THE GANG’S ALL HERE…FOR NOW
Final practice before 3:00 NHL roster deadline
FanHouse: CB on Zenon Konopka’s life story
FH: Bettman stands up for Colin Campbell’s “consistency”
10:35 am, NVMC: The Islanders have hit the ice at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Everyone is here. Figure on any roster announcements/news leaks coming in the afternoon. Here’s the practice lineup:
Comeau – Tavares – Parenteau
Moulson – Nielsen – Hunter
Bailey - Weight – Niederreiter
Martin - Konopka – Sim
Gillies, Grabner (in green)
Defense: MacDonald, Wisniewski, Eaton, Martinek, Hillen, Mottau, Jurcina, Gervais, de Haan
DiPietro
Roloson
Michael Grabner was welcomed to the squad right away. The last player to join the pack when Scott Gordon started a meeting at one of the goals, Grabner – as is custom – has to skate a lap. He flew.
I’m under the impression that perceived 7-8 defensemen Bruno Gervais and Milan Jurcina. What that means for the rest…ah, who am I to speculate?
Never mind. It would appear the Islanders are doing to right thing for the long run, and the 19-year-old de Haan will star for the Oshawa Generals and Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.
If the Islanders waive Trevor Gillies – for the purpose of having him as the enforcer-on-call – and send de Haan to junior, they would be down to 23. Matt Martin could also be sent to the AHL without having to clear waivers.
Notes: Florida GM Dale Tallon broke out the can of late ’90s Milbury to explain why Michael Grabner is no longer a Panther. “Reputation doesn’t mean anything to me,” Tallon told George Richards of the Miami Herald. “He can skate and he has skill, but didn’t show any of it.” Good for Tallon, who’s trying to change the culture in Sunrise. Could be good for the Islanders, who can send the message to the kid that he should be grateful for one more opportunity.
Comments.
53 Responses to THE GANG’S ALL HERE…FOR NOW
Final practice before 3:00 NHL roster deadline
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Brian G says:
People don’t want to see Gillies & Sim…they are only going to play a few shifts per game…this team does not have that strong of a lineup, why not just roll 4 lines
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jim in 226 says:
really like de haan, but would be glad to see him go back to oshawa in the big picture. just waive one of jurcina/gervais, keep the 14 forwards including martin, only 7 d. When Schremp comes back we should be able to determine whether grabner and/or pap can stick or not, and if so worry then about sim/martin going to the bridge. Who am i kidding, by then new injuries will probably keep spots open for both!
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Eric Cup says:
I’m sure a couple of guys are a little on edge today – not just here but around the league. CB, if Grabner, as speculated, had such a bad camp in Florida, could it be he’s out of shape? Just asking.
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Staten Islander says:
I like that they are sending CDH back to juniors, its best for his development, I think that they should do that with Nino too, he JUST turned 18. let them both over-ripen. Can we say farewell to Chef Bruno now?
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MilburyRuinedMyLife says:
I like these lines. Having Grabner waiting in the wings keeps PA on his toes and the chance for Nino to prove himself. By no means am I in love with Jon Sim but I don’t think it can be argued that he fits really nicely on that pretty solid fourth line which has some nice attitude to go with a decent sprinkling of skill.
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Nawrockstar says:
Hopefully Chef Bruno will be available to cater the next Point Blank night!!! A great guy, probably a great cook, but not a great fit for this rebuild. Bom Voyage Bruno all the best!!
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Pete says:
DeHaan needs to go back to Oshawa. Do they have to waive one of Jurcina or Gervais? Can they carry 8 defenseman? With the way this team gets injured, you can never have to many players ready to go.
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bayduvinislander says:
My money is on de Haan.
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Mario M says:
Isles should pick up Ryan Parent. He is young and capable D. Only 23, former 1st rounder.
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Oye Comeau Va says:
Fingers crossed for Matt Martin making the team for opening night. Hope Gillies is not the one put on waivers. Wouldn’t want to lose that guy, even if he only suits up for X amount of games and X amount of minutes.
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Spartiarti RVC says:
Calvin deHaan is a future top 4 dman. Like gordan has said. if you cant make the top 4, im not going to keep around to play 8mins a gam. He shoud go back to juniors. Martinek, Wiz, and Hillen provide plenty of Offensive punch from point.
Martin is not ready either. He isnt a 4th liner. and we dont have risk of losing to waiver. Let him have a 30G+ season in bridgeport and 150+PIMs and then we can talk making the isles.
Gordon is not dumb. Parenteau is on top line b/c he can finish. He wont be there long if he cant. Give the guy the shot.
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Hock says:
Today’s Newsday listed Grabner as 6’1″ and 170 lbs. Could that weight be right?
Also, I think Bailey is a top 6 forward on this team, however, I do like the idea of him & Weight paired up with Nino (for their good influence).
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streit02 says:
The isles have a good number of players who i feel are all good players and some have great upside. However, when you plug all of them into a lineup it is kind of looking at a scrambled television. Nobody seems to fit in as a perfect puzzle. I would love to keep all these players but when okposo & schremp return there wont be enough room. You cant have trent hunter, pa parentau and michael grabner as your 4th line. <–just using as an example.
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Obs says:
De Hann back to the Generals is a good move. Let him develop and we’ll see him next year. Any update on Kirill Kabanov? Seems like the Wildcats are not to happy to have him there. I hope they don’t bury him like what was going on with Petrov. If they don’t want him trade him somewhere he can play and develop. What do you think?
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UIF says:
I think the middle looks better with Bailey in the second line slot until Schremp’s back. Then Weight can slide to a spot on the wing. I just don’t think we lose anything at center with Tavares-Bailey-Nielsen-Konopka down the middle as opposed to Tavares-Schremp-Nielsen-Konopka.
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mm says:
gillies can be dropped after we get back at dion for his hit on okposo and cammy for his stunt with nino. after that we can move him to the Bridge and let martin and konpoka take over.
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Ice Girl Dad says:
Like the line combos
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Sheppy says:
Who are the people who don’t want to see Gillies on this team? This team played like it had a pair once he arrived last season. I don’t think that was a coincidence. I agree with OYE COMEAU VA…I hope Gillies is not the one on waivers. I’d rather Gervais be waived.
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Let Nino and Martin stay with the big club. The rest can be sent for seasoning. Nino is mature beyond his years, and Martin’s attitude (good) is contagious! I hate to say this but I have to admit one thing: Sim gets the job done!
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The Isles can callup Gillies when we need him, they will not miss his 3 shifts per game
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Hollywood says:
#19 is correct Gillies must be here for exactly that. The team was no longer intimidated by anyone. Gillies and Konopka will keep everyone in line.
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rb says:
Only fitting that CB mentions our former GM when talking about the Panthers.
Sun Sentinel said De Boer had Grabner on the depth chart as the 5th best LW. He’s a RIGHT WING. So you trade for him, and then you bury him out of position. That’s real smart. And then Panthers fail to sign Gudbranson before the deadline after he basically made the team.
Yep, that’s Milbury alright.
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steve says:
If they waive Jurcina, they are admitting they saw something they didn’t like and made a mistake. Nothing wrong with that, and in fact I would respect them more if they owned up to error in judgement.
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IslanderFAN says:
Bailey on the 3rd line doesnt make sense like some scouts said before the isles are waisting his talent putting him on the 3rd line.
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5fourFightin says:
Having an on call enforcers is like getting Auto insurance after you’ve had an accident. Almost every team in the East has at least a Heavyweight Enforcer and one or two guys that are there to back it up. Rangers, (Boogard Prust)** Flyers (Shelly Carcillo, LaPerrier), Pens ** (Goddard Rupp Asham) Boston **(Thornton Lucic Chara)…Etc etc etc. Keeping Gillies in Bridgeport will only get us our butts kicked and retard the kids development. Big Big Mistake if Gillies is sent down. Remember last year when we had no heavyweight? Regardless of whether Gillies plays 2 mins or 10 mins. He needs to be in this line up. You’ll see.
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77 forever says:
I really hope they don’t decide to waive Gillies. The Islanders need a big 4th line to help protect these young kids. They need to have that feeling of security every shift so that they’re heads can be where they need to be. I couldn’t agree more with #19, you need guys like that in your line up, no one will take liberties on your younger guys. Look at the cup years…nobody touched Bossy because they knew if they did they’d have to answer to #9 or #23.
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Sea_Cliff says:
Please send Jon Sim, far away….
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NO Need for Gillies, we have Konopka this year…he will fight anyone, stickup for others, and play a regular shift – that is something Gillies can’t do.
Gillies = overpaid bouncer
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cm2747 says:
#19 has it correct…please don’t waive gillies,he is extremely valuable to this team-obviously not for skill, but heart and intimidation…and matt martin better be on the big club..he showed in a few games last year that he is nhl ready.
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I wonder how long before Moulson is back with Tavares and Bailey moves up to the 2nd line. Comeau and PA on the first line doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me right now.
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jo says:
I keep hearing people with reagrd to the Grabner signing saying “he could be another Shrempf”. If the Isles do become a good team; this year, next year, or the year after, Robbie isn’t going to be a major part of the team. If you offered Robbie to other teams, 3/4 of the teams wouldn’t take him for free.
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Andre says:
The best thing the Isles can do is put Grabner and Nino together with Tavares. Put Bailey, Moulson, and Neilsen on the 2nd line. PA is not a first line player. This way you can also evaluate Grabner and Nino. Nino is not going to be effective on the third line and Grabner is pure offensive player so he needs to be on the top 2 lines. On defense, sending De Haan back is a good move and I hope Isles don’t sign fringe defenseman next offseason that would block De Haan or Hamonic from making the team. Both of them should be on the roster next year.
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Strummer's Army says:
What is this crazy talk of waiving Gillies and demoting Martin? For what purposes TO KEEP THAT PIECE OF GARBAGE SIM? To award career minor leaguer Parenteau with first line minutes? Ya that makes a ton of sense. Some other team would claim Gillies. Martin had a much better camp then Sim or Parenteau and so did a few others that are not on the roster.
#25 Konopka may be willing to fight anyone but he is not capable of it. He’s a light weight fighter and cannot do the job Gillies can of enforcing. Konopka is meant to compliment Gillies and Martin but he is not capable of replacing either.
You want to trim this roster? It is so easy, dump Sim and Geravis, two guys who never helped this team win anything and that should have been cast off years ago. That leaves one spot and can easily be dealt with by moving one of the other d-men.
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If people want to see Martin on this team, Gillies will need to be at the Bridge….where he should be, he can be called up for the NYR, TOR, & Philly games….Martin could be used in differnt situations like in front of the net on the PP…..When I attend a game I like to see players on the ice, not sit on the end of the bench for the whole game and handcuff the team/coaching staff.
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matt says:
i disagree schremp became a pretty good player last year first off there might not be a better shootout player in the league and edm took away his confidence once he started scoring goals and getting points he was a solid player with alot of upside
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kelly goosecock says:
#34 who cares if he is the best shootout player lets win in regulation 25 goals for grabner btw
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Lets keep Gillies here, along with Kanopka, the team played MUCH better when he was up here last year. I’d also like to see them reunite MM with JT and move JB up to the 2nd line.
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shlo says:
Stop talking about Grabner like he is a scoring machine. He is a left over from a team that is worse than the Isles. Talon is a pretty good judge of players, look what he did in Chicago. Something is not right with the kid. His heart is not where it is suppose to be. That is why they put him on waivers.
He is worth a look no more no less. -
LIT says:
Why is Gervais making this team!? he is HORRIBLE.. does ZERO to make this team better.. Other than being a nice guy.. I agree De Haan should go to Juniors, but NO WAY should Gervais be in the starting line up. .
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Jon in Bpt says:
#29… Your sadly mistaken if you think Konopka will fight anyone… He is FAR from a heavy. Like someone said the east has a LOT of heavyweights. I don’t see konopka taking on Boogaard or Godard or Shelley etc… You need a heavyweight this year and if not Gillies then someone else.
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Chris Mc says:
Ive got two words for everyone in regards to Grabner- OLEG KVASHA! Lets not dub this guy a first line player or JT’s wing savior until he actually shows something. Potential gets you drafted, results gets you a job in the NHL.
And everyone who doesnt think it ‘makes sense’ to have Comeau and Parenteau on Tavares’ wing or Bailey on the third line, how many phone calls have you gotten from NHL teams asking for your line combination input? Yeah I figured as much.
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Chris in DC says:
@Brian G, I completely disagree with your assessment of Gillies. Did you see his fights last season and how looser the team seemed to be after he joined? Gillies is one bad dude, and an NHL team (especially this one) needs that presence. Konopka seems to be fearless and I know he led the league in fights last year, but I still see him as more of a scrapper. Gillies is a true heavyweight (who can still move, btw) and will make sure no one touches Tavares, Bailey, Nino, etc., with that thousand-yard stare of his and left uppercut. I’d be sad to see him go if it came to that…
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Peter says:
Jon in Bpt is right. Konopka is a light heavyweight and he’d be meat for the real heavies. The man has heart but he’d be overwhelmed.
It would be a real dissapointment after touting their toughness on their website if the Islanders send down Gillies.
We don’t need the “great agitator” Sim or Mr. Minus Gervais. Blood the youngsters. Let them play together and grow together. -
Brian @ Work in DC says:
Grabner was a waiver claim… He can’t be that good!!
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Hishutzi Skorz says:
Strummer, I agree with your PA comment, but how is Sim a “piece of garbage?” He’s a FOURTH LINER, not a top 6, and as such, scored 13 goals, and drew a ton of penalties from his ticked off opponents!
One could argue that he fulfilled HIS ROLE as well as anyone on the team last year. Is he going to the All-Star Game? No. Does he serve a purpose? Damn straight! -
2277 says:
Chris Osgood was a waiver claim too…he was THAT GOOD so dont let waivers judge a players talent all the time
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DC Brian, you hit it on the head…..Guys with the talent to stick around, don’t usually end up on the waiver wire! Give the kid a look, and if nothing develops, drop him like a wet newspaper.
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Ct 1970s says:
KEEP GILLIES! This team, any team plays better when they know their back is covered. Who cares how many shifts, or minutes he gets, just his presence gives the team confidence. If DeHahn needs another season in Junior fine, Gervais has had plenty of time to develop, if he hasn’t to the coach’s satisfaction then he can try a season in Bridgeport. The newest player has the tools but perhaps not the will, don’t lose Gillies for him.
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19 Isle in NJ 22 says:
Good stuff CB … Looking forward to checking in this evening and see how it all shook out.
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manowar says:
If it was up to me, Gillies,Martin and Konopka would all dress every game. If that means having less 12 goal a year players on the team, so be it.
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How is Gillies going to be a deterrent if he is not in the lineup? Gotta have his moustashe in viewing distance to keep the opposing team in line.
Like someone pointed out, most teams have depth in the enforcement dept, so I think Gillies AND Konopka are necessary. (i.e., Similar to Clark Gillies AND Bobby Nystrom….granted they were very good players too, so it was an easy decision to have both in the lineup)
I like the move to keep De Haan in the OHL. Hopefully that is the case. I wouldn’t mind starting the season with 7 Defensemen (De Haan to OHL, Gervais to Waivers) and keeping the Forwards in tact. Thanks for the prompt updates Chris!!