Monthly Archives: April 2011
E. J. McGuire, VP of the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, passed away on Thursday at age 58. Knowing E. J. going back to a season with the Flyers in 1986-87, I’m sure one of the best ways to honor him would be to debate the upcoming draft. In this interview with Point Blank from late November, he set the stage for the top picks. When there was a Big Three (since changed), E. J. insisted on adding Gabriel Landeskog to the conversation. He was right. Listen to the passion in this great man’s voice. He will be missed. Comments on E.J. and the draft are encouraged.
Rick DiPietro is a skilled athlete and dedicated man who has been afforded opportunities by Charles Wang and the Islanders organization that he likely would not have been given anywhere else. That’s why it becomes troubling when he makes it much tougher on himself than he has to.
At breakup day today, it appears the goaltender handled questioning about his status in the lineup as adroitly as he handles wrist shots from Jeff Carter. Katie Strang of Newsday (sub. required) provides the coverage:
DiPietro feigned confusion when asked about the competition among three goalies heading into camp next year. “Who are we talking about?” Didn’t seem to appreciate any line of questioning that dealt with him fighting for his place on the depth chart next season.
Maybe DiPietro saw the segment of SNY “Islanders Interactive” where Brian Compton and I said that Wang, Garth Snow and Jack Capuano will install him as the No. 1 goalie in October, as long as he is healthy. (Because it’s true!) Maybe he has watched too many game broadcasts, where almost every goal-against is followed by a comment like, “Ricky didn’t have a chance on that one.”
Either way, it might not have been a bad idea to acknowledge the impressive performance of Al Montoya and the obvious skill of Kevin Poulin. It would not have killed DiPietro to say something like, “Oh man, Snowy has stocked the organization with talent in goal and I’ve got my work cut out for me.”
At least on Sunday, DiPietro couldn’t bring himself to say it. DiPietro finished this season with a record of 8-14-4, a 3.44 goals-against average and .886 save percentage. Dwayne Roloson, Kevin Poulin and Montoya all had save percentages for the Islanders of .916 or higher. No competition.
Funny thing is, just yesterday, Martin Brodeur was classy enough to ask about the comebacking Islanders goaltender and say how much he’d like to see DiPietro back 100% for the long run. More on that another day.
Too bad about DiPietro today. If nothing else, it would have been appropriate for him to be respectful to his fellow goaltenders. You know, his teammates.
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According to a source, the Islanders are expected to sign head coach Jack Capuano to a new contract over the next few weeks. The deal is likely to be for two years. Under Capuano, the Islanders were 26-29-10 after the dismissal of Scott Gordon in November. After Dec. 15, the Islanders were 24-21-8.
The team is also looking to finalize a title and job description for soon-to-be-retired captain Doug Weight. Over the last three months, the 40-year-old Weight has spent some time working with general manager Garth Snow. Before taking a spot behind the bench during the Islanders’ recent games, Weight watched several games from the Coliseum executive suite of owner Charles Wang.
After Point Blank first reported in late January that the Islanders and Weight were discussing a position for him in hockey operations, Weight went on record saying the coaching life was not his first preference. Since Snow is not the smoothest of interview subjects and guest speakers at team functions, perhaps the eloquent Weight will carry a title such as Director of Hockey Operations and serve as the face and voice of the franchise’s front office.
Nothing has been hammered out yet with Weight, who has a home on Long Island and an interest in staying here. As one of the game’s most respected and liked players of the last two decades, he could have other options. Nevertheless, all signs point towards Weight staying with the Islanders.
There could be a shuffle behind the bench of the Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport. Pat Bingham took over a depleted roster and impossible situation with the Sound Tigers after Capuano was promoted to the NHL. He is an excellent teacher and liked by his players. However, his return for next season is not set in stone.
For all of the Islanders’ coaching and front office moves this offseason, expect the organization to keep it in the family. Since replacing Gordon, Capuano has been living in Snow’s home. A new NHL contract should enable him to find a place of his own.
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The Flyers scored two goals in the first 40 seconds, blew the lead, but came back tonight to beat the Islanders, 7-4 and win the Atlantic Division. P. A. Parenteau scored his 20th goal of the season. John Tavares scored his 29th, Michael Grabner his 34th and emerging stud defenseman Travis Hamonic scored a power play goal for his fifth. Philadelphia scored six goals on 38 shots on Rick DiPietro. Peter Laviolette pulled Sergei Bobrovsky. Capuano never benched DiPietro in favor of Al Montoya.
In the MSG Network studio, Patrick Flatley called the game ” a clinic on how not to play net” for both teams.
The Islanders completed the season with a record of 30-39-13, finishing in 14th in the Eastern Conference and 27th in the NHL. At the Draft Lottery on Tuesday at 8:00 pm, the Islanders will start in the No. 4 spot. (Point Blank will provide coverage on Tuesday and release our scouts’ poll of the top eight draft-eligible players on Wednesday. Spoiler alert: no matter how the lottery shakes out, the Islanders are going to add a top-line prospect).
Although the Islanders have many, many reasons to be optimistic about challenging for a playoff spot next season, there is this reality: they finished this season with 73 points. The ninth-place team in the East had 91 points. As we mentioned in the first paragraph, the Islanders were three games over NHL .500 in the final four months of the season. The eighth-place Rangers finished eleven games over .500. There is also the challenge of being in a division with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, the Rangers and Devils – four teams not expected to take steps back next season, only forward.
Besides adding Mark Streit, Nino Niederreiter and possibly an 18-year-old to the 2011-12 lineup, there is more work to be done.
Thank you so much for following Point Blank throughout this fascinating season. The Islanders’ 2010-11 season is over, but coverage and SNY interviews will continue. Plenty is planned next week.
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Join the interactive Plus/Minus after the Islanders’ 4-3 shootout loss to Pittsburgh tonight.
Minus: The Islanders are 1-5-1 in their last seven games.
Plus: The one win was against the Rangers, and they showed a lot of balls coming back to tie this one and send it to overtime.
Plus: As a result of the unintentional tank, the franchise could add Adam Larsson, Gabriel Landeskog or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the rebuild as a result of the Draft Lottery on Tuesday.
Minus: Sure would love to know what having league officials at this game was supposed to accomplish. Why not let the players and coaches of both teams do what they think they needed to do and punish – if need be – accordingly?
Minus: Do not blame referees Francois St. Laurent and Eric Furlatt for attaching 10-minute misconducts to each Islanders fighting major in the first period. Have to believe they were only following orders.
Minus: Maybe the league proved its point. There weren’t any fights after the first period.
Minus: You can blame the refs for completely blowing the call on John Tavares in the crease that cost the Islanders the game-tyimg goal.
Plus: Dan Bylsma coaches to win every game. The Islanders could learn something from his approach at practices and morning skates, before games and with the press.
Plus: Blake Comeau, concussed the last time he played Pittsburgh, scored two goals tonight. (He can be forgiven for missing that open net in the shootout).
Plus: Our nightly thumbs-up for Travis Hamonic.
Plus: For one more night, Trevor Gillies and Zenon Konopka gave at the office. Was it the last home game for each? The chances of both returning are slim. One, maybe. No matter what, they bled Orange and Blue this season and should be commended.
Minus: Without question, the Islanders have had a far larger quantity of injuries than the Penguins. But it is fair to note that the Penguins have 104 points despite missing their two top centers – stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin – for half the season. The Islanders trail them by 31 points. Despite sending many players to the NHL, the AHL Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins are 56-20-0-1. If the Baby Pens need talent and depth, they get it from ownership and management.
The Sound Tigers are an AHL-worst 28-38-4-7. The Islanders are signing recent college and junior players to ATOs for one game because (for good reason) they do not want to burn a year off the contract of Aaron Ness and Matt Donovan’s contracts. But somehow, they don’t have a single healthy defenseman on a two-way contract left on the roster. For all of the Islanders’ bad luck and misfortune this season, this is still a tale of two franchises.
?: It will be interesting to see how they come out against Philadelphia on Saturday.
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“Mr. Islander” plays name association – Howatt, Lane, Kallur, Hart and others – and talks about his (almost) 40 years as a Long Islander, the impact of Feb. 11, the Islanders’ near future and how a certain superstar got him into charity work.
If you missed it in the interview, here are the details of the charity game Nystrom, Clark Gillies and Pat LaFontaine are playing Sunday, April 10 at 4:30 pm at Superior Ice Rink. Comments on Bob’s thoughts are welcomed.
Looking to mix things up in this final week, I asked a favor of an NHL pro scout of an Eastern Conference team: please text me some Islanders notes during each period of tonight’s game in Boston. Here’s what he sent as the Bruins beat the Islanders, 3-2. For clarity purposes, I have carefully filled in some of his shorthand.
“I’m just looking at individual players. No point in looking at special teams or systems. NYI roster too beat up. Playing with Bridgeport’s D and they’re battling.”
“They’ve played hard to the last game of the season. Give the players credit. Give Cappy and the staff credit. A few teams mailing it in, especially on the road.”
“I swear…my team wanted Grabner on waivers. Didn’t expect him to score 30 (now 33). Skating though is just too good.”
“Always wondered if Comeau would put it together for a full season. I want to see him again if NYI compete next year. Can play on my team.”
“Hamonic may never get a lotta hype, but he can be a first-pair guy. I can’t believe with all the injuries that he didn’t crumble, have a really bad stretch. That tells me he has a great head and heart.”
“Tavares is competing hard to the last shift and skating is good.”
“Martin still not there with his skating. Has to be better to play 15 minutes. I don’t think Wishart is ready to be a regular roster player. Has skiils, needs consistent compete level.”
“Not gonna lie to you. I don’t know how Moulson does it. Just a great nose for the net, I guess.”
“The goalie scouts will tell you Ricky has lost some speed going side to side the last few years because of all the surgeries. Doesn’t mean he can’t get it back. Just not there yet. You see it for a while, like in first tonight. This is the first season in a long time he played games in the beginning, middle and end. It’s a start.”
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Grabner (two goals for Aidan) and the forever shorthanded Islanders gave what they had in Boston tonight. If this was a game for a playoff berth, a few of the injured probably would have insisted on playing. This is what teams do at the end of the season. Friday night at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is the last real chance to make a stand this season. It almost certainly won’t be a brawlapalooza, but the Islanders can win the game.
Another lottery show appearance, another top-5 pick (and maybe even higher) arrives next week. A very good thing.
Comments on tonight’s game are welcomed. See you Thursday for some good stuff.
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For Michael Picker, Charles Wang’s top lieutenant going back to the days of Computer Associates, the development of the Lighthouse Project was a primary part of his life’s work. Since the project was hacked, slashed and hit in the head (from behind) by the Town of Hempstead last year, Picker moved back into the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum offices this season and returned his focus to the Islanders.
For his first, major, public move back in the Islanders’ front office, the Senior Vice President should be applauded. In leading the efforts to erase the team’s errors over the last few years in ticket pricing and customer relations towards season ticketholders, Picker has done well by the Islanders and their fans.
To be sure, not every fan is ecstatic about the recent announcement of revamped season ticket prices. It appears the fans least delighted are in sections of the Coliseum – like the bottom half of the center 300s and lower rows of the endzone 300s – that are already sold close to capacity. Some fans believe the price cuts are not deep enough, especially after a season in which the Islanders gave away the store like Crazy Eddie. The Islanders also might want to lose the habit of taking bows for having a good record in the second half of another playoff-less season. The Devils went 20-2-2 over two months without Zach Parise, and you won’t see Lou Lamoriello approving any back-patting in a year they never really sniffed the playoff race. The Islanders haven’t for four years. Keep that bar higher.
But there was plenty of good news, enough to likely get the majority to renew and entice prospective purchasers. Some seats, $90 last year for season subscribers, were lowered to $72. Other lower-bowl tickets dropped approximately $6 per game. The cheapest seat in the house is now even cheaper ($15) and it has been a Coliseum tradition since the days of Chico Resch to move down a few rows if seats are unoccupied. The team is offering better parking prices and options. A first-class gift for subscribers is supposedly in the works.
As always, the advice to the displeased die-hards who still want season tickets is to negotiate. If this is a big part of your life, negotiate hard. You have just about all of the leverage.
When all is said and done – with parking, without it…frankly, I’ve heard from longtime subscribers who don’t even fully comprehend what they’re getting and not getting – there is this. Islanders season ticketholders are paying fewer bucks for their tickets than most of their fellow fans around the league. The on-ice performance needs to catch up, but the cost of Islanders season tickets is cheaper than just about everywhere else. If you sit in Sec. 327 Row E, your seats that were $38 are now $23. The fifth row of the 300s at the NVMC is, cripes, like the 20th row in all the modern-era buildings.
The management of Islanders ticket prices has always been a juggling act. (As you can tell by the team’s latest rainbow-colored seating chart – with more price points than Baskin-Robbins has flavors – the Islanders are still guilty of over-thinking the entire concept). But in this era of secondary ticket markets, and with fewer and fewer reasons to be a season ticketholder for any team other than loving the community shared with fans around you, it is always a tough sell.
The Islanders over-reached badly before the start of this season, now matter how under-reported their price hike was. It was a mistake, even if the team never suffered injuries and started the season on an inspired, prolonged roll. However, fans are smart. The Islanders began offering deep discounts with the home opener. Then the team tanked in the first thirty games of the season. The Islanders, for fear of regular crowds under 5,000 – blinked early and often. The end result was season ticketholders paying big prices sitting next to fans who bought tickets at the box office the day before the game for $20.
Short of an offseason of blockbuster additions while keeping the very impressive young core of the roster, there isn’t much the team could do to make everyone happy in the present tense. But one of the hardest things, even for the most experienced, skilled and confident of executives, is to go to the boss and say, “We must fix this. Until the rebuild completely takes off, we need to get fans in the stands and give our players and coaches the kind of fan support they deserve.” Picker, Paul Lancey and their Uniondale associates did.
With beefed up depth and prospect charts, Garth Snow and the Islanders are closer to getting it right on the ice. The ticket news may not have resulted in universal rejoicing, but it does illustrate a willingness and ability to get it right for their customers. The Lighthouse Project, in its grandiose, expensive glory, will not be constructed as designed, but Picker can get to work on his next assignment. With rises in the standings and attendance, you’d like to think that in the next 2-3 years the Islanders, Nassau and Hempstead will agree on a deal for a new arena (with adjacent revenue generators) to keep the hockey team where it belongs.
Happy with the new pricing? Not? Good enough? Coming back or not coming back anyway? Becoming a new subscriber? Continue to educate me. Share your reactions and discuss this column in Comments.
