Author Archives: Chris Botta
There will be a meeting about the future of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum property on Tuesday at 2:00 pm at the headquarters of the Nassau County Legislature. The meeting will be led by Republican legislature member Denise Ford, who is the chairwoman of the Economic and Community Development and Labor Committee.
Tuesday’s meeting may be another snoozefest, but Nassau had better wake up soon. According to sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, Charles Wang is listening to any municipality that wants to make the Islanders feel at home.
At Ford’s meeting – open to the public – you can be sure every politician and real estate developer speaking will include a nod to the Islanders. “Let me make it clear that we want our Islanders to stay,” at least one will say. Some will profess to be Islanders fans. One or two might not even be lying about it.
Not much will come out of the meeting, but Feb. 14 will be an historic day. Should the unthinkable happen – the Islanders leave Nassau – Tuesday will be remembered as the official beginning of the end. (more…)
As he’s known to do from time to time, Point Blank founder Chris Botta hosted some impromptu dialogue with Islanders and NHL fans last night on Twitter. In case you missed it or are not on Twitter, here’s a review of most of his answers. Keep in mind that all tweets have to be in 140 characters or less, hence the brevity.
RT @jimmywellington Think Nabakov ends up in Det?
CB: G not a priority in Det. Unless someone gets hurt long-term, won’t give up much for a Nabby type.
RT @ikcotol what can the Winnipeg Jets do to get on track?
CB: Need more beef and commitment on D. Lots of skill, but softish. C’mon, Chevy!
RT @Official_kjt Isles chances of playoffs this season?
CB: I’m in the minority, but I feel teams 10 back with 30 left should not feel outta it.
RT @scottymac228 why the hell arent you watching the beanpot?
CB: Cause Cronin’s in Toronto. (Actually, working on a Kreider story).
RT @Gus_Savage Hawks have scouts sniffing around Isles dmen?
Yes. But I don’t think they’ll trade Streit. Eaton could help as a 6.
RT @JdaxxTweets Will Snow try to pass off Strome as 2nd line C next yr, deHaan as top 4 dman?
CB: I’m sure he knows that would be a mistake.
RT @DomLongo22 Chance u do point blank again or something like it for fans who miss u?
CB: Very kind. Not anytime soon. Break is healthy for all.
RT @Islanders411 Do you know if Snow is working the phones?
CB: Of course he is. Every day until Feb. 27.
RT @rochambou will the Islanders pull a Baltimore Colts (middle of the night) or Cleveland Browns (lame duck year)?
CB: Neither
RT @daenmaster There are rumours #isles shopping PAP and nielsen. Do you see garth doing this?
CB: It’s his job to gauge value.
RT @domlongo Who is NYI #1 goalie next season?
CB: Should give @KevinPoulin60 a legit chance to run with it. Oh, you mean who WILL it be?…
RT @billwhitehead NYI’s untouchables as deadline approaches?
CB: No such thing, but Tavares, Moulson, KO, Poulin and Hamonic are sticking.
RT @theJ94 how far do you see Van going in the playoffs this year? Boston?
CB: Canucks – WCF. Bruins – SCF.
RT @LJ_Tsunis what do you make of new developments re hub?
CB: sorry, LJ, but I don’t think about it much. I will when @edmangano gets real
RT @kaner911 How will the Habs handle the Gomez situation?
CB: Cry a little more, and then consider a buyout
RT @Turnstone1969 simple question: Sabres – what’s going on?
CB: Learning $ doesn’t buy happiness or success. Will get fixed by next year
RT @t2ma Who were the most difficult Isles to work with?
CB: All gentlemen. On both sides of the biz, privilege for me to be part of it
RT @scholder99 #NYR going after goal scorers?
CB: For a forward, Sather aiming high. If he doesn’t like price, no problem standing pat
RT @justwalden How long before #Isles actually make the playoffs? This is getting embarrassing.
CB: Next season, if it doesn’t work out this season.
***CB: Again, my saying ANY team 10 pts back, Isles or otherwise, still alive is not being “optimistic.” It’s being fair. Up to teams if they want to quit or not.
There’s plenty here we think you’ll be interested in.
Be part of SNY’s Metro Hockey Podcast on Friday and share your brief rant or question about the Islanders. The phone lines will be open TODAY from 11:45 am – 12:15 pm. Call 212.246.0416
Chris connects with one of the writers he respects most, Dominik of Lighthouse Hockey, for a discussion on the state of the Islanders.
“There’s a lot of good there, but they could use some tweakage.” “They don’t have an identity.” “It wouldn’t hurt to make a call-up or two.” “Let’s get them a little more physical.” “They have to figure this goaltending thing out.” “Part of the downfall of hype is that (other teams) are reading about them.” This and a lot more from The Jaff. Watch and let us know if you agree.
The finale of this week’s segment, featuring Pete McCarthy and Chris Botta, who offers up a few ideas for moves the Islanders should ponder if they don’t fix themselves by the 20-game mark.
