Monthly Archives: February 2009
A few days ago in the Comments thread on the forward depth chart, Rich posted the following question:
“Forget about the ‘untouchable’ argument. I know you were against the Isles trading down twice to take Josh Bailey. Can you tell me your logic on what you think the Isles should have done? Do you think they should have drafted Schenn? Was stockpiling picks wrong in your opinion or did Snow not draft correctly? We have a good sample size for Bailey at the NHL level. Once he adds size and maturity I think he will be a second line center. That seems like a good pick to me.”
I’ve been consistent on this subject going back to Point Blank 1.0 in June. I’ve written countless times about Josh Bailey’s class, professionalism and impressive skill level. In terms of how he conducts himself, especially in the face of adversity and criticism, this teenager could teach a course to a few much older members of the Islanders’ traveling party. I’ve even laid out all the picks the Islanders added as a result of the move, which some interpreted as praise when I was merely stating the facts in the interest of fairness. Re-purposing that note, here’s the final scorecard:
Could Have Taken 5th
(pick one): Mikkel Boedker, Nikita Filatov, Luke Schenn, Josh Bailey
Instead Came Away With…
Josh Bailey
Aaron Ness (2nd round)
Jyri Niemi (3rd round)
David Ullstrom (4th round)
Toronto’s second round pick in 2009
Islanders insiders also say they never would have drafted wild card Russian right wing Kirill Petrov if they didn’t have the extra third round pick. Petrov, taken with the third of their third-rounders, is the franchise’s most high-end prospect not currently in the NHL or AHL. Nevertheless, I believe you should only judge this decision on the facts – not the Petrov equation. Besides, if the Russian ever makes an impact, it is years away.
The Accounting: The Islanders traded the 5th overall pick to Toronto for the 7th overall pick, plus a second round pick in 2009 and third round pick in 2008. They traded the 7th overall pick to Nashville for the 9th overall pick and a second round pick in 2008. They later traded the third round pick acquired from Toronto to Chicago for a later third round pick and a fourth round pick.
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I’ll give my take one last time. I don’t hate the move. It is not hard to make the case for it. It may work out just fine. That second-rounder from Toronto in 2009 could end up top-40. I just would have preferred the Islanders take the best player on their board at No. 5 and call it a night. Luke Schenn, in that mix, by most accounts is a first-pair defenseman.
Rich, you said it yourself: “I think (Bailey) can be a second-line center.” The Islanders had the 5th overall pick. I understand the depth argument, but I would have recommended trying to bring home a first-line player. As for the latest on Nikita Filatov, this is from a scout from the Eastern Conference who focuses on the pro ranks: “Man, I had no idea he was that tiny.” Guess we’ll see about him.
The Islanders would probably declare that they had Bailey No. 5 on their draft list – and they probably would be telling the truth. Fair enough.
This is the last time I’m writing about the Bailey decision. It’s done. I really like the young man. As fans, there is no longer any reason for you to look back. Josh Bailey is yours. He’s an Islander. Should this whole rebuild thing work out, you’ll be proud he’s on your team. And whether you love the move or loath it, know that it was all Garth Snow’s.
What’s your final opinion on 5-7-9? Comments.
Mr. Charles Beach passed away yesterday morning. Mr. Beach is the father of Islanders Operations VP Tim Beach, who in my 20 years of working for the Islanders was the best colleague you and I could ever wish to have. If you were at the Al Arbour game or any of the number-retirement ceremonies, you know of Tim’s work.
I only met Mr. Beach briefly a few times, but I do know he was one heck of a father. You don’t raise a kid with Tim’s hustle, sense of humor and with his intense dedication to the true meaning of teamwork by accident. I’m told the Phil Hartman-like dryness of both Tim and his brother Chip’s humor comes directly from Charles.
Mr. Beach, who passed away at the age of 79, battled emphysema for much of the last decade. You’d never know it by his energy, his ability to bring a smile to everyone concerned about him. “My kingdom for a beer,” he’d declare. “What’s up with those Islanders?” he’d ask.
Three years ago, the medical experts recommended hospice and prepared the Beach family to say goodbye at anytime. Three years ago. He was a fighter. Have to believe the recent birth of Tim and Linda Beach’s daughter might have been the latest goal.
God bless you, Mr. Beach. If it’s true we’re judged in large part by the children we leave behind, you’ve got some legacy, sir.
Topics included the Islanders’ cap flexibility, Blake Comeau’s effort, the Islanders’ loss, Bridgeport’s 1-0 win in Hartford and subjects we’d kill to never see brought up on the blog again.
Talk about the game in Comments.
Good afternoon, everyone. Crazy thing about that Optimum Triple Play – when it breaks down, you’re stuck without a home phone, cable tellyvision and the Internet!
Now picture this: I’m home with my three kids while my wife is away. I write and post the Scott Gordon piece at 12:30 pm yesterday from the RVC Panera, thinking of course The Cable Guy will have it fixed by dinner. (They said they didn’t have to come to the house; it was a “zone” thing). Twenty four hours later (loooong story) I’m back at the Panera, freed only because my mother volunteered to watch the kids for a bit while I wrote a pre-game. Oh, the irony of the Islanders playing the Rangers at the Garden tonight…
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Not surprisngly, partial hell started to break loose in the Comments section during my time without WWW access. Please allow me to make a few points.
Rich: since you decided to take it on the site, here you go. There are Comment Guidelines. People are understandably tired of me talking about them, but that’s because some readers either think I’m kidding or they don’t want to read or adhere to them.
This is not Islandermania, the best sports team fan message board in the land. Call me whatever you want, but here is how Point Blank works (or doesn’t work). If I take a few hours to write a 1,200 word story on Scott Gordon, you don’t get to go on the blog and change the subject to something you want to write about. That’s why message boards were invented. That’s why places like Word Press will be happy to provide all the wares for you to have your own blog, all for free.
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As for “Jim,” as long as he follows the Guidelines – sticks close to the subject, keeps it clean, etc. – let him do his thing. “Jim,” who is on his 5th name, 12th email address and I don’t know how many IP numbers, no doubt has his reasons for taking me on.
The thing I find kinda odd about the guy is that his running theme is about me being the spin doctor, the “spokesman” as he refers to me. But “Jim” is the person who writes about how I picked the Islanders not to come in 15th, but 11th (woo-hoo!) – not mentioning I probably didn’t count on DiPietro not playing and the more than 500 man-games lost to injury. “Jim” is the guy who writes that more than 8,000 people paid $20 or didn’t pay at all to fill the Coliseum on Monday afternoon. “Jim” is the guy who writes that I criticize Mike Milbury and not Garth Snow because I “no longer have to answer to Mike.” (If he only knew…).
I appreciate some of you standing up for me, but please let “Jim” do his thing early in the morning with his fake email, name, IP and who knows what else. It seems personal, and it’s very likely I did something to piss off the fellow in my lifetime. My record at the Islanders was not perfect. I made many friends, but along the way I have a couple of haters. As you know, there were some ugly days. Real ugly days. I can live with myself, although I do feel bad for any fractures along the way. I can live with some people carrying a grudge.
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Folks, take this blog for what it is. I do not write using the code name “Makela.” I use my own photo, taken by Bruce Bennett at Flyers-Penguins Game 5 last year in Philly. I provide an email address for you to contact me directly. I do not hide behind the fact, to quote Cablevision-sponsored Newsday, that this is an “Islanders-sponsored blog.” I have never once hid behind the fact that I worked for the team for 20 years. It has not kept me from writing some awfully negative stuff about the team.
I utilize my resources to provide the best information I can. Whether or not this blog continues beyond this season, use the three-year rebuild to see how I did. Use this summer to judge my prospect coverage. Let’s see who the Islanders sign or who they do not. Let’s see, for example, if Max Gratchev should have been in my top 10. I like my sources.
Wow, I feel like I’m in Mike Francesa defiant mode. You know, sometimes you just have to let it all hang out and deal with the consequences.
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Okay, so about tonight’s game, which all the local papers will have as a “referendum” on Tom Renney and the Rangers. Who needs tonight’s game more – the Islanders or the Rangers?
Figure on Renney taking the chains off and telling his boys to have fun and play like they’ve got nothing to lose. The key will be for the Islanders’ team D to hold them off early and not let Scott Gomez do the end-to-end thing I haven’t seen him do much since the All-Star break. If the Islanders get the first goal, could be a fascinating scene at the Garden. Wish I could be there, instead of my 1970s technology-themed home.
My spy high atop MSG at today’s morning skate reports that the same lineup that beat Pitt on Monday practiced today in New York. There was no sign of Mitch Fritz. This doesn’t mean Mitch can’t train right into Penn Station this afternoon, but if the Islanders didn’t dress a heavyweight for the Penguins on Monday (and they won), it’s consistent they won’t tonight for the Blueshirts.
And now it’s on to Kid Kevin…
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Point Blank guest contributor
The Islanders head to MSG tonight for their fifth game of the year against the rival Rangers. The teams last met a little over a month ago at the Coliseum on January 13th. Since then, things have changed quite a bit for the Rangers.
On January 13th, the Rangers were at the top of the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference. Since then they’ve gone south, with a 4-7-4 record and have played some uninspiring hockey. This has led to all kinds of questions about coach Tom Renney’s future and the team has really lost some bad games recently. Would an Islander win tonight be the final straw in the Renney Saga? The Rangers have won one game in February and have scored seven goals in six losses. If the Islanders win going away tonight, it could certainly be.
But I know you guys. You didn’t come here to talk about the Rangers and their coach, so enough about that. The Islanders put forth a good effort Monday at the Coliseum against the Penguins in front of a sellout crowd. If you’re in ticket sales for the Islanders, you’re a very happy camper. An exciting win in front of a full house is about as good as it gets during a season such as this. As for the Pens, there has been no word yet from doctors on whether or not they have regained a pulse since the firing of Michel Therrien. It sure didn’t look like they had one on Monday.
Joey MacDonald got the start Monday and made 35 saves in net. Scott Gordon has flipped between MacDonald and Yann Danis each of the past four games and with games on back-to-back nights tonight and Thursday, this will likely continue. My money is on Danis in net tonight, but if not, I’m sure we would see him tomorrow against Carolina.
One of the oddest things about the Rangers and Islanders is how close the all-time series record is. Going into tonight, the Islanders are 118-119-19-3 against their rival, including playoffs. That’s especially odd considering the swings the series has gone through over the last few years. The Rangers have won five of the last seven meetings, but before that the Islanders had won 10 of 14. And throughout the last decade or two, that win/loss record has managed to stay relatively equal.
Here’s three dates from the last two decades that I literally randomly picked out. At the end of the 2002-03 season, the Isles record against the Rangers was 104-101-19-1. After the 1998-99 season, it was 96-93-16. At the end of 1996-97 it was 93-87-15 in favor of the good guys. All relatively close. This might be the most evenly matched rivalry in hockey history.
Comments. Depending on whether CB’s Triple Play gets fixed, we’ll host in-game Comment-ary tonight.
**If you sent me an email in the last 24 hours, please re-send. Thanks…CB
“It’s not about speed, it’s about effort,” Scott Gordon said in our one-on-one conversation the other day. “It’s not about having great quickness, it’s about having the desire to get there and make the play.”
The reason I asked to meet with the first-year head coach was my curiosity about his plans for the Islanders’ style of play going-forward. But first, a three-paragraph review of how we got here:
When he was hired last August, Gordon brought a specific system to the Islanders from Providence of the AHL. Garth Snow’s belief in his strategy was a big factor in the coach getting his first NHL opportunity. Despite being predicted to finish last in the league by many experts, the Islanders may not have set the league on fire but they were a fun watch and stayed competitive at 10-12-2. Gordon received some raves. The Canucks invented the term “pre-pinch” and discussed how difficult the Islanders were to play against. Then the roof caved in – Rick DiPietro was lost for the season, an injury epidemic hit. There was plenty of poor play and, yes, some imperfect coaching.
There were two signature moments of the collapse. A 9-2 embarrassment in Pittsburgh on Dec. 11 was a seismic jolt to the Islanders’ confidence. After an overtime loss to Washington on Dec. 16, Brendan Witt shared with Greg Logan of Newsday his lack of faith in Gordon’s ultra-aggressive system. From the beginning of December through January 19, the Islanders won two games.
Around the start of a brutal five-game homestand in mid-January, Gordon tinkered more and more with his system. As a result, the Islanders looked sharper while undermanned in tight losses to the Rangers, Boston, New Jersey and Washington. They proceeded to win four games in a row. Yesterday’s win in front of a sold-out crowd at home erased some of the pain of the 9-2 blowout by Pittsburgh and was the latest example of Gordon’s changes keeping the Islanders competitive.
So here’s where we are today:
If Gordon was so confident in his highly-aggressive style of play that he brought to the Island, should we assume he’ll go completely back to it when he feels he has more players to execute it?
I posed the question to Gordon in the cramped quarters of the coaches’ change room at Iceworks. As he does sometimes, he quietly sent a challenge volley: “What are we doing differently”?
I provided my take, that his Islanders appear to be playing more of a 1-1-3 now. That Gordon at times is keeping a left wing or right wing in the neutral zone that I hadn’t seen until about a month ago. I mentioned that it looked like his team was more cautious on faceoff plays, that they were still aggressive but not always go-go-go, not always pre-pinching. I told him that a few of his players shared with me their surprise when he entered the home team locker room with an alteration a few weeks ago at the second intermission when his team had the lead. (They won the game). I figured I was about 50% right, but now I was 100% out of material. So I asked him, “Is this a test, Scott”?
He said, “No,” and with that got up from his locker stall and went to the dry-erase board. As I tried to follow along with my Nassau CC/La Salle U education, the head coach drew up a few examples of what he has changed, what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong. While Gordon didn’t make a point of saying any of his chalk talk was off-the-record, I’m keeping it there for two reasons:
1. Whether I was the former PR person or a current blogger, I’m from the Bill Belichick school of believing most strategy stays in the room. Since Gordon fanatically is too, he probably meant to keep it there.
2. Even with the coach generously taking the time to draw it up for me, I still have no clue what they’re doing differently after neutral-zone faceoffs.
“Sometimes you’re dealt a hand,” said Gordon, referring to his league-trouncing statistic of man-games lost to injury. “Sometimes you have to make adjustments. But I don’t think you’ll find anyone who’ll say we’re still not playing a very aggressive system.”
This is true. I called up a few scouts that attended the Islanders’ shootout loss to Los Angeles last Tuesday. They concurred. “You have to understand where Gordon’s coming from,” said one. “His team had nights when they were getting their doors blown off. He believes in his system and I’m sure when he gets the horses he’ll go most of the way back to it. But as much as it may have killed him, he had to do something to prevent the occasional blowout and third period collapse. His lineup was decimated. His team’s psyche had to hurt from the long losing streaks. The coach did the right thing.”
Okay, I asked the scout. Does that mean if Gordon made the adjustments earlier, the Islanders might be pushing for 8th place instead of Tavheduch?
“Let’s not get carried away,” the scout said, laughing. “That team is really, really thin and with guys like DiPietro and Weight and all the dmen out, forget about it. They’re still going to lose games. You can break up your system to stay competitive, but no – they could have played an all-out trap and would still be out of it. You do what Gordon did to keep the games close and get the occasional win.”
Like yesterday over the Penguins. Although I knew Gordon wouldn’t pull a Bill Stewart “Did you see our lineup?” I tried to press him about needing more players with the skill-set to play his system. The coach wouldn’t go there, but emphasized that his style of play demands effort more than speed.
“When we have failed, it’s not because the player lacked the speed to make the play,” said Gordon. “It’s because he either didn’t execute properly or he didn’t make the effort.”
To use a Gordon phrase, here’s my “take-away” from our conversation:
It’s possible he may not be the stubborn, inflexible, go-go-system-crazed coach that I and maybe other writers have made him out to be. Let’s give that one some more time.
And if it’s not about speed and quickness but a desire to go hard for 60 minutes and to commit to Scott Gordon’s system, the Islanders need to find about ten new players for season 2 of his NHL coaching career.
I’ll have more on Scott Gordon in the weeks ahead about other aspects of his coaching, but felt it was important to address the system issue now. Talk about it in Comments. In case you missed it, please note details below on Point Blank Night II.
Point Blank Night 2 is set for Tuesday, March 10 from 7:30-10:30 pm at Gabrielle’s Brasserie & Wine Bar in Rockville Centre when the Islanders play in Toronto.
Once again I’ll be able to say thank you to all the readers that have made Point Blank a major hit.
The evening will include:
- Islanders - Maple Leafs on 3 screens
- Complimentary wine and appetizers, courtesy of Gabrielle’s
- Conversation and merriment with your fellow Point Blankers
- A raffle for Islanders tickets and all sorts of decent stuff
- Maybe a surprise guest or two. At PBN I, Sound Tigers head coach Jack Capuano was kind enough to join us and take questions
All of the above are free without any strings attached. Every Point Blank reader who shows up at Gabrielle’s has the opportunity to complete one raffle ticket by merely printing their real name and nothing else on it.
To answer the question in advance, no other great establishment on Long Island has stepped up to give us their entire bar and offer the level of service (and free stuff) that Gabrielle’s has. There is a possibility for one final PB Night toward the end of the season at a different joint to be announced. Negotiations are in the early stages.
Gabrielle’s is located at 22 North Park Avenue in Rockville Centre, next to the inappropriately named Fantasy movie theatre. The phone number is 516.536.6611.
Please let us know in Comments if you are coming so we can line up enough appetizers, wine and prizes for just about everybody. If you don’t live in the area, you don’t have to RSVP. We understand.
Deciphering my notes on a napkin while enjoying Monday’s game against the Penguins with the kids…
Island Appreciation: I was talking over the weekend to an old pal whose family moved off the Island a few years ago. I mentioned how, with my wife away for the week, I was going to take my three boys to the President’s Day matinee against the Penguins. My buddy became nostalgic.
“That’s one of the things I really miss about the Island,” she said. “You want to go to a game where we live, it’s a long drive and you pay 25 bucks to park a mile away. Even on nights when the Coliseum is packed, we used to leave the house at 6:30 and be in our seats for the National Anthem. The best hockey players in the world, right there in Nassau County. I didn’t realize how great we had it.”
Many Long Islanders do. The Islanders are in last in the league. They have been out of the playoff race since before Hanukkah. And yet, today’s game was sold out – the third matinee capacity crowd of the season. When my gang left the building about 30 minutes after Joey MacDonald’s save on Sidney Crosby, there were still long lines at the merchandise stands.
And yet some big-mouths still question the viability of this market.
Tamby’s Defense-less Goal: My fondness for Jeff Tambellini is well-documented. I know I’m not the only evil, “he’s-out-to-get-us” person in the press box who’d kill to see the kid do well.
But let’s get something straight about Jeff’s brilliant shootout goal against Pittsburgh. As a step in his NHL career, it has as much to do with his development as winning the NBA dunk contest. It is nothing for him to build on, because he has scored in the shootout before. He can score on a jumper from 30 feet out in his sleep. I’m sure Tambellini is thrilled to contribute to a win, but he even knows he has a long way to go in the first 65 minutes of play.
Hillen over Callahan: Contrary to what I saw from a few Comment-ators in the pre-game, I had no problem with the Islanders choosing Jack Hillen to play against the Penguins over Joe Callahan.
Hillen is a prospect of less than one year whom the Islanders must continue to develop, monitor and – since he’s RFA this summer – make decisions on. No offense to Callahan, but this is his sixth year of pro. The Islanders know what he is. Unlike playing Jon Sim over Jeremy Colliton or Trevor Smith, Hillen-over-Callahan is the type of lineup move the Islanders should be making the rest of the way.
Renney’s Benefit of the Doubt: This may not be relevant to the Islanders in your eyes, but it is to my former life as their PR person so this stuff always makes the blog. If you want to know one of the many by-products of answering questions honestly, looking people in the eye and treating everyone with respect, all you have to do is look at Tom Renney.
It may not get him anywhere. It doesn’t even guarantee he’ll be coaching when the Islanders play his Rangers at the Garden on Wednesday. But while the fans are calling for his head because it’s tough to yell about a guy hiding in an executive suite high above the arena, almost everyone in the press and “in the game” is standing up for Tom Renney. As it should be.
Calls to mind what I used to tell the Islanders players when I would encourage them to be forthright and classy with the media: “For the last three years of his career, David Cone basically didn’t get anybody out. Yet he walked off the mound to standing ovations and never got jabbed in the press.”
Comments.
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