MONTREAL at ISLANDERS, 7:05 pm
News, views and notes from the morning skate
Chris Botta on Twitter
11:55 am, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum: The Islanders were officially eliminated on Monday when Boston picked up a point in Washington. Major credit to Scott Gordon, Dean Chynoweth and Scott Allen for guiding the Islanders to victories until the end. The Islanders did not eliminate themselves with a piss-poor effort. They also don’t want to see a team celebrate on their home ice.
“Just because we are mathematically eliminated, I doubt that will change the way the guys play,” said Scott Gordon after his team’s morning skate at the Coliseum. Later on he said, “There have been very few nights this season when we have been out-worked.”
Martin Biron starts tonight against the Canadiens. Gordon credited the goalie for “keeping his focus” after the trade deadline and playing his best hockey of the season.
Said Biron: “It’s a season like this that makes you want to win and excel even more. I believe I can be a top-notch goalie in this league. The first half didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’ve made the best of the second half and it’s been great to see the team playing so well.”
Asked by a Canadiens reporter if he would like to return to the Islanders next season, Biron said, “There hasn’t been any discussion at all. There’s plenty of time in the summer for that.”
Mark Streit: “It has been a long journey this season. So many of the guys played well. I think this has been a good season for us. We have grown up together and had long stretches of very good results. I hope that we are on our way.”
John Tavares: “The guys have really come together these last few weeks. We’re playing with a lot of pride and not making it easy on our opponents. We may be officially out of the playoff race now, but I expect we’ll continue to play hard and play well.”
Notes: Since the Islanders are out of it, tonight’s game has been moved to MSG 2. Best of luck finding it.
Bruno Gervais (groin strain) will sit another one out. Dylan Reese and Mark Flood have played very admirably during the blueline injury crisis.
Tweet from my friend Pierre LeBrun of ESPN and Hockey Night: “Might be the last year people get to poke fun at the Leafs. They’re on the right track.” I don’t know if I agree with Pierre that this is the last season Toronto will be stinkola, but I thought it was interesting he went out of his way to take the stand.
Kevin Poulin – the best Islanders prospect that gets little to no respect – stopped 28 of 29 shots last night to lead his Victoriaville team to a 6-1 win over Quebec. Despite the blowout, Poulin was named the game’s First Star. Victoriaville leads the second round series, 3-0.
Reader comment of the week comes from Mike in Sarasota for an enlightening fact and stating his position with passion (and actual accurate information!):
Ten of the top thirteen scorers in the league were chosen at #1 #2 or #3 in the draft – Sedin, Ovechkin, Crosby, Stamkos, Thornton, Kane, Gaborik, Marleau, Kovalchuk and Heatley.
Yes, you can strike gold. Plenty of stars are drafted with later picks. But the best chance to land an impact player (which this franchise needs and will never be able to add via free agency) is at the top of the draft.
And so far Snow has not struck gold at the draft. Did the trading back in 2008 result in the drafting of Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Michael Del Zotto or John Carlson (all of whom would result in a click if Snow called offering Bailey)? No.
Of course if we hadn’t picked up 4 points in our final 4 games that season (remember how much character we built!) perhaps we could have just drafted Bogosian (#3) or Pietrangelo (#4).
After speaking to Montreal reporters in French for 20 minutes, Biron opened his round of talks with the English media by saying, “Okay, time to do it all over again. But this time I’m going to tell the truth.”
Comments on this post and tonight’s game. Working the other team tonight, but I’ll contribute what I can.
83 Responses to MONTREAL at ISLANDERS, 7:05 pm
News, views and notes from the morning skate
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LOL @ “but this time i’m going to tell the truth”. those frenchies are like TMZ as far as hockey goes.
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Mike Olivo says:
Mike in Sarasota is right on the money – though my one problem with all the winning lately is that the 2 games we had a chance to win and really build character, we lost to the Rags. I’d trade every win we had for one of the 2 against them. Alas, the Rags are playing good hockey and looking like they might sneak in….
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(sim)ple – I’d take Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf over 2 first rounders any day
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Izzy Franchise says:
What a disaster this season is about to become. I’m not looking forward to the rest of the season and not looking forward to even the Draft lottery or the draft now. It’s all going to be an enormous waste of time. Perhaps Snowjob should look for a trade partner for our pick?
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Eric Cup says:
I will ask the same question I’ve asked before. Are we supposed to think our team should just lay down for better draft position? It’s not part of their psyche or job description. They’re paid to play hard and try to win hockey games. Am I supposed to go to tonights game and openly root for Montreal? Really, when it comes down to its basic roots, what difference does it make who we, as fans, pull for. Outside of thousands of fans booing our own team loudly for an entire game, can we really have an affect on the outcome anyway? Of course not. This is why I will go tonight to see our young roster give all they have and try to win another hockey game. If we lose, so be it. So in response to getting “4 meaningless ponts” at the end of the year, what were they supposed to do? They play 82 games and whatever draft position we get, we get! And let’s remember something else – if we HAD lost those late games, isn’t it possible we would not have drafted 1st in ’09 and been able to draft Tavares. Everything that happens affects everything else. Let’s Go Islanders!
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Lorne says:
With Biron’s superb play as of late, I would like to see him back next year. However, with Rollie in the fold, not sure it will happen. I bet the Flyers wish they had Biron right now.
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Sorry, typo before. If we HAD lost those games in ’08, maybe we draft higher, don’t finish as bad in ’09 and we don’t get Tavares. Who knows? Point is, you take what you earn and make the best of it. Our direction looks good to me. Anyone who thinks we have not improved and a bright future is not seeing the forest through the trees. Expecting a playoff spot after finishing dead last in the league last season is a big reach. Let’s see what happens this off season and we shall go from there.
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Johnnyjet says:
Kevin Poulin was named a star because Quebec threw everything at him in the first ten minutes until his team finally found their legs. See you in Bridgeport next year kid. I hate tanking but lets face we are not one of the worst three teams in the league. Maybe with some luck we get up there. Fact Washington had the fourth worst record, won the lottery and here comes Ovie. Chicago had the fifth worst record and won then got Kane. This is why the lottery was introduced.
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Nobody says:
And, adding to the post quoted, just look at all the playoff wins and cups amazed by all those players not named Crosby…Getslaff, datsyuk, staal, and a large group of high, albeit not top 10, scoring wingers and top pairing dmen have a whole lot more playoff wins than the group noted above. Winning in the NHL is not a fantasy league system.
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I’d love the Isles to get a top 3 pick and I am wishing that they do, but I can’t sit and root for the Canadiens tonight.
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teddy s says:
lol biron owns
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rb says:
Enough already with bashing the Josh Bailey selection. It’s ridiculous.
Instead of Bailey, all of these amateur draft gurus wanted Filatov or Hodgson. Where are they?
Trading down to get Bailey got us Petrov in the 3rd Round. People forget that. So would you trade Bailey AND Petrov for Erik Karlsson, Michael Del Zotto or John Carlson? No, I don’t think you would.
And how much has Karlsson, Del Zotto or Carlson accomplished anyway? Del Zotto reminds me a lot of Mike McEwen. He’s a good offensive defenseman who because his skating is poor will always be a defensive liability. His value will always be greatest on an otherwise good team. Bailey is the type of player you’re going to want to have around deep in the playoffs someday.
And one last point. Our development of young defenseman is going VERY well. When was the last time this franchise developed this many young, puck-moving defensemen capable of playing in the NHL? Hillen, MacDonald. Kohn is capable. Reese was great pick-up. And we have how many on the way? deHaan. Hamonic. Donovan. Klementyev. Maybe Kessel. That’s not even counting Ness.
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cgs878 says:
Wow, very non-committal by Biron on returning next season. That’s not a good sign. We need 2 goalies next season, and one of them can’t be Mr. Unreliable (DiPietro). Oh well, maybe Boucher or Emery will be available. The Flyers like to give us their sloppy 2nds.
I hope that the guys take it easy for the rest of the season and don’t try to win the last 4. Somebody tell Park, Sim, and Bergie that they can relax on the forecheck and puck retrieval thing! -
Phil says:
I love Biron – what a class act all the way – there are not enough good things to say about how he handled himself all year – through the good the bad and the ugly… Marty – you rock! Thank you for everything this year!
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jimisles says:
I totally understand that the remaining games for the Islanders mean nothing in the standings. Absolutely zilch. Yes it might look better on paper, but nothing will be gained, only lost.
In the games left (2 Pens, Devils, Habs), are against teams fighting for playoff positions. Habs fighting for their playoffs lives and Devils & Pens for the Atlantic crown. This means the Islanders can drop all four games and still have a shot at finishing in the top 3 for the draft. Maybe get extremely luck to grab #1 or #2.
Here’s hoping for some 8-6, 7-5, or 6-4 losses
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Jim Clark says: I think if Montreal wins tonight and the Rangers lose, Les Habs clinch a playoff spot. It will be interesting how many of their fans come down on a weeknight.Of course I remember the days when the Mayor of Montreal would tell reporters “The Stanley Cup parade will take the usual route”.
I don’t know if it applies to hockey but baseball statistician Bill James has said late season performance is one of about 10 factors he uses in determining if a team will have a better record the next year.
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Jimbones says:
Biron is a pisser! How can you not like him.
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Irish Isle says:
Glad to see Biron is having a strong finish to a season he would like to forget.
Hopefully the Habs come out on fire. Right now the most important date for the Isles is day of the Draft Lottery, as that will determine where the Isles will select. Hoping that the two Fla/Tampa games go to overtime, and each team gets 3 points.
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Oh, almost forgot, should we be rooting for the Habs tonight now that we are officially eliminated?
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CB,
Let’s not fudge the facts, all due respect to the other PB reader, but 3 of the top 6 in scoring are 1,2,3. The other three are any where from 4th overall to the third rd, to not even drafted. I think it is a little more than top three or bust. You just need to be a little more crafty.
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TuxTax says:
I will be rooting for the boys to win tonight. It will be no different then any other night I go to an Islander game!
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EAF says:
the players don’t think about draft lottery – they are getting paid to play hard, compete and try to win every game.
until the owner opens his wallet it doesn’t matter who we draft because you can’t build the real contender only by drafting. -
Healy says:
Now that they are officially eliminated my thoughts are cheer for the win, support for the win, feel good for the win, but feel better for the loss. Gutted out, close losses would be beneficial for this team the last 4 games of the season.
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UIF says:
If the Habs, Pens and Devils can’t find it in themselves to show up and beat the “lowly Islanders” while they all still have something to play for, then too bad. Good on the Isles for not laying down. It’s up to those teams to win the games, not the Isles to lose the games.
Personally, I’m not turning on tonight’s game to cheer for Montreal. I’d be a Habs fan if I wanted to cheer for them. If the Isles lose and benefit from that, then it’s a nice consolation.
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Mark Streit: ” I think this has been a good season for us.” Really, Mark? the team missed playoffs again, the team is last or almost last in every possible category.
Is that a good season? Oh, well… -
IslesRock says:
All this wishing and hoping for draft position is getting old. I want some new proven talent for next year. Bruno, Tamby, Park, Sim, Weight, Jackman, it’s time for them to move on.
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Tim F. says:
Marty Biron is a gentleman and a pro’s pro. Thankfully he also has a good sense of humor, which no doubt helped him get through some tough times earlier this year. I’d love to see him back again with Rolie next year. I don’t think I can take another year of the Ricky (“Day-to-Day”) DiPietro saga.
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Mike from Sarasota says:
Fudging of facts?
1 Henrik Sedin, 3rd overall
2 Alex Ovechkin, 1st overall
3 Sidney Crosby, 1st overall
4 Nicklas Backstrom, 4th overall
5 Martin St. Louis, undrafted
6 Brad Richards, 3rd round
7 Steven Stamkos, 1st overall
8 Joe Thornton, 1st overall
9 Patrick Kane, 1st overall
10 Marian Gaborik, 3rd overall
11 Patrick Marleau, 2nd overall
12 Ilya Kovalchuk, 1st overall
13 Dany Heatley, 2nd overall -
Stumpy32 says:
A hypothetical…let’s say we end up drafting 6th. Some team comes to us with a straight-up deal – the pick for a 2nd line guy who has had success in the NHL, a winger who’s averaged 25-30 goals over 5 seasons in the league. You do that trade? Guaranteed goal scoring for a 6th pick that may be on the fringes of what is considered “impact.”
Thoughts?
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Barry says:
The isles were mathmatically eliminated when Garth Snow and company decided to do nothing at or before the trade deadline. Trying to build on a solid winning streak to end the season is kind if empty when the pressure is off and you can have “fun”.
This offseason is going to be the most crucial next step for Garth Snow to move the rebuilding process in the right direction. A top six forward and quite possibly number3/4 defenseman must be acquired. No excuses. Last year the isles spent no money on bringing in any quality defensemen or forwards. Let’s go already!
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nola says:
Best of luck to biron what ever his future holds,
as last year tought us how important goalies are
here to hope that our goalie prospects don’t fissel out or get plauged with injuries
the whole rebuild thing would be rather unispiring with out someone in net in two years -
Prediction: we finish w 5th worse record. We win the lottery. We pick Hall. We rejoice. Then get back to work.
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Some facts of the top 3 picks from 98-07 exempting the last two because still too early. Legwand, Stuart, Stefan, Dipietro, Lehtonen, Svitov,Horton, Ryan, Barker, Bouwmeester, Eric Johnson, Jack Johnson, Jordan Staal, Turris and Van Riemsdyk. These are good nhlers but none are stars. That’s 16 of 30 in the top three, with star players drafted later in the first round.
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Jerry says:
Chris, your points are greay but are we drafting the right players. The year we drafted JB, we passed up L. Schenn, N. Filatov, C. Hodgson, C. Wilson, and T.Myers. Josh Bailey is going to be a good player but did we go wrong?
Also last year did we have to trade so many picks to get DeHaan. Huge fan and don’t want to second guess Snow and team but again are we drafting the best guys. Jankowski and staff watch these guys far more than we do,,but just wondering what’s your take? -
Eastonhockey says:
Well maybe next season or a few seasons from now we can draft that top 3 draft pick that will save this franchise. Who’s the top junior high school hockey players in Canada that will save the isles eventually?
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Michael Pastore says:
What Islander fans should be looking for is 6-5 regular losses the rest of the way.
Tavares to get to 25 goals
Moulson to get to 30 goals
Okposo to get to 20 goals
There is nothing left to root for.
We NEED ANOTHER ELITE GOAL SCORER ON THIS TEAM DESPERATELY.
If we don’t get 1 or 2 we should trade down to 6th or 7th and pick up Brett Conolly and an extra draft choice in the 2nd Round. He was supposed to be a top sniper prospect until he got hurt this season. That should be our backup plan. -
steve says:
If our young guys are going to the Bridge for their playoffs, why not send them there now? Garth can accomplish killing many birds with one stone.
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Vrinqueens says:
All the high draft picks won’t mean a thing if Wang refuses to spend the money, he’s waiting for the Lighthouse project (pipe dream). The only way this franchise survives is to sell Prokhorov some of or all of the team and have them play in Brooklyn in two years.
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Hockey1919 says:
There aren’t many Islander fans that are hoping the Islanders win so that they ruin their draft position. You cheer for the team to win because you want to show support for the players. Should we boo if they take the lead? Litter the ice after a win? Why not start razzing the starting golatender in warmups in hopes that he has a terrible performance? Of course not.
Why it such a hard concept to root for the team and show support and still be glad if they don’t gain points that hurt them in the lottery standings? There’s a difference between recognizing losses are good and actively cheering for them to lose. Besides, Harmonic outplayed Pietrangelo at the WJC. We didn’t draft Heatley and Gaborik when we had the chance and we couldn’t draft both in the same draft year (see Ovechkin and Malkin as well). Crosby was part of a Patrick Ewing style lottery so finishing last meant little. Kane was selected by the number 5 team by winning the lottery. Sedins were picked by moving up in the draft not by the original pick holder.
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Those stats are completely accurate except for being able to see the future concerning Myers, Del Zotto and Carlson who were all drafted 12th, 20th and 27th that year. Bailey was drafted 9th, but to use those three as examples of Snow’s potential failure in that draft have the luxury of being able to see how well those players are playing now. The Isles passed up a lot of players who have not become impact players yet, what does that say about those GMs? Do they get a pass because this is the Isles? Is Snow wrong because he can’t see the future?
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battfist says:
Why bash Bailey to prove your point?
This young man has made huge strides since last season. He is only getting better…its not like he is playing with some offensive, gifted players on a regular night. Bailey is going to be good!To me it just shows what this once pride franchise has come to. We have fans rooting to lose so we can get the 3rd, 4th or 5th pick in the draft. As others have said….the draft has no guarantees. Other teams have built a winning franchise without having a top 3 pick recently. NJ…Buffalo…Detriot…so it can be done.
Go Isles. I hope we win out.
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IslanderFAN says:
I wish i could get MSG2 so i wont have to listen tonight to RDS (french sport network) their announcers are just awful its all Habs for them and they barely gives any credit to the Habs’s opponents and for years they all but say only negative things about the Isles especially former Habs Benoit Brunet who’s one of the Habs play by play broadcast duo this guy never liked the Isles and also on this RdS broadcast team theres (Isles fans will remember him) former Isles Joel Bouchard who’s basically always trashing the Isles i guess he’s still bitter that the Isles got rid of him.
I wouldnt be surprised that Biron was indeed lying to the Montreal media LOL which they can be horrible at times.
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IslesAl says:
Given the Isles scout’s record for mid first round picks, if they do not draft in the top 3, they have no clue. Comment of the week had it right. The development of Bailey and CDH are the core of Blizzard’s tenure, all the moving up and down and sideways in the 2008 & 2009 drafts, this is what he is left with as far as potential impact offensive players. He appears to have been right with Filatov, but passed on so many others to get “his” guy. They can always sign a UFA for defensive and goaltending responsibilities, never able to sign the scorer.
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The time to win was January thru March. Hockey is backwards, it should work like baseball, where you can bring up prospects in the last month to give them a taste of the bigs. If the Isles wanted to win so badly, perhaps January thru March they should have been better. One can argue the recent wins are the result of being over-looked by their playoff bound opponents. This winning streak could prove just as costly as 2008.
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I think Bailey looks more comfortable on the wing. Maybe they should just let him grow into the position instead of switching him back and forth.
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If part of the rationale here is that the Isles can’t find a good player unless they’re picking in the top three (not sure I agree, but for the sake of argument…), then the problem lies with the person making the picks, not when he picks them.
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Spartiarti RVC says:
agree, Noone was talking Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Michael Del Zotto or John Carlson the year we got Bailey, Everyone was fixated on Filatov and Luke Schenn.
How are they doing. Bailey is a Plus 5 rating on a team full of minus. making him a great two way player. Last year he was knocked around. this year his play on the boards has been incredible. He will get better and better.
I read somewhere that Petrov still in minors in KHL and strongly considering leaving to come to US. He comes to isles, Let me know how you feel with Bailey and Petrov vs one of those guys.
I think Meyer and Bergie have definately earned new contracts for next year.
If isles cant finish bottom 2 i cant chear for them to lose. After Seguin and Hall. 3rd thru 10th is all the same in my opinion.
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doug says:
Trade the pick if it isn’t in the first 3 slots and get a NHL ready player. I’m sure Toronto would trade Kaberle for the #1 pick and Chicago would probably trade a good player for it since they will need the cap room…
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Blizzard says: …Mike in sarasota is correct. Stats dont lie. But how many of the stars listed are still with the team they where drafted by? So there respective teams obtained these players via trade, or signings or what have you.
We all hope for a draft pick. But these are professional hockey players and they are bred to win. Laying down is shameless. Tell that to Detroit, or the Devils. Hello Zach Parise!!! I refuse to root for the Islanders to lose. I did last year and I will never do it again. We have no shot at the top 3 in the draft. So we have to get lucky. But they have to sign some bonafide talent. Its not going to be possible to build a Stanley Cup champion solely through the draft in today’s NHL.
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Bronx 56 says:
Hopefully next year we are talking about who we will meet in the first round of the playoffs.
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SCLI says:
Toronto has the youngest team in the NHL. They should be better next season with a year of experience under their belts.
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TradeUp says:
There is a 4th prospect I wouldn’t mind having at this years draft (in addition to Hall/Seguin/Fowler), Erik Grudbranson, a 6’4″ 195 lb defenseman categorized as a Chris Pronger type who will fight you, according to a story on NHL.com. According to a story on TSN, some scouts have him being drafted before Cam Fowler.
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(Sim)ple says:
Mike Olivo – Good thing it takes more than 2 players to build a successful team. Kessel is no Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, etc…
Gustavsson has shown me nothing to suggest he is a number 1 goalie and Giguere is a fraction of what he used to be.
Have all the 6-foot plus D-men you want, if the goalie is weak and you can’t roll more than 2 productive lines, you really don’t have much.
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Sven Butenschon says:
> Notes: Since the Islanders are out of it, tonight’s game has been moved to MSG 2. Best of luck finding it.
> Wonderful … So much for watching the game in HD …
On a side note, I wonder how many Habs fans will be in attendance tonight …
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Alright Chris we get the fact that the best players come out at the top of the draft.
I love your work and I respect the hell out of you but how often do you have to pay for a ticket? I pay $65 per seat and when I go to the game be it October 6th or April 6th and out of the playoffs I want to see a win and the team play well.
If they can’t build from 4 Top 10 picks and can’t lure ANY free agents of substance then the team should move.
mm30
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D. says:
Glad Marty has been working out so well lately. I felt really bad for him not performing up to this point, he doesn’t deserve a lot of the hate people were throwing at him. Of course, though, I also now feel bad for Rollie having to sit. Such is life when you’ve got two potential first starters.
CB, any statistics you can share about the first top picks of the draft? Like the probability of getting which picks from which position? I’m not really sure how the math behind it works.
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steve says:
After speaking to Montreal reporters in French for 20 minutes, Biron opened his round of talks with the English media by saying, “Okay, time to do it all over again. But this time I’m going to tell the truth.”
i am now a fan for life of this guy. in a difficult season, that kinda player in a locker room is worth his weight in gold.
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Brother Rat says:
You know, you can root for our players and just not for the team to win: those are not mutually exclusive positions. I hope the Isles get a top 3-4 pick and lose these remaining games, but I just hope they lost 5-4 games with JT, KO, Blake, Frans, Bailey, and Hillen getting the lion’s share of those points.
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steve-58
I love Marty…I saw him out one night with the young guys Bailey, KO, Comeau, Moulson-just having a drink and some dinner…Do you think Mr Injury would have as much class with the media through such a trying personal season?
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4theisles says:
I’m sorry I don’t get it! If all the teams near the bottom of the standings just went thru the motions in the last week or so to finish lower the sport would lack the integrity of professional sport. Really an extension of throwing games – just not labeled that way. Its not going to happen. We can talk about hoping for a loss but thats different than suggesting that the players don’t play hard. They need to for the sake of their contracts in the future.
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Mike,
Look at the top 20, with numbers 14-20 within 9 points of being top ten in the league:
4 Nicklas Backstrom, 4th overall
5 Martin St. Louis, undrafted
6 Brad Richards, 3rd round
14 Semin- 13th
15 Kopitar-11th
16 Daniel Sedin- 2nd
17 Parise- 17th
18 Stastny- 44th
19 Kesler- 23rd
20 Green- 29thOther than D. Sedin, doesn’t look like early pics to me. The bottom line is the MUST be top 3 to get a great player is not true, it may be for a almost sure thing (See Patrik Stefan) but it is about the the scouts.
You have 11 top 3 picks, and 9 not top 3 picks in top 20 scorers. It is all about the scouting. Look at the Red Wings with Henrik and Datsyuk. -
scottd says:
Very interesting post about the top picks becoming the top scorers. I think we all essentially agree that picking in the top three is preferable to picking eighth. But we also all agree that the ultimate goal is to win championships, not scoring titles, though a couple of those would be nice too. So I did a quick review of recent draft history.
Excluding the 2009 draft, since 1980, only 10 of the 87 players drafted with one of the top three picks have gone on to win a Stanley Cup with the team they were drafted by. Mario Lemieux, Mike Modano, Curtis Leschyshyn, Scott Niedermayer, Vincent Lecavalier, Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Malkin and Crosby. Now certainly a name or two may be added to the list this year if Washington or Chicago wins it all, but at the moment it’s about 1 in 9. And at this time last year it was just 6 out of 84, or 1 in 14.
All of which I guess goes to show nothing other than that Stanley Cups are hard to win no matter who you draft or where you draft them.
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Hey mm30 – “Mr. Injury” as you put it, has had alot of class through this whole thing. We haven’t heard a peep from him and he continues to work his butt off to try to resusme his career. He might never play again but it will not be from lack of effort or class.
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EC-64 True, I spoke too harshly. I am just not happy with a player signed to a long term deal describing a season in which he played 8 games and was unable to finish- a success.
The right course of action would be to have him continue to rehab and be waived at the start of next season and prove he can even play and practice for 6 weeks without issue but we all know this is not going to happen.
The contract the franchise afforded him gave him the title of franchise player…now with his injuries he needs to put the franchise first and prove his body can endure the rigors of the NHL by playing in the A.
I don’t debate that Rick works hard and wants to play.
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bossjones1 says:
You can absolutely find great, star, talent later in the draft as the Devils, Sabres and Red Wings have done but when was the last time the Islanders did it? I’d rather play the averages with the higher pick.
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Maybe I’m crazy but, if you look at the last two years we got a two top 6 forwards and two top four d men…yup, meyers was a find, but JB at this point is as good if not better than the people we or any other team would have taken… And for the Filatov apologists, give it a rest! Last year we did well with JT, and according to 23 scouts surveyed by THN we got de Haan EXACTLY where je would be drafted if there was a 1-year layer do-over. Only 1 player drafted in front of him not in the MHL was rated higher… So, despite the Ranger apologists, I do not think their picks can compete with ours. Do we want a top 3 pick? Sure, who wouldn’t, but is it absolutely critical in building a contender?no, just look at those teams!!! Clearly,oat of the ‘blue chip talent’ all of you rave about haven’t won much have they?
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Will,
Nowhere in my message did I say that you must draft top 3 as you imply. All I stated was that it gives you the best chance to land an impact player. And I stand behind that.And besides, fans rooting against the team down the stretch has no impact on the outcome. If fans could will a team to wins/losses I am fairly certain we’d have won a playoff series since 1993. And don’t get me wrong I’m thrilled for the success of Comeau and Tavares these last few weeks. I just would be happier if the team was’nt winning. I’m not saying I want them to ‘throw’ games. They are highly paid professionals and should behave as such. It’s just that they had no problem losing when the games meant something in January and February. So watching them rattle off wins now is frustrating. As a life-long, die-hard fan that wants nothing more than to get back to the glory days I believe it is best that the team lose right now.
Also, if I remember correctly CB had an entire piece on how silly it is to use Datsyuk and Zetterberg as an argument that you can land superstars in the later rounds. They are the exception, not the rule.
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did the game really get bumped off msg+ tonight?
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Jim Clark says:
When was the last time the Detroit Red Wings had a high draft pick? Maybe 1990 when they selected Keith Primeau as the 3rd pick instead of Yammy or Scissons.
I know it’s easier if you get a bunch of high draft picks, But it can be done if you have smart people running the organization. Whether our pair of back up goalies are smart is still an open question. -
On Kevin Poulin, my hunch is that he and Koskinen share the duties at Bridgeport next year. Poulin seems to have bounced back nicely from injury to reclaim his status as a prospect, and Koskinen has apparently been DOMINATING at Utah (.924 Save Pct., 6-0-0), which is what you like to see from a guy ehabbing in the ECHL.
Really, when was the last time this organization had TWO bona fide goaltending prospects in the “A”? And still another – Nilsson – who might be Sweden’s starting goalie next year at the WJC.
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Vlad from Brooklyn says:
Here is another interesting fact for you guys. Just visited NHL store in NYC. The only NYI named jersey they have for sale is Dipietro’s. This should raise some eyebrows…
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Hey Vlad – I was at the store in January and they had this enormous larger-than-life banner of Tavares. You saying it’s not there anymore?
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To Eric: The Banner is still there, but you cannot take it home. I had to settle for Tavares’ t-short for my 8 years old sun.
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Strummer's Army says:
What Biron is starting again???? He’s messing up Roloson’s mojo and destroying team chemistry, it could cost them the playoffs!!!!!! I’m obviously just kidding.
The best thing that can happen to the Isles is to continue to play well but lose all these games by a goal each and end up at 2 or 3 in the draft and then hope for the best.
Taylor Hall has apparently now seperated himself from Sequin and I agree. He’s been projected as the top pick and now head to head it’s very clear.
I agree with Mike from Sarasota (FL in the house) except for the Del Zotto or Karlsson part.
Isles top needs from the draft or trades is an elite LW, Defense, size, fighters. Guys who will make the Isles are really hard team to play against.
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Jerky says:
Last year there was much speculation whether we would take Tavares or Hedman with the first pick since we needed (and still need) both offense and defense. CB – regardless of where the Isles end up picking, has there been any indication whether Snow and his crew are leaning toward one or the other? Will they go with the much preferred “best player available” at that selection or could they already be targeting someone like they did with Bailey and consider trading down to get additional picks? I’m wondering if they intend to be aggressive like CDH last year or passive like Bailey the year before.
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GE of GN says:
I guess all these late-season games for Marty Biron means that he’s being shopped /shown off to the other NHL teams. Too bad… he’s an outstanding team guy.
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Biron’s 6-0-2 in his last 8 games as a UFA hopefully he’ll sign with someone in the summer, real class act.
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19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
Great Write Up CB!!!
Informative and insightful … and thanks for highlighting Mike in Sarasota’s post … I think his sentiments reflect a majority of fans … Backed up by facts you can’t knock down his arguement.
I don’t think it would be nice to have a top 3 pick in this year’s draft … I think it’s critical for the Isles to fall into the top 3… perhaps even win the lottery and Snow can play his coy game of “I’ll share our pick at the draft.”
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James says:
It is not in my system to root for this team to lose just to get a draft pick that may or may not be a good player. Prospects can show us all they want, but no one truly knows how good they will be until they play in the NHL for a few years. To cry over not getting a certain player just doesn’t make sense.
Also I agree with those who look at it from a standpoint of fans going to the game. If a fan pays good money to go see the team play, do you really think they want to see a team tanking out there? Absolutely not, they want to see their team win.
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I agree. A top 3 pick is needed, and Bailey better develop. But, what can you do? The team is already playing many questionable NHL-ers.
Bruno back in the lineup might be our best bet for a top 3 pick. -
admin says:
Comments thread closed.
Oh, Pierre. Toronto better make a couple of signings in the offseason if they want to move out of the Northeast’s cellar. No 1st or 2nd rounder this year and no 1st rounder next year.