Monthly Archives: February 2009
The Islanders have announced that can’t-catch-a-break Nate Thompson will be out another 4-6 weeks with an injured shoulder. Mark Streit is definitely out of tonight’s tilt against the young, skilled and energetic Kings - another model for your NYI.
I will be away on another one of those pesky assignments. Kid Kevin of Barry Melrose Rocks will be at the game in primo seats I stole for him. After the game, he’ll post his observations and Part II of his look at goaltending options for the Islanders. I’ll be back tomorrow with a series of potential Pulitzer nominees…CB
Game talk here. Queens/Lighthouse chat below. Trade talk below that. We are the world.
As reported by the New York Daily News, the Islanders are a wanted franchise. Queens is very much a part of Long Island. Just keep that apple out of the arena, okay?
Comments on Lighthouse and arena here. Trade talk in next thread. Thank you to Islander Fan Central and more than a dozen readers for the heads-up. As Pete Botte can tell you, I don’t read the Daily News much.
An NHL general manager once told me that if you want to predict his next trading partner, all you have to do is look at his history of deals. Taking his advice, I’m predicting the New York Islanders will make a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the trade deadline.
The possibility is certainly there. The Flyers need at least one experienced defenseman. Like every team, they could always use help on the power play. A Flyers prospect plus an expensive veteran could come the Islanders’ way. Skilled 25-year old center Joffrey Lupul, even before his surprise cameo on “Sober House,” was rumored to be available (bring him on!). Although Philadelphia’s salary cap problems could prevent their acquisition of a Brendan Witt, the Islanders have plenty of cap space to help them out in other deals.
That’s what friends are for, and Islanders GM Garth Snow and Flyers GM Paul Holmgren are friendly. Two years ago they hooked up for two deals that – if you can believe it - weren’t rumored anywhere.
On Dec. 16, 2006 Snow traded defenseman Alexei Zhitnik and saved $3 million in annual salary for the next two years by getting Freddy Meyer and a third round pick. The draft selection turned into Sarnia (OHL) defenseman Mark Katic, whom we ranked No. 7 among Islanders junior, college and European prospects.
(Sidebar: Three months later Holmgren somehow managed to wheel Zhitnik to Atlanta GM Don Waddell in exchange for stud young dman Brayden Coburn. While several Islanders fans on this blog wrote last week that Snow should be able to make a Coburnian heist for any of the team’s available veterans, don’t count on it. Waddell will live with that move forever).
Three days after the Zhitnik trade, the Islanders unloaded the shockingly-done-like-dinner Mike York on the Flyers for Randy Robitaille and a fifth round draft pick in 2008 that turned out to be Sarnia (OHL) forward Matt Martin, ranked No. 8 on our prospect list.
Snow and Holmgren have a history. They have made deals that have helped their teams. They have talked about other trades that didn’t come to fruition. The Islanders are 28 points behind Philadelphia, making a trade within the division not out of the question. Right now, the Islanders are barely in the same league as the Flyers.
Don’t be surprised if they do some business in a few weeks.
ETC: Mark Streit (upper body) expected to miss his third straight game. Jack Hillen and Joe Callahan back with the Islanders and will play tonight’s home match against Los Angeles. Islanders fans will get their first Coliseum look at Kings prized rookie defenseman Drew Doughty.
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As tempting as it may be, the Islanders are not going to stand in the way of the Rangers’ potential acquisition of Sean Avery via re-entry waivers.
Since they have the NHL’s worst record, the Islanders have the first pick of all players placed on waivers. You could make the case that, if Glen Sather and the Rangers are convinced Avery will make a huge difference, the rival Islanders should get in the way. After all, if the Red Sox tried to acquire a starting pitcher in late August, the Yankees would put in a claim and kill the deal. The Yankees would probably do it even if, as the Islanders are today, they were in last place.
But the Avery case is far different.
Sean Avery, even at 50% off, is signed for 2008-09 plus three years. If he was signed just for this season, the Islanders – with no intention of ever playing Avery, nor probably Avery for them – could pick him up on waivers, try to trade him or let him sit.
With three years left on his deal with Dallas, no way. Avery will have an immediate positive impact on Broadway. His presence will help New York hockey grab some needed press attention as most reporters fall all over themselves at spring training. The Rangers will win games and make the playoffs. They’ll have to decide what to do with him when October comes around, but that’s something they don’t have to think about right now.
There’s about a 5% chance another NHL team will stun the hockey world and grab Avery on re-entry before the Rangers. But it will not be the Islanders.
P.S.: Earlier this season, while Avery made his tour of this area in his three games with the Stars, some Rangers broadcasters – who never complained about Sean when he was a Ranger – all of a sudden had a lot of bad things to say about the guy. If he returns to the Blueshirts, then what will they say?
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Our month-long series analyzing the value of Islanders veterans and the possibility of a deal before the March 4 trade deadline. Previous entries can be read on Doug Weight and Mike Comrie.
Player: Brendan Witt, D
The Story: Funny how things turn out sometimes. Prior to deciding on a head coach, the Islanders inked two key defensemen to multi-year deals. Witt was given a two-year contract extension just before Ted Nolan was fired (although the feeling here is the team knew Ted was a goner). Mark Streit was signed as an unrestricted free agent.
While Streit turned out to be a perfect fit for Scott Gordon, Witt has not. The fan-favorite defenseman, who turns 34 on Feb. 20, shared his lack of faith in the Islanders’ system with the media. Although his play has picked up and his criticism has died down, it’s no secret Witt and the Islanders are no longer perfect for each other.
Stats: Over 40 games, he has 5 assists, is a career-worst minus-29 and averages just under 20 minutes a game of playing time.
Pluses: Despite causing disappointment with management and some fans with his outside-the-room critique of the Islanders’ defensive strategy (since tweaked, by the way), Witt is a tremendous team player. On the ice, he is positively Old School in his approach – blocking shots, hitting hard, playing hurt. This is a needed quality for contenders because the NHL playoffs, thank heaven, are still played Old School style. The fearless Witt would be invaluable in a seven-game series.
Another intangible: the 13-year NHL vet badly wants a Stanley Cup and only has 2-4 years after this one left.
Minuses: Much more than his 34 years on earth and stay-at-home speed, the minus-29 will stick with NHL organizations whose scouts are too lazy or too dumb to see what the acquisition of Brendan Witt could do for their teams.
Trade Hurdles: If Brendan had not been signed to the two-year extension, his trade could have definitely brought back the Islanders a very late first-round draft pick in 2009. Now that he’s on the hook for two more years at a reasonable but still big-ticket $3 million per, matters are much more complicated.
Wild Card: If the Islanders are successful in their rebuild, they will be looking for a Brendan Witt in the next year or two. If GM Garth Snow does not get his price at the March 4 trade deadline, the Islanders could hold on to the veteran dman. The Islanders’ mid-season adjustments to their neutral zone coverage illustrates that nothing is set in stone.
The GM Sales Pitch: “Detroit had and still has Chelios. The Devils had Daneyko. Every legit contender needs a hard-nosed defenseman like Witt. Puh-leaze…don’t try to con me about the stupid plus-minus. Guy plays his bag off and we have the worst record in the league – what the heck do you expect? Okay, so he’s not a perfect fit with my coach. He is with yours. Hey, it’s your call. I’ve got at least four other teams poking around.”
True Value: A late first round pick if the Islanders take an unwanted salaried player (estimate: $1-2 mill a year) back in the deal. For a straight-up trade, a second-round pick or solid defense prospect.
Although a trade with Nashville is unlikely because they already rented Brendan in 2006, a dman like the Preds’ Roman Josi is the kind of prospect we’re talking about. Josi, a Nashville second round pick last summer, is 6-1, 190, moves the puck and he’s from Switzerland!
If Garth Snow is okay with dealing with the Devils (why the hell not?) and Lou Lamoriello needs a roughousing defenseman he can count on, then we’ll take Brandon Burlon, a New Jersey second round pick in 2008. Burlon is a freshman at the University of Michigan.
PB View: If the Islanders are committed to the go-go style, they should get the best price they can for Witt and enhance their rebuilding program. But in NHL 2009, in USA 2009, those two years left on Witt’s contract could be deal-breakers. The Islanders must get a few contenders in a bidding war. And if it means taking a salary back so they can get a top pick or prospect, they should do it. Who knows? Maybe the throw-in excels on the Island.
Prediction (as of Feb. 9*): A major toss-up. Really too close to call right now. Could depend on whether a contender or two loses vital dmen to injuries between now and March 4. If we had to put our house on the line today, we say Witt stays.
*True Value maintains the right to routinely change our predictions between now and the week before the trade deadline!
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In the movie about the chubby and dour middle-aged social reject without money who became the owner of a major league sports team, the lead will be played by Paul Giamatti. HBO will produce and The Iceman Coneth will win a slew of Emmys.
Everyone around the Islanders has their story about the time they first thought something wasn’t kosher about John Spano, the “Dallas” “businessman” who was “friends with Mario Lemieux” and faked out enough people to take over the New York Islanders in 1996.
Notice the lack of quotation marks around taking over the team. The question comes up all the time about this fascinating lunatic: “How did he think he could get away with it”? The answer: he did get away with it.
In the few months he was around the franchise, Spano made real business decisions that affected real people. On the hockey side, his “ownership” was established enough that he could order Mike Milbury to step down as coach so he could focus on his role as general manager. Now, before you declare that was a reasonable decision by a savvy executive, understand Spano’s true motivation – he just wanted more time to hang around with Milbury.
While everyone had their “ah-HA!” moment when they realized Spano couldn’t be what he said he was, the genius of this psychopath was knowing people like me wouldn’t be reckless enough to risk our careers by saying something about it. Our image of con men is usually charismatic characters, like Newman and Redford in The Sting, or any number of politicians. Spano used his awkward and shy persona – or maybe it was an act, who the hell knows? – to his advantage. You’d run into him getting coffee in the office, say hi. He’d always look down at your shoes and mutter something. You’d come away from the encounter wondering what this mad genius must be thinking, and whether it’s time to start sending out that resume.
It worked like a charm, and on businesspeople with major reputations. Some lost their jobs over it.
Here’s my Spano story. It’s February 15, 1997 and the Islanders are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the franchise. The team sucks that season, but this is a memorable night. The all-time Islanders team is announced, Boss and Trots and Denis and Smitty are in the barn, the new owner – our savior! – is walking around and to top it off Lappy Lapointe breaks a zip-zip tie with an overtime goal for the victory over John Vanbiesbrouck and the Florida Panthers.
After the game, the atmosphere in the locker room hallway is glorious mayhem. The Islanders legends are hugging it out in the hallway with Ziggy, Smoke, a Calder contender named Bryan Berard, Caber, Bert and the rest of the boys. It’s been a depressing season, but for one night everyone is reminded why the hockey life is beautiful. In the middle of the celebration stands a solitary man who doesn’t approach anyone, so no one approaches him.
He is focused, clearly on a vital mission. It’s John Spano, the “mega-millionaire” owner of the Islanders. He is standing in the hallway, completely oblivious, his back to the celebration. He is holding a puck, not from the game but the kind you can buy on the Coliseum concourse for 5 bucks. In his other hand is a Sharpie, as black as the suits he always wore.
“John, is there something we can do for you? I asked.
“Nah, I’m good. Just told a friend I’d get something signed for his kid by Vanbiesbrouck.”
Hmm. Picture this: owner of major professional sports team, after a big win, alone in the hallway because he wants to make sure the goaltender of the visiting team signs his puck. This is Fred Wilpon waiting outside the Dodgers locker room until Manny signs his bat. This is Jerry Jones hanging outside the Giants Stadium lot to meet Eli.
This is not how the owner of a sports team operates. They have people for that. People like I used to be.
Spano didn’t budge. With so much joy around him and his new toy, he instead chose to wait for The Beezer to do his interviews, shower, dress and make his way down the hall. VBK signed Johnny’s puck and the owner of the New York Islanders left the arena, all by himself.
This is what it took for me and my two best colleague-pals to give each other the look that’s something not quite right in the Country.
No, it wasn’t the night Spano invited the team for what we figured would be an elegant evening at the Garden City Hotel celebrating his takeover. Our wives got all dressed up and we nervously anticipated a classy night of wine and conversation with the new boss in a plush penthouse suite. When we arrived we were escorted to the meat market/dance club where nobody could hear themselves think over the pulsating “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C + C Music Factory. I recall paying for my own drinks and don’t recall ever seeing Spano. It was one crazy friggin’ evening.
No, it wasn’t the road trip when the Islanders had a game in Dallas and the team was invited to dinner the night before at the “Spano home” (really, to paraphrase Talking Heads – why should we believe it was his beautiful wife or it was his beautiful house?). I asked Ziggy Palffy how amazing the mansion was. “It’s okay,” said Ziggy, “but Kaspar’s house in Northport is better.”
From time to time a segment of Islanders fans will actually bemoan what could have been with Spano. They acknowledge that he was, you know, bonkers and felonious, but they also feel that he was a true fan who could have done some great things.
What a sad, sad notion. Consider this: besides the minor detail of him not having any money, John Spano lied about everything. Just because he could drop names like Trottier and Lemieux like the guy in Rain Man, how can we be certain he actually liked hockey?
Comments on this story here. Talk about the current Islanders, the draft and everything else in next thread. Guidelines.
12:05 am - Topics included fighting; can the Islanders get a top prospect back in a trade?; Andy Hilbert; the NHL in Vegas; reader views on how the kids played and who the Islanders would pick if they had the No. 1 pick and the draft was today. Thank you for your readership. Thank you for your passion for hockey. Thank you for everything…CB
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