THE MORNING SKATE: Call-ups and Realignment
It’s not the morning yet, but with rea-freakin-lignment getting approved by the Board of governors tonight, we’ll jump on this one while it’s hot.
YOU HAVE BEEN REALIGNED
Oh hey, look the new super crazy realignment plan ACTUALLY PASSED. The Board of Governors approved the four conference, no division plan earlier today (with playoff format still TBD). Puck Daddy has the full breakdown, and I suggest you read what Greg’s got to say. The coverage there is always top notch, as you may know. I’m going to give you the Islanders-centric analysis of the NHL turning on itself on it’s head.
Wait, what the heck is going on? Why is this happening? I feel dizzy. In a nutshell, with Atlanta moving to Winnipeg and playing in the southeast this year, something had to be done. The only question was ‘what?’ A lot of teams had gripes here. Detroit has been playing in the West since forever and owner Mike Illitch says that he was ‘promised’ a move to the East eventually. Columbus is not fairing very well and part of the reason (it’s a very complex situation) is that they play a lot of late night games against west coast teams, prompting fans to choose sleep over, you know, the games. Washington was also never thrilled about being moved away from the Atlantic teams and into the sunbelt.
So, in a nutshell, what’s the schedule going to look like for the Islanders next year? Teams will play a home-and-home with every team in the league. This was big for the Western teams who want a guarantee that they’ll be able to advertise the Red Wings, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and more to their fans every year. Also, teams will play six conference games (more on that in a moment).
One more thing — remember the old days of meeting up with the Rangers, Capitals or whomever in the playoffs almost every year? Well, if the Islanders can find a way to the playoffs, that’s probably what’s going to happen. This part is still TBD, but we do know that teams will play a divisional round of playoffs before being re-seeded.
What’s the division looking like for the Islanders? And is it good or bad news? It’s hard to say if it’s good or bad. It won’t be that much different. For one, divisional games will be that much more important. That’s because instead of six games against each team in a five team division, they’ll now play six games against each team in a SEVEN team division. The Islanders’ division is the Atlantic Five plus Carolina and Washington. So you’ll have that much more Alex Ovechkin in your life. That sound you hear are high fives coming from the ticket sales department.
The main bullet points of this presentation…
There are four conferences, no divisions.
The Islanders’ new, currently unnamed conference looks like this:
NYI, NYR, NJD, PIT, PHI, WSH, CAR
The playoff format is TBD. But we know there will be a first-round divisional series.
You will have more of this man in your life:
Technically, this all isn’t final. It needs the blessing of the NHLPA. But it pretty much is final since the NHLPA’s opinion is just that, an opinion.
Cozy up to your neighbors, Islanders. If you want to go anywhere in the playoffs, you’re going to have to get through them first.
GETTING THE CALL ARE POULIN AND WALLACE
Late in the day, the Islanders announced that they are calling up Kevin Poulin and Tim Wallace for tomorrow’s game against the Lightning. With MacDonald and Pandolfo placed on injured reserve, the pair from Bridgeport was recalled on an emergency basis, which means they don’t have to pass through waivers in either direction (they may not have had to, anyway).
Wallace, 27, is an AHL journeyman who was signed during the off-season. He has 9 goals and 11 points in 24 games. He’s played well on a line with Cizikas and DiBenedetto in Bridgeport for most of the season. I would imagine he’s getting the call because the Islanders don’t feel the other two are quite ready. Bridgeport also doesn’t play until Saturday, for what it’s worth, so the call-up may only be a for a few days.
As for Poulin, I do believe we’re already acquainted. His numbers haven’t been great this year, but he’s carried a lot of the work. One example is how he started three straight nights while Anders Nilsson was called up a few weeks ago. Nabokov, despite practcing today, isn’t quite ready to go. Today at practice the Islanders had a staff member on the side as a third goaltender, switching off with Nabby when he needed a rest. If he’s skating, he should be back soon. Again, with Bridgeport not playing until Saturday, why not? Might as well have someone fully healthy on the bench rather than someone who may only be 80%.
About Kevin Schultz
Kevin was formerly an NHL blogger for the now defunct AOL Fanhouse and was the creator of the hockey comedy blog Barry Melrose Rocks. He now covers the Isles for Islanders Point Blank. You can follow him for instant updates on the team and talk hockey with him on Twitter @schultz88. View all posts by Kevin Schultz →55 Responses to THE MORNING SKATE: Call-ups and Realignment
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Joey from staten island says:
I hate to be a fifth place team with higher points the other fourth place team and miss the playoffs that would suck lol
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Kevin Schultz says:
Yeah, that’s one of the kinks I hope they work out. That would be maddening…
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Whaaaaaaaaaaaat says:
Yeah these conferences aren’t equal we will be seeing teams with low 80s in points make it but mid 90s miss, unfourtanetly I think we are in the tougher division
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mikeg says:
well it won’t be the islanders with higher points so don’t worry. This just means that for the next decade at least, the islanders will be fighting for the 4th spot with Jersey, NYR, and Carolina while Pitts, Philly, and Washington secure the top 3 spots.
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Sumo Goalie says:
Worry about getting to 5th place first.
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Phil L says:
for the islanders
+ is more games against the West, for some reason the Isles always do much better against them- having to do through your own division, Flyers, Devils, Pens and Rags seem to own the Isles
it will be fun having division (conference) only playoff rounds again. Lets GO Isles, kick the CAP out of Washington!
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gutty34 says:
Philly an Pens may own Isles but Devils do not and Rags are pretty equal – all things considered looking at head to head. Still not sure I like this realignment yet, however our division for the most part stays in tact with Wash and Carolina added.
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WM says:
Beginning next season, the Isles will have a 59% chance of making the playoffs (4/7) vs. the current 53% chance of making it (8/15). That being said, though, it’ll be tough making it considering the Flyers, Rangers, Pens, and Caps should be heavy favorites given their big payrolls.
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Brian from Massapequa says:
So the Islanders will be dressing their 5th goaltender of the season tomorrow. Shades of last season…
Realignment could prove to be good. I’ve hated the fact that there is no chance that certain teams could not face each other in the Stanley Cup Finals.
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I double negatived on that comment but I think the point is there.
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2Bit says:
While we’re at it can we get rid of the shootout & go back to having tie games in the regular season. I’m sick of teams stealing extra points in the standings.
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I totally agree. I think if you have to go into overtime the winner gets 1 point, the loser 0 and if it’s a tie both teams get 0 points. That way teams would do everything in their power to avoid overtime resulting in a more wide open offensive game instead of what we have now with teams playing for a shootout. Come on NHL Wake Up!
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Hishutzi Skorz says:
My problem with the points system is that some games are worth two points, while others are worth three. You want to make it equitable? Awared THREE points for a regulation win! All games will have equal total value, plus it would add a lot of excitement for teams on the playoff fringe in March.
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danfromouteast says: That sounds cool
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Rich L says:
Is it going to matter much if Wang,and Snow continue to keep the team at cap level and do absolutely nothing to improve the team, all the while planning to move them to KC, Cananda etc. etc? I used to enjoy the older format when 1 through 16 played each other, regardless of which conference, or division they came from
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Sell Wang says:
I agree with you. WANG and SNOW are the blind leading the Blind. Who cares about playing the conference when your in last place of that Conference EVERY YEAR!
So Great will have the Rangers and Devils and Philly and PENS Always making it as the Islanders start Draft Partys early.
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Jim Clark says: I am not sure the Islanders could make the playoffs if they were in a three team conference that had four playoff spots.
Let’s see them name the four conferences after great players, not owners like they did in the 1970s, although the John Spano conference would be appropiate.
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WALT says:
In the playoffs first should play last like they did in the early eighties regardless of division or conference. That’s how the islanders met the flyers in the finals. You also could possibly have an islander ranger final.
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chad says:
YAY!
lets add another pipsqueak softie to this lineup like wallace and wait for another promising young player to be rammed and concussed and career put in jeopardy because teams know they can!
this time it can just as easily be taveras.
and im sure haley will be watching from the press box too going foward because this organization just wont learn and is run by morons
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Andre says:
This new format kills the Islanders. There is NO way the Islanders will beat out Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh for the 4 spots available to make the playoffs. Rangers are much better than the Isles too. It may be a LONG time before the Islanders make the playoffs unless they start spending money to improve the product.
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dork says:
well then tell wang to start getting serious and add some legit players. or sell the damned team.
Isles will remain the last Patrick division Champs! wooot woot.
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fmcisles says:
Well, we haven’t beaten Philly in like 5 years, so that’s 8 losses and we’ll lose 6 out of 8 to the Pens. The Rangers own us right now so there’s another 5-6 losses. We won’t make the playoffs for another 20 years(or when DP’s contract runs out). Sorry for being a Debbie Downer, just being realistic guys. I don’t see how this helps us.
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All hail the Isles
1993 – New York Islanders
Playoff Division Champions-
Still have the T-shirt. We were the last Patrick division champions!…..Would be nice if we were the first whatever the new division will be called champions! Woot woot!!
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Tedge77 says:
We need to realign our management first. Did Bill Torrey have any sons?
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Dk says:
I may be willing to settle for a former Torrey neighbor
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jeff w says:
I would feel slighted to be in a division of 8…This is good for us. I smell expansion in the east quebec and another team from ontario in our near future. This must have been negotiated to sell it to the 8 team conferences
word is first and second round is divisional and them 3rd round conference finalists in the semis..
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Wes says:
No need for expansion. Isles will head to Quebec in 2015, Phoenix to KC in 2012 summer.
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juniorjunior says:
isles will stay i believe…makes no sense to move the team – changed my mind on this one…
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cheepnis says:
Ugh, they should have just moved CBJ to the east and been done with it…
At least now they can rename the divisions…
Howe, Gretzky, Lemiuex, Orr,-
no body owns a pro sports team to generate profit except MAYBE the Yankees/Cowboys. All owners have another source of income like Wang and own teams as a hobby or get their name in the paper. Wang ,open that wallet, you can’t win in this league on the cheap.
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Howe, Gretsky, Bossy, Orr. Mario La puiuex should not be part of that since he is a current owner of one of the teams, and often sticks his big nose where it does not belong. We have enough conflict of interests on the Island! (our hometown newspaper owned by the same people that own our main rival, and current T.V. deal as well). Last thing we need is more contraversy. Who do you think will be the first Islander to win the Lemiuex trophy??
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Ct 74 says:
Time to get off the wallet and spend some money, become more competitive. According to Forbes magazine your losses are not $20 million, but more like $8 million, cosiderable amount of money, but considerably less than you have claimed.
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doug says:
If the story is true, start with the $4.5 million salary of DP. No way they are losing $20 million. Wang is a liar…
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moonshine says:
i never like the sound of day-to-day. mac donald started out like that and now we might be looking at a whole month of days. so now i’m worried about grabner, who’s a big piece for this team. as for niederreiter, the concern is more for the effect of such an injury on the development of his career.
both these injuries present immediate problems, but the point is that when you dig yourself as deep of a hole as the islanders did, there’s no margin for error and when injuries hit you feel like now it’s really, really, really hard to climb back up.on the new division, the isles already have a tough alignment and it’s going to get a little harder for a while.
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PA ISlanders says:
The one thing that is screwy with the realignment is the other conference made from old eastern teams, toronto montreal and those two florida teams thrown together? don’t see the logic in that one?
Sucks A-mac out!
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Mark P says:
I like the old way….1 through 16….spend the extra money on travel…..Didn’t we see Gretzky in the first round of 80 before we really knew who/what he was?
The opportunity to really see a west team up close for 2 weeks straight would give us a better grip on those players/teams in future years. I can see the Rangers and Pens for the 6 games in the regular season…. -
Brian G says:
I like the current playoff format of 1 to 8 make the playoffs, it makes the last 2 weeks of the season go down to the wire. If the new format passes, the last month of the regular season won’t mean anything. Also I personally liked how over the years playing Toronto, Tampa, & Ottawa created a little history between the teams since they played in the playoffs. In the new format, if the Isles made the playoffs they would only play the other division after winning 2 rounds…that seems weird
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drive45 says:
I’m not a huge fan of this new alignment. I agree with Brian G. We will not see other teams in the playoffs unless we are elite and win out in our own conference. Also we could be out of the playoff picture quite early in the year.
What I’m not worried about is us being in a tough division now. Team’s fortunes change. Then Penguins, Caps and Devils sucked for a long time while the Isles were great. It will happen again.
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Sean S says:
Dont understand why Boston wouldn’t be in our division, just based on sports rivalries alone. Yankees/Sox, Jets/Pats, Knicks/Celtics… you would think they would want to build that with Hockey too.
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DWC says:
Boston had to stay with Montreal. The league could not ruin that rivalry.
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Kevin why are you STILL Targeting Posts? My Posts? If you can back up your rational that would be nice. For i have not said anything Racist or nasty to any of my peers or anybody.
I think you may be profiling here,why? or are you just above answering us Fans?-
Kevin Schultz says:
For the last time — it’s an AUTOMATED filtering system. I don’t know why you’re setting it off (I’m still trying to figure it out) but if you have a little patience I go through and approve all the comments.
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Thank you! Sorry for the hassle and keep up the Great work.
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Kevin Schultz says:
I think I may have fixed it for you. Hopefully I did.
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I don’t like top 4 in each conference….should be conference winners and then the rest based on points. Plus now may be a good time to add 2 more teams to the playoff mix. I don’t like when inferior teams make the playoffs over better ones simply because of the conference they play in. Not fair.
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Orange & Blue says:
Washington and Pittsburgh in the same conference. Not to mention the Flyers and the Rangers. Looks like the Isles and Canes wont be seeing the playoffs for a loooong time.
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jon from nj says:
We might never see the Islanders in the playoffs…ever.
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hoser14 says:
The easiest thing would have Nashville and Winnipeg flip divisions. Another Charlie Foxtrot brought to you by Bevis and Bettman.
If I was in “Conference C,” I wouldn’t be to please since the Florida teams are geography nowhere near the Northeast, they would have to fly over two-ex-division rivals Carolina and Washington to against their new “Conference rivals.”
Stupid is, as stupid does.
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PotvinRocks says:
What will happen first: the Islanders make the playoffs or DiPietro’s contract expires? Life just got much tougher for budget teams like the Islanders and Columbus.
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If they brought in some NHL talent either by trade or by free agent things would be different. Look at the dumb trade they did for Rolston, signing Reasoner, giving Eaton a two year $5 million deal and I can go on and on. They can get Cory Sarich from Calgary a decent defenseman for cheap. He hits, clears the front of the net. But no, we’re stuck with Mike Mottau, Scott Eaton and Staios…The Islanders are like the Mets lousy owners, crappy front office.
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That’s it Wang circumvents the floor and snow is a joke. Until that changes we are hosed.
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Maybe Charlie Choo Choo “lost” money with the Madoff schemes like the Wilpons did,that would be the only way he is losing $20 million per year,as he cries about it constantly. However I can hear Wang whining about the realignment
“My team can’t compete because they are all ‘big” market teams, and we are just a small market team” and so I will have to move them to KC, or Quebec,he will need some cheese with his whine. Having said that, we have now won 9, of a possible 10 points not bad, I just hope they do not play the Pens on Saturday and forget how they got said points.
Great move..bring back the old playoff intensity that led to decades of rivalries