Monthly Archives: February 2010
***Matt Martin and Jesse Joensuu have been returned to Bridgeport. I suspect this is a “paper transaction” for AHL roster, salary and salary cap purposes with the Islanders not playing until Saturday. For now, this is not a story.***
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10:30 am - Should Garth Snow decide to cash in his team’s two biggest veteran trading chips, he won’t be without options. Point Blank has learned that several teams are preparing offers to the Islanders for Andy Sutton and Dwayne Roloson.
Sutton, a potential unrestricted free agent on July 1, is one of the best defensemen available in the trade market. If the Islanders do not re-sign him between now and the March 3 trade deadline, the 6-6 defenseman could net a strong haul for the rebuilding franchise.
Many teams are interested in Sutton, including…
New Jersey Pittsburgh Philadelphia Ottawa
Washington Chicago Colorado Calgary
San Jose expressed interest before opting to trade a second round pick to Carolina for Niclas Wallin and a fifth round pick, but will stay in play for Sutton. The Capitals, Senators, Blackhawks and Penguins are among many teams that have been monitoring Sutton closely at the Coliseum and at Islanders road games.
If there is enough competition for the 34-year-old Sutton, Snow may be able to bring back a prospect and/or a high draft pick from a contender like Washington.
“If a team really wants a player, history shows they will pay the price,” said one NHL director of pro scouting. “There’s a lot of interest in Sutton as a big-time rental. For a team like Washington, Sutton could help them beat Pittsburgh and get to the Cup Final. For an impact defenseman, you make the deal and don’t look back.”
At the trade deadline in 2008, Pittsburgh acquired Hal Gill from Toronto for a second round pick and a fifth-rounder, and the large consensus in the scouting section of the Coliseum press box on Tuesday night was Sutton – playing the best hockey of his career – is more valuable today than Gill was then.
The Islanders have a decision to make on the 40-year-old Roloson, but some contending teams may make it an easy one. Although there appear to be more goaltenders available (the splendid Tim Thomas, the not-so-much Marty Turco) than teams in need, Roloson is arguably the best combination of ability, playoff game experience and value.
Roloson, at this date the player most responsible for the Islanders being on the cusp of the playoff picture, is signed for just one more season at a very manageable $2.5 million.
Among the teams considering deals for Roloson…
Philadelphia Ottawa Washington
Chicago Colorado
Blackhawks scouts, including former NHL tough guy Dennis Bonvie, have been following Sutton and Roloson regularly. One NHL source reported that Chicago will make a pitch for Roloson, who led Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.
Of course, the Islanders could take the safer route and move Martin Biron for a third or fourth round pick. As good as Roloson has been, the Islanders have to decide how important a 40-year-old goalie is to a franchise still rebuilding to one day become a consistent contender.
A month ago, it would have been inconceivable to consider trading Roloson. Now the Islanders have lost eight of their last nine games (all in regulation) and – with Rick DiPietro back – Roloson is only getting 50% of the starts. Would the Islanders rather have a 41-year-old goalie playing, at best, 40 games next season? Or would they rather have a young asset or two?
Beyond Roloson and Sutton, the Islanders do not have any veteran Grade A or B assets. None.
As demonstrated in recent deals executed by GMs like Lou Lamoriello, Brian Burke and Darryl Sutter, many teams want their acquisitions settled in during the two-week Olympic break. With so much interest in Sutton and Roloson, do not rule out an Islanders trade before the roster freeze at 3:00 pm EST on Friday.
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The Islanders have yet to win a road game in New Jersey, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh in a season and three quarters under the tandem of GM Garth Snow and head coach Scott Gordon.
In 15 games, the Islanders have accrued just one of 30 available points. That was from an overtime loss in Philadelphia on Oct. 30, 2008.
In eight of the 15 games, the Islanders scored just one goal or were shut out.
The unhappy recap:
10-Oct-08 @ New Jersey 1 2 L
30-Oct-08 @ Philadelphia 2 3 L (ot)
21-Nov-08 @ New Jersey 2 5 L
9-Dec-08 @ Philadelphia 3 4 L
11-Dec-08 @ Pittsburgh 2 9 L
11-Feb-09 @ New Jersey 2 4 L
14-Feb-09 @ Philadelphia 1 5 L
25-Feb-09 @ Pittsburgh 0 1 L
9-Apr-09 @ Pittsburgh 1 6 L
6-Nov-09 @ New Jersey 1 2 L
28-Nov-09 @ New Jersey 1 6 L
8-Dec-09 @ Philadelphia 2 6 L
19-Jan-10 @ Pittsburgh 4 6 L
30-Jan-10 @ Philadelphia 1 2 L
10-Feb-10 @ Pittsburgh 1 3 L
Stat provided by statistics guru Eric Hornick, who should be followed on Twitter and at his website.
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Matt Martin engages in the Islanders’ first fight since Dec. 26. Even Howie Rose could not hold back from saying about the drought, “That’s amazing.”
After the game, Scott Gordon says of having three goalies around, “It’s obviously not a situation that any one of those three guys wants to be in. But it’s what we have, they are all capable, and we got a good performance from Rollie tonight.”
Thank you to longtime Islanders beat reporter Peter Botte for joining us in Comments with thoughts on the team, his decade-plus around the franchise and his book “Fish Sticks.”
According to Mike Fornabaio, Mark Katic will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Monday. Katic joins Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic as strong NYI defense prospects who have had their seasons derailed by shoulder injuries.
(Kohn, Martin and Joensuu - photo by Rich Stieglitz)
The Islanders are at the, uh, Igloo: The team arrived safely in Pittsburgh at a reasonable hour last night. Game on. Marc-Andre Fleury against fellow first overall pick Rick DiPietro, wouldn’t you say? Unless a possible trade partner would like to see the Islanders start Dwayne Roloson.
Scott Gordon last night: “I don’t think you could have asked for a better performance from (Martin Biron). The guy deserves a better fate than what he’s had this year.” Interpretation: call him Salesman Scotty.
Peter Botte on Point Blank Tonight: Join Point Blank in Comments tonight during Islanders-Penguins. Making a visit will be Peter Botte, Islanders reporter for the Daily News. Pete is a former Islanders beat writer from the Post and the co-author of the pop culture masterpiece “Fish Sticks.” At the end of the first period, you’re invited to ask Peter questions about his book and his Islanders memories of the last decade-plus.
(photo by Rich Stieglitz)
Maximum Martin: According to Gordon, Matt Martin was always going to be on the second-unit power play on Tuesday. He just was promoted to the first unit soon after.
“I’ve watched Matt in Bridgeport,” said Gordon. “He goes to the net hard. I thought of him for the power play right away. He’s the only player who is comparable to the guy in Detroit (Tomas Holmstrom).”
I assume Gordon meant in the Islanders organization, not the entire NHL.
Still, even a little hyperbole is understandable after Martin’s NHL debut last night. When the game started, no one would have envisioned the rookie winger making Gordon’s six-man unit with the goalie pulled in the final minute with the Islanders down 3-2. Martin, by then an easy choice to play, assisted on Mark Streit’s game-tying goal.
“Matt earned the opportunity and he made the most of it,” said Gordon. “If he continues to play like that, he’ll be rewarded.”
The Three-Goalie Blues: Winning goalie Martin Biron did not make the trip to Pittsburgh. He’ll work out with the Islanders’ injured players like Tim Jackman and Jack Hillen while Roloson and DiPietro dress for the game against the Penguins.
Biron was his usual candid self in discussing the challenges of a three-goalie system. “It’s hard,” he said. “Ask Rollie. They had three in Edmonton before they traded Mathieu Garon.” If there was any question, no one is happy with having three goaltenders around.
I mentioned to Biron that in this strange business it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ended up being one of two Islanders goalies on the night of March 3. He said if it came down to that, he would be happy to be an Islander and to talk about a deal for the future. However, he cautioned that he wasn’t sure that’s how this story will play out.
Shooting Stars: One of a few things I don’t like about the shootout is that too much emphasis is placed on who scored the “winning” goal in the breakaway skills competition. As a result, not enough talk is about the actual game. You know, when there are other players in the ice.
Matt Martin was the story last night, as were several others (Freddy Meyer, Rob Schremp, Andrew MacDonald, Martin Biron’s return). John Tavares was not the First Star, nor should he have been anywhere near the headline. He was only the First Star because when teams do the third period polling and a game goes to overtime, they often just automatically leave the No. 1 for the guy who gets the game-winner. Of course, in the shootout, that is silly. Even Tavares looked like he knew he shouldn’t have been in the spotlight.
He Ain’t Healthy: Showing Doug Weight the respect he deserves, the Islanders have pointed out that the captain was not a “healthy scratch” last night. He was rested for one game with his well-documented upper-body injury. So if Doug plays tonight, do we call him “injured-but-in”? (Just a playful jab, not a shot, folks).
Comments on tonight’s game and this post. See you later for the in-game Commentary with Peter Botte. It’s a good night in New York to watch and talk hockey.
CB’s weekly NHL column on FanHouse
9:50 pm, NVMC: While I’m on assignment, feel free to join the postgame Plus/Minus.
Plus: Matt Martin, Matt Martin, Matt Martin. A Country’s crush begins.
Plus: One minute into a putrid first period power play, Scott Gordon sends Matt Martin over the boards. The kid making his NHL debut bullies his way to the net, creates space for his linemates and gets a scoring chance of his own. In that first period, it was not an exaggeration to call the sequence glorious.
Plus: From what he showed on the 5-on-4 and 5-on-3, the only thing wrong about Martin’s recall was it wasn’t made earlier.
Miuns: It’s a statement on the rest of the roster when Martin can go overnight from first-year AHL prospect to irreplaceable first-unit power play Islander and an obvious choice to send out there with the goalie pulled in the final minute.
Plus: Overtimes between East and West team rule.
Plus: Western goalies still do not know Frans Nielsen’s shootout move.
Plus: Good for Martin Biron.
Plus: John Tavares looked like a goal scorer in the SO.
Plus: Pekka Rinne was outstanding, which is a compliment to the Islanders.
Plus: Before scoring his goal off his nice read from Rob Schremp to make it 1-0, Freddy Meyer did everything a defenseman could on that shift. Check the DVR.
Plus: When Meyer scored, it was the first time the Islanders scored the game’s opening goal in ten games.
Plus: The MSG cameras showing what we could see easily from the press box – the smoke coming out of Andy Sutton’s ears after the goal to put the Predators up 2-1.
Minus: Jon Sim’s inability to get the puck in deep is a major factor in the 2-1 goal for Nashville.
Minus: A too-many-men penalty and some shaky line changes.
Plus: A few of the youngsters played well – Andrew MacDonald, Jesse Joensuu, Martin, Rob Schremp. You’re welcome to add your picks.
Plus: Nashville forward Joel Ward, the Toronto native who played with friends on several title-winning roller hockey teams out of Hot Skates in Lynbrook just five years ago, is now an everyday NHLer. Joel didn’t forget his buddies, as a few teammates were at the game tonight and visited with him after outside the Predators’ locker room.
Comments on the game.
Please read and react at FanHouse. Thank you.
11:25 am, NVMC - Charity comes first. The Islanders are hosting “Sticks and Steaks,” a first-class fundraising dinner at Rothmann’s on March 7 where winning bidders get to dine with their favorite Islander. Bryan Trottier and Bob Nystrom will also be in attendance. Last year’s event raised $20,000 for the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
So if you and a guest want to enjoy a cocktail hour and multi-course dinner with John Tavares, Rick DiPietro or any of your personal favorites at the splendid Rothmann’s in East Norwich, this is your chance.
The online auction has begun here. For more details, go to the team site here. You can also call 1.800.882.ISLES x. 4. Tell them Point Blank sent you. Please let us know in Comments today how it went. Thank you for your consideration of this charitable event.
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Whadaya know? Looks like Martin Biron, the goalie thought to be out of the rotation, gets the start tonight against his close pal J.P. Dumont, Pekka Rinne and the Nashville Predators. Biron is coming off a two-game conditioning stint in Bridgeport, where he lost one game in overtime and won 6-4 in regulation, backed by a rare showing of goal support by his own team.
Scott Gordon said Biron has been “unbelievable, in terms of his attitude. He always comes to the rink with a smile. We’re fortunate to have him.” The coach said Biron has worked very hard and he’d like to to see him start a game. Should be tonight.
Asked if he was starting, Biron – who received the reps of a starter at the morning skate – said he would defer. “I’ll let Gordo tell you guys,” he said.
Biron is starting.
Captain Doug Weight will be one of the Islanders’ two healthy scratches, with youngsters Matt Martin and Jesse Joensuu playing. Gordon would not confirm that Jeff Tambellini was the other.
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Hard to believe, when I think of Lighthouse meetings back when I was in my mid-30s, that on February 9, 2010 the project has been taken over by Kate Murray. The first official unveiling of plans were by Charles Wang and Tom Suozzi in 2004.
Incredible to think of all the years and all the millions of dollars wasted to get to this point. If the Town cuts Wang’s plan by more than 33% – and they will – it would be a major back-track for him to accept it. Remember “Paris has her Tower” and all the talk of a “destination” for Long Island. Murray’s consultants may craft a solid plan, but this isn’t going to be a destination.
Good read here (subscription needed) from Newsday‘s Joye Brown, who has always been a major proponent of Wang’s vision for the Coliseum site. Joye makes the point that, success or failure, the redevelopment of the property is now all Supervisor Murray’s. The author also notes how for years Murray said she didn’t want to have a say in the project, but now she has taken it over.
The Hempstead Town Board meets tonight to vote on Murray’s plan. Geez, I wonder if it will pass?
Islanders Country awaits a response from Charles Wang. Whatever happens, this will not be boring.
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Matt Martin has been told his entire hockey hockey career that he wasn’t good enough. “Never played AAA hockey, made Sarnia on a tryout and then heard I wouldn’t stick,” Martin said. “Skating wasn’t good enough, skills weren’t there. It only fired me up.
“I don’t mind criticism,” Martin continued. “I respect most of it. It just inspires me to get better at whatever someone is critical of.”
The 6-2 wing will make his NHL debut tonight. Scott Gordon told him to “go out and play your game. We called you up for a reason.” Those reasons are obvious: Martin gets to the net, throws his body around and can fight. Maybe he’s not 100% ready for all that this week, but he knows it’s a good opportunity to showcase what he can do.”
“I know I’ll be back in Bridgeport during the Olympic break,” said Martin. “No matter what happens, I have to keep playing games. I think this is a good chance for me personally to see how far I’ve come and how much more I need to improve. It’s a great test. I’m fired up.”
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I’ll be a guest on XM/Sirius NHL Home Ice tonight at 6:00 pm with Jim “Boomer” Gordon. Just two weeks ago, Boomer was salivating over his Islanders. Now he’ll probably ask me how many players the team could move before the trade deadline. I hope you’ll listen in.
Comments on tonight’s game and this post. Again – I beg of you, cherished reader – I am Tambellinied out. Thank you.
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