Monthly Archives: July 2009
In this Misinformation Age, in L’Affaire Tanguay we’re now in the misinformation stage. Let’s try to weave our way through the merde.
SCOOP: Point Blank has learned that Alex Tanguay has spoken with the Islanders. Notice I didn’t say the Islanders have spoken to Tanguay’s agent, Robert Sauve. The Islanders have talked with Tanguay, whom our impeccable source says has started personally calling teams over the last few days.
VIEW: Our source did not want to speculate why team and player talked directly, as opposed to the traditional communication via agent. However, two weeks after the opening of the July 1 UFA market, Tanguay is the lone top-six forward with offensive potential available. It is fair to surmise that Alex is now at the stage where he is not being heavily recruited, so instead he is selling his significant talents in search of the best contract. No shame in that.
But to be clear, the Islanders have never been a “finalist” for Tanguay. That would imply the Islanders have been a top bidder for his services. The Islanders have not even bid for his services. Few teams have, which is why Tanguay and his agent have taken a more pro-active approach. Both Tanguay and his agent have been working the phones, working the media, even calling back BD!
Bad information is flying all over the place, some of it undoubtedly on purpose. A report in South Florida yesterday said the Panthers have offered Tanguay a contract. I can tell you that report is categorically false. Do not confuse misinformation with misdirection. Everyone in hockey tries that (see: Snowman, the Abominable).
FORECAST: While Tanguay is this year’s best slip-through-the-cracks free agent, some team will offer him a reasonable contract (let’s say $8-10 million over three years). Tanguay and Sauve would be wrong to lose patience now. There’s always going to be one team that won’t be able to resist bringing in Alex Tanguay. This is a world where Brian Gionta gets $25 mill for 5 years – the same per annum Martin Havlat got. A team will crack and offer Tanguay a generous multi-year deal.
But that one team will not be the Islanders. Alex’s production and his reputation (“soft”! cry his critics) have dipped. Garth Snow would no doubt love to add Tanguay’s name to the dry-erase board in his GM’s office at the Coliseum, but only as a one-year experiment.
TANGUAY – TAVARES – HUNTER
BERGENHEIM - BAILEY – OKPOSO
and then something like Weight – Nielsen – Comeau – Park and yadda yadda yadda a whole bunch of fourth liners
There is no argument: Alex Tanguay would make the Islanders a much better team. For all the knocks against him, this is a man with recent seasons of 78 points in 71 games (2005-06 with Colorado) and 81 points in 81 games (2006-07 with Calgary). Last season, in supposedly an awful one for him, he was 16-25-41 in 50 games. Despite missing a third of the season, Tanguay’s totals would have ranked him second in points and tied for second in goals on your 2008-09 Islanders. He’s only 29 years old.
The benefits of a Tanguay signing for the Islanders would be far greater than any of the recent UFA quartet of Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Ruslan Fedotenko and Jon Sim. Combined.
This is how the Islanders experiment might work: Tanguay comes here for the opportunity to rehab his reputation on a rebuilding club, on what many will predict will be a 12-15th place team in the East. He puts the puck where John Tavares needs it. He picks up the garbage and approaches his career-best 29 goals.
If the Islanders and Tanguay turn out to be a match, shoot, maybe he signs long-term. If it’s not a love affair but merely a relationship of mutual respect and need, the Islanders trade Tanguay in February for a second round pick.
But know this. If Tanguay wants to come to the Islanders for career resuscitation, the door is open for a modest short-term deal that will still earn him more income than most citizens of New York. Not in dough but for perspective, think along the lines of the one-year deal Snow gave Viktor Kozlov on the way to big Vik scoring a career-high 25 goals.
If Tanguay is looking to cash out, there’s no way he’ll be an Islander.
Comments.
10:45 pm - Blake Comeau and Jack Hillen decided to let tonight’s deadline pass without signing their Qualifying Offers from the Islanders. This means the 23-year old right wing and 23-year old defenseman are now restricted free agents with little leverage. Short of receiving a rare offer sheet from another NHL team, they realistically only have the option of playing in Europe if they do not like their contract offers from the Islanders.
Comeau tonight insisted his focus is only on the Islanders.
“I’m optimistic my agent and the Islanders will get a contract done. This is the only team I want to play for,” Comeau said over the phone from Kelowna, British Columbia. “I’m very excited about our team. We have a great future and we took another big step today with John Tavares on board.”
Hillen confirmed to Point Blank that he also did not sign his Q.O. In a very gentlemanly text, Jack said he’d talk to me about anything other than contract talks and referred me to his agent.
It’s a bit of a surprise Comeau did not sign the Qualifying Offer from the Islanders, which called for a CBA-mandated 5% raise on his 2008-09 NHL salary of $735,000. Perhaps like Nate Thompson’s decision to file for arbitration, Comeau’s move is to push for a one-way contract. Comeau may also be attempting to acquire a multi-year deal.
The same may be the case for Hillen, who split last season between the Sound Tigers and Islanders and received some praise from head coach Scott Gordon. The dman was 1-5-6 in 40 games with the Islanders.
After spending the first quarter of last season in Bridgeport, Comeau was with the Islanders for the remainder of the year and went 7-18-25 in 53 games.
It’s now on Garth Snow to decide if he wants to play hardball with a third-line forward and third-pair defenseman who are part of the team’s accent on youth. Relations between club and Comeau are clearly solid, as are the Islanders’ expectations for him; Comeau and Kyle Okposo are being brought to Long Island at the end of this month for a series of charity and promotional appearances.
Hillen’s development has been a point of pride for the scouting staff, which pushed for his signing as an undrafted free agent after four years at Colorado College.
QOs 411
as borrowed from Andrew’s Dallas Stars page:
Teams are required to extend a one-year “qualifying offer” to any current restricted free agent by June 25 in order to receive the right of first refusal or draft choice compensation should that respective player sign an offer sheet with another NHL club. The qualifying offers will expire at 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) on July 15.
Qualifying offers fall into three categories:
1. A player whose prior year salary was equal or less than $660,000 must receive a qualifying offer of 110% of their prior year’s salary.
2. A player whose prior year salary was more than $660,000 and up to $1 million must receive a qualifying offer of 105% of their prior year’s salary (but in no event shall such qualifying offer exceed $1 million).
3. A player whose prior year salary was more than $1 million must receive a qualifying offer at 100% of their prior year’s salary.
If a team does not give a qualifying offer to a restricted free agent, he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and can sign with any team with no compensation required to the player’s former club.
Comments. That promised free agent analysis is now likely to be posted tomorrow.
3:25 pm - By the end of that stretch, we’ll have a good idea of what the 2009-10 Islanders are. Coincidentally, that’s about when we learned about last year’s team, too. Here’s the schedule. As reported here, Islanders open at home against Pittsburgh on Charles Wang’s Oct. 3 deadline for ”certainty” from the ToH. Their next home game is a Columbus Day matinee for the kiddies against the Kings. Comments about the schedule or your plans for ticket-buying only here, Tavares in next thread. A view on free agency up next.
UPDATED at 12:45 pm - Agent Pat Brisson on the deal for John Tavares and their dealings with the Islanders:
“It’s a similar structure to the contracts I’ve done for other first picks like Patrick Kane. There are no surprises.
“We’ve been talking for a few days and had everything in place. Today seemed like a good day to announce it with minicamp ending. Everything went smmothly between Garth (Snow) and I. No issues. Got done quickly.
“I’ve been communicating with John on a daily basis. He is absolutely thrilled with how everything has gone in his first few weeks as an Islander. He said the franchise has been very professional, the minicamp has been top-notch, the fan support just incredible. There is a lot of excitement around the team and John is proud to be a part of it. It’s fair to say everything worked out well with John becoming an Islander.”
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11:38 am - John Tavares has signed his three-year Entry Level contract to play for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League.
The contract announcement was almost certainly timed as a cherry on the top of a week of positive minicamp publicity of the first overall pick’s first days as an Islander.
Dollar figures of the deal were not announced, but the Tavares contract is expected to be in line with similar contracts executed for recent first overall picks Steven Stamkos, Patrick Kane and Erik Johnson. A year ago, Stamkos was signed for $875,000 in base salary plus $2.85 million in attainable bonuses. His salary cap hit was $3.75 million.
Said GM Garth Snow: “It’s an exciting time for the Islanders organization as we develop our young talent into a contender. John provides another important piece to help us achieve our ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup.”
Tavares said in a statement that he’s excited it’s official and looks forward to being part of a team that brings the Cup back to Long Island.
ETC: Contrary to a published report, Matt Martin does not go back into the NHL draft if he is not signed to his Entry Level contract by the end of training camp. He merely goes back to Sarnia to play for the Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. The Islanders have until June 1, 2010 to sign the rugged forward prospect.
Comments.
After staying away from John Tavares for a few days, I decided to concentrate on his session today at prospect minicamp. This timeline may focus primarily on Tavares, but includes some peaks into Scott Gordon’s workouts.
11:33 am: As Group I takes the ice, Tavares spend some time dangling with the puck at center ice – through the legs, around the back. Child’s play.
:36 - Tavares has been at the front of the line for drills all week. Today is no different. Gordon puts his prospects through some stickhandling practice. In one drill, they skate to the first blueline, do a 360, then the red line and other blueline and do the same. Tavares takes it, as most do, at a moderate speed. A few, like gritty-gutty underdogs Joel Rechlicz and Vladimir Nikiforov, attack the routine at full-speed.
:40 - Group stretch at center ice, led by Rechlicz. Coaches on the ice are Gordon, Dean Chynoweth, Bryan Trottier, Jack Capuano, Sudarshan Maharaj and Pat Bingham.
:42 - Gordon draws up a drill on a dry-erase board. It’s worth noting that of all the NHL head coaches at all the NHL prospect minicamps this summer, it’s likely none are more hands-on than Gordon has been this week. For good reason.
“Our situation is different with so many good young prospects and this being my first minicamp,” said Gordon, who has been on the ice for every second of it. “When they come to training camp in September, I want there to be a familiarity with what we do. We’ve worked on a little bit of everything this week. Tomorrow they’re going to get some power skating work. We also gave them just a taste of our system of play. It’s been a real good week, very productive.”
:44 - Gordon blows his whistle to stop a drill where two players come over the blueline and make a play. The coach appears to ask for more sharpness to the drill. After yesterday’s sessions, the team went on a fishing trip. Coincidence or not, some of the players appear sluggish, as can be expected with five straight days of skating. After Gordon’s nudge, Tavares converts a nice feed from Calvin de Haan for a goal and the drill continues at a much better pace.
:51 - The head coach draws up his second drill of the session, this one a 2-on-1. A player makes a pass, skates along the blueline from one board to the other, (hopefully) stays on side and scores off a cross-ice pass. After three minutes, the players work the same drill on the opposite side.
:57 - The forwards spend time in one end with Gordon, Trottier and Bingham. The D join Chynoweth and Capuano in the other end.
Noon - The forwards take part in a 2-on-2 drill that seems to be all about battle level. The puck is slid into the corner to the offensive pair, who try to score. In the first showdown, it’s Tavares and Matt Martin vs. Rechlicz and Calle Ridderwall. Later on, Tavares and Casey Cizikas are on defense against the attacking Tomas Marcinko and Nikoforov. Goaltender Kevin Poulin wins the battles.
12:08 pm - The group is brought together for more drills, including a 4-on-2 that starts with a breakout and leads to a scoring chance.
:14 - The drills stop for a minute as Gordon has a private chat with Cizikas. “By design, the paint is not on the ice to show the players exactly where to go,” Gordon said. “I wanted Casey to know that he doesn’t have to do the drill the exact same way every time.”
16 - The head coach is back to the board to diagram one last drill that touches on the team’s system. As he has for most of the week, Tavares stands just to Gordon’s left, leaning on his stick. Most players take a knee.
:22 - Unofficially, it’s a historic moment as the workout stops while Gordon explains something about the drill to Tavares at center ice. (We’re just being over-dramatic. It was no big deal, but it’s the first time we saw it this week).
“Awareness,” Gordon said. “When he was going back to support, I wanted him to know whether it was as a defenseman or as a center.” (Tavares was not made available to Point Blank today).
Later on, Tavares is on a trio briefly with Corey Trivino and Justin DiBenedetto. The top hockey instructor at Iceworks walks by and says, “That kid Trivino, sweet pair of hands. Gordon later says of DiBenedetto, “We never have to tell him to work harder. He just brings it all the time. I’m really impressed by him.”
:25 - Private D lesson for Calvin de Haan from Chynoweth, a former Islanders first round pick.
:32 - Stretch at center ice. Trottier takes the six centers – Tavares, Trivino, Marcinko, Cizikas, Doug Rogers and Anders Lee – down to one end. Time for some faceoff tutoring from a Hall of Famer.
“More about approach than technique today,” Trottier said a few minutes later. “I wanted to talk to them about the importance of faceoffs. It’s about pride and determination. Confidence. Tomorrow we’ll go over a few tricks. I want them to get in the mindset of, ‘Hey, we’re up a goal and this faceoff is in our own end.’ That’s the fun stuff. Great bunch of kids to work with. Eager to learn. I’m having a blast.”
:39 - Trottier talks hockey with Tavares for a few minutes, ending the chat by playfully rubbing the top of his helmet.
12:47 - Tavares ends the workout as he started it – working on his own, dangling, playing with the puck. The first overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft looks like there’s no place he’d rather be.
Comments.
4:05 pm - Welcome to the NHL, John Tavares. And to the league office, the Islanders thank you for the heaven-sent gift.
Point Blank has learned that the Islanders will open the 2009-10 regular season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, October 3 at 7:00 pm at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
In a crowded New York sports landscape, count on the historic debut of Tavares and visit from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Billy Guerin and the rest of the Pens being among the hottest tickets in town.
So hot, you can be certain Oct. 3 will be utilized as the primary lure for partial season ticket packages. Last I checked, the phone number for Steve Beisel and some of my old friends in the ticket office was still 1.800.882.ISLES.
The regular season schedule is expected to be released later this week. The Oct. 3 date with the Penguins has been rumored for a while now. Some fans contacted us via email to let us know that’s what the Islanders’ ticket sales office has been whispering. The home opener has been discussed on Islandermania.
Today, we confirmed that the Oct. 3 match with the Penguins at the NVMC is on the final draft of the NHL schedule. Over-the-counter tickets are not on sale yet, but the islanders could sell this game out tomorrow in an hour if they wanted to.
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ADDENDUM at 5:50 pm - The reason why this is good for the NYI is that demand for the opener goes from hot to boiling. Tavares vs. the Panthers on Oct. 3 would sell out, but at nowhere near the demand of Islanders vs. Penguins. This is now the biggest ticket in an uncertain season. Tavares or not, if the NYI struggle as most will predict, games aren’t selling out in January.
It’s way too early to make assumptions about an Islanders mega-boon at the box office. Even if JTmania meets my projection of 2,000 additional season ticketholders, the team would then have around 10,000. Islanders-Penguins on a school/work night in November without a special deal does not = 16,297 paying full price.
As far as national TV in the U.S. goes, NBC doesn’t start its coverage til New Year’s. Versus, bless them, is Versus. The Islanders will make their international imprint when they become a better team.
Might as well start the season as grand as you can. As I wrote, this game will be the bait, the biggest draw by far in many partial plans…CB
Here’s Sean Leahy’s take on Puck Daddy. Comments.
1:15 pm - One of the best players at Islanders Prospect Minicamp this week is a player who may never get the chance to become an Islander. That’s because he’s not Islanders property.
Forward Calle Ridderwall – yes, he’s first cousins with NYI goalie prospect Stefan – is on Long Island this week because the Islanders were the only NHL team to invite him to a minicamp. Not so coincidentally, the Islanders were to first team to send word through his “family advisor” (NCAA restrictions, folks) with any kind of interest in him.
But the fact is, no NHL team ever drafted him. Now he’s 20, a borderline college star entering his junior year at Notre Dame. The Islanders have shown him plenty of love – although as an NCAA player he’s paying his way this week – but there’s no guarantee that when he’s done with the Fighting Irish, he will commit to the Orange & Blue.
But…
“The New York Islanders were the first team to ever contact me and tell me I’m a good hockey player,” Ridderwall said after 60 minutes of on-ice drills today at Iceworks. “They were the first team to invite me to a minicamp. I will always appreciate that and have to keep that under consideration. Free agency is crazy. When it happens for me, if there are a lot of teams interested, I will definitely remember the Islanders because they have been first-class.”
Teams will be interested. In fact, you can make the case that, like Matt Gilroy, not being drafted will turn out to be good for him. Ridderwall is now 6-0, 185 pounds and has a resume of coming up big at Notre Dame, including an overtime goal against top-ranked Michigan in the 2008 Frozen Four.
After scoring threee regular season goals as a freshman, he scored two against the Wolverines when it counted most. As a sophomore last season, Ridderwall was 17-15-32 in 40 games. Not bad for the first Swedish hockey recruit in Notre Dame history.
Now he’s a self-made North American player. “I’ve always been fascinated by the U.S.,” he said today with a smile. At 16, he came over to play for the Chicago Chill in a league he described as a “notch below” the USHL. The following year he continued his development with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and got the call from Notre Dame head coach (and former Islanders assistant coach) Jeff Jackson.
A finance major, Ridderwall says “I’ve always envisioned playing all four years and graduating from Notre Dame.” But that can change at any moment and he knows it.
All those years as a kid shooting against his cousin and best friend Stefan may pay off. Whether he lands with the Islanders or somewhere else is a mystery. He’s proven this week that he’s a legitimate NHL prospect.
Comments. More later today.
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