Monthly Archives: May 2009
When I suggested a while back that Kyle Woodlief of Redline Report put Matt Duchene ahead of Tavares because he needed to sell subscriptions to his independent scouting service, some readers were aghast.
Weeks later, the former short-time Nashville scout continues his media tour, maximizing all the attention he can get for pooping on Tavares. And now Hockey Canada chief scout Al Murray counters, “I think Kyle’s trying to sell more subscriptions. If someone wants to take a player ahead of John Tavares, do so at your own risk.” Think about it: Murray knows Duchene well and would never want to offend the young man, yet he didn’t hesistate to give his take on the insanity.
While we’re at it, two thumbs up to Islandermania poster Strickland for this observation on the inconsistency of evaluating Tavares vs. Duchene since the Islanders won the lottery:
I like how 3 weeks ago, everybody and their mother was ripping into Tavares for losing to Windsor. “He’s not clutch. He’s coasting.” But when Windsor followed that by thwomping Brampton in 5 games, in which the troika of Grachev, Hodgson and Duchene had all of three goals, no one utters a word. Seriously, silence.
So are we to think that because Duchene scored one goal in a 5 game series his team got its @$$ kicked in that he’s not as good as he was before the series began? Or Hodgson? Or Grachev?
Bravo, sir.
We’ve always liked Duchene, made him a big part of Tavheduch. But let’s keep our eye on the ball.
I suspect the Islanders will use their pick at No. 1 and select John Tavares.
Comments.
Saturday was the 50th anniversary of my parents’ wedding. Monday would have been my father’s 75th birthday. Today, we went with Mom to mass at OLM in Hicksville in our dad’s honor. On this occasion, I’m re-purposing a story I banged out in my Coliseum office just before the start of Al Arbour’s return for his 1,500th game as Islanders head coach.
For Nick and Jane Botta…CB, May 17, 2009.
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“THE PIN”
Al Arbour’s 1,500th Game
Saturday, November 3, 2007
This game tonight means so much to so many people for many different reasons. Just about two hours before Al Arbour walks to the Islanders bench one last time, please allow me to explain why it means so much to me.
I’ve had the incredible fortune to be part of every jersey retirement night here, starting with Potvin and Bossy through Bryan Trottier’s worth-the-wait afternoon. For a kid who was raised on Long Island, for a kid who grew up with the Islanders, I don’t think I could ever put into words what it’s been like to play a small role in the planning of these events.
I was a part of the preparations for Al Arbour Night in January of 1997, but it was the one banner-raising I missed.
My father passed away two days before Al’s big night.
I will never, ever forget coming home from the wake that Saturday night, putting on Sportschannel and catching the last few minutes of the game as the Islanders held on to beat Chicago, 3-2. For a little while, it was a wonderful distraction.
I didn’t catch the ceremony, but towards the end of the game one of the teams called a timeout and the TV broadcast had a close-up of Islanders head coach Rick Bowness drawing up a play. Rick and his staff were wearing the lapel pins the team gave out that night. The pin featured a classic shot of Al in his shiny blue Islanders coaching jacket, whistle in mouth and the words AL ARBOUR 739.
When I came back to work a few days later, I told Bowness how moved I was when I saw him on the bench wearing the pin. Later that day Rick came over to the office and said he had something for me. He dropped his Al Arbour pin in my hand.
When you hear all this talk about Coach Al and his family, it’s not some sort of over-hyped legend. It’s real. At my father’s funeral at Our Lady of Mercy on Monday, Jan. 27, 1997, in walked Al Arbour. The church, for a brief moment, got real quiet. That was understandable because Al is a local legend and had just been on the back page of Newsday. One of my best life-long buddies walked up to me after the mass and said, “I know this day sucks and all, but you have to admit that was pretty cool.”
Tonight, I get another chance to be part of an event for Al Arbour. And that pin Rick Bowness gave me ten years ago? I’ll have it with me all night.
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The Tavheduch conversation continues in next thread. Comments.
Greg Logan spells out some options for the Islanders with the No. 1 pick. This Tavheduch stuff is gold, so you can never ignore it. (I could post a story today about the Islanders trying to trade for Milan Lucic, and we’d still get creamed with Comments on Greg’s story). Logie briefly goes off the rails when he suggests John-Michael Liles could possibly be worth moving from No. 1 to No. 3. Liles is a small, slightly above-average defenseman making $4.5 million each of the next two years before becoming a UFA. Besides that, there’s plenty of good stuff here. And when Greg says the Islanders could leave Friday night with both Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene, as we did two weeks ago, now we’re talkin’! Nah, I still think they’re taking Tavares at 1. Comments. Lighthouse next thread.
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With a major court victory for New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner, his goal of building his arena development project in Brooklyn – once said to be on life support – may be a reality. Here’s Charles Bagli’s story about it in The New York Times.
Ratner now plans to break ground this October. I once was once asked in this space if I thought the Islanders could ever join the Nets in Brooklyn. I replied that the Nets’ chances of getting their project done in Brooklyn at the time were said to be so slim, the Lighthouse Project was more likely to be realized.
Silly, silly me. At the time of my now-embarrassing opinion, Kate Murray was only gettin’ started.
I can tell you that Charles Wang and Bruce Ratner have talked before. I’m told they share a casual, friendly business relationship as two fellow sports team owners looking to build arena developments. In the past, there has been some preliminary conversations about the Nets playing a game or two at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Nothing has come of it.
(Please note: the Nets deal in Brooklyn is a major development – not just a new, 20,000-seat arena, not the “transformation” of an existing arena).
If Ratner actually gets his deal done and a shovel in the ground in October, it will be a profound accomplishment against stacked odds. The Nets will join the Yankees and Mets and Giants and Jets in moving into the 21st century and moving into state-of-the-art homes that will help them flourish for generations.
And then there will be the Islanders.
Gary Bettman was on WFAN yesterday (Islanders section about 10 minutes into interview). In his own way, he explained once again to the few hundred or so people who still don’t get it that Charles Wang saved the Islanders, is the only reason they’re still on Long Island, and no one else with real money is coming around to buy the team and keep it here. The commissioner had an interesting spin on the issue of financing the Lighthouse Project. Bettman called for the politicians to push the project through and throw the challenge back to Wang and Scott Rechler to prove they could finance it.
Of course, the Town of Hempstead won’t, but it was a good thought. In the Times piece about the Nets, the writer quotes an expert expressing little concern that Ratner will be able to acquire the financing for Atlantic Yards. I’m no expert – I’m the dope who thought the Lighthouse could get done before Brooklyn – but I have little concern about Wang and Rechler getting the dough to develop the project they are paying for almost entirely on their own.
What this positive Brooklyn Nets news means for the Islanders is this: if politics tear down the Lighthouse, Wang now has a second New York borough to meet with in October. Sure beats flying out to Kansas City.
Comments.
5:35 pm - According to a pair of eyewitness accounts provided to Point Blank, potential 2009 first overall draft pick John Tavares spent Thursday on Long Island. The 18-year old center was spotted inside the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the morning and was said to still be on the grounds at 3:00 pm.
Repeated calls and emails to members of the Islanders organization by this writer were not returned. When we received evidence from a second witness who provided believable details, Point Blank decided to go with this story. In a shining example of a newspaper pro kicking a novice blogger’s butt, Greg Logan – citing a source close to Tavares – posted this report a half-hour ago.
The meeting with Tavares is just the first of several with highly-ranked prospects available in the June draft. Point Blank has already reported that prized Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman is scheduled to come to New York the first week in June. The Islanders have also set a date with Brampton center Matt Duchene.
A source tells Point Blank that the Islanders could have as many as 7 or 8 prospects in for visits. Whether those meetings are all with top-10 players – such as Magnus Pajaarvi-Svensson, Evander Kane and Brayden Schenn – for a possible trade-down at the draft is unclear at this point.
The Islanders could also have sessions with players under consideration with their 26th overall selection or in a trade-up to the middle of the pack. As we have speculated, prospects in this category include big and skilled forwards Zach Kassian, Carter Ashton and Chris Kreider.
It is intriguing, however, that the Islanders have kept the details of their visit from Tavares a secret and would not even respond to calls for a confirmation of the meeting. A day later, and not even Canada knew. That’s an NHL record, and admirable.
There’s the school of thought the Islanders are merely doing their homework on Tavares just as they will with Hedman, Duchene and the rest.
Then there’s another theory. John Tavares is the potential offensive star in this draft. Before some cage-rattlers started throwing around the names of Victor Hedman and even Matt Duchene as No. 1s after the Islanders won the lottery, Tavares had been the projected top pick for years. He’s No. 1 according to NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau and the International Scouting Service. He’s the People’s Choice – by a 75% vote, conservatively – in Islanders Country. And then understand Tavares has played his last game before the draft, as have Hedman and Duchene. There are no more games to scout.
So the question to ponder is this: would the Islanders spend a day hosting Tavares on the first grand tour – and keep it a state secret – if he is not truly No. 1 in their eyes?
I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything, nah. Give us your take in Comments.
I don’t like to comment on other writer’s opinions…much. They don’t on mine, so I’d prefer you go to their sites to debate or agree with them. But I like Bob McKenzie a lot, he is one of the best and, oh yeah, the email Inbox has been jammed with hysterical TSN links from Islanders fans. (“You cannot ignore this story any longer, Botta!” wrote one). Power to the people.
Despite his endless connections, Bob doesn’t know. He thinks the NYI will take Hedman at 1 or 2 or wherever. Even Bob would tell you he doesn’t know for sure and it’s just a theory after talking to all of his sources around the game.
In fairness, Bob has about three decades to my seven months covering the NHL. When he was writing The Hockey News, I was making photocopies of The Hockey News for Bobby Clarke and Mike Keenan.
Just as McKenzie has Hedman, here’s what I think. The Islanders will make their pick at No. 1, and it will be John Tavares. He’s too good, too exciting, too upstanding. He’s got half of Canada telling him he shouldn’t commit to the Islanders, yet the 18-year old has the integrity to ignore them.
I believe Tavares is too important for the Islanders future. And I think, deep down, the Islanders know it.
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Comments.
Greg Logan wrote yesterday that “it appears likely that the Islanders will add a former NHL defenseman with Islanders ties to Gordon’s staff.” You mean, all you need to qualify is NHL experience and an Islanders tie? But seriously folks…
Some possible assistant coach candidates that fit that description:
Eric Cairns (5-1): Former Islanders defenseman, now a well-regarded scout and development coach in the organization. Finished year as an assistant with Bridgeport. Popular with the team’s younger players and knows the prospects inside and out. Also knows how to maximize talents.
Dave Lewis (8-1): Would be a lovely, deserving choice. Ex-Islanders defenseman from the ’70s, head coach and assistant in Detroit. Was head coach in Boston for one season while Scott Gordon was coach in Providence. Known for being an excellent teacher and class act.
Unknown (10-1): The guy I don’t know about who was a former NHL defenseman with Islanders ties who may get the job.
Dave Baseggio (20-1): Former head coach and assistant in Bridgeport, where he worked with Bruno Gervais, Rick DiPietro, Sean Bergenheim and Trent Hunter, among others. Spent this season as a pro scout and playoffs advance scout for the Anaheim Ducks. AHL journeyman defenseman, knows Gordon. Yale graduate, tireless worker. Point Blank favorite – which makes him a longshot!
Dean Chynoweth (35-1): Former Islanders first round pick, career cut short by injuries – including having his eye gouged by classy current Tampa Bay head coach Rick Tocchet. Now a very highly-regarded GM and head coach of Swift Current in the WHL.
Ken Morrow (40-1): I’ve known Kenny long enough that it’s hard for me to picture him leaving his scouting position and his decades-long home in Kansas City – hardee-har-har – to be a full-time assistant coach. Team will still rely on his on-ice expertise when he’s in town.
Denis Potvin (200-1): Generally speaking, legendary players don’t take their first hockey ops jobs at age 55 breaking down video as assistant coaches.
Peter Laviolette (250-1): He’s a head coach now. Even when you don’t have a better offer, you don’t take a step back and accept an assistant’s job – especially when you still have two years left on your Carolina contract. (BTW, how ’bout that Paul Maurice?)
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Should John Chabot not return as the other assistant, here are two names to look out for:
Jack Capuano: Bridgeport head coach is worthy, but in a Catch-22. He’s doing excellent work developing prospects, so management might not want to mess with a good thing.
Rob Murray: Gordon’s right-hand man in Providence, where Murray has just taken the Bs to the AHL conference final in his first year as head coach. Might not want to leave a head job in the A for an assistant’s job in the NHL. Might recognize that the coach and GM with the big club are tight and that Claude Julien will be in Boston for a while.
Comments.
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