up, it would be a mistake for anyone to delude themselves into thinking this is a blockbuster deal or a difference-maker for the Islanders. We’ve had a lot of fun here, but none of it should disguise the probability that this trade is likely Billy for a high-round draft pick plus (maybe) a decent prospect.
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1:50 am – Hockey Night in Canada has signed off, so we shall too. We’ve searched and searched, but don’t have solid enough information to report.
Our final trade prediction of the night: TSN will break the news first on Sunday. But we will try our best. Good night…CB
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12:30 am – One of the wild and wacky subplots to this whole adventure is how other, possibly-innocent GMs have been dragged into it. Hockey Night in Canada, with the gritty-gutty Pierre Lebrun doing the reporting, has zeroed in on the Washington Capitals by process of elimination. How? By calling every GM potentially in the mix and hearing them deny it.
But GMs lie sometimes. Pierre undoubtedly knows this, which is why HNIC has not formally reported the trade.
Since it’s so late at night, I’ll throw in my two cents/grasp at straws. Utilizing my experience from my old job, I ask myself what team could so successfully keep this a secret for so long? I think of the top executives at each team, how they run their business. And I keep coming back to one man.
Lou Lamoriello. Only Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils could keep this under wraps for so long. That’s because Lou Lamoriello is the New Jersey Devils. He doesn’t have to run the deal by accountants or PR people or owners or friends of owners.
Now to be fair, Lou has supposedly told a major mainstream media member that he’s not involved.
I’m just saying that from my experience and knowledge, the Devils are the only franchise leak-proof enough to pull it off. If there’s another team that can, they’re proving it as Saturday night turns to Sunday morning.
Throwing out the PR side, if I had to take a hockey guess? The Montreal Canadiens.
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11:25 pm – Point Blank offers sincere respect to the Islanders, the team they’ve traded Bill Guerin to, and Billy and his team, too, for keeping this deal off TSN and Hockey Night in Canada for four hours and counting. At this rate, we may actually get to the end of Minnesota at Edmonton without knowing. Maybe.
Although I’m still here, Garth Snow has left the Coliseum. Bill Guerin left a long time ago. The Islanders practice tomorrow. You’ll know the deal by the end of practice, and probably sooner.
If someone not with a major broadcast partner or publication is claiming to know the deal right now, they are full of it. They may guess it correctly, but they do not know. “I’ve heard St. Louis,” “I’ve heard Rangers,” “It’s going to be Montreal.” Okay. Sure. Whatever gets you through the night.
Here’s the tipping point to look out for. Once the Islanders and their trade partner conduct their conference call with NHL hockey operations to finalize the parameters of the deal, the word will get out. It almost always does.
Good night, I think.
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9:30 pm – In addition to all other stumbling blocks – for example, a player traded to the NYI could be playing right now – the deal is pending Bill Guerin’s approval. I’m told his “official” approval may not come until Sunday morning.
Here is Darren Dreger’s story on the deal. We have some conflicting information, but let’s face it – Darren’s, uh, slightly more connected than me.
Now that Sean Bergenheim and the Islanders have beaten Buffalo, 2-0, time to go downstairs and get no information.
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9:02 pm – Here’s the latest on what we know so far, as we wait to break this baby – or gladly watch as someone else breaks it for you:
- The deal is done “in principle.”
- Both the Islanders and Guerin are said to be “very pleased” with the trade.
- An expert we count on for his great eye for this stuff says the deal is not to New Jersey or Boston. Montreal and Washington seem to lead the pack, but that could be simply a) process of elimination and b) because the Islanders had two scouts at their game against each other this afternoon. (Take this bullet with the least grain of salt, folks).
- The Islanders also had a pair of scouts when New Jersey hosted Florida. Don’t rule out the Panthers, who got creamed twice this week. (Although I don’t know how you scout a second round pick!) Nevermind. Doesn’t make sense that Billy would approve a deal to South Florida.
- At least three teams seriously joined the hunt for Guerin since we broke the news on Thursday night that the captain was willing to waive his no-move clause.
- Since Guerin’s no-move gave him all the cards, his preference of the three teams was likely met. Guerin was hopeful of a Stanley Cup-contending team in the East.
At minimum, figure on the Islanders receiving a second round pick. At minimum. For a 38-year old player that had all the leverage – and there were no talks of a contract extension – that’s not bad. And it could be more.
Stay tuned.
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8:20 pm - The Islanders have a deal in principle that will send Bill Guerin “to an Eastern team” and will be finalized by Sunday, sources tell Point Blank. All indications are that Guerin will waive his no-move clause and agree to the trade, according to the source. As we posted at the start of tonight’s game, interest in Islanders veterans from several teams has intensified over the last few days – with Guerin at the top of the list. Figure on the key aspect of the return for Guerin being an early-round draft pick.
The odds this gets to midnight tonight without an American or Canadian media outlet having all the details? Not so good.
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7:32 pm - Bill Guerin is not playing tonight against the Buffalo Sabres, but he is healthy. After their captain took the warmup, the Islanders took Guerin off the ice and are playing short one skater. Word is the team could have an announcement after the game or on Sunday. Keep in mind: with his no-move clause, Guerin has to approve a deal. This could be complicated.
More on trade rumors below. Comments on Guerin in this thread. Comment Guidelines.
(Linked forever, even linked in trade talk: Guerin, Weight)
UPDATED 7:20 pm - Bill Guerin took warmup, but now is not on the ice. Islanders playing with just 17 skaters. Stay tuned.
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7:10 pm - League sources told Point Blank on Saturday that interest in available Islanders veterans continues to increase. The trade talk has now intensified to the level that one source described the likelihood of the Islanders making at least one significant trade before Wednesday’s deadline as “more than 90%.”
As tonight’s game against Buffalo began, the Islanders were said to be contemplating several packages for their sought-after veterans.
The veterans atop the wish lists are captain Bill Guerin, defensemen Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek, and injured center Doug Weight. While – we repeat – the Islanders may not bring back the level of return from their trade of Chris Campoli to Ottawa for a late first round draft pick – there is major momentum toward the completion of another transaction or two for Team Rebuild.
When even a franchise like St. Louis – currently on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture – declares itself a “buyer” at the deadline, it paints a definitive picture of why the Islanders offices have become a popular spot to make trade offers. There simply are not many “sellers” for the scavengers to hunt for meat. Besides the Islanders, the only clear-cut sellers are Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Ottawa, “descending rapidly” Toronto, Colorado and Phoenix.
The Coyotes may not host a veterans garage sale, but they are well aware of the haul that could come with the trading of ace center Olli Jokinen. The Florida Panthers are not sellers in the traditional mode, but they are very open to trading Jay Bouwmeester because they will lose the all-star defenseman on July 1 for nothing.
The Islanders have plenty to sell. Besides Guerin, Witt, Weight and Martinek, other Islanders in play include potential UFAs Andy Hilbert and Dean McAmmond, simmering goal scorer veteran grinder Jon Sim and goaltenders Yann Danis and Joey MacDonald.
If the Islanders were blown away by offers by popular heart-and-soul forwards Trent Hunter and Richard Park, they would be forced to listen.
But attracting the most interest, of course, is the Islanders’ trio of experienced and accomplished leaders. Deals for Guerin and Witt could help the Islanders obtain additional early-round draft picks. The knee injury to Doug Weight has not derailed requests for the services of the playmaking center. A deal involving a conditional third or fourth round pick that escalates with each playoff series victory remains a strong possibility.
The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday, March 4.
POINT BLANK TRADE PRIMER
Saturday, February 28
The key Islanders most likely to be dealt, in order of likelihood:
1. Bill Guerin
2. Radek Martinek
3. Andy Hilbert
4. Brendan Witt
5. Doug Weight
Comments.
Word from Chris King of Islanders Radio is that Yann Danis is getting the start and Andrew MacDonald will make his NHL debut alongside Joe Callahan. Talk about the game here, and if time allows I’ll pop in once or twice a period…CB
UPDATED 12:20 pm - The Islanders have decided to go with one of their top AHL D prospects to replace the suspended Brendan Witt. Andrew MacDonald has been recalled from Bridgeport and will make his NHL debut tonight when the Islanders host Buffalo.
(You had to know MacDonald would get the call when we wrote in this space late last night that Dustin Kohn and Chris Lee were standing out in Bridgeport most recently. You’re welcome, Andrew.)
Going the prospect route, the Islanders were likely faced with a choice of MacDonald or Dustin Kohn. The 22-year old MacDonald was taken in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL draft at the suggestion of his former junior coach in Moncton, Ted Nolan. The 6-1, 190-pound defenseman is an unspectacular but solid player in both ends.
The Sound Tigers won in Philadelphia last night, 4-1. Jesse Joensuu had a goal. The third line of Michael Haley-Tyler Haskins and Sean Bentivoglio combined for four points. Kohn was paired with McDonald, Lee with 25-year old Jon Gleed, a former Montreal 7th-round pick out of Cornell recently recalled from Utah of the ECHL.
“NY Hockey This Week” will be live today from 1-2:00 pm on 1050 ESPN Radio. Bob Galerstein and I will be taking your calls.
If there’s a trade or a recall today, I’ll Blackberry it in from the city as soon as news breaks. Maybe Jim Balsillie can hook me up with a Blackberry sponsorship.
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Every time the Islanders play the Buffalo Sabres I think of Darcy Regier, the Buffalo general manager and one of the princes of this game.
In my early days with the Islanders, Darcy was just breaking into the hockey operations racket. He quickly moved up the ladder to assistant general manager. No matter how far his career progressed, he always had time for me. He will not take this as a compliment, but I learned more about the NHL and the game of hockey from Darcy than anyone in my 20 years.
Here’s one of my foremost memories of Darcy. It’s about 19 years ago and I’m just outside the offices of Bill Torrey and Darcy because, well, we didn’t have a lot of supplies and equipment. I’m trying to run labels for Islander News subscriptions off a machine that was behind its time – even in 1990. I’ve turned the chore into a slapstick, “I Love Lucy” episode.
Darcy Regier, a technology whiz ahead of his time, sees the trainwreck I’ve created. He calmly walks over, asks what the problem is, and then stays with me, threads the labels and doesn’t leave until the job is done. Might seem silly, but says a lot about the man.
That’s the kind of man the Buffalo Sabres are fortunate to have running the show.
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The stats did not peak with last Friday’s Campoli trade. Thanks to you, Point Blank is having its best week ever. And for the fifth complete month since this blog began, the average monthly Visits, Hits and everything else have increased in double-digit percentages.
So again – thank you, thank you, thank you. Just don’t bolt after the trade deadline. We promise to do our best to keep it interesting for the rest of the season.
Comments.
5:20 pm - Jim Baumbach, Mark Herrmann, Greg Logan and Eden Laiken of Newsday sat down with Charles Wang today for 90 minutes. Here’s Jim’s first take on the meeting, and there will be more coverage ahead. First thing that’s pretty obvious: a Summer 2009 groundbreaking on the Lighthouse Project seems unrealistic…again.
Talk Lighthouse here, Witt suspension below.
UPDATED 5:50 pm – The Islanders have just issued a press release acknowledging the Brendan Witt suspension. It includes this quote from Garth Snow: “We are diasppointed to loss a player of Brendan’s calibre and character for this period of time, but we understand the League’s concern regarding hits to the head.”
It seems the Islanders aren’t miffed that Mike Mottau got only two games for taking out Frans Nielsen for more than two months, so maybe nobody else should either. It’s one thing if the Islanders want to be 1-of-30 and not take the low road, but why say anything at all?
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3:30 pm - …Brendan is guaranteed to not be injured between now and Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Three games more than Mike Mottau, eh Colie? It is wild that every time someone pontificates that this is the time for the NHL to take a stand, an Islander is up for a suspension.
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2:47 pm - The disciplinary hearing between Brendan Witt and the National Hockey League ended a few minutes ago.
The conference call regarding Witt’s elbow to the head of Niklas Hagman lasted approximately 20 minutes. On the call were Witt and Garth Snow representing the Islanders, discipline czar Colin Campbell of the NHL and Ian Penny and Glenn Healy from the Players Association.
Our take: Witt deserves – 2 games. Witt will get – 5 games.
Comments.
(Exclusive first look at THN's "Future Watch" cover)
It’s almost that time of year, when The Hockey News “Future Watch 2009″ issue provides hope or hopelessness to the diehards of struggling or rebuilding teams. If you are an Islanders fan, be prepared for a little pain and a large dose of reality.
If you think the Islanders already have enough draft picks and bonafide prospects, or felt this blog’s recent projections were not as optimistic as they should have been, the “Future Watch” will hit your mailbox like a slap in the face. We just called a friend at The Hockey News who confirmed our suspicions:
- The Islanders do not have a single prospect in THN’s Top 50.
- They have only one in the Top 100: Aaron Ness, at 71.
- The team’s overall grade is C+.
- Of the 30 NHL teams, the Islanders are ranked 21st.
The Hockey News only evaluates youngsters who have yet to see regular icetime in the NHL. If Josh Bailey was playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League, he may have been slotted somewhere in the top 10. If Kyle Okposo was still just a junior at the University of Minnesota, he’d probably crack the top 5.
Islanders fans wondering why Point Blank does not have a weekly series on 2008 sixth round pick Justin DiBenedetto - 4th in Ontario Hockey League scoring – will get their answer from “Future Watch.” DiBenedetto was not considered for the top 100 and he will be outside the Islanders’ top 5 (one guess, in no particular order: Ness, Jesse Joensuu, Trevor Smith, Kirill Petrov, Travis Hamonic). Keep in mind that THN’s list is compiled after thorough polling of NHL scouts. Like those scouts, The Hockey News is often wrong, but this issue is a fair representation of what “the hockey world” feels about the game’s young players.
The poor showing of the Islanders is a by-product not just of Okposo and Bailey making the team, but plenty of other factors. Not having a first round pick (Ryan Smyth trade) or second-rounder (Richard Zednik, ouch) in 2007 is a killer if you hope to make The Hockey News list in 2009. The Zednik deal took the Islanders out of the mix for plenty of talent still available in the second half of the second round. No doubt you’ll see a bunch of kids from that group in the magazine.
My source at The Hockey News would not confirm information outside of Islanders Country. However, you better believe Nikita Filatov (Columbus 2008 6th overall) is No. 1. Point Blank reader favorites Colin Wilson (Nashville 2008 7th overall, before Bailey) and Cody Hodgson (Vancouver 10th overall, after Bailey) will be near the top. Hodgson being a Canadian boy drafted by a Canadian franchise may have had something to do with his selection as cover model.
Figure on the rival-but-not-”rebuilding” Rangers having a few representatives in the Top 50, including the most unheralded prospect in New York hockey. In the third round last summer, the Rangers selected a buzz-free, 6-3 center from Russia named Evgeny Grachev. Today he is a stud for the OHL’s Brampton Battalion and is a more promising prospect than anyone not on the Islanders’ current roster. (Hey, maybe the Islanders should kidnap Petrov so he can learn about commitment in the OHL). Blueshirt kid defensemen Michael Del Zotto (20th overall, 2009) and Bob Sanguinetti (21st, 2006) will crack the top 100, maybe the top 50. That’s a local perspective.
The lesson is that the Islanders did well for themselves in term of quality in 2006 (Okposo) and 2008 (Bailey) and depth of mid-level prospects. Ness, Joensuu and maybe one or two others could develop into much more over time. As much as I was and still am okay with the Ryan Smyth try – Edmonton drafted a stay-at-home dman named Alex Plante, who will not be in the top 50 and is an average prospect - 2007 was a write-off that simply cannot happen again anytime soon.
Above everything else, the magazine magnifies two issues:
1. The Islanders need to continue to draft better.
2. If anyone around the Islanders believes they have enough draft picks and prospects to not consider moving more veterans, that strategy should be re-considered.
The Hockey News prospects issue of 2010 may look dandy for the Islanders, but that’s not going to make anyone feel better today. This is the irony of how the “Future Watch” can work. If Josh Bailey is in Windsor and not Uniondale, he’s in the top 10, the team’s grade is B and the Islanders are ranked around 15th. Not bad, but still proof they have a long way to go.
Or how about this? If the Islanders are fortunate to pick first or second in June and grab John Tavares, he will not make the Top 50 in 2010 because he’ll be on the Islanders. But if they take Victor Hedman first or second and, let’s just say, Hedman plays one final year in Europe, the Swedish defenseman will be the No. 1-ranked prospect in all of hockey and the Islanders’ team grade – shoot, the entire friggin’ issue – will look a whole lot better.
But that’s 2010, 2011. The 2009 “Future Watch” is out in March. Islanders fans should read it at their own risk.
ETC: After two games in two nights, the Islanders did not practice today. Interest in Bill Guerin and Brendan Witt continues to heat up, but there is no news…yet. The Islanders host Buffalo on Saturday and Colorado on Monday.
Media Alert: There has been some buzz about Charles Wang possibly meeting today with Newsday writers to discuss the Lighthouse Project, so you might want to check the Newsday site (still free!) later in the day.
Talk about this story in Comments. Discuss Bill Guerin’s decision and other trade-related issues in next thread. Thanks.
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