Monthly Archives: November 2011
This is the first edition of the SNY.tv Metro Hockey Podcast hosted by Chris Botta.
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Email us at: snymetrohockey@gmail.com
Today’s segments:
Rangers and Islanders recap
Interview with Adam Proteau of The Hockey News
Islanders Interactive
Forecast: Bobby Ryan trade talk and Devils Preview
Earlier today I had a chance to talk to one of the Isles heart-and-soul kids, Matt Martin. He currently leads the league in hits with 97 and played on a line with Nino Niederreiter and Marty Reasoner last night in Buffalo. When Niederreiter laid into the Sabres’ Nathan Gerbe, Martin was right there to step in and protect the youngest player on the team (video in the post-game report).
No news to report today, as the Islanders had an optional skate at the Coliseum after flying back late last night from the game in Buffalo. Martin, Niederreiter and Travis Hamonic were among those skating. No updates on Andy MacDonald’s status, expect to hear that from Capuano tomorrow.
When Butch Goring says of Al Montoya, “There’s no doubt about who’s the number one man now” [sic], there’s a good chance he can no longer be lumped in with the rest of the three goaltending heads. He was again stellar making 30 saves and was absolutely clutch in bailing out his team on a third period five on three for 1:34.
The Big Cubano is the only goaltender on the roster with a winning record right now at 4-3-1 and has a 2.07 GAA and .933 save percentage…in his last three outings, he is 1.35/.950. It is of course a small sample size, but it’s the only one there is to go on. He should start until he can’t.
Tonight was a nice balanced effort by all of the lines. The first line got things started in the first. With Paul Szczechura in the box for high-sticking Marty Reasoner, John Tavares was able to dig a puck out of the corner to the right of Jhonas Enroth and pass back to PA Parenteau who fed Mark Streit at the left point. Streit put one toward the net that Matt Moulson deftly deflected in for his 8th of the season.
Fireworks started a little while later when Nino Niederreiter lined up wee little Nathan Gerbe for a monster hit. The unfortunate part was that Gerbe didn’t have the puck and Nino left his feet a bit and basically knocked Gerbe into the Isles bench. He was not happy. This touched off a tilt between Matt Martin and Zack Kassian with a bunch of punches thrown for both parties. Martin was able to get Kassian’s sweater over his head and he was somehow able to Rob Ray his way out of the rest of his gear. The bout ended in a draw, with no extra misconduct for Kassian’s clothing malfunction and the Sabres ended up with the power play. The facewash undercard of Nino/Gerbe was a treat to watch…very David/Goliath and Nino really didn’t look like he knew what to do.
One has to wonder if the cries for physicality and toughness are really the right move for him in particular while he is trying to adjust to the speed of the game. The last thing you want him doing is “overdoing” things to avoid the healthy scratch.
The second period was the sloppy period of the game. There were a couple of scoring chances for both sides, and in particular, the Grabner/Nielsen/Okposo continued to create quality scoring chances they fell just short of cashing in on. The Isles carried their 1-0 lead into the third.
In the third, the Isles started lethargically and let the play come to them with some weak skating and poor zone clearance that allowed Jochen Hecht to tie the game at 1-1 at 1:54. Jason Pominville sent a weak shot toward the net that deflected off Andrew MacDonald’s skate and into the slot that landed on Hecht’s stick who beat Montoya. It was unclear who’s responsibility Hecht was, but Nino was the closest to the area and he whiffed on the coverage.
This time, the Isles roared back. At about 4:45, John Tavares had a shift that is something Islander fans haven’t seen in a long time. He skated through the majority of the Sabres zone, dodging hits, bouncing off hits by Christian Ehrhoff while putting the puck between their skates and digging it away from the boards. It may have been the momentum that the team needed as each line seemed to generate pressure and feed off of it.
Soon after JT’s shift, Kyle Okposo hit his first post in a couple of weeks…so he looks to be officially back! Then Tavares hit a post and Moulson just pushed the rebound wide while crashing the net with reckless abandon. But for the second game in a row, both Josh Bailey and Brian Rolston would figure in the scoring. Bailey, initiated a hard working forecheck against two Sabres behind Enroth’s net and dug the puck free to David Ullstrom who found Rolston in front for the five-hole backand. It was the first NHL point for Ullstrom.
The Isles continued to skate and apply backchecking pressure for most of the rest of the period and were particularly impressive during the five on three which saw Josh Bailey and Mark Streit in the box (Bailey on a relatively weak call for kneeing) and we saw Travis Hamonic leave the ice after taking a shot off his hand. Again, Montoya was unbelievable and was arriving in spots to block shots with an efficiency and purpose. He was square and in control and the penalty killers looked to be freer to pressure puck carriers rather than to collapse.
Noticings:
- It’s funny how you can go from losers of ___ of___ games to “the Islanders have points in three of their last four games” in the NHL overtime system isn’t it?
- We really need to not see so much Jurcina/Mottau with a one goal lead with under five minutes left in the game. Any pairing on the ice must include at least one of MacDonald, Hamonic, or Streit.
- It looks like there is some emerging line balance . Lets hope that continues to grow. Bailey looks like a new man since he’s been working with Ullstrom and Rolston.
- Hamonic and Amac had four blocked shots a piece. That type of stuff is contagious.
- This looked like the best full team effort of the season.
- Tavares is generating a ton of chances. The goals and points will come. Even if they don’t come, it’s probably no coincidence that the other lines are starting to get more chances too. When he is working like that, other teams still have to deploy their best against him.
- Michael Grabner needs to finish a couple of more of those breakaways…please! I can’t beat a guy up too much who generates things most other people cant even come close to generating, but man, if he could just get a couple more.
- Christian Ehrhoff….phhht. I dodn’t think he did much tonight, but seriously, after looking, the guy played 32:48 (Jordan Leopold left the game early). Ahh, impressive and not impressive at the same time.
Next up, the Blackhawks on Friday….let’s do this thing.
ROSTER UPDATES: Nino and Reasoner in, Haley out. Pandolfo very out. #1800bigcubano gets the call in net.
WELL THAT WAS A WEIRD DAY, OH BY THE WAY WHAT’S DARCY TUCKER DOING
Yesterday two Islander villains of the 1990s got head coaching jobs in the NHL. The Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau before 9AM on Monday morning, possibly saving him the time of having to commute through DC traffic. In his place will be Dale Hunter who has been very successful in the OHL coaching the London Knights. I don’t need to recount who he is but in 1993 he… OH IT STILL HURTS ARRGHHH. Just someone tell Ovechkin to watch his back on goal celebrations.
About an hour later the Hurricanes fired Paul Maurice and replaced him with Kirk Muller. Muller had been coaching the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s AHL affiliate. No confirmation yet if Muller is refusing to report to Carolina.
Somewhere, Darcy Tucker is polishing his resume.
ON THE TOPIC OF SALARIES AND SPENDING
Newsday had quotes from owner Charles Wang yesterday. Not much to see. It was a lot of the usual quotes you would expect from any owner that he has confidence in the team and GM despite the rocky start. There was one interesting part, this quote about the team’s spending:
“We’re not a big-market team that can spend like some teams do,” [Wang] said. “But I’ve never said no to what Garth wants to do. If it makes sense for our team, then we’ll do it. We’ve tried to be conservative and make smart decisions, and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
I went over what’s going on with the salary cap at length on Sunday, so I’ll keep my comment short and let you decide about this one on your own. I imagine the comment section will have all sorts of thoughts and opinions. My two cents is that whatever we think about what’s going on with spending the true test of any theory will be if the team is within striking distance of the playoffs at the trade deadline or, if not, the test will be on July 1st. I personally don’t foresee much deviation from the current plan but like the New York Lottery says, ‘hey, you never know.’
NINO RETURNS
After all the questions and speculation, Nino Niederreiter will return to the Islanders lineup tonight in Buffalo. Whether it’s because of Pandolfo’s injury or not, we’ll never know. I’m sure Nino is itching to get back out there. Hopefully he responds to the time out as well as Kyle Okposo did last week.
Lineup updates will be added to this post as they become available…
OKPOSO SMASH is the new meme of the week, for sure. Thanks to this great Twitter conversation some of the players had, recounted by LHH. There’s an Okposo smash/Hulk photoshop waiting to happen there.
This now leaves the Islanders with one healthy scratch for tomorrow night’s game against Buffalo. Expect a call up. Justin DiBenedetto returned to action for Bridgeport on Sunday. Could he be next?
After selecting John Tavares with the first pick of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Islanders organization envisioned that pick to be the cornerstone for a franchise seeking its first playoff series victory in nearly two decades.
And Tavares hasn’t disappointed!
However, it was the selection made just minutes later by Snow and his scouting staff that continues to draw criticism – deservedly so or not – from die hard Islander fans, questioning whether the price that was paid was indeed a prudent one or one that will be a head-scratcher to mull over for years to come.
The Islanders traded five of their own draft picks – first rounder-26, second rounder-37, third rounders-62 and 82 and fourth rounder-92 – to move up twice in the first round (26-to-16-to-12) to draft then 18-year-old defenseman Calvin De Haan.
At six-feet, 170 pounds, De Haan, who was tabbed as the 22nd best prospect by The Hockey News and 36th by the International Scouting Service prior to the draft, was himself surprised by the selection. Yet, he was elated.
“I didn’t have a clue that the Islanders were going to move up and select me,” said De Haan, whose stock skyrocketed that spring following a stellar campaign at Oshawa (OHL) after his former junior teammates Tavares and current New York Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto were traded to London (OHL), leaving the cerebral defenseman to step up to the forefront and assume the lead role on the Generals’ blue-line. “But when reality set in, I was very excited. It was a surreal moment, and definitely one of the best moments in my life.”
De Haan finished second among Ontario Hockey League rookie blue-liners with 63 points – eight goals and 55 assists – during the 2008-09 campaign for the Generals. At the tail end of that season, he was selected to play for the Canadian under-18 World Junior Championship squad in April 2009 in Fargo, North Dakota.
Despite assisting on six goals in six tournament games, De Haan’s Canadian team finished a disappointing fourth. The United States would defeat the Russians, 5-0 to win the gold.
After being selected by the Islanders later in the summer, De Haan returned to Oshawa for a second season, and was subsequently chosen to the 2010 Canadian World Junior Championship team in November. His tournament only lasted four games, as he suffered a blow to the head in a semifinal victory against Switzerland. He assisted on one goal, but Canada would drop the gold medal to the United States in overtime, 6-5 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
De Haan’s future teammate Matt Donovan was a defenseman for the victors, as Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson would tally the game-winner for the Americans.
Despite the loss, the experience was one that De Haan would soon not forget.
“Playing in the World Junior Championships was incredible,” said De Haan. “Anytime you put on that jersey, only a select few are fortunate enough to wear it.”
Unfortunately, De Haan’s string of bad luck would continue nearly a month later playing for the Generals, as he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Saginaw. The injury sidelined him for six months, preventing a late season call-up by the Islanders.
De Haan would only play 34 games in Oshawa that 2009-10 season, collecting 24 points – five goals and 19 assists.
After signing his three-year entry deal in May 2010, De Haan’s rehabilitation from the shoulder injury would end by mid-summer, as he was invited to the Islanders training camp. He impressed the Islander brass, but was cut prior to opening night against Dallas and was immediately returned to Oshawa for a third and final season.
De Haan finished the 2010-11 campaign in Oshawa by scoring 48 points – six goals and 42 assists. He was also named an alternate captain for the Canadians in the 2011 World Junior Championships in Buffalo, alongside Nashville Predator prospect Ryan Ellis, Philadelphia Flyer prospect Brayden Schenn and Ottawa Senator prospect Jared Cowen.
For a second consecutive tournament, De Haan would not be around for the conclusion, as he suffered a lower body injury in preliminary round play against the Czech Republic.
Canada, who also had Islander prospect Casey Cizikas on its squad, would squander a 3-0 lead in the gold medal finale, surrendering five third-period goals to the Russians, in a 5-3 setback.
The injury left many questioning De Haan’s durability, wondering if his lack of physicality would take its toll on one of the team’s premiere prospects.
De Haan wasn’t concerned.
“Some guys were more physically developed than me, when I was drafted,” said De Haan. “I continue to get stronger each day. The goal is to play in the NHL.”
For a second straight summer, De Haan was invited to Islanders training camp. He played alongside fellow Canadian teammate Travis Hamonic and Islanders captain Mark Streit, and competed as if he belonged.
Physically, he bulked up to 190 pounds, and despite being shuttled down to the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, De Haan remains on target to be a mainstay on the Islanders blue line in the coming years, according to Sound Tiger head coach Brent Thompson.
“At six-feet-one, 190 pounds, Calvin has good size,” said Thompson, who was named the Sound Tigers’ head coach this past summer after three successful seasons leading the Alaska Aces in the East Coast Hockey League, winning a Kelly Cup Championship in 2011. “He could definitely put on some weight, but there is no doubt that he will be a top end offensive defenseman in the NHL.
“He has a great head for the game.”
In his first season in the American Hockey League, De Haan has scored two goals, while assisting on four others. He also has logged an average 20-plus minutes per game in his first 17 contests.
De Haan, who once again injured his shoulder on November 12 at Springfield and missed nearly two weeks of action, returned to action this past Friday night at home against Bridgeport’s cross-state rivals, The Connecticut Whale – The New York Rangers’ top AHL affiliate. He scored his second professional goal in the Sound Tigers’ 6-2 win.
“Calvin is making progress each day,” said Thompson, who played 121 National Hockey League games with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings. “For a defenseman, it usually takes a little longer to develop. The longer they can develop, the better a player they can be on the NHL level.”
De Haan has followed his coach’s patience to a tee.
“I have no time table on when I should be called up,” said De Haan, who will turn 21 this upcoming May. “If I get called up, it would be incredible. But if it is a day, a week, a year, whatever the organization thinks is appropriate, I will back them up.”
What De Haan supposedly lacks in muscle, he makes up for it in smarts and skating ability. That reason alone is why both De Haan and Thompson eye former New Jersey Devils defenseman and future hall of famer Scott Niedermayer as a prototypical comparison moving forward.
“How Scott played and how he kept his head in the game at all times is what I see in Calvin,” said Thompson. “They both move the puck extremely well.”
De Haan concurred.
“My strength is being a defenseman who makes the smart play,” said De Haan. “I am trying to be a two-way guy, who will be a quarterback on the power play in the NHL.
“Scott Niedermayer was that type of defenseman.”
Outside the rink, De Haan has enjoyed hanging out with his new Sound Tiger teammates, including top Islanders prospects Donovan, Cizikas and Aaron Ness. He also enjoys heading to the mall and going bowling.
However, Thompson believes De Haan greatest attribute to his team and a future stint on the Island is his character both on and off the ice.
“Calvin is a first rate citizen.” said Thompson. “He speaks extremely well. He is a great character guy.
“He is usually one of the first guys in the locker room and one of the first guys in the gym. He simply wants to be the best hockey player he can be.”
Will the Islander brass continue to remain patient with one of their crown jewels or will they make the same mistake as they did a few years back by rushing another slight in size Ontario Hockey League standout into the NHL?
Only time will tell.
For the second time this season, the Islanders are stuck in-between the CHL-NHL agreement that prevents U-20 players from playing anywhere but the CHL or NHL. Earlier in the year it was Kirill Kabanov, a 19-year old prospect who was stuck not playing for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, who didn’t want him and didn’t have room on their roster. If it was up to the Islanders and Kabanov, he would probably be playing in the AHL for Bridgeport right now. Kabanov was rumored to be moving every which way thanks to Blainville holding out for a trade that would help them. They put team in front of player and made sure they got something for their asset. Luckily for the player and his parent club, a trade was made fairly quickly and Kabanov ended up with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. Things have worked out wonderfully in Shawiningan, with Kabanov posting a 10-10-20 line in 13 games.
Nino Niederreiter, another 19-year old, may be in a similar predicament. He cannot play in the AHL as a 19-year old due to the same CHL-NHL agreement, a league which both team and player might agree would be much better for Niederreiter at this age. After missing the first month of the season with a groin injury, Niederreiter was loaned to Bridgeport for a two-week rehab assignment — a loophole in the rules. Now that he’s healthy, the Islanders can either keep him on Long Island or send him back to juniors, that being the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. They cannot option him to Bridgeport, even though a short stint to get going after the injury would be worthwhile.
It’s safe to assume that Niederreiter won’t be heading to Portland any time soon. With 41 goals and 70 points in 55 games last year for Portland, he’s outgrown the WHL. All of the team’s marketing and Nino’s placement on the first line during pre-season confirm the team’s thinking on the subject. Now, after a groin injury slowed down the start to his season, the Islanders are caught in-between yet again.
Niederreiter was quiet offensively but not uninspired in four games after being brought up from Bridgeport and is on a roster chock full of right wings. He shares a wing full-time with Kyle Okposo and PA Parenteau. Additionally, Michael Grabner, Jay Pandolfo, Matt Martin and David Ullstrom can play on the right side and have been flipped on and off that wing this season. Blake Comeau played right wing most of the season up until he was waived Thursday. It’s been a crowded spot. That’s probably the main reason he’s been sitting out. He hasn’t shined at a position where the team is deep. That, and the always patient Islanders will be patient with their newest prospect. As such, he’s been sitting in the press box, letting loose this tweet during yesterday’s game:
The tweet has been deleted — don’t crucify the Islanders for removing it, every other team would have done the same. There’s just not much to go on here. It’s likely to do with when he will be back or why he is sitting out but without being in his mind, it’s impossible to tell exactly what he was referring to. However, it does show that he’s anxious to get back in the lineup. Eventually, he’ll work his way back in.
One of the reasons thrown around as to why Niederrieter has been has been in the press box is his remaining cap hit of approximately $2 million and the Islanders attempting to keep him from attaining all of the bonuses written into his contract like hockey’s version of Scrooge McDuck. While the cap hit is certainly keeping him from returning to juniors, the bonuses are irrelevant. Let’s be clear — this is not about the Islanders being cheap. At least it shouldn’t be. Since Niederreiter is on an entry-level contract (ELC), it’s a contract laden with bonuses. The exact details of Nino’s contract are unknown but as CapGeek.com points out, the ELC carries $1,925,000 worth of bonuses. As LHH points out, most of those bonuses are unattainable and are even now more so given that Niederrieter has sat out the first month of the season due to injury (All Star appearance, anyone?). The actual amount of money Niederreiter puts in his bank account this year will likely not even total $1 million.
So, why is a 19-year old’s cap hit a factor all of a sudden? Well, an interesting thing happened when the Islanders waived Blake Comeau and his remaining $1.8 million cap hit right off the team this week; they put themselves in a precarious cap position. Moving Niederreiter’s remaining cap hit to send him back juniors for example, is one such tricky circumstance (see also the contracts of: Brian Rolston, Jay Pandolfo, Steve Staios, Milan Jurcina).
The Islanders cap projection is now at $49.45 million according to CapGeek.com. That’s a number that is now very close to the allowed salary floor of $48.3 million. These figures aren’t exact — the league doesn’t release exact numbers — but CapGeek does an excellent job compiling numbers and the team is now at a point where things are going to get tricky if they take a player off the roster. The cap floor is no joke either. While it has not been triggered yet by any team, it presumably carries a penalty similar to the one the Devils received for their monkeying with Ilya Kovalchuk over the summer.
What is certain is that the Islanders cannot easily send Niederreiter away and cover his cap hit in the wake of releasing Comeau. The Islanders would have a tough time sending Niederreiter back to juniors financially. With a remaining cap hit of around $1 million, Calvin De Haan is the only player in Bridgeport who could come close to filling in the salary cap space if Niederrieter — or any of the seven figure vets for that matter — were taken off the roster. The less expensive the remaining cap hit, the easier it gets. For example, if the Islanders wanted to demote Mike Mottau, it wouldn’t be terribly difficult. Mottau’s $570,000 remaining hit is easily replaceable by any of five defensemen (De Haan, Donovan, Ness, Klymentev and Wishart) in Bridgeport and he would likely clear waivers. All of those mentioned make as much or more than Mottau and Dylan Reese’s number is also close. Not to get off track but when Mottau is sent down and one of those players is recalled is really more a matter or ‘when’ and not ‘if.’
When it comes to Niederreiter and his nearly $2 million cap hit remaining, it’s hard to find a replacement in full. Of course, if Niederreiter were taken off the roster today, the Islanders would not need to replace the full $2 million remaining. They could shave off most of it and call up a player making a fraction of that to get to the cap floor. But, if you want to replace the full salary to leave flexibility, De Haan is the only likely replacement. As this point in the year, you can’t pull that much money out of thin air. It’s got to come either from a trade or the minors. If we assume the only option is minors, then it becomes a question of who do the Islanders want on the team: Niederreiter or De Haan?
This all can change as the season wears on and remaining cap hits are whittled down but for the moment, this is the reality. The Islanders are stuck between a rock and a hard place. That is partially due to their cap situation and partially due to the CHL/NHL agreement. There’s no use in sitting a young player in the press box, especially if he’s healthy. He’s ready to go, ready to earn his spot and should be playing somewhere. Niederreiter will get his chance and get back in the lineup. For now, as with just about every other decision over the past four years, the Islanders are going to take their time.
