NYI at MONTREAL, 7:30 pm: Koskinen out 8-10 weeks
Charity drive continues…Sound Tigers update
Breaking News: Mikko Koskinen is out 8-10 weeks after suffering a torn labrum in his hip. This would seem to indicate that the Islanders do not feel surgery is needed for the first pick in the second round of the 2009 draft. Koskinen had only played in two games so far for Bridgeport, while Nathan Lawson and Scott Munroe had each played four.
Pat LaFontaine played junior hockey in Verdun, so we have a natural Montreal connection for tonight’s game!
The Point Blank fundraising drive continues all week to support Pat’s Companions in Courage and donate mobile XBox 360 kiosks at Winthrop Hospital and Nassau University Medical Center. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed so far. Here’s the whole story.
Between online donations and checks, the drive raised over $4,000 over the weekend - not bad at all for our little hockey blog, but we are far from finished. With the marathon on Sunday, we ask that you please make your donations in the next few days.
As an added bonus for Point Blank readers, if you donate $50 prior to October 28 at noon, you will be eligible to win four grandstand tickets at the finish line of the New York City Marathon on November 1.
As an alternative to the online donation link, readers can send a check to CiC Foundation, P.O. Box 768, Huntington, NY 11743 (ATT: PB). If you have any other questions or would like to make a donation different than what is requested, please send an email to Jim Johnson at jjohnson@CiC16.org
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If the Islanders win tonight in Montreal, it makes Saturday’s overtime loss a little more palatable and eases the sting of the disaster in Montreal on Thursday. If the Islanders fall to 1-5-4, well…
Doug Weight still not strong enough to make the trip. This is the lastest example of how things don’t go as planned. I thought Mark Streit was the right choice for captain, with Weight a solid second option. The positive spin for the choice of Weight was that he was the best veteran to get the Islanders through any adversity one year at a time. I did also wonder a little if the captaincy would affect Streit, who was outstanding last season.
So what happens? Streit doesn’t get the captaincy and he has not been in peak form. The Islanders, in need of leadership, will play their fifth game tonight without their captain.
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Justin DiBenedetto had two goals and an assist yesterday for the Sound Tigers in their 4-1 win over Albany. Bridgeport is now 6-4. No one is tearing it up. Of the Islanders’ prospects, Trevor Smith is 4-3-7 in ten games to lead the youngsters. DiBenedetto’s two goals on Sunday were his first of the season. After a mediocre camp, Jesse Joensuu has one goal in 10 games. Joel Rechlicz was a scratch for the Sound Tigers on Sunday.
Matt Martin has four assists and 27 penalty minutes and has been okay. Robin Figren, a scratch for four games, has one assist in six games. Goalie Mikko Koskinen, the 21-year old, seemingly more advanced prospect the Islanders banked the first pick of the second round on, has been pretty good but has only played two games. Nate Lawson and Scott Munroe, not major NYI prospects, have more starts than Koskinen. Why there are three goalies in Bridgeport is inexplicable.
The bottom line is that there are no bonafide answers down on the farm if the Islanders ever feel the need to shake up the lineup.
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No live chat tonight. I’ll be away on assignment. Next one I have planned is Friday for the road game in Washington.
Please keep our charity drive in mind and give what you can. Enjoy the game.
63 Responses to NYI at MONTREAL, 7:30 pm: Koskinen out 8-10 weeks
Charity drive continues…Sound Tigers update
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Chizzler says:
DiBenedetto and Smith should get a chance…later in the season. Why not? We will be out of any competitive race anyway in mid-season. They can’t be worse than some other players on this team.
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TM says:
Maybe NYI will show up this time in Montreal because they QUIT last Thursday.
Weight – ugh. He’s out too much to be a captain.
It seems the fans have spoken with attendance – 11K on Saturdays (even for Ovechkin and good teams) and 9K on weeknights will be the norm. They always had good attendance on weekends but not now. NYI blew it by being cheap with the lowest payroll, cheap non-existent radio coverage and not funding this blog. New Yorkers won’t put up with this crap. Will they EVER get it?
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AZS says:
I agree regarding Miko’s playing time. I mean you don’t take a kid that high and have him ride the AHL bench so that Munroe or Lawson can play.
There’s a list of guys down there that may not be lighting it up down there yet, but that I have high hopes for – emphasis on hopes …
DiBo
Martin
Joensuu
Miko -
JayK says:
The other night while watching the Caps game, I was thinking about the Rangers, and Brashear being in our building. I wondered whether they’d bring up the Wrecker as Brasher’s “dancing partner.”
If he’s getting scratched at Bridgeport, then I guess not. But you never know.
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CJCB says:
Trevor Gilles seems to be the better of the two heavyweights in Bridgeport! Good thing the ST’s signed him, why the Isles dont buy into that contract is beyond me?????? Bring up Gilles!!! Let Rechlitz learn based on his last few fights down there he needs time.
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Isles Fan says:
I never question anybody’s health, but maybe it was premature naming Weight as C. He has missed half the games already. Not good for chemistry.
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Joe in Massapequa says:
CB, is there anything that could make the season start off even worse? You basically covered it all – from the record to the captaincy to the prospect pool. I am not encouraged by anything at all and am not sure of any resolution. Before we know it, we will be rating the top 5 potential picks in this years draft…. ugh and it isn’t even November.
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rb says:
If the Isles (A) don’t show up again or (B) blow another lead in the last 10 minutes, start looking for a new head coach.
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isles316 says:
I don’t think Jesus could coach this current squad to victory. It isn’t on Gordon. Do we really want to keep changing coaches every year and a half?
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IslandersWin86 says:
Don’t forget that Matt Martin is 2-0 in his fights, with a significant win the other night.
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IslesinOside says:
Streit absolutley should have been named El Capitan! I love Dougie, think he is a class act but his absence at the end of the season last year was an obvious prelude of what was to come this season. They might as well have named DiPietro captain.
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Blizzard says: ….no resources in the minors to shake things up…..way to build through the draft.
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Chris,
You have done an outstanding job. But this is futile.
If I gave you my cell number could you give me an ISLANDER WAKE UP CALL in about four years when something important might happen.
Who cares who’s the captain of this dingy?
Is the most burning lineup question going to be Bruno, Jack or Freddy?
Why complain about Scott Gordon when the only candidate to be his replacement might be Charles Wang’s brother in law?
Garth Snow has pulled the curtain… and even if he is exposed as a fraud, he’ll just give out trinkets and send Dorothy Strang home in a balloon.
And then there’s the Lighthouse. It’s sad that there are thousands of good people (potential workers, not Islander fans) who have their futures pinned to the tail of this DONKEY.
I have my snooze button set for your next post… but I can really use the four years of rest. -
Mark P says:
When can we get a full detailed analysis of the past 2 drafts.
I can accept rebuilding the Isles from scratch…though the draft…..Only the easy JT pick seems to have been the right move. Wasting the top pick in round 2 on a goalie…when proper manuevering would have brough Dupris or Ferraro. Half a draft for DeHaan.
Trading down for Bailey…..We sould have done so much more in the draft.
Some of the pro moves have worked….Streit, Moulson, Richard Park…is this Ken Morrow’s area?
The ametuer Draft? Is this on Snow or Janakowski? -
Eye on the island says:
Streit has looked like a shell of his last years self and I think it’s because he played too many games last year. After his first NHL season of getting 20 plus minutes a game he should not have played in the worlds(or whatever tournament it was). Hopefully he rights the ship but unfortunately right now lAst year is looking like a career year.
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art says:
This may sound like a joke but I think that the team is like a bunch of over matched horses in a stakes race-that is they are running hard but don’t have the pedegree to get up at the end and finish respectfully. More importantly and also negatively their early efforts in both early periods of individual games and in the early schedule I believe will lead to burn out like the horses in the race. Bottom line things are going to get worse because as you correctly noted we have no good NHL quality future prospects ready on the farm in the case of injury.
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Seth says:
Streit hasn’t looked like himself but it’s still early and we all saw what he is capable of. He’ll turn it around. I hope the effort tonight resembles Saturday and not Thursday. This Montreal team must be salivating for another chance to embarrass the Isles, there is no intimidation factor in this game for them. If Biron starts he needs to be better positionally, I know thats his “style”, but it’s been a bit shaky thus far this year, got to win a 2-1, 3-2 game tonight.
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hale says:
the wrecker has no business being on an ahl roster…joenusuu played really good yesterday..part of the problem is this constant rotation of players..they have like 30 guys there.they had a 4th line of morency gillies (who is bonafide pyscho; in a good way) and the wrecker.then the next game they had figren and marcinko play with morecny and the 4th line generated a goal.their is no consistency .all three goalies have played exceptional…so i dunno what they do there…
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streit02 says:
Congratulations we found another thing to complain about. The team voted Doug weight to be captain, it was not a managerial decision. Doug weight being captain has absolutely nothing to do with the islanders record or mark streits play. As long as okposo makes progress this season he will be named captain next year. Mark my words
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UIF says:
So…signing 350 goalies in the offseason has created a logjam in nets? Who woulda thunk it
Chicago and the Leafs are two teams I’ve heard of that are already keeping an eye out for goaltending help. Can’t we move one of Biron or Roloson and call Munroe up to back up the other guy? Then we’ll have two goalies at the Bridge, like a normal team, and Munroe can hold the fort down as backup until…or if…DP comes back. We might even be able to bring back a competent d-man if Garth can manage do a better sales job than his 5th…4th…3rd round pick for Guerin trade.
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beatlebailey says:
Agreed. Weight was the right choice to be Captain. Please there is so much other stuff to complain about….this is the worst time for a rebuild year 2-3 because of all of the pain from last year we would like a little bit of hope and there is none this year. JT KO and MS please stay healthy..the rest of these pretenders I could care less about since they are not part of the solution.
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doc says:
AT this point, I just want to see an effort… that’s all. Of the 9 games so far… there have been only 8 or 9 periods out of the 27 periods where the effort has been solid.
DOC
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Mario says:
Was at the Tigers game Sat. night and Rechlicz got his AS* handed to him. He stinks at fighting. Gillies killed his opponent twice. Bring him up and see what he can do. I would love to see him kick the shi* out of Avery Wednesday.
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So…these guys in our system, what are realistic expectations? Martin and Joensuu – 3rd line checking forwards or a chance at something more, maybe second line power forward type? Kohn and MacDonald – 7th defensemen or better? Smith – spare forward, or a regular that can maybe hit 20g? Haley – future agitator, or career B-port player?
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For someone who has watched every Soundtiger game the last three seasons I think it’s a bit unfair to be hyping Dibo’s 2 goals last night when he has done absolutely nothing all season. I don’t want to hear its been so many games, give him a chance. No one gives Isles players chance after so many games so why should I. Dibo is a floater, Is lazy and hasn’t generated any offense. He makes Joensuu look bad out there some nights. As for Rechlicz he has played in every game since his demotion and was given the day off. I’m not sticking up for him but he gets a raw deal here and reporting him as a scratch just fuels the fire. Not here to flame or be flamed just telling it like it is. My email is always posted just in case anyone disagrees or has a comment.
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kevin fitz says:
So in the Boston Globe today there is a little blurp saying Laviolette might be have another chance on the Island. Guess Go Go is on the hotseat!
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LIMBAUGH2012 says:
#28 That would be music to my ears’
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Eastonhockey says:
The said thing is I don’t think okiposo is going to hit 20 goals this year again. Imagine trying to rebuild around players Like brad dalfarno and Randy wood. That’s what things are looking like. With this owner n this gm no way things are any better in two years. I don’t care if they get lucky and draft 2 more 15 to 25 goal players like okposo.
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Merrick says:
CB- Given your background, how’s this idea sound for a PB update
Pretend you are still working for the Islanders and the team is getting the same negative reaction we are witnessing on PB and other sites. Even the diehard season ticket holders are at the point of rebellion.
Chris Dey is smart enough to realize that this is a MAJOR PR problem for the Isles and especially his father-in-law, so he tasks you with writing a positive, but believable piece on the state of the franchise. It can’t be too much pablum or the fans will revolt even more, but it has to say how the franchise can look like a winner three years from now with what we have in the pipeline and anticipate in the future.
The tricky part is that you have to make the case regardless of whether the LH is approved in some form or not–even though LH approval can be noted as a making success a lot easier.
What would you write?
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StevieL says:
The re-build is a fraud. There is no hope that anyone on the current NHL roster or anyone down in Bridgeport can make this team a contender. Let’s suck again this year and add the top pick next year, then we have JT, KO and next years pick on the same scrap heap roster and suck again and so-on and so-on!Maybe in 15 years when JT is 33 and we have had the #1 pick for every year we will contend!!The entire org needs to be overhauled. Teams can be re-built in a year if you have a desire, commitment and quality NHL tested leadership. This team has none. I will state again, Chris and PB will be hosting an ice skating party on a frozen water fountain in “Lighthouse” square before Snow builds a contender strictly thru the draft.
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bob l says:
KO with 20 goals again? he was 2 shy last year…
here’s to 2010 and our starting #1 line, of Tavares, Okposo, Hall — not so affectionately dubbed, the ‘ToH’ line
we drafted too many 5-6 year projects over the past 3 drafts but at least the “cupboard is full” as they say…
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Okposo is 21 years old in his second season.
Iginla had 21 goals as a rookie in 82 games and 13 in his second season in 70 games. Okposo had 18 last year in 65 games and 2 in 9 games the year before. So that’s 20 goals in his first 74 games.
I could give other examples as well. Please, stop knocking Okposo and Bailey and realize they are kids who still have to grow. Educate yourselves on how players like Okposo develop.
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Frank says:
As far as our enforcer is concerned, I agree with post #24, bring up Gillies. I think between him and the Wrecker, Gillies is the better choice. I like the Wrecker a lot but I don’t think he’s ready yet…maybe next year. Aside from his KO loss to Boogaard (no shame there) I think he’s done ok at this level.
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28- very little blurb. Wouldn’t look to far into it. Would be in favor though. I agree Gordon isn’t THE problem, but he isn’t the solution either. A real coach and GM would improve this team and bring some credibility to the organization
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West Coast Fan says:
This quote, from Gordon in Katie’s write-up today:
“If we can generate those chances, eventually it will hopefully go the other way.”
Eventually it will HOPEFULLY go the other way?
Sheesh… thanks for the air of confidence, coach.
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to post 26…dibo played good yesterday…if your gonna complain everygame when he is bad give him some love when he is good
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I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Wang,Snow, and Gordon are talking shop. The fact is that no one knows how much freedom Snow had and has now on the budjet for obtaining players. We do know how he chose to spend a lot of capital on goalies including draft choices and we do see the results. I predict that we will see one of our “starting quality goalies” be traded for a draft choice this Febuary. Then Kossy will be called up. The best thing that could happen would be for a healthy DP to lead this team. We really miss his talent, enthusiasm, and leadership.
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dack1972 says:
That’s because all our good prospects are playing for the NHL already due to weak lineup. Half the team would be playing in the AHL if they were other teams prospects. Snow is doing a good job in establishing depth in the organization…that takes time.
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I don’t know about the depth, dack. Who, besides Bailey, is a legit prospect that should be in the AHL? Some of these guys like Bergy, Tambellini, Nielsen, etc are 25+ years old now. It’s time for them to show they belong.
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37 your right, he did play a good game but ive watched him play for years now and know what type of player he is. Hopefully he proves me wrong but he is what I described earlier. That’s what kind of player he is. There’s no one out there that can hide his play anymore.
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cody says:
This goalie business is enfuriating…why we have lawson and munroe is beyond anybodies reasoning, especially with koskinen waiting to get some time.
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Chris TMC says:
In regard to the Doug flu thing, I think the whole NHL is being a bit paranoid regarding anything flu-related.
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shinkdew says:
Koskinen has a torn labrum in his hip and is out 8-10 weeks, according to the STigers beat writer.
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thepolishprince says:
Awesome. Another goalie with a bum hip. Thanks for the rosey news all around. Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.
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Moulson26 says:
I do not understand some of you fans who do not believe the islanders can be profitable. The islanders reside in a community with tons of money. Hockey was once a profitable venture here on the island, why could it not be now? The problems the islanders encounter primarily reside on the ice not entirely with the building. When the islanders have made the playoffs in the last few years, the coliseum rocks with people. Those same people would not refrain from coming to games during the regular season if the team put together solid showings. The islanders will attract 12,000 people to the lighthouse is the team continues to play at this level. The building is not going to save the franchise, the team will. The building would be a money maker but it is not the entire reason why the team suffers.
I also believe that bringing in a proven coach such as Peter L would aid this team. He has a Stanley Cup under hid belt and has the potential to build younger players into fantastic players. FA’s, while they might not be in love with the coliseum, may be more inclined to play for a coach with more beef to his resume.
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IsleofNJ says:
Even if Peter L would come back to LI,
The biggest reason why Peter L would not be coming to the Island any time soon ?
Two Words…..
DOLLARS and CENTSCharles Wang will not be putting anymore money into this team than he has to until he has certainty on the project. No doubt, Peter L would cost much more than Scott Gordon.
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Koskinen will miss 8-10 weeks with hip injury, team says. Torn labrum, no other details yet.
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jim in 226 says:
I can’t believe at this point anyone would still not understand that the Isles CANNOT make money in the current building, with the current lease even if EVERY game was a sell out. This is not new stuff here.
Please hockey gods, let the Isles win 3 in a row just to stop all this damn negativity, and watch all the bashers jump on the bandwagon– it could be fun, really.
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45 – Hockey has been big business since the 90′s. NYI was OK in the 70′s and 80′s but the suburbs can’t support it as a business anymore. Even with the LH, there would be small weeknight crowds- win or lose. That’s just life in the suburbs. NYI need to move to QUEENS and get a new owner!
I sincerely hope the LH fails and Wang sells the team. It’s NYI’s only hope of becoming worthy of watching again.
As long as he owns the team you can pretty much count on different versions of the same old crap.
NYI’s organization from top to bottom completely sucks, and largely it’s his fault.
“But he saved the team…”
Right. It was pure philanthropy. That’s why the Islanders need a new mall to survive. If he runs real estate like he’s run NYI, then that’s trouble. I just want an owner who hires people with a clue about running and marketing an NHL team.
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Restore the Pride-n-Passion NYI Hockey says:
steve… post #31 short & to the point Agreed 100%.
remember when Gretsky called The Devil organization a Mickey Mouse club?What does that make us ?
I never thought I would Give up on this team.
I will stubbornly admit It is begining to wear me down.
This is the first year in well over a decade i have yet to visit the colisuem.
(usually averaged 15 games+ a year)They have paid plenty of lip service to patience with the rebuild at 1-4-4 nothing tangible to really be proud of
(taveras & his talent aside)..
patience is a neccessity in life heartbreak is not.They still blow leads , there is no fire behind the bench, They (Gm & Owner) feel no need to add anything to the mix.
Yet they expect people to spend money on a team with young potential up front,coupled with Past their Prime Defencemen, playing out their careers for a paycheck.
Journeymen & Ahl Level defencemen!I’m still a fan of This team & I apologize for my negativity, maybe its the 15 long years of Underachieving both on & off the Ice.
I sorta feel like we are just small pawns as fans?( The Islanders seem to always no better then anyone else in the league )
Their results do not show this!The current state of the Team on the Ice? (no help anytime soon)
First place not expecting it.
last place again,with no real dignity or pride as we rack up the losses??
Not cool.
(softest team in NHL second year running)
who knowes why.
Someone posted on here it feels like the movie ground hogs day?
It does!
Regardless I just purchased my 8th
authentic jersey in the last 20 years.
It might just be my last one.(taveras)This Team Has very few things going well for it.. Other then some of the optimistic Youth who root&play for them.
Thank God for that, because the die hards who go back to the 70′s & 80′s
are getting darn tired of losing!
Somebody wake me up when its over.
one way or another life will go on… maybe for the better
I’ll start Fishing & spending more quality time with my wife Hope it changes soon, or else i will.
Lets Go Isles Lets Go Islanders! -
TM #49, Hockey is a business and your right about the NYI small market not being able to support it. Incidentally the game is in trouble in many other cities, especially in the south for similar reasons. However I disagree about the LH. That could make even small attendance pay for a decent team and then a winner generating more interest and bigger crowds that would be self sustaining in time. The LH what ever Wang’s motives is the only chance in this area including Bklyn and Queens. Nobody is going to buy the Isles and pay for a new building in nyc or nys certainly not the gov. which is broke. I hope I’m wrong but if there is no LH look to Quebec where they have the money to build a new arena and the fans to fill it.
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CT Isles Fan says:
So much for your 3 goalies in B-Port argument. Now they have 2.
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mrlbem says:
Does our organization now lead all others in the “Goalies with Hip Surgeries” category?
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Do you think your bosses at AOL would like to own a Hockey team?
Our goal song can be, “Ding! You’ve got a goal!”
We can change the uniforms to yellow jumpsuits.
Free Wifi in the AOL Center (in Queens) so there will be one huge AIM chatroom where fans can YELL at the coach and GM.
Jon Sim would be gone, but they could sponsor SimWorld where fans could build their own Sim LHP… and you wouldn’t even need a permit from the TOH. I can’t wait to see what OldSchoolWangster’s looks like.
First priority would be to list the GM position in the AOL classifieds.
Gordon will be retained as coach for a short time, and then be put in charge of file transfers. Considering that most AOL transfers crash two thirds of the way through anyway nobody will even notice his failures.
The draft could be conducted by online polls. Even if only 5000 glue sniffing 11th graders from Moose Jaw voted they would have been able to pick John Tavares with the first overall selection and NOT goaltenders with the first picks in the second and third rounds of the 2009 draft.
The Isles will retain their name, but the SoundTigers will be renamed to the MegaHurts(spelled incorrectly on purpose).
When guys get penalties there time in the box will be recorded by a linear bar with a percentage of their time complete, instead of a clock.
During TV timeouts a big hourglass will appear on the ice telling the fans to be patient, something is processing in the background.
The best part of all this… NO MORE CHARLES WANG! -
Bobnystrom711OT says:
Jp in VA #55, great and very funny post!
Since I am a current AOL member, would I get a break on tix prices at the new AOL Center?
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Mike L says:
I guess this injury officially makes Koskinen an Islander
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Jim M says:
Haha well said Mike L, this is unfortunate news. this organization can never catch a break
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They must be stretching these guys on Uncle Festers stretching rack in the basement…!!!
Geeezzz… enough with stretching these guys to the point that they are tearing LABRUMS. An injury that had never been heard from before the advent of maximum flexibility equalling peak performance.
DOC
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Gordon is not the problem.
The Isles should have beat PIT,BOS,WAS.
Those are 3 top teams in the leauge.Let me see…Gordan is a great coach for
2 3/4 periods then all of a sudden stinks?
No…The team is learning and the fact that they have had so many OT games
shows they are playing hard.If they had many games like the first
Canadian game I would call for his head
but it is rediculous to even suggest
Gordan is at fault. -
Martin has an NHL game, dominate checker, scraps, wins board battles and is hard to move out front. THATS A LOT OF RESUME plus puts up points. He can put up more points but you cannot do all of the above and score consistantly. Most scorers just attent scoring/ no grit, no nose dirty etc. Martin will score 20-30 in the show.
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Willis says:
I missed the last 2 games so I’ve been jonesing. Go Islanders!
(please)
One of Munroe or lawson HAS to go. Koskinen needs playing time. What’s the point of drafting him and having him play at the Bridge unless you can get a REAL assessment of where he’s at in terms of his development?
The minor league team may be 6-4 but NO ONE sticks out as “the answer” to the Isles problems. Sad, but true. Hopefully MacDonald and Kohn can continue to develop and replace our 5-7 guys on the blueline corps because Witt and Meyer/Gervais are BRUTAL…..