Monthly Archives: March 2009
The Islanders have completed the painful process of learning which players fit or don’t fit the program, which players are on board (and on the board) for Rebuild Year 2. Perhaps now is the time to re-up one greybeard playmaker for leadership, ability and continuity.
Doug Weight has resumed skating, with a goal of playing the final 7 or 8 games of this season. If it were completely his call, the games would not be his last in an Islanders uniform.
“Let’s put it this way: there’s nothing that’s making me run from Long Island,” Weight told us with a smile after practice on Wednesday. “I love it here and I love this organization and the guys on the team. There’s nothing I’d like more than to get something done for next season.”
“Something,” of course, is a one-year contract. Like the Islanders, Weight has the option of seeing what the July 1 opening of unrestricted free agency brings. But the first choice of the 38-year old center is to finalize a deal – the sooner the better.
“This is not a case of seeing if the grass is greener on July 1,” Weight said. “I know what we have here with the Islanders and I’m very excited about it. With a lot more health and whatever changes management makes, this team can go from the bottom of the league to the playoffs next season. I truly believe that.
“I can’t tell you how much I’d kill to be in the playoffs next season in an Islanders uniform. This place has come to mean a lot to me. They gave me a chance last summer to prove I had something left, and we proved it together. I’m going to play next season, and I hope it’s here.”
As does Weight protege Josh Bailey, who’s too young to openly campaign for a player’s return but is not hesitant to share how much the veteran’s tutelage has helped him. Ironically, we first cornered Bailey about this subject on game night on Feb. 28, about an hour before Bill Guerin took his Islanders uniform off for the last time. It was for a story we never wrote about the leadership of potential tradees Guerin, Weight and Brendan Witt.
“Dougie’s been amazing for me,” Bailey said then. “Every day I learn something from him. At practices, on the bench during games, he always has some positive input that will stay with me for my whole career.”
With Guerin, Mike Comrie and Chris Campoli gone, it would make sense for the Islanders to have Weight as a veteran leader at center while Brendan Witt and Mark Streit return on the blueline. Through the rocky moments in this challenging season, Weight has been respected by the press and heralded by management, coaching staff and most importantly his teammates for being a pro’s pro.
The depth chart at center next season minus Weight is Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen, Nate Thompson and – a huge maybe – John Tavares or Matt Duchene. (Dean McAmmond is UFA). That blend of skill and (lack of) experience is swell if you’re Boston University. The Islanders need a veteran presence in the middle. They also need someone with poise on the bench and on the power play.
Could the Islanders find a veteran who’s closer to 30 than 40? Possibly, but you never know if a free agent is going to be a prize or a bad apple. The coaching staff already knows the player they have in Doug Weight. Better yet, the kids like Bailey and Nielsen already know the man they have in Doug Weight.
1:10 pm, Iceworks - Some quick notes from practice now, plenty more stories to come over the next few days.
Peter Mannino, Mike Iggulden and Joel Rechlicz are all back in Bridgeport. With both the Islanders and Sound Tigers not playing until Friday night, the team has plenty of time to make roster decisions.
Today’s lines at practice: Tambellini-Nielsen-Okposo, Hilbert-McAmmond-Jackman and Comeau-Bailey-Park. Nate Thompson, healthy, had his own practice jersey color. Considering the Islanders will call up players by Friday, these combos don’t really mean diddly.
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Andy Sutton had his first full team practice. Two weeks ago he told Point Blank he was on his way back and the only question was whether he’d play some NHL games at the end of the season. Now we know the answer. “I’m going to play,” said Sutton. “It’s a matter of when.”
It probably won’t be this weekend, but it could be sometime next week (the NYI play Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). Said Scott Gordon, “If he’s healthy, you want him in there – especially Sutts, who’s been through a lot. It would be great for him to get some action and give him something positive to build on.”
Doug Weight has resumed skating and has a goal of returning for the April games.
If the Islanders get Sutton and Weight back, an added benefit is the roster of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers would be replenished.
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Gordon, candidly and with a smile when asked whether Peter Mannino‘s performance in Chicago surprised him: “Yeah.” The coach said he chose to tell the rookie goalie about his first NHL start on the morning of the game. “On one hand you want to give guys time to prepare, but I also didn’t want him to have much time to think about it.”
Gordon said the start was the perfect time to give the kid a shot, plus he was aware Mannino’s mother and father were coming to the game whether he was starting or not. Gordon said he hadn’t made his goalie decisions for Friday (Carolina) and Saturday (Ottawa), but would not rule out a second start for Mannino.
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From the blog that last week brought you “Okposo Joining Bridgeport,” comes “Is Okposo Joining Team USA”? Nothing is official yet. Asked after practice today, Kyle Okposo said he has not been officially contacted by USA Hockey about playing at the upcoming World Championships. Our take: they’re just being respectful of the Islanders and the invitation will come soon.
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Gordon on his first look at the play of center Frans Nielsen. “Before the job interview process started with Garth, I watched and broke down several Islanders games from the end of last season on tape. I knew about Frans a bit from coaching in Providence, but he really stood out for me on the tape – his awareness, playmaking, hockey sense. I told Garth that Frans was a player we could really work with.”
More to come. Revised Comment Guidelines. Prospect talk in next thread.
The great Glenn Tilbrook at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale tonight. You do know Squeeze, right?
Want to follow Islanders prospects in the college and junior playoffs? A schedule follows. But first, our pre-playoff rankings of the top 10 Islanders prospects not playing in Bridgeport. For comparison, here’s our first Top 10 column from November 24, 2008. There have been some changes.
TOP 10 NYI PROSPECTS
Not with the big club or in Bridgeport
1. Aaron Ness
2. Corey Trivino
3. Travis Hamonic
4. Kirill Petrov
5. Rhett Rakhshani
6. Mark Katic
7. Matt Martin
8. David Ullstrom
9. Justin DiBenedetto
10. Blake Kessel
Notes: Off our list from November are Robin Figren (No. 4), now in Bridgeport, and goaltender Stefan Ridderwall, whose injuries and sparse playing time give him an incomplete for his season in Sweden.
Joining the list are Justin DiBenedetto, who is far from a sure thing but whose production in the OHL is too good to ignore, and New Hampshire freshman defenseman Blake Kessel, whose ability, commitment plus size (6-2, 210) gives him the slight edge over Spokane dman Jared Spurgeon’s ability and commitment (he’s 5-8, 180).
Moose Jaw defenseman Travis Hamonic jumps from No. 6 to 3, but his season is over. There is a chance he could join Bridgeport, a la Figren last week and Jesse Joensuu before him. Whether Hamonic gets in any games remains to be seen. He may only be there to begin a comprehensive strength and conditioning program.
Kirill Petrov, drafted as a project, remains a project. His contract in Russia is believed to be for at least one more season, maybe two. Perhaps by the end of it, he will have matured. Right now, he’s not even close to competing like a top player in North America.
If there was a spot for a No. 11, it would go to Spurgeon or University of North Dakota freshman forward Jason Gregoire (11-15-26 in 39 games). Matt Donovan merited consideration, too.
No, we haven’t forgotten anyone (Max Gratchev, Jyri Niemi, Kevin Poulin, Simon Lacroix, Doug Rogers, Shea Guthrie…). In some cases, there is still time. As always, we welcome being proved wrong.
WCHA PLAYOFFS
Aaron Ness (2nd round, 2008) plays for Minnesota, Rhett Rakhshani (4th round, 2006, above) is on Denver, and Jason Gregoire (3rd round, 2007) and David Toews (3rd round, 2008) play for the University of North Dakota.
Thursday, March 19 - No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (18-12-8) vs No. 4 Minnesota (17-12-7), 7:07 pm CT (TV – FS North) (Audio – wcha.com)
Friday, March 20 - Semifinal: No. 3 Wisconsin (19-15-4) vs No. 2 Denver (22-10-5), 2:07 pm CT (TV – FS North) (Audio – wcha.com)
Semifinal: Thursday Winner vs No. 1 North Dakota (24-12-4), 7:07 pm CT (TV – FS North) (Audio – wcha.com)
Saturday, March 21 - Third Place Game, 2:07 pm CT (TV – FS North) (Audio – wcha.com)
Broadmoor Trophy Championship Game, 7:07 pm CT (TV – FS North) (Audio – wcha.com)
HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINALS
Corey Trivino (2nd round, 2008, above) plays for Boston University. It should be noted that free agent defenseman Matt Gilroy of Smithtown Bellmore also plays for BU. Former Islanders assistant coach Greg Cronin – a Point Blank favorite – has completely turned around the Northeastern program as head coach.
Friday, March 20 - 5:00: UMass-Lowell vs. Northeastern; 8:00 pm: Boston College vs. Boston University (both games are on NESN).
ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Justin DiBenedetto (6th round, 2008), Matt Martin (5th round, 2008) and Mark Katic (3rd round, 2007, above) play for the Sarnia Sting in their first round, best-of-7 matchup against favored Plymouth.
Sat., March 21, at Plymouth 7:00
Sun., March 22, at Sarnia 6:00
Tues., March 24, at Plymouth 7:00
Thurs., March 26, at Sarnia 7:30,
Sat., March 28, at Plymouth 7:00 *
Sun., March 29, at Sarnia 6:00 *
Tues., March 31 at Plymouth 7:00 *
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Jyri Niemi (3rd round, 2008, above) plays for Saskatoon, Jared Spurgeon (6th round, 2008) for Spokane.
#1 – Lethbridge @ Saskatoon; Friday, March 20 (7:05pm MST)
#2 – Lethbridge @ Saskatoon; Saturday, March 21 (7:05pm MST)
#3 – Saskatoon @ Lethbridge: Tuesday, March 24 (7:00 pm MST)
#4 – Saskatoon @ Lethbridge: Wednesday, March 25 (7:00 pm MST)
#5 – Lethbridge @ Saskatoon; Saturday, March 28 (7:05pm MST)**
#6 – Saskatoon @ Lethbridge: Monday, March 30 (7:00 pm MST)**
#7 – Lethbridge @ Saskatoon; Wednesday, April 1 (7:05pm MST)**
#1 – Seattle @ Spokane; Friday, March 20
#2 – Seattle @ Spokane; Saturday, March 21
#3 – Spokane @ Seattle; Tuesday, March 24
#4 – Spokane @ Seattle, Wednesday, March 25
*Note: Times and rest of schedule tbd.
ETC: Max Gratchev (4th round, 2007) plays for Lewiston in their first round Quebec Major Junior Hockey League series vs. Drummondville. Also in the Quebec League playoffs, Simon Lacroix (7th round, 2007) and Shawinigan face Kevin Poulin (5th round, 2008) and Victoriaville.
Comments on prospects here. Comment Guidelines. If you missed it in the St. Patrick’s haze, some Mark Streit commentary in next thread.
Islanders fans believing Mark Streit will receive an invitation to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards Ceremony should be prepared for disappointment. Contrary to a lot of the talk over the last few days, Streit is a longshot to be one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman.
As the most valuable member of the league’s 30th-place team, Streit is unlikely to garner enough votes to break into the top three. The writers who do not vote for Streit will cite that he racked up a lot of points in games after the Islanders were out of the playoff race, and they will cite…well, that he’s the best defenseman on the league’s 30th-place team.
It’s important to understand that, unlike the Hart Trophy given to the league’s most valuable player, there is no mention of “value” in the judging of the Norris. The award is supposed to go purely to the league’s best defenseman. On those grounds, Streit unquestionably merits inclusion in the discussion.
But a Norris nomination is just not going to happen for Streit. Despite the language in the voting manual, most writers will go by the standard, “If Streit wasn’t on the Islanders, they’d still be in 30th.” This would be unfortunate and unfair, but it’s reality.
The Professional Hockey Writers Association is a group that for most of the last 15 years has presented the Masterton Trophy to players returning after recovering from injury or illness, from Mark Fitzpatrick to Jason Blake. The Masterton is supposed to go to “the player that best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” Coming back to your chosen career after a major injury or illness does not qualify as perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to “the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in his position.” Attention, PHWA: it doesn’t say anything about value to one of the league’s best teams. Nevertheless, expect Streit to be the odd man out.
Washington’s Mike Green is a lock for one of the nominations and the leading contender to take home the hardware in Vegas. Green leads the league in D scoring (24-36-60) and this season broke the record for goals by a dman in consecutive games.
As long as Detroit’s all-world Nicklas Lidstrom is upright, he’ll probably get a Norris nod. Lidstrom is 13-35-48 and +26. The only thing standing in the way of another Norris nomination for the great Lidstrom is that his teammate Brian Rafalski (9-44-53, +17) may be having an even better season. I don’t believe they will cancel each other out. Lidstrom will join Green as a Norris nominee.
In the battle with Streit for the final nomination are several worthy candidates, starting with Rafalski. Zdeno Chara, despite his brainlock on Streit’s Leetchian rush on Saturday, may get in. (The Norris is like the Gold Glove in MLB or the Pro Bowl in the NFL. Once you get a nom, it’s yours to lose). Andrei Markov will get all the votes from the writers in Montreal, who will never concede they were wrong about Streit. Boston’s Dennis Wideman (44 points, plus-30) has had an exceptional season, but Chara’s shadow is pretty big.
Shea Weber is so good, he overcomes the hurdle of getting press outside of Nashville. Sheldon Souray has 19 goals and the advantage of everyone in Edmonton falling all over themselves about him, like they used to for Eric Brewer. On the other hand, this will not be the year for studs Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer.
My prediction for the third nomination after Green and Lidstrom is Dan Boyle. The first-year Shark is 14-34-48 and only +8. He’s the 5th leading scorer among NHL defensemen, while Streit is current tied for third. The big difference is Streit’s Islanders are last in the NHL and 14 games under .500, Boyle’s Sharks are second in the league and an incredible 32 games over .500. San Jose is also tied with Boston and New Jersey for the fewest goals allowed (167). Boyle leads the team with 24:40 average time on ice.
Mike Green. Nicklas Lidstrom. Dan Boyle. If Streit is in that conversation, it’s quite an honor. Put it this way: if the Islanders were one of the top teams in the league, and the Rangers, Flyers, Wild or any other team were in 30th but had a defenseman tied for third in scoring, would you think their player deserved one of three Norris nominations?
Streit has 12 more games to stake his claim. To have any chance, he’ll need to rack up some points to get past the 60 mark and separate himself from the pack after the unreachable Mike Green. If he does that – and upping his plus/minus into double-digits wouldn’t hurt – Streit’s odds of getting to Vegas rise from none to slim.
More importantly, Streit has had a wonderful season and is signed up for four additional years at better-than-market value. If the Islanders can add another top defenseman through the draft or free agency, his production (and visibility) will increase. When team success merges with personal honors, Streit and Islanders fans will really be able to savor it.
ETC: Islanders return to practice at Iceworks tomorrow and Thursday before leaving for games in Carolina (Friday) and Ottawa (Saturday)…Andy Sutton is signing autographs at the Islanders Team Store at the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa on Wednesday from 6:30 – 7:30 pm.
Comments.
Islanders prospect Robin Figren made his North American professional debut yesterday. The 2006 third round pick played right wing on a fourth line with center Tomas Marcinko and left wing Micheal Haley in the Sound Tigers’ 3-2 loss in Hershey.
“Robin played well,” Bridgeport head coach Jack Capuano said today. “It was a tough spot for him, learning a completely new system without much practice time. You can see the work ethic and the ability, so the rest will take care of itself.”
Figren, who joined the Sound Tigers last week after a season in the Swedish Elite League, played approximately 10 minutes. The Islanders/Sound Tigers injury list makes it difficult to predict, but there’s a chance Figren could see more action this week. Bridgeport has three home games over the weekend: Friday vs. Worcester, Saturday vs. Providence and a Sunday 4:00 pm start against Portland. After a day off today, three practices this week could help the 20-year old Figren.
“He was honest with us after the game, and told us there were a few times he didn’t know what to do,” Capuano said of Figren. “That’s perfectly understandable. The key thing is he had fun with it and seems so willing to learn. I’m sure we’re going to spend a lot of time with Robin on video this week.”
Since the Islanders and Sound Tigers don’t have to make out their lineups until Friday, we’ll know more about the possibility of Figren seeing more game action in a few days.
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Atlanta fans are going through the same emotions lately as the residents of Islanders Country (although with less passion, naturally). Do these late-season wins – like tonight’s 5-1 whipping of Washington – mean Zach Bogosian and the Thrashers are a franchise of the future, or are they the result of the team playing like they’ve got nothing to lose – except for John Tavares and Victor Hedman?
It was only a few weeks ago Atlanta GM Don Waddell was not shy about coveting Tavares. Now the Thrashers are 8 points “up” on the Islanders for the league’s worst record. If the season ended today, they would be the 5th seed in the lottery. They could move to No. 1 but the odds would be mighty high.
Like the Islanders, if the Thrashers’ wins are in the name of positive development, fine. But if they’re not, while he’s saying all the right things publicly, Waddell has to be shaking his head.
As we wrote late Saturday night, watch out for Phoenix. Eight of their last 13 games are at home, but they’ve been suck-city wherever they play lately. Could be a three-team race between the Coyotes, Lightning and Islanders. May the best team win.
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Lighthouse Night on March 26: Consider this your weekly reminder. The Lighthouse Development Corp. is hosting a Community Education Outreach on Thursday, March 26 at 7:00 pm at the Long Island Marriott. Scheduled guests include Charles Wang, Scott Rechler and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
At Point Blank Night II last week, Lighthouse Development Corp. President Michael Picker spoke to our readers about the importance of the public meeting.
“It is vital that you guys come there, bring friends, ask questions, learn,” said Picker. “The media will be there, the Town will be there, Charles and Scott will be there, Tom Suozzi is going to be there. We’re going to invite (Hempstead Supervisor) Kate Murray. She needs to see the passion of the people that are in this room, and how important this is to you. She needs to know it.”
Comments.
UPDATED at 1:30 pm - Some Streit numbers, courtesy of Eric The Legendary Local Hockey Statistician. Eric, if you’d like to reveal your full identity, please do so in Comments. (Not sure if you wanted to):
By Eric
While Chris doesn’t like numbers, I do 
Here’s a few Streit-isms from two recent posts…
1. Mark Streit now has 52 points. He’s the first Isle in 2 seasons to crack the 50 point level. Comrie led the team last season with 49.
2. Streit also now has 37 assists. The Isles haven’t had a 40-assist man since Yashin had 43 in 2001-02.
3. Streit leads the team in both assists and points. No Isle defensemen, other than Denis Potvin, has led the team in points — Potvin did it 4 times. Potvin (4 times) and Poti (once) are the only defenders to lead the team in assists. Streit is one goal behind Okposo for the team lead in that category — no defensemen has ever led the Isles in goals.
4. Streit needs 5 goals and Okposo 4 goals to reach 20. The Isles have never had a season without a 20-goal scorer. Palffy had 22 goals in 1998-99 to lead the team — the lowest in a full-season for a team leader (Ferraro had 22 in 1995 lockout season).
5. Mark Streit had two goals and an assist Sunday (all on the pp), raising his season totals to 15-37-52. The 15 goals are a new career high (13 last season). He is 2nd among all NHL defensemen in pp goals (10) and tie for third in points. He has 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 3 games, recording points on 6 of the Isles’ 8 goals.
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by CB
12:30 pm - No matter how you view it, Mark Streit is having the best individual season by an Islanders defenseman since the days of Denis Potvin.
Streit is the real thing – a top NHL defenseman and the best unrestricted free agent signing in the league last summer. If he signed for $2 million dollars more per season, it would still be the best UFA signing of last summer. That’s how remarkable a year Streit is having. His play at both ends of the ice is no longer being ignored by the rest of the league and the media.
This site, as you probably know my now, is not real big on statistics. The preference is always to go with what our eyes are seeing. So let’s put it this way: I worked for the Islanders for 20 years, witnessed some outstanding seasons from defensemen like Kenny Jonsson, Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik, Bryan Berard and Vladimir Malakhov. None of those individual seasons were the equal of what Streit has accomplished this year.
When you consider the Islanders with Streit are currently last in the league, while Jonsson, Aucoin and Hamrlik were all part of the franchise’s revival in 2001-2002, Berard won a Calder Trophy and Malakhov was on the ’92-03 squad, that’s saying a lot.
Streit has 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points in 65 games this season. Although we’re not an apostle of the plus/minus statistic, you cannot ignore that Streit is a plus-7 on a team that has allowed 48 more goals than it has scored. He is averaging more than 25 minutes of icetime per game.
His season ranks with the best statistical years by Islanders defensemen of this generation. This includes Hamrlik, who was 16-30-46 in 2000-01 – another last place season. Aucoin was 13-31-44 in 2003-04, his free agent walk year.
The best all-around season by an Islanders defenseman in recent memory came from Jonsson when the Islanders ended an seven-year playoff drought in 2001-2002. The Swede’s numbers (10-22-32) may not have been exceptional, but his play in all zones was worthy of Norris consideration.
In this corner, Jonsson’s ’01-02 is the year Streit must measure up to. Despite the huge difference in team success, Streit’s marvel of a season deserves the nod. Jonsson gets the edge in Islanders career performance, while Streit has plenty of time to show what he can do when the games really count.
In the 1990s, there was Berard (8-40-48) and his Calder-winning season of ’96-97. Vladmir Malakhov had 52 points in 64 games in the Islanders’ wonderful ’92-93 season, and 57 points the year after that. But Malakhov did not match the consistency and pure defensive play Streit has displayed this season, much to the surprise of Montreal management.
Doug Crossman had a 59-point season in ’89-90, Jeff Norton had two 50-point seasons in the late ’80s. Still, with appropriate amounts of respect to all of the Islanders’ puck-moving defensemen of the last 20 years, none of them took over a blueline like Streit has this season.
And to think, there are still 12 games left. Can Streit get 8 more points and get to 60? Whether he does or does not, it won’t change the fact that this is the best individual performance by an Islanders defenseman since Denis Potvin roamed the ice at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Islanders were given today and tomorrow off. Comments on Streit here. If you missed it, jersey information in next thread.
If the Islanders make the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, fans will be able to watch them play every home postseason game in their popular retro uniforms.
But if you were hoping the Islanders could make the vintage unis their primary look for all 82 regular season games in 2009-2010, it’s probably not in the cards.
Point Blank has learned from league sources that – barring a last-second, long-shot, precedent-setting decision by the NHL – the Islanders’ jersey rotation for next season will be the same as this year.
The Islanders will wear their Third Jerseys for 15 home games next season. Should the team qualify for the postseason, the Islanders have the option (per NHL rules) of wearing the Royal Blues for all playoff games at the Coliseum.
The reason for the lack of immediate fan gratification is timing. The merchandising division of the NHL requires teams to apply for a primary jersey change two full years before the switch. The Islanders’ popular Third Jerseys were completed in time for this season. Filing the paperwork with the league before the deadline was impossible.
The Royal Blues have been hailed across the league. The new-old uniforms are the franchise’s most popular off-ice initiative this season with the die-hards. Credit should be given to the decision-makers who pushed for the head-to-toe re-do. Most teams implement a Third Jersey without giving much consideration to the rest of the uniform. The Islanders didn’t just go Royal Blue with the jersey; they designed helmets, gloves, pants and everything else to match.
The Islanders, well aware of the hallelujahs from their fanbase, appealed to the league for approval to make this year’s Third Jersey their No. 1. (Of course, the team would have to create a white “road” version to match the home blues). As of this date, the league is not willing to break the rule. Among many reasons, there are too many hurdles with manufacturers and distributors – and too little time.
As a result, fans will see the Islanders wear the Royal Blues in the league-maximum 15 of 41 regular season home games and every potential home playoff game in 2009-10. The team is aiming for the retros to be the primary jersey in 2010-11.
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