Monthly Archives: January 2010
Chris Botta on Twitter
11:15 am - Rick DiPietro is the starting goaltender tonight when the Islanders host the Buffalo Sabres at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Scott Gordon explained that he did not want the comebacking goalie to go too long between starts and liked the routine of the morning skate today for DiPietro. The coach complimented DiPietro for his honesty throughout the rehabilitation process and his hard work in getting back to the NHL. Gordon also very candidly admitted that last season he did not always fully grasp what the goalie was going through.
Plenty of lessons learned all around the organization, starting with DiPietro.
Gordon on DiPietro playing in front of the home fans: “Whether he gets a lift tonight will depend on how he plays.” The coach is so right. If DiPietro is not sharp or if he wanders too much, the crowd could go the other way.
Asked if he looks forward to a day when the issue of whether DiPietro is starting is no longer a story, Gordon said, “Yeah…you wanna start today”?
Thoughts from DiPietro and more on tonight’s start on Twitter.
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Lindy Ruff said the Islanders are not merely a collection of gritty-gutties, but of blossoming skill.
“They’ve built quite a crop of young talent,” the Sabres coach told reporters after his team practiced at the Coliseum on Friday afternoon. “They’re a group that’s playing hard for each other.
“You look at what John Tavares accomplished in his first half-season and then compare it to some of the struggles Steve Stamkos went through last year. Tavares is a very good player and he’s only going to get stronger. (Kyle) Okposo is outstanding and now Josh Bailey is really starting to come on.
“The Islanders are a good team with the puck. They are creative. I’ve seen some highlight-reel goals, some toe-drags…skill goals. But they also go hard to the front of the net.
“Detroit lined up the excuses the other night, but the Islanders really took it to them. The Islanders’ record is very indicative of the way they’ve played this season, and they continue to improve.”
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Ruff was right. I spent the majority of Tuesday morning and night around the Red Wings. As respectful as he tried to be to the Islanders – “Give them credit, they played a good game” – Detroit coach Mike Babcock down-played his team’s domination at the hands of the NYI by constantly talking about their travel schedule. Babcock said he knew the game would be impossible to play “the minute the schedule came out in July.”
If Gordon wanted a little something extra to push his team over the three-game mountain of vs. Buffalo and New Jersey and at Pittsburgh, he could point out to his Islanders that his team’s 6-0 win over Detroit was completely minimized by the Red Wings coach.
Consider this three-game stretch the latest barometer for the Islanders in this marathon on a season.
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Chris Botta on Twitter
1:00 pm, NVMC: With the Posting of one credible trade rumor, Calvin de Haan went from blue-chipper to trade-his-ass.
This is the unfortunate by-product of rumors when they are not immediately squashed. All of sudden cherished prospects becomes The Expendables.
If Garth Snow had immediately told Larry Brooks what he told Newsday three hours later, parts of the Country would not have pondered life without question marks like de Haan and Kirill Petrov. Many would not have dreamed of Kovalchuk scoring 50 goals a season on a line with John Tavares and Kyle Okposo.
Still, although it was three hours later – and almost undoubtedly, after speaking with a voice from above – Snow did the right thing by silencing the buzz. The feel-good fortnight of the World Junior Championships was starting to fade away, replaced by rotisserie talk. Hey, it was fun while it lasted. This blogger would like to personally thank Larry Brooks for jazzing up a sleepy Thursday in mid-January.
Snow was in a tough spot. If he goes around shooting down every rumor, where does it end? As he has done a lot this season, the general manager got it right. All the yuks about the former goalie-turned-GM, all the concern about the inexperience, no matter how this season ends, have been put to rest.
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1.800.882.ISLES: Scott Gordon was presented after practice today with an opportunity to announce when Rick DiPietro will make his first start in front of the die-hards at the Nassau Coliseum. Everyone, including the head coach, understands officially announcing DiPietro’s home game comeback could result in the selling of an additional stack of tickets for one day. Gordon, for now, is not opting to go there.
“We’re not going to base a hockey decision on that,” Gordon said, referring to marketing.
More than perfectly understandable, that way of thinking is 100% correct. However, since Gordon and Snow will know 24 hours out when DiPietro is starting – whether it’s today for Saturday night, or Sunday for Monday’s matinee – you might as well help the sales staff and your franchise’s bottom line by getting the word out. Much excitement over the team has been generated, but good seats remain very, very available.
Later on, Gordon told a story about playing a season in Knoxville and sharing the nets with Manon Rheaume. In an effort to sell tickets, team ownership – not the coach – announced that Manon was starting a game. The coach was not happy. His team trailed 4-0 after the first period before the goalie switch.
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Lineup News: The same line combinations and D pairings that blew out Detroit were featured at practice for the second straight day. DiPietro took one net, while Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron shared another. I was told this means nothing because DiPietro and Roloson have alternated since Rick’s return.
As Katie Strang mentioned in her blog today, Rob Schremp is moving into a new apartment. This is important because it means the Islanders told him to move out of the hotel, which is important because it means the Islanders have told Schremp they consider him an everyday NHLer.
With this in mind, I asked Gordon if Andrew MacDonald has been told to move out of the team hotel. Gordon said he didn’t even know the Schremp news until today, so he wouldn’t know about AMac. He did, however, continue to sing the praises of the young defenseman.
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Talk is Cheap: Gordon was asked if he was concerned about his young team becoming a little too over-confident. In the last two practices, the coach stopped a few drills soon after they got started. Gordon was not worried about over-confidence, but said he still needs his team to communicate more on the ice.
“We’re not a shy team off the ice,” said Gordon, “but we’re shy on the ice. We don’t talk enough. It’s the easiest thing to do.”
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Hurting Witt to Rest a While: Although the team has talked of calf tightness, Point Blank has learned that Brendan Witt tried to play through a knee injury for several weeks before Garth Snow, the team’s medical staff and the veteran defenseman made the decision to shut him down for the foreseeable future. Although surgery is not likely, Witt will be out of the lineup beyond just a one-week stint on the IR.
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FanHouse Podcast: Botta and Ciskie (includes some NYI talk)
5:45 pm – Today the Islanders did not fulfill another in a long line of requests from Point Blank to speak with Garth Snow, although he was sitting in Scott Gordon’s office when this reporter, Billy Jaffe and Arthur Staple spoke with the coach today.
Snow told Larry Brooks for his story (see below) that he had no comment, but later this afternoon told Staple of Newsday that he is not going to deviate from his plan. Arthur also quotes a source saying the chances of a Kovalchuk deal are “slim to none.” This led Arthur to write that the “word on the Internets” is “not necessarily the truth.” C’mon – take a stand, buddy.
You mean, the Thrashers won’t take Calvin de Haan, Kirill Petrov and a conditional first round pick for Ilya Kovalchuk (26 goals in 39 games)? No way! You’re kidding!
You mean, the Islanders wouldn’t consider trading two players not named Okposo and Tavares plus a conditional first round pick and sign Kovalchuk for eight years?
Aw, that’s too bad. Add a top defenseman in the UFA market and the rebuild would be over.
Maybe Snow decided he needed to speak so his happy-go-lucky team doesn’t get rattled by the tradewinds. If that’s the case, a very wise move by the GM.
I still have plenty of issues I want to run by Mr. Snow. Maybe someday.
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2:30 pm - The New York Post‘s Larry Brooks, who enjoys a solid working relationship with Garth Snow – remember the on-the-record “We’ll spend money at the deadline” story? – just dropped an Islanders bombshell. According to Brooks, the Islanders intend to make a trade proposal to Atlanta for Ilya Kovalchuk.
Larry’s story includes the name of some C-level (Jyri Niemi) and B-level (Jesse Joensuu) prospects, and it’s hard to envision Calvin de Haan being the primary piece in a deal for a superstar. It’s funny thinking about Atlanta GM Don Waddell trying to convince his bosses they should say goodbye to Kovalchuk and bring in mysterious Russian forward Kirill Petrov, who has two years left on a KHL contract.
Nevertheless, Larry’s work should be taken seriously. Historically, Brooks does not step out for a major article on one of the local teams he does not cover daily unless he is confident he has strong information.
The writer says Snow declined to comment, but…you know…
Even if Waddell shops Kovalchuk as a rental, not allowing teams to discuss a long-term deal with his agent, it’s a fire-able offense if the Atlanta GM does not bring back Kyle Okposo in a trade.
Of course, the Islanders will not trade Okposo and that’s when the trade talks likely cease. The Islanders have Okposo and John Tavares, who are not going anywhere, before a moderate drop-off to Josh Bailey. There is no one in Bridgeport of significant value. The Islanders’ first round pick in 2010 is not guaranteed to be in the top five, so that’s little help to Waddell.
Snow made a nice play for Ryan Smyth by giving Edmonton two bleh prospects (Robert Nilsson and Ryan O’Marra) along with the No. 20 pick. If he can pull off Kovalchuk for some combination of two of his teenage prospects and a draft pick, never mind Michael Farber’s post-Smyth recognition of Snow as GM of the Year. You’d have to put Snow right into the Hall of Fame.
Final thought: Gordon’s gritty-gutties are on a roll and have been a heartwarming story lately. It will be worth monitoring how the team reacts in the wake of this leaked major news item.
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The NHL standings are placed in the Islanders’ locker room for the same reason the team’s TV ratings have doubled: Christmas is over, and the Islanders are in the playoff hunt.
This, of course, wasn’t the case this year, so Scott Gordon and his coaching staff use the smartboard in the locker room to remind the team what they’re playing for.
“You have to be thinking about it,” Gordon said of the standings after today’s practice at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Gordon gives the occassional pop quiz to make sure his players understand crunch time has arrived. He’ll test his charges from time to time on how far they’re out of a playoff seed, or how many points they are ahead of behind an opponent in the Eastern standings. Speaking about recent games against Ottawa and Atlanta, Gordon said, “You can treat these games as regular games, but they are not.”
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I asked Scott Gordon if Dwayne Roloson’s sustained excellence – and the team’s superb play in front of him on Tuesday - affected his goalie rotation. The coach said no, because the abundance of upcoming games means, “We’re going to need two goalies.”
I followed up by asking if Rick DiPietro would play in one of the upcoming back-to-backs (Monday vs. NJ, Tuesday in Pittsburgh). Said Gordon, “Definitely one of the back-to-backs.”
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Same line combinations and D pairings at practice today from the win over Detroit. Brendan Witt did not practice. Nate Thompson and Jeff Tambellini were the extra forwards.
Comments. Andy Sutton discussion continues below.
For reports from today’s Islanders practice, please follow Chris Botta on Twitter
9:00 am - Although there have yet to be any negotiations on a contract extension, Andy Sutton told Point Blank he hopes to stay an Islander beyond this season.
“I haven’t heard anything yet, but I would love to stay and be a part of this team,” said Sutton. “I love the area and love the team. Most of all, I love the direction our team is headed. I’ve been in the league ten years, and I can tell you without any hesitation that this is the best group of players and people that I have ever had the privilege of being a part of.”
Without a new deal, the defenseman would become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Sutton, who turns 35 on March 10, signed a three-year contract with a $3 million per cap hit with the Islanders in the summer of 2007. Although he made it clear he will not negotiate in public, Sutton wanted everyone to know his priority is to remain an Islander.
“Ultimately it’s up to Charles (Wang) and Garth (Snow),” said Sutton. “I understand they have a lot of important decisions to make. I can just tell you it would mean a lot, knowing they wanted me here. But either way, they should know – and the fans should know – I’m fully focused on this season and doing whatever I can to get our team into the playoffs so we can take the next steps.”
Sutton played 55 games in 2007-08 with the Islanders and just 23 last season because of injuries. After Radek Martinek was lost for the season with an injury, he became the Islanders’ shutdown defenseman and has been their fiercest body-checker. Scott Gordon, who has called Sutton’s performance “outstanding” and included the defenseman with Dwayne Roloson and Kyle Okposo in discussing the team’s MVPs, has given Sutton at least 22 minutes of playing time in eight of the last ten games.
Visiting scouts say Sutton is playing the best hockey of his career. I asked the 6-6 defenseman if he agreed.
“I’ve thought about that the last week or so, and I believe I am,” said Sutton. “I had some good years in Atlanta, but I think there’s more consistency in my game now. I have to thank our coaches for that.
“I’m also moving better than I have ever moved in my career. Before I got hurt last season, we worked on a new strength and agility program that’s done wonders for me. If you look at my hockey career going all the way back to college, I’ve been a late-bloomer. I feel really good that I have several strong years ahead of me.”
Adhering to team policy, general manager Garth Snow will not discuss contract negotiations. Purely coincidentally, Sutton’s agent Pat Morris attended the game at the Coliseum on Tuesday night between the Islanders and Red Wings.
Point Blank View: Sutton missed large parts of his first two seasons, but is showing why the Islanders signed him over other available defensemen three years ago. The Islanders know Sutton has the size and physical play they lack, and he fits in Gordon’s system.
If the Islanders set him free in July, Sutton could get himself a raise. However, he wants to stay and it’s apparent the coach and the core of young players have a lot of respect for him.
A fair resolution would appear to be a two-year contract extension at $3 million per. This keeps a reliable player in the fold and still leaves plenty of room for the Islanders to sign another top defenseman.
Comments on Andy Sutton and this post. Comment Guidelines.
9:22 pm – Islanders 6, Red Wings 0. And it wasn’t really that close.
Plus: No one can say the Islanders aren’t a blast to watch when they’re at their best.
Plus: Haven’t praised the glory of playing four lines in a while. Started to take it for granted!
Plus: Speaking of which, what is there left to say about Dwayne “The Rock” Roloson? Man, this team plays well in front of him.
Plus: Islanders beat the Red Wings at the Coliseum for the first time since Feb. 27, 1999.
Plus: The Islanders shut out Detroit at home for the first time since Chico Resch did it on January 13, 1976.
Plus: Josh Bailey is not on a hot streak. He is breaking out. The 20-year-old has 13 points (four goals and nine assists) in his last seven games.
Plus: In response to a question this morning about starting his energy line most games, Scott Gordon said the reason was “to establish our forecheck.” Tonight he temporarily put Richard Park instead of John Tavares on the line between Bailey and Kyle Okposo to start the game. They had a strong shift and the momentum carried to Matt Moulson’s goal at 1:11 with Frans Nielsen at center and Okposo still on the ice.
Plus: Four stars to Scott Gordon, Scott Allen and Dean Chynoweth for effectively preparing the Islanders to play the dreaded first home game after a Western swing.
Plus: Bruno Gervais with his best game of the season. “That was his best game of the season,” said Gordon.
Plus: Rob Schremp with the first even-strength goal of his 32-game NHL career.
Plus: On Schremp’s second goal, you can say Brad Stuart gagged it up. You could also point to Stuart being yet another defensemen this season frustrated by having forechecking Islanders in his face. Heck, they even ticked off the unflappable Pavel Datsyuk.
Plus: Schremp’s contagious enthusiasm. “He knows I believe in him, and he’s made a believer out of his teammates,” said Gordon.
Plus: Mark Streit scoring to make it 4-0 and acting like he’d done it before.
Plus: Two goals by defensemen!
Plus: Memo to Brian Burke – Kyle Okposo has goals in four straight games, and is playing just as well as he has all season.
Plus: Sean Bergenheim returned and looked good. Jimmy Howard took a goal away from him at 6:42 of the second.
Plus: Patrick Roy told a Canadian reporter that Islanders prospect Kevin Poulin is the best goaltender in the Quebec League.
Plus: Not that many of the current Islanders have a connection to him, but sure was nice to see the boys put on a good show for Kenny Jonsson.
Plus: All this positive talk is getting out of hand.
Even: After a road trip in California and Arizona, the Red Wings practiced at home on Monday for the first time in ten days. Then they flew to New York for tonight’s game. For Detroit, this is the norm. “I was afraid of this game when I saw the schedule in the summer,” said Wings coach Mike Babcock. Remember that the next time an Eastern Conference team squawks about travel.
Minus: When you’re beating them on the scoreboard and in every phase of the game, you don’t disrespect the Red Wings by putting their players on the Kiss-cam.
Minus: The Islanders don’t play again until Saturday. They could use a game Thursday.
Plus: All right, that’s about as much whine as I can pour tonight. Almost.
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Reader Notice: I understand this is an Islanders blog and we – no one more than I – beat a lot of issues to death over the 365 days in a year. I just want to say this, and I really hope you respect where I’m coming from. After tonight, if in the next three days I see any more discussion of Jeff Tambellini, Nate Thompson, Richard Park and Jon Sim (or even talking about Arron Asham like he was Bobby Nystrom), I will lose my mind. I think just about everyone who reads Point Blank will lose their minds. I’d rather shut down for a few days. Seriously. Thank you.
Islanders to work out off-ice only on Wednesday. Enjoy the victory. Comments. Please read the Comment Guidelines if you haven’t recently.
12:20 pm, NVMC – Unlike some other coaches, Mike Babcock does not mind talking about his opponents. The Stanley Cup-winning coach had some kind words today about the Islanders.
“I really like what they’re doing here,” said the Canadian Olympic coach. “The Islanders have a youthful group. The whole team looks like first round picks. They come at you hard, skate and don’t stop. They’ve looked real good lately.
“They’ve got some very talented kids in Tavares, Bailey and Okposo. As the three of them grow, they could be a really dynamic force.”
11:45 am, NVMC – Sean Bergenheim is definitely in tonight. Jeff Tambellini is out. The other scratch? Nate Thompson, maybe. Doug Weight and Richard Park were given a free pass to skip the morning skate.
Rick DiPietro mentioned to Point Blank that Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj is coming to Long Island tomorrow for some one-on-one work leading up to his next start. Scott Gordon said it will be beneficial for DiPietro to get in three practices this week.
In a rare occurrence, the Islanders are practicing the rest of the week at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Answering a question from the Detroit media, Gordon called Frans Nielsen “one of the best-kept secrets in the NHL.”
The coach had respect, but little sympathy for the Red Wings’ length injury list. “Anytime you can roll out Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom…”
10:50 am, NVMC - Although Scott Gordon termed Brendan Witt a healthy scratch on Saturday in Phoenix and said the veteran defenseman’s “calf tightness” was minor, Witt goes on IR today and Sean Bergenheim comes off.
Dwayne Roloson, who certainly knows the Red Wings well from his many years in the Western Conference, starts tonight. If you want to see Rick DiPietro’s first home start since last Christmas break, consider grabbing some tickets for Saturday against Buffalo. Just don’t ask me for a refund if I’m wrong.
9:30 am - KJ is in town to watch the Red Wings take on the Islanders. He is expected to visit with his old club at the morning skate and will be highlighted on the scoreboard during the game. As far as I know, this is Kenny’s first visit to the Coliseum since he left the Islanders to return home to Sweden. With Chris Osgood also around, it’s going to feel like 2002.
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