Now What??

The season is over and the Islanders are on the outside of playoffs... again. It would not be as upsetting if these band of idiots did not go on a win streak in final 2 weeks killing their chance at Hall or Seguin. The Islanders by getting hot after they were essentially eliminated from the playoffs got the 5th pick. So now what do they do? Lets take a look at the team.

Forwards: The young kids played very well and seem to be a real solid core of talent. Garth is going to stay the course with the "build from within" and that means you really have only a couple of spots to fill. How do you add toughness and a veteran goal scorer with only 2 spots? The 9 guys I can not see him sitting or sending down are Tavarez, Bailey, Okposo, Nielsen, Bergenheim, Comau, Moulson, Schrempf and Hunter. These guys are all getting better every game. So you leave 3 spots .. if you sign Jackman, Gillies or riechlits to add toughness you are down to 2 spots. How do you not give the other prospects a chance? (Joensuu, Kirrili Petrov, Trivino, Trevor Smith..etc.).. so say one of them make the team. Now you have one forward spot open to sign a captian (Iginla, Marlau, Kovalchuk, etc.) .. I don't know.. to me it seems we have to many pieces to this puzzle. I would look to make a trade with a few young kids for a top tier stud (Geno Malkin comes to mind).
Defense: Same type of situation. Isles only have 7 spots. Hillen, Streit, MacDonald, Gervais, Martinek, and Witt are all signed. That leaves one spot open for all the prospects or free agent signing (DeHaan, Ness, Hamonic, Sutton, Meyer, 5th pick in draft, etc.). I look at this situation and see the same issue. The Isles have too many kids for too little spots. I would not be surprised to see a big trade once Garth takes a long look at these situations.
I am guessing the Isles grab a big defenseman with the 5th pick. That would not be my pick, but I think that is what Garth will do in that slot. So that is another body you have to factor in to the equation.
Tons of cap room, tons of prospects, and tons of NHL caliber talent. That is a unique situation. Please don't trade for Lecavalier Garth, but listen to other possibilities.

He's BAAAACK!!

Isles are officially .500 18-18-8 to be exact. They are relatively healthy and should have the system down pat. Weight is healthy and DP makes his long awaited debut tonight. Rolo has proven he is legit and if DP can begin to play even close to his ability they should make a run for the playoffs. All these talented young kids are starting to click. The isles have 4 lines that can put the puck in the net. They have 3 very solid pairs on defense. Take Biron and his 2-12-2 record out of the mix and they should finally start putting together a string of points. It is now or never for this team. Either they extend their current hot streak of 5-1-1 or they will trade vets for picks at the deadline. If they continue to stay in playoff hunt Snow has said Wang wants to spend some money. I would expect them to add one or 2 big time vets at the deadline (they have tons of cap room). That does not mean Snow is going to trade any of the young guns. Tavares and Okposo will be Islanders for a long time (tambellini, schremp, meyers.. may be packaged if it can land a Kovalchuk or nash).

Speaking of JT ; He has hit a bit of a dry spell as of late. He looked like he was finally getting angry about it in the last game. I expect him to start scoring again in these next 2 games. He is no longer avoiding contact and has started crashing the net. As all these other first round picks like Bailey, Okposo, Nielson, Schremp, Commau, and Tambellini are starting to score this team is becoming dangerous. .. 2010 they will continue suprise a lot of people.

Gaining momentum

Young team starting to click. The Islanders are starting to play better. They started the Season 1-4-5 in their first ten games. The last 10 games they are 6-2-2. They have played 10 overtimes in 20 games. I feel like I am the only one saying this is a playoff caliber team. Everyone who points to the last 2 years as indicative of this teams talent is a fool. If this team stays realively healthy (or at least doesn't lead the league in man games of injury for 3rd year in a row) they will be a good team. Their defense is better then everyone wants to believe and they have 4 solid lines. They are extremely talented and extremely young. They will continue to get better every game. As the season progresses and they get DP back in the mix they will be a very tough team to play.
The reason for the 1 win in the first 10 games was mainly the inability to put teams away. They are still strugling to hold on to leads but getting better. They will continue to get better as the season progresses. The bigger and better sign is these young kids are starting to score.. a lot.
Okposo is no longer a secret. I think the league is now realizing this kid is legit. Tavares has been exactly what everyone thought (except Ranger fans). Jt has the same amount of goals as Crosby after 20 games.. fyi. Neilson is starting to play some solid hockey (would love to see him for a full season). Bergenhiem, Tambellini, Comeau, and Bailey are starting to play better... they just need to be a little more consistent. Trent Hunter needs to stay healthy. He is a big guy who can put the puck in the net. He is fantastic in the corners and on defense. I was expecting him to be the Captain this year and I am still a little upset they gave it to Weight (is he ever not hurt?). The bottom line is we need Weight to get healthy for a month so we can trade him.
Martinek out for the season (again). The defense can not afford any more injuries. This kid Hillen has been Phenominal. I think it is funny no one in hockey is talking about him. He has been far better then most young defensemen in this area and has not gotten any press. I am excited about him. Gervais has been the opposite. He has taken a HUGE step back this year. I want to see him back to they way he was playing last year. Sutton, Witt, and Striet have been very solid. They take the body and clear in front of the net. That is what defensemen are supposed to do... add a few joining the rushes and you can't ask for a lot more then that... Witt 2 goals in one game? Freddy Meyer has gotten some ice b/c of Martinek going down and is playing a MUCH more physical game. He could always fly and handle the puck. If he continues to play the same physical game, Bruno Gervais better be careful. He might be the odd man out when the Isles make a trade .. (Weight and Biron will be traded) or bring a guy like McDonald or De Haan up to the big club.
The Forwards are playing better every game. I love that the coach benched Bailey for a game and Tambellini for 2 games. Jeff thought b/c he finally scored a few goals he could go back to not skating in the defensive zone. Guess what Jeff.. this team is Stacked with guys in the AHL and being scratched that WILL give 110% every shift. I am guessing next time Tambellini gets in the line up He will be flying around the ice. 6 goals does not mean you don't back check. I am sure Trevor Smith or Jesse Joensuu would be happy to get another shot at the NHL.

Bottom line is the future is very bright on Long Island and everyone is starting to see that.... They WILL make the playoffs this year and the next couple of years will contend for the cup. They have tons of cap room and a few guys that will make the team next year. Aaron Ness, Calvin De Haan, Kirili Petrov, etc... get on the band wagon now!!

Petrov- Isles took a shot by drafting him in the 3rd round in 2006. He was in contract in Russia so no one thought he could play in NHL so did not draft him. Isles had a ton of picks so used one on him .. just in case. He would have been a top 2 pick if not for the contract. This year his contract is up.. He is very big and very talented. (comparisions to Malkin).. never know.

Tired of hearing how great Marc Staal is.. Just b/c his last name is Staal does not mean he is a great young player. He is the "Fredo" of the Staal family. When you don't score or hit ... then you stink. Gilroy and Delzotto have been FAR better then the rest of the rangers Awful Defense.. girardi, Staal, Rosival and Redden have not hit anyone in 10 games.

New season .. imminent.

Hockey season is about to begin. JT is about to make his Professional debut. I am very excited to see this kid with a real team around him on Saturday night. He showed flashes of brilliance in pre season and when on the power play they scored in about 10 seconds. He is HUGE and very talented. I can not wait to see how He, Bailey, Okposo and Comeau does this year.
This year the Islanders also have a ton of kids that are making it real tough to send them down to trim down the roster. To me that is a great sign b/c if we start having injuries again we have tons of depth. Sounds like Doug Weight will not make the opener so that is one extra spot. This kid Matt Moulson is making it real tough to assign him as he has 4 goals in the last 3 pre-season games (add an assist in his 4th game). I was a little surprised to see them assign Jesse Joensuu b/c the kid looks huge and amazing to me every time he plays. The other bubble boys are Trevor Smith, Greg Moore, Jeremy Reich (broke wrist last night) , Joel Rechlicz and Calvin De Haan.. Joel is a goon.. will probably make it and be a healthy scratch for most games. Trevor is real deal will most likely make it for now .. I don's see Moore and Reich making the team. The kid De Haan is the other first round pick the Islander moved up to get. This kid is legit and although he may not make it for the start of season.. I don't see him playing in Bridgeport very long. Here is the lines as I see it.. when everyone is healthy.

1. Okposo, Tavarez, Weight (okposo is ok after the cheap shot.. should be good to go. Weight has pulled groin)
2. Hunter, Bailey, Comeau (Hunter was on pace for a 30 goal season when got hurt.. he will be captain of this team soon.. he is a little hurt right now.. hope he makes opener)
3. Park, Bergenheim, Tambellini (Park and Berg have been amazing. Tambellini HAS to show he can do in the NHL what he does in AHL.. this is his last shot)
4. Thompson, Neilson, Jackman , Sim? (Thompson also great last year till got hurt.. fighter who can score, Neilson is hurt for now.. again. needs to stay healthy, Jackman is a goon who will be looking over his shoulder at Rechleicz .. )

(Weight, and Neilson are hurt right now... so probably Smith, Moulan, Sim and Rechleicz fighting for those 2 spots)

Def.1 Witt and Martinek (Martinek is best I have seen since Kenny Johnson on defense.. he finally stayed healthy last year.. watching him and Ovechkin battle is a lot of fun.)
Def. 2 Streit, Gervais (Streit was the best free agent signing of the year last year.. Bruno gets better every year)
Def. 3 Sutton , Hillen (Sutton was leading league in blocked shots when he got hurt.. led league 4 times on other teams.. only played about 20 games) Hillen is the kid they liked so much they traded Campoli.
last defenseman will be Freddy Meyer for now.. DeHaan hurt but will make a push for this spot. .. if no one gets hurt.. Freddy may get traded. He knows this and is working like a mad man to make this team.. Watch how much he hits when on the ice. He was never known for that.

Goalies :
1. Roloson
2. Biron

Dp when fully healthy will bounce one of these guys.. both were top teir starters last year. so no matter what happens this year will not be same as last year. I would imagine as these kids get better and make it more difficult to leave them in Bridgeport the Isles will use their depth to make some trades and gain picks. Unless we have injuries.. no matter what the abberation of last year's 575 man games of injury will not happen again. We are going to suprise a lot of people this year. Trust me.

Isles also just claimed Schrempf off waivers from Edmonton. He was a first round pick in 2004. I guess he goes into mix fighting for a spot. This will be a very interesting week.

Half way to JT

The Islanders are awful... and I am happy about it. I can not tell you that this happened a lot in my life. I rejoice with every loss (unless it is against the Rangers). I smile with every slight injury to players I know would turn this around. Why? I Want John Tavarez. I want a super star a goal scorer. The only way to build this team is the bottom up. We have all excepted that as Islander fans. We have a lot of Good young players who will be important pieces to the puzzle. This off season they have the oportunity to build a great team. Get the top pick and sign Gaborik. That 1-2 punch will be the difference between a good team and a winner. Take it slow with DP. Trade all the free agents and get picks. If you add Tavarez and gaborik to a team with Young players like Okposo, Bailey, Smith, Hunter, Gervais, Campoli, Comeau, Nielsen, Bergenheim, Thompson and DP. You will have a stone cold winner for a long time. The Islanders have a chance to build a Monster of a team. They have the cap room and the talent in the system to make it happen. Add Draft picks and free agents ... and the laughing will stop.

I WANT A BLIZZARD

It is July 2nd and all is quiet on the eastern front. The islanders signed Streit last night. It is a good sign, but I am quietly waiting for a snow storm. I think as far as defense goes.. the Isles are done. They have Streit, Martinek, Witt, Campoli, Gervais, Sutton, Johnson and Freddy Meyer.. so that is done for Isles. There are tons of rumors out there with big big numbers going to the likes of Jagr, Hossa and Sundin. Islander fans are WELL AWARE of what happens when u spend too much on one guy. I am o.k. with missing the really big signing for a long time. I would not mind a Sundin at 20 mill for 2 years (they CLEARLY have the cap money). Hossa is apparently being offered over a hundred mill for 10 years.. that is friggin nuts. He is not Gretzky or Ovechkin .... REEELAAAAX with the 100 mill. So here I sit logging into to nhl.com and Islanders.com hitting refresh every hour (or more)... waiting. Come on Garth get me some excitement!!! At least get me Peca or Asham back (still love those guys). Get me Naslund!! Get me Owen Nolen!!! Get me something to get fired up about... LET IT SNOW!!!!

If you build it.. they will come

June 20th - a new regime.
Draft was certainly interesting as an Islander fan. Going into the Draft I was kind of just curious more then anything who the islanders were going to take. The Islanders already have a bunch of young defenseman and I know the top 10 in this draft would be stacked with big "Chris Pronger" type defenseman. The thing that everyone forgets is Pronger sucked for 4 or 5 years as a Hartford whaler. He did not become a force for a long time. The Islanders also have a knack for drafting defenseman in late rounds that work out (Zdeno Chara- 6th round).
So that left me hoping the Russian kid would be there at 5 Fetisov. Now He was not projected to go early till about a week ago. Then he was talked about as "another great Russian player??!!" So at 5 when he was available I thought they would take him.. they did not. They traded down and picked up a few picks. Then at 7 they traded down again and gained some more picks.
Then at 9 they took Josh Bailey. He is a big talented Center that hits hard.. Character kid who is not afraid to drop the gloves, but is not a brawler. Isles said if they had the second pick this is the kid they would have taken so moving down made sense b/c he would still be available..etc. Then b/c of all the moving down and trades during year Isles land 13 picks in a very deep draft. So it comes down to this... if Fetisov does not turn out to be Ovechkin then I gotta be very happy... here is a break down of who the Islanders got: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=366699

Steal-: if Petrov comes over from Russia he would have been a steal at pick number 73... Big skilled Russian.. most of the other kids will be in the Frozen 4 for a while.

In all most of these kids are Teddy Nolan type players and you would hope a few of them turn out to be pretty good. I am very interested in Bailey, Trivino, Petrov (big Russian), Toews and Ness. These were all highly touted going into draft. Rest will be a wait and see type players.

Anway I thought Snow and Co. did a pretty good job but still would have rather had a few more picks via trading our free agents, but hopefully we end up with some stars. Goodness knows we need them.... Free agency begins in one week. some how we need a goal scorer.