Greetings From Islander Country

Final Post

2008-09-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

I guess when you look at this simply, my career as an Islander blogger will end just as it began one year ago, following a fishing trip. Last year, the excursion was out of Orient Point, east of Plum Island, gunning for stripers. Last week, another Captain brought us back into the Sound, this time well north of Greenwich, Connecticut. We hit a bluefish feeding frenzy which made the one and a half journey out of New Rochelle well worth the hike. The rain fell without remorse as a ravenous bluefish hit my jig one out of every three times it hit the water.

This past year blogging amongst the other founding members of the blog box brought with it too many memories to relive in one post. But I'll hit on a few I hold dear. Like the time in February I went to Hooters on Hempstead turnpike for a drink after a game with fellow bloggers, Tom from the Tiger Track and Mike from Islesblogger, and had to order a glass of red wine from the waitress because I had given up beer for Lent. Red wine at Hooters. I don't know if I can ever repair my reputation in that place.

Then there was the night in the locker room after a game when during a player interview Richard Park's shoulder pads dripped sweat on and ice water on my head. I didn't think anyone noticed my situation, until the following week Ken Rosenblatt from Islander's Outsider remarked "Jim, I wish you could have seen your face when that sweat was dripping on you from Park's pads". I wish I could have too.

As I said, there are countless other stories I could touch on, but the theme remains the same. What really made this experience remarkable for me was the friends I made amongst my fellow founding members of the blog box. The ability to attend many home games and have semi press access will not surpass in fondness the memory of carefree exchanges with my friends in the blog box during game intermissions, over drinks, or at an Islander event.

I am moving on from the New York Islander Blog Box because I do not feel I currently have the time required to do this thing right. This is primarily due to work and personal commitments. Can I watch the games and write a good post at least weekly? Sure. But can I find the time to read all my fellow blogger's posts and comment on their unique and impassioned viewpoints? Sometimes. And sometimes is not good enough. They deserve better, as does the vision of the blog box as a whole. While I love my Islanders, and I love to write, its time to give someone else a shot at this.

To the Islanders, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks. Everyone, from Charles Wang, Garth Snow, Ted Nolan, Chris Botta, and Corey Witt through the Islander players took a very big risk with this thing. They enabled a group of dedicated fans to take the love of their team to the next level and generate greater exposure for the organization. In time, I believe the Islanders will be viewed as having had great vision with the Blog Box. I also believe this little experiment demonstrated their commitment to the first amendment. Never once was I contacted about content or my viewpoints. Never.

As far as my parting thoughts on the team and its future? Pretty simple. One- they are on the right track rebuilding. The '08 draft strategy will take a few years to assess, but good decisions by management through this development period can create a contender in 3-5 years. Two- The jerseys have to go. Return to the royal blue of the mid eighties. I wrote at some length about this back in May- keep it simple and restore seriousness and nostalgia back to this franchise. Finally- they need a new building. Period. If the Lighthouse Project fails, we'll be getting fitted for Hamilton jerseys. New building + new jerseys = new era.

If any of you guys ever want to keep in touch, just drop me a comment and I'll get back to you. I'll keep this open so when anything big happens (Lunqvist ice girl incidents, Isles promote Sillinger to assistant GM, etc.), I can opine. Thank you all for reading and supporting this blog!

As for me, I'll be working, fishing, firing up the 360 for Fallout 3, and keeping up with my favorite Fall pastime of all...

I'll go on being a Potvin loving, blue bleedin' Islander fan.

And they'll bury me that way.

Right Man, Wrong Team

2008-07-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

After the Islander home opener in October, I stood with my fellow bloggers in the midst of about a dozen credentialed journalists such as Greg Logan and Dan Martin in a small room near the Islander locker room. A podium stood in the center of the room, and a blue curtain with Islander and Allstate logos hung on the wall behind it. Against a wall to the left, catty corner to the shower stall, electrical wires of various colors lay on the floor.

The chatter amongst the beat writers ceased immediately when a rear door opened. Quietly, Ted Nolan, led by then VP of Media and Communications Chris Botta, approached the podium. Nolan, wearing a dark suit, perhaps navy, stood over six feet tall. He was an imposing figure. There was a moment of silence before Greg Logan approached with his first question. A few minutes later, after a brief silence Botta asked "that it guys?", and then it was all over. Nolan left, taking the same route as he had on the way in. And there ended my first exposure to the man.

One year ago, the thought of attending opening night for the 08-09 season with someone other than Ted Nolan at the helm of the Islanders would have seemed unimaginable. Yet, here we are again. Another Summer, another PR disaster. Another reason for Islander fans to endure abuse from those affiliated with other local hockey clubs.

The Islanders absolutely had to make this work. The organization could ill afford another blow to its reputation. Separating with a very popular and talented coach should never have been an option. Snow and Wang should have addressed their issues with Nolan, while expressing confidence in his ability to coach this team. The magnanimous approach would have been the appropriate one.

While we can fault all parties for missteps, some of the blame placed on Nolan is not justified. You coach what Nolan had in the Spring and see how many times you utter "you have to do the best with the players you have". I bet it would slip from your mouth once or twice. And Nolan played too defensive of a style toward the end? Alternatively, would you preferred to have seen the Isles lose 8-0 at home to the rangers? Would that have been good for youth development and instilling confidence in the likes of Kyle Okposo?

Sure, Nolan didn't fit in with the organization's vision. Either did Neil Smith. Do you sense a pattern?

One opening night, this year, or perhaps next, hockey fans of another team will be watching Ted Nolan's tall frame walk with confidence as he approaches his podium. There might be a few more journalists, or fewer bloggers and less electrical wiring in their room. But there will be a special coach, a player's coach, whose time to shine may have finally arrived.

Goodbye Ted. You'll be missed.

"She got me a Witter"

2008-07-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in my living room having recently returned from a full day fishing trip out on the LI Sound. I am sun burnt on the right side of my left forearm, and I have those awful lines on my head from the sunglasses. So if I go to work Monday wearing a long sleeve shirt and sunglasses I'll look perfectly normal.

My buddy nailed two sizable blues, while I simply returned with the joy of knowing "I caught a few bud lights". And fortunately, we returned from a trip during which our sharp toothed predator friends didn't maim any fishermen as they flopped around on deck. So all in all, it was a good day.

The contract extension offered to expert surfer and renowned shark hunter Brendan Witt this week reminds me of a story from Christmas. An Islander Holiday tale. My buddy at work came over to my desk the first business day after Christmas and simply smiled. He said "my girlfriend got me a jersey for Christmas", and then he paused briefly, "she got me a Witter". What better gift can any red blooded Islander fan ask for? Brendan Witt is a monster. His leadership is invaluable. His toughness is unassailable. Some games it seems he takes more pucks off his ankles that DP takes off his leg pads. And fans love him for that.

So thankfully, Snow realized all of this and got us a "Witter" for another 2 years. Two more terrorizing ranger forwards.

Christmas in July.

(Editor's note- I am going to post an entry from earlier in the year about Brendan Witt. I received some nice feedback from it, so I am going to re post it now. The timing is right. Enjoy!)

Top Ten Reasons why people don't mistake me for Brendan Witt

Number 10- It takes Brendan Witt less than 3 weeks to grow visible facial hair

Number 9- If I get sucker punched at work, I don't walk away laughing when my co-worker gets penalized

Number 8- Brendan Witt can call Rick DiPietro's cell phone on a regular basis without having a restraining order issued against him

Number 7- When Brendan Witt gets hit on the ankle with frozen hockey pucks he doesn't scream "Oh, the humanity!" as he lays twitching on the ice

Number 6- When walking outside the Islander locker room, Brendan Witt doesn't hear the equipment manager ask under his breath "who the hell is this guy"?

Number 5- If I come limping home with a black eye and stitches on my forehead my wife doesn't scream "I told you to wear that damn visor!"

Number 4- The thought, "That was a pretty nasty paper cut, looks like a sick day for me tomorrow" has never crossed Brendan Witt's mind

Number 3- Brendan Witt played for the Washington Capitals

Number 2- If I cross checked Sean Avery, I would be arrested (after my lengthy hospital recovery)

And the Number One Reason people don't confuse me for Brendan Witt- I can't tell my wife "I'm going to Ottawa honey, see you in ten days"

A Bailey, with ice please

2008-06-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Wow.

Like most of you out there in Islander Country, I found myself eagerly reading each of Logan's recent posts which discussed the Islander's myriad options for tonight. What I do not remember reading was a scenario where the Isles would trade down twice and select Josh Bailey. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, but I'm just trying to get my thoughts around what happened tonight.

As speculation swirled today I thought back to number 5 in '72. The draft pick, a defenseman, upon whom our dynasty was built. I came into this draft hoping to secure a solid d'man you could QB the powerplay. Contenders are cornered around such individuals. The possibility of trading up to LA's pick and acquiring Bogosian or Doughty intrigued me. However, it was not meant to be.

My initial reaction to Snow's moves was disappointment. A top 5 pick is exciting, and its an opportunity to put people in the seats. It was the silver lining this April. Was this truly, however, an opportunity lost?

If this draft is a strong as they say, then having the 9th , 40th , and possibly 60th pick could yield strong dividends. If nothing else, it shows a commitment on Snow's part to develop a young team into a contender down the road. There have been a few bananas out there that have suggested Snow's moves were Miburyesque. If that were so, we would have picked up McCabe and taken his curse of a contract off the Leafs hands. No.

Snow had a plan, and he executed it. This was not, I believe, an impulsive decision. Snow saw something in this center, and he went for it. And in doing so, he added some picks that can help him fill some of the other holes the Isles have.

Only time will tell if this was a brilliant draft, or an unmitigated disaster.

I am going to have a beer and mull it over. Until then, I stand behind the man who broke his ass preparing for this draft and navigating infinitely complex scenarios to do what he felt was best for this organization. I stand behind Garth Snow.

And in this corner...

2008-05-28T17:19:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here on my couch, having recently returned from my vacation, watching the Ultimate Warrior wrestle Bobby the Brain Heenan on MSG classics. The Brain is comically dressed in Andre the Giant like black tights as he unveils a hidden pair of brass knuckles. If he loses, he will be stuffed into a furry weasel outfit. Frankly, I feel this is a terrible mismatch. Poor Brain.

The One Man Gang just lost to Hacksaw Jim Duggan before the Warrior/Heenan match and Lord Alfred Hayes is speculating that Slick's job could be in jeopardy. And we think Baseball managers have it tough?

The Million Dollar Man will take part in tonight's main event. Talk about a guy who has it all. Good head of hair, lots of money, confidence, a Summer home in Hyannis Port, Mass., fancy gold tuxedos. What more could any woman want?

OK, a little hockey. I, along with a few other bloggers from around the NHL predicted the Pens in 6 games in the Cup finals, and perhaps in doing so, showed a lack of appreciation for Detroit's masterful puck possession game. In any event, game 3 is tied nil-nil as I write this. (Never mind, Crosby just scored of a Wing turnover).

Jeff Klein at the Times asked us recently for our thoughts regarding the length of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Finals, for example, have the potential of running 3 Saturday's in length. A schedule clearly attempting to capitalize on ratings. Check out this link for our thoughts. http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/do-the-nhl-playoffs-drag-on-too-long

I'm going to enjoy the rest of game 3 now, of course, only after the weasel suit comes out at MSG.

Worst Fishing Story Ever

2008-05-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

You'll forgive a brief non-hockey related entry, as I touch on one of my favorite off-season pastimes. A co-worker recently told me about something she witnessed after work one night last week. It was a terrifying story, one which I could not keep to myself. It's a third person account, but here we go.

My co-worker lives in Bay Ridge and went for a jog one night after work. She noticed a fisherman casting out into the Atlantic, likely looking to hook one of the monster flounder that now qualifies as a "keeper" in the state of New York. (Its up to 21 1/2 inches...good luck with that). Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the fisherman pulling a fish over the wall. As she paused a moment to see what he had landed, it became clear that this was one of those fish with a long skinny tail, pointy mean face, and brown fur. Oh #%*@!!! That's a rat!!!

Well my co-worker (smart girl) absolutely bolted. Before she did, however, she saw this fisherman flip this brown thing on the ground and step on it. It was big and bloated and its wet pointy fur made it look like a porcupine. (She did not stick around long enough to determine if the rat was even alive or not when he came over). Now this fisherman, brave bastard that he is, should probably have a television show lined up. "Furriest Catch", or "World's Scariest Angler".

Now if that had been me, I would have just thrown the whole damn rod into the ocean, rat and all. No cutting the line. No sticking around to think about what just happened. Rat over, me gone. Never to fish in Brooklyn again.

I am going on vacation guys, so I'll catch you next week.

Until then, if you plan on going fishing, be sure to check for the catch limit is for the elusive rat fish... and don't wear your nice sneakers.

An Island Unto Itself

2008-05-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Prior to the second to last home game this season against the Devils, participants of the Blog Box were invited to a meeting attended by members of the media relations department of the Isles, specifically, Chris Botta and Corey Witt. I remember at the conclusion of the meeting a fellow blogger had asked "do you anticipate any changes to the blog box next year?", to which an answer was wryly returned "we are the Islanders after all." As if to imply, with the Islander organization, you should know to expect the unexpected.

And this past week, the unexpected appeared in the resignation of Islander VP of Media Relations, Chris Botta. I, like my fellow bloggers, was shocked. My shock gradually turned to frustration after reading Greg Logan's blog, which indirectly placed the blame (if that's the right word, I don't know)on VP of Sales Marketing and Operations, Chris Dey, son-in law of owner Charles Wang. Logan was hesitant to argue the connection to Mr. Wang mattered. I'm not.

In an April 14th, 2007 article in the New York Times discussing past accounting irregularities at Computer Associates, Mr. Wang's management style was summarized as follows by a report issued by company's board:

"Mr. Wang created a “culture of fear” at Computer Associates — now called CA — and deliberately put inexperienced executives in senior positions so that he would have more control, according to the report. He discouraged executives from meeting with each other and arbitrarily fired managers or employees who disagreed with him." According to the Times, the report also said “Under Mr. Wang, CA was known as a ‘one-headed’ dragon, and no significant decisions were made without his participation and approval.”

True? I do not know. For the record, Mr. Wang very strongly disagreed with report's findings.

Reading that quote however, gives me pause. I think immediately of Neil Smith. I think then of Garth Snow. I think of Pat LaFontaine. I now think of Chris Botta. I read the quote above, and am haunted by these names.

I do not know Chris Botta. At least on a personal level. But I did observe him on many occasions in the locker room and the surrounding area in the Coliseum. He was always professional. Cool under stressful circumstances, such as after the stomping incident with Chris Simon. He accommodated beat writers with their requests concerning availability of players, and would, for example, make sure a player was there if the Times was writing a special article, perhaps about face washing. He was respectful to members of the Blog Box. He didn't have to be. I recall leaving the locker room after games and him saying "thanks for coming out". Really? Thanking me for coming to an Islander game and enjoying the experience of being in the locker room for post game interviews?

Thank you Chris.

And now, faced with another embarrassing loss of a key member of its personnel, the Islanders no longer have the one guy who could have helped them find the silver lining. That person, 20 years with the organization, is gone.

Will he be the last?

Greetings

2008-04-27T19:52:00.001-07:00

Hello All. Its been a little while since my last post and I wanted check in with everyone from Islander Country.

Like many of you, I've been watching my share of playoff hockey. For someone who is definitely not a Devil fan, their loss to the Rangers hit me pretty hard. I, like Chico and Ken Daneko, was bothered by the presence of so may ranger fans for the final game in Newark. Perhaps its simply because as an Islander fan who sees the same thing happen in Uniondale, I can appreciate their pain.

The New York Times did a survey and asked for our playoff predictions in round 2. I chose the Habs, Wings, Pens and Stars. We'll see. I wouldn't put any money on it though, as I had the Ducks coming out of the West when the postseason began. Looks as if the Habs/ Flyers series is about to get pretty nasty as it heads back to Philly, and the same can be said, although to a much lesser degree in the Pens series. Its seems the rangers try in many ways to play devil style playoff hockey, but come up short in one area or another, such as turnovers. Plus, I question the longevity of a team who gives up a 3 goal lead in the second round of the playoffs.

On a completely unrelated note, I have come to an important conclusion. The Isles should redesign their jerseys. Now that I think about it, this will deserve a full post devoted exclusively to the topic in the future. In summary though, I look at the Habs, Stars, Wings and even Caps. Their jerseys are great. And they are great because they are simple. Let's go back to the 80's retro colors sans the orange sleeves and stripes.

We'll cut this a little short as I'm heading off to bed soon. I'll post at length soon with my playoff observations, fishing previews and gaming updates (GTA4, COD4, Assassins Creed, etc.).

And by the way, if you've read Chris Botta's recent post about "The Ranger's Effect", I agree with him. Anyone who thinks the rangers winning a cup would be good for the Islanders and their fans has simply never been had the misfortune of being an Islander fan who has lived in the NYC area since 1994. Goodnight.

Two Minutes for Being Sean Avery

2008-04-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

This past week Sean Avery, with his innovative and bush league harassment of Devils netminder Marty Brodeur, has caused the NHL to broaden the scope of its unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Anonymous sources have recently reported to Greetings From Islander Country that NHL dean of discipline Colin Campbell is currently holed up in his underwater lair outside of Toronto drafting a new minor penalty to take affect next season. A two minute minor for "Being Sean Avery". Referees will indicate that such penalties have been called by waving their hands around sporadically while making menacing facial contortions.

The following will get you called for two minutes for "Being Sean Avery"

10. Screaming "Oh My God, there's a fire in the arena!" at opposing defensemen

9. Playing without hockey pants

8. Wearing a Dave Schultz mask to intimidate forwards

7. Hitting on the opposing goaltender

6. Painting your jersey over with black and white stripes and pretending to be an official

5. Untying the opposing goaltender's leg pads

4. Dropping dead pucks all over the ice

3. Mooning the opposing goaltender

2. Driving the visiting team's Zamboni while intoxicated

And finally, the number one transgression that will get you two minutes for "Being Sean Avery"...

1. Being Sean Avery

Farewell to the Also Rans

2008-04-08T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hey loyal Islander fans (I know you are loyal if you are still reading Islander blogs at this point in the year), be sure to check out my comments in the NY Times Slapshot Blog's "Farewell to the Also Rans". There are many funny responses from all participants.

I find that laughter helps with the pain.

http://slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/hockey-night-in-blogdom-farewell-to-the-also-rans/

Isles to Send Yolanda Vega to Draft Lottery

2008-04-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

Islander fans will no doubt recall the various celebrities that have come out to support our team this year. Kevin Connolly, Cristie Brinkley, Dee Karl, Pat Sajak and of course Yolanda Vega. I have it from very unreliable sources that the Islanders will be sending our own experienced lottery expert to NYC for Monday's NHL draft lottery in the place of Islander legend Mike Bossy. The strategy will be employed as an attempt to give us a better shot at the number one pick. The probability of such an event, which I believe to hover around 8%, will prove to be a tall order.

I have not been able to get an official comment from the team on these developments, but like you I'll be pulling for Yolanda. Or Mike Bossy. Ah hell, I'll just be pulling for the Isles.

Sign Nolan to a 15 year deal

2008-03-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

On March 23rd Greg Logan wrote an article titled "Will Islanders give Nolan contract extension?" which focused on the fact that the Islander Coach is heading into the last season of his contract without an extension. The article would lead an average reader to believe Nolan's future, and even job with the Islanders, are in doubt.

My first thought after reading Logan's piece was that it was likely an article designed to stir up some interest and debate at a time when it must be challenging for a beat writer to attract the attention of readers, given the team's disappointing finish to the season. Having said that, the fact that there may even be a remote chance that Islander management is questioning Nolan's future with the team is disturbing.

Before we even discuss that the Isles can expect to miss approximately 400 man games due to injury this year we have to consider that the team which skated out on opening night was a sixth to tenth seeded team. Frankly, sixth to eighth seed was a fairly ambitious goal given the exodus of free agents in July. Without some stellar play by our franchise goaltender in the first half of the season, we could have been out of it by the all-star break. We were plagued even then by a lackluster powerplay and a general inability to score. And the team was largely healthy. Yet, given the lack of scoring talent, Coach Nolan was able to get his guys to play competitively.

Fast forward to today. Injuries. I haven't seen a team so decimated by injuries since my grammer school basketball team was stricken with chicken pox. And yet, when this team has seemingly little to play for, they play with heart, grit, and character. I think Nolan's greatest accomplishment this year is largely overlooked. He got a non-playoff team comprised of AHL players, a back-up goalie and a hand full of veterans to play each game like it really mattered.

And let's not forget the intangibles he brings to the table. My experience in the locker room exposed me to a coach whose professionalism is unassailable. He is a coach who literally smiles when names like Park, Bergenheim, and Comeau are merely mentioned, and will be a wonderful mentor to Kyle Okposo. I think he reserves complaint for the just the right situations. When referees calls are particularly glaring or when players (like Holweg who grabbed at Martinek's stiches) clearly step over the line. His restraint makes his critical comments meaningful.

Being the coach of the Islanders this year was not for the weak of heart. And yet, Coach Nolan accorded himself like a true professional. He is the coach to lead this young and developing team into Cup contention.

If I were Charles Wang, I would take Ted Nolan out to dinner. Just he and I. And I would offer him a contract extension.

Right after I thanked him for being here.

Drinking at a bar and arguing about hockey

2008-03-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

I gave up drinking beer for Lent. So when I went out for happy hour this week an alternative had to be found, and I went with Stoli-O and soda. It was not nearly as enjoyable as beer, and I drank at a leisurely pace so as not to fall victim to a rarely enjoyed (and stronger) form of alcohol. The vodka was passable. The real fun of the evening, however, came from seeing old friends, telling old stories, and fighting old fights about hockey.

The participants and spectators of the aforementioned argument included two Isle fans (myself included), a devil fan, a ranger fan and several non-combatants. Add alcohol and all the ingredients for an incident that would at some point require attorneys were present. Luckily, it didn't come to that.

The evening started off innocuously enough with talk about upcoming weddings, work, gaming and the dude walking around the bar in a red jester outfit for some sort of promotion. About an hour into the night hockey inevitably became the central point of discussion. Myself, my fellow Isle fan, and our jersey devil fan were debating Scott Stevens. We all agreed that the guy was absolutely killer. A guy that any hockey fan would want on their team. I recalled many times watching the devils in the playoffs and seeing Scott Stevens sitting in the penalty box twitching. "You'd have to be absolutely out of your mind to $#!& with that guy", I said, "if I were an opposing winger, I would have just shot the puck away before he got anywhere near me and played dead". A brief silence followed and was broken when my buddy added "he can't hold a candle to Potvin though."

That's where the unpleasantness began as my devil fan friend seemed to shrug off the comment and was asked immediately "what was that face for?" We proceeded to beat this guy over the head with facts until he abandoned whatever doubts he may have had. Potvin was just as scary to opposing players, if not more so, was in a class of his own while playing point, and was sick with his breakout passes. Stevens had some of this, but not the same offensive prowess, and certainly not the 1052 career points. After all the abuse this poor devil fan took he just smiled and said "I was only trying to give Jim a hard time. I'd put him above Stevens too." If you were wondering where our ranger fan was during this discussion, he was too busy watching the blueshirts play on the hdtv and mingling with the non-hockey crowd. We didn't need him to place Leetch behind Stevens in the pecking order of defensemen anyway.

I told my friend, the devil fan who is getting married next month, "enjoy your honeymoon, it will be the best sex you ever had. Just don't let your wife find out." We all had a good laugh and moved off the topic of hockey as quickly as we arrived on it.

On the train ride home that night, thoughts of DP's hip surgery, the Islander's upcoming 1st round draft pick, and dinner floated around my head. At eleven o'clock I made potato pancakes from Trader Joe's and tried not to wake my wife.

Such is a night in the life of a hockey fan, and I'll drink to that.

Can Long Island lose the Islanders?

2008-03-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

It's a possibility.

At least that's what I came away thinking after listening to Charles Wang's interview with "Mike and the Mad Dog" last week. First, let me say this. The Fan is often criticized for lacking hockey coverage. And while that criticism may have some merit, Russo and Francesa came to the Coliseum and put forth a great lineup of programming. Their questions were insightful, and if they have limited knowledge of the Islander organization and team, it did not show. In fact, I saw Francesa entering the arena at the last home game I attended on another evening all together. So kudos to them for doing a bang up job.

Their interview with Wang, which dealt extensively with the Lighthouse Project was enlightening, and is the source of my post tonight. The Islander owner indicated that the team is currently waiting on approval from the Town of Hempstead to move forward on the Lighthouse project. Following that approval, the project would go back to Nassau County for the final green light. The decision from Hempstead is expected as early as this Summer, and if all goes perfectly, construction will begin on the current Coliseum in July 2009.

However, anyone following these proposals is aware that this is easier said than done. First, when asked by Russo, Wang indicated that the Islanders will never have to play at another arena during construction. If all goes as planned and renovation of NVMC begins July '09, the lower bowl only will be renovated in the off season and the Isles will play many of their first games on the road, similar to the Devils this year. The remaining work on the upper bowl will be completed in the following off season. Russo seemed a little incredulous that such work can be completed over 4 months in two consecutive Summers. Seems like a tall order to me as well.

Further discussion was devoted to the overall magnitude of the Lighthouse. Sports facilities, residences, hotels, office space and canals are envisioned. Mr. Wang thought it is integral to the overall development of Long Island as a whole that this project include all of these elements. The only problem is, as much as the scope of their ambition sounds impressive, it also makes is seem harder to achieve. Could approval from the relevant government bodies have been easier if we were simply building a new arena? I don't know.

And finally, the scary part. When asked by Mike if the Coliseum would be renovated if the Lighthouse project does not go through, Wang said it was very unlikely. And the obvious inference, which Wang would not comment on, was the possibility of the Isles having to leave Long Island if his overall project fails. So every Islander fan better hope that we'll all be skating on a frozen canal in Uniondale in Winter 2010. Otherwise, we can all get fitted for our Flyer jerseys.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"While You Were Out" NY Islander Edition (Parts 1 & 2)

2008-03-07T17:14:00.001-08:00

I have a plan.

First, let me provide some background. Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the Core of the Four Event on Long Island. I arrived for the Parade of Champions an hour early to ensure a good spot on line. It was a very memorable experience as Islander legends walked mere feet from my position. Bryan Trottier threw me a little high five action, and towards the end of the parade, after having just handed off the Cup, Denis Potvin swung over to me and stretched his huge hand out as we exchanged a high five as well. All I did was offer up a little fist pump and he, as if sensing that I may be one of his biggest fans, found me. It was a emotional and unforgettable day, which brings me to my current dilemma.

Of course, I couldn't embark on such a once in a lifetime experience without a camera to document the special day. And on Monday night, I picked up my developed pics, and knew immediately that they would have to be shared with the World. The next day, I went with a buddy to Bed Bath & Beyond to purchase a frame. "These pictures must be framed and mounted in my home!", I thought. So Thursday night, I struggled for a half hour deciding which four photos to mount, and another half hour meticulously arranging the photos in the matted frame, constantly concerned about layout and symmetry.

Well Friday morning rolled around and I said to my wife "Honey, I have something to show you. You might be very proud of me because I know you love arts and crafts." I proceeded to pull the frame out of the closet. "Wow Jim, that's really nice", she said in an upbeat tone, "you know where that would look great? Your office at work." Well I was very touched that she seemed so supportive. She looked generally impressed.

But then I started to think. One, I don't even have an office at work. And two, this was all a sneaky attempt to tell me "if you think your hanging those pictures up in this house, you're out of your mind. Matted frame or no matted frame." I was forlorn at work. Until that is, I came up with a plan!

My wife is going away this weekend to visit her parents, and while she is gone, I'm going to hang the matted frame with the four photos (Coliseum, Ice Girls, Potvin & Cup and Core of Four Ceremony, respectively) next to my Potvin "Norris x 3" autographed photo. I'll call it "The Wall of Fame". Loyal readers of this blog will recall the unpleasantness that arose when I hung the first autographed photo last year, so understandably, I'm a little nervous. But I have no choice. If not for me, it would be unfair to future guests of our home to leave those pictures out of view.

Now be sure to check in here Sunday night when I document the aftermath of my wife's return and discovery of my "home improvement". I plan to post photo's as well, of the framed pictures, and of our air mattress. After all, I may be spending a lot of time sleeping on it come Sunday evening.

Sunday evening update - 5.18 PM, March 9th. Plan backfires.

Well, my wife came home earlier than expected, at 7 pm Saturday evening, before I even had a chance to mount the photos. No big deal I thought, I'll just install it Sunday afternoon when she goes grocery shopping. However, on Sunday morning, as I was playing Call of Duty 4 multiplayer and trying to avoid camping snipers, my wife came running in from the bedroom and yelled "So, while I was out, huh!" So my wife, who I mistakenly thought read my blog (and comments) less frequently than she does, read all about my plan before I could implement it. Fortunately though, as surprised as she was, she was a good sport about it and seemed quite amused. And at 5.00 PM, before we left for Sunday Night Mass, I hung the pictures with her blessing.

Well, at least until the next Islander Alumni event.

The Path to Hockey Heaven

2008-03-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

Beer. Ice Girls. Testosterone.

A general synopsis of my college experience.

Important components, however, of another monumental event, this Sunday's Core of the Four Celebration in Uniondale. Two years ago, when the Isles held the 25th anniversary celebration of the first Cup I was unable to attend because of work, which had me out of state of the time. There will be nothing that keeps me from attending this Sunday however, as it will afford me an opportunity to see something that every Islander fans should be honored to witness in their lifetime, our Captain, number 5, making his way back home while carrying Lord Stanley's Cup.

The discussion of the dynasty years and the Cup finds me again considering our modern day organization, and its effort to return to greatness. If you've been reading my blog all year long, you would have noticed a trend. I felt from early on that the Isles were not built for a playoff run and needed to recognize that the best hope for a championship would come in the form of building, a term used frequently by GM Garth Snow as the trade deadline approached. We have a goaltender just heading into his prime, and we simply need to build a team around him that can make a run into June. You can hit up the Times blog to the right to get my thoughts on all of the Islander trades (just search for my blog name, or conversely, spend 4 hours trying to find me by conventional means). I was not afforded an opportunity there to address the trade that did not happen, and the source of the biggest disappointment for me on Tuesday. We could not move Satan for a pick. Miro, a notoriously streaky goal scorer, has seemed to bottom out when we most desperately needed scoring this year. A first round pick, or maybe even a second round pick in a deep draft was a big lost opportunity for a team interested in building. I've been told by BD and Tom Liodice that he was not even asked to waive his NTC. Having said all this, I do not know if there was universal reluctance by GM's to take on Miro given his knee problems, to be fair to Garth. I'm equally surprised that we could not move a hot Fedetenko to a playoff contender for a high pick, if not Miro. All in all, I walked away Tuesday night feeling as if there were opportunities lost.

Regardless, its history now. Its time to get behind this team and our GM as we all strive for our common goal.

Until then, I will relive my college years in the friendly confines of a hockey arena, the path laid before me by champions.

In Depth Trade Analysis

2008-02-27T04:35:00.000-08:00

Guys be sure to check out the link to the NY Times Slapshot blog as it should now have analysis from every single trade provided by partisan bloggers such as myself for the Isles. I only had 2 hours to familiarize myself with everything and get back to them last night, but I gave it a go. Read each part (there are several) of "jobbed or prospered" trade analysis. They'll be updating all day. Enjoy.

Good Luck Guys

2008-02-25T17:23:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a moment to wish my fellow bloggers Tom, BD, Dee, Mike and Ken good luck tomorrow covering the trade deadline, and to throw support behind our GM. You're in a good position Garth, go get 'em!

Also, if you haven't already, check out the "Atlantic Division" heading in the Times Slapshot blog, where I got into it with bloggers from every division team. They all did a nice job with it, and the Flyer blogger's comment about Holweg is priceless. Check it out, and go Isles!

Blog Announcement (Slapshot Blog Up- Noon Monday!!)

2008-02-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed a recent addition to my blog off to the right, a link for The Slap Shot Blog at the New York Times. The editors there are launching a new project where a guest blogger from each NHL team will represent their respective club, and they have asked me to fill that role for the Isles.

The idea is to give each blogger a questionnaire of perhaps five questions, the same questionnaire for each blogger, with all the questions having to do with their team. They’ll come back to me about every two weeks, and more frequently if the Isles make the playoffs (insert sarcastic comment here). I’ve been told the idea of the whole thing is to have fun, definitely to be partisan, and especially to be witty/funny/insightful. This will have no bearing on my current blog, except to hopefully bring more readers to the Blog Box.

Many of us, myself included, have bemoaned the lack of hockey coverage in print media, and the editors and writers at the Times who are involved in the Slap Shot Blog are part of a great alternative, one which will now enjoy a strong Islander viewpoint. This is good news for the Isles, as well as the Blog Box, the Islander initiative which thrives on the hard work of my fellow bloggers. This is expected to go live Monday morning, February 25th although that timeline is subject to change slightly. I will post an update if the Times changes their schedule.

I received the first request from the Times yesterday and they asked us for a 24 hour turnaround. And from looking at the questions and some instruction, I can guarantee there will be plenty of partisanship and plenty of passion. So let’s get out there and represent like only Islander fans can. This will equate to more hockey coverage, and more Islander coverage, which is without question an exciting thing.

Sleepless Nights

2008-02-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

I may be working on something pretty exciting that I should hopefully be able to publish within a few days. In the interim, I wanted to briefly post something tonight as there is so much going on in Islander Country.

First, I have not seen Howie Rose at a loss for words like this since Wendy’s started giving free chili to Islander fans again. The reason for his quiet rumination is the Isles logic defying play as of late. The team, who had difficulty scoring all season, and is currently decimated with injuries on the blue line, has somehow found a way to string 5 (make that 6) wins together. Jaffe thinks it’s largely effort. I think it’s somewhat more complicated. I liken it to listening to Springsteen’s “Greetings from Asbury Park” album, the prequel to my blog. I sure as hell enjoy the experience, but in the end, I really can’t explain why. (That mystery can be attributed to the cryptic lyrics of a young Springsteen.) It’s great to see the Isles get on a nice streak, but in the end, it does not change my mind about where the focus should be on Feb. 26, namely the long term future of this club. The Isles showed a ton of heart in their wins, but they also ran into Toronto and Atlanta teams who were surprisingly uninspired. Their streak is great, but it should be analyzed pragmatically by Garth Snow.

There seems to be some reluctance from Islander nation in accepting Chris Simon back into our line-up. Seeing as Jeff Tambellini is the temporary loser in this game of musical chairs, I can understand the sentiment. Personally however, I can’t bear to see Blake Comeau sucker punched, boarded and speared in the crotch any longer. We need, and have needed, an enforcer for a while now. It’s no secret. I respect Ted Nolan enough to support his decision here, and therefore support Chris Simon. Only time will tell if I have misplaced my faith.

I have had a hard time focusing at work lately. There is simply so much going on between the Isles playing seemingly every night, injuries, and the uncertainty of the trade deadline. Today, as I rushed to meet a deadline in my office, images of Chris Simon and Islander ice girls skated around my head. It’s maddening.

Love and Hockey- A Balancing Act

2008-02-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

During the first year after meeting my wife, a year held so fondly in my memory, I recall her remarking “you know, that’s one thing that I love about you, you really aren’t into sports at all. It’s so refreshing”. I remember smiling awkwardly and thinking to myself “should I say something here? No, better not. Some secrets are better left secrets.” I just paused and said “I know this great lounge in the lower east side. Let’s go for a drink.”

What I couldn’t bring myself to tell her was that it was the NHL lockout year. And should she stick around, she would have to eventually come to terms with a bit of unhealthy obsession. Islander hockey.

Valentine’s Day is my least favorite of all the holidays. When I was single, it was depressing. And now that I’m married, I always feel pressure to live up to Hallmark expectations. At my office on Thursday I saw several guys scribbling feverishly on cards as single people walked around an office replete with floral arrangements and teddy bears adorned with red ribbons. The holiday reminds me of “couples only” dances at weddings. I sometimes feel we could do without them both.

That said, the holiday stirred up some amusing anecdotes from the past few years of my life as I have traveled the road that few brave men have traveled before me, the one that intersects relationship drive and hockey boulevard.

This past Saturday as I was watching the Islander game I saw Billy Guerin doing a spot which basically said “If you still haven’t gotten that Valentines Day present for your loved one, the Isles have an idea that will work for you”. They were pushing the Hockey and Heels promotion for Tuesday night’s game vs. the Flyers. I thought to myself “now there’s an idea. What a night out! Honey, come here. I know what we are doing for Valentine’s Day.” Well, we watched the remainder of the game in awkward silence as I thought to myself “how could Billy Guerin steer me so wrong?”

Last year, we introduced a new member into our family, a framed and matted autographed photo of Denis Potvin. “Norris x 3”, it read “78, 78, 79”. I remember the sheer excitement as I walked back from the framing store with the Captain’s photo wrapped in brown wrapping paper. I couldn’t wait to get it up. Perhaps understandably, my wife did not share my enthusiasm. As I raised the photo onto our wall she looked like a Ranger fan watching number 5 being raised to the rafters at MSG. Mental note- future raising of the photo events at my house will likely take place in the closet.

Over the years I’ve subjected my wife to myriad jersey and memorabilia purchases, Islander games against defensive minded teams, and several instances of seemingly random screaming at the television screen. It can be a difficult balance, but we get through it. And for the times when I get a little too crazed during the season, I always remind her “You never know, there maybe be another lockout soon.” And then I promise to take her to that lounge in the lower east side, where we can reminisce about the times when I didn’t care about sports.

Well, maybe with one exception.

The Bad Times

2008-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

This past Monday a co-worker of mine came in wearing a Jeremy Shockey jersey as he celebrated the brand new NY Giant Championship. Later in the morning, a friend of mine commented "man when the Isles win a Cup, I'm going to wear my Islander jersey for a week." I responded "I'll have a Potvin jersey sewn into my skin. Lets just hope they're not the Hamilton Islanders when it happens".

Any Islander fan will tell you there are trends to following the orange and blue. And I believe the trends are cyclical. For example, due of my love of the Islanders, I am good for about 2 bouts of depression a year. These bouts are followed and preceded by a general sense of malaise. On rare occasions, optimism is experienced. Hence is the cycle of the long suffering Islander fan. The depression usually sets in when the Isles look as if they might miss the playoffs or get eliminated after the first round, and in the off-season, when something disastrous happens to the Islander organization such as the free agent exodus and the Neil Smith chapter. Sadly, I believe it is now safe to diagnose myself as having the first case of the calendar year. And as illustrated by my comments above, one of the most severe symptoms for me is cynicism. The cause is simple. From 8th seed prior to the all-star break to thirteenth in the conference in the blink of an eye. It would do it to anyone.

There is a silver lining here, although it is somewhat faint. For the countless fans clamoring for the play of Jeff Tambellini, you’ve finally gotten your wish, although it came at the loss of one of our veteran leaders (Sillinger, hip). Hopefully this time around Tambellini will be able to re-produce the scoring prowess he has displayed in the AHL when skating with line-mate Frans Nielsen. Their power play abilities and overall positioning will need continued development at this level in order to help our anemic offense, but their energy, and hopefully scoring, will be welcome.

The other positive I see may come if (IF) we in fact find ourselves well out of reach of a playoff spot as the trade deadline approaches. Such a position will force Snow to be a seller as opposed to a buyer, which is the best for this team’s future. As I wrote in mid/late December, it was clear that this team was not built to be a playoff contender, and we are more than just one player away from earning that title. Thinking that we are in the hunt for a playoff spot and making a trade to pick up a forward to help us make a run would show improvidence and hurt us in the long run. Conversely, trading a soon to be free agent or agents for promising youth would be wiser. I look at a guy like Comrie. Loved his fight and 2 goals exhibited against the Pens, but I’d deal him if the right opportunity arose. He’s been quoted in Logan’s most recent Islander Insider as stating he wants to be a part of the Islander organization. I don’t know if I buy that.

I’m going to go play Halo 3 now (or as my wife likes to call it “that stupid game again!?!”), but as I summarize my thoughts here, my depression is letting up a little. Look at it this way, if we continue to play like we did against the Penguins, maybe we will make a run at this thing. And then all bets are off, go Isles and bring on the Sens!

And if we don’t make a run of it, we have an opportunity to try and stock up on a little young talent, and perhaps secure a decent draft pick.

No matter what happens, I just hope Garth plays his cards right. I do want to wear my jersey for a week straight, after all.

47 Words

2008-01-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

If you are a hockey fan who gets depressed by the ever waning attention paid to the sport of hockey by print media, then you might not want to read any further.

47 words. That's exactly how many words the New York Times devoted to the New York Islander vs. Ottawa Senator game that took place earlier this week. Compare that with a wopping 64 words devoted to Tuesday evening's Devil game and around 100 donated to the epic Ranger game summary. (I had to read that one over a couple sittings). Written in Wednesday's paper, this is just another example of print media's part in seeing the NHL fall further down the ladder of relevance.

About now you're probably saying to yourself "well what do you expect, its a few days before a Giant Superbowl, and the Johan Santana news was breaking?" And you would be correct.

Well, sort of.

Let's look at some other stories that appeared in the same sports section that received more coverage. (Note, while some of the following were full fledged articles, others were small briefings. Nonetheless, all received more words in their stories than the Islander piece).

So here we go: Articles/ briefings that received greater coverage than the Isle game in the 1/30 sports section of the Times:

Announcement that the baseball Hall of Fame game will be dropped after this year

Olympian Jeremy Wariner splits with his coach

Tom Brady referred to as "stud", and proposed to by random woman

Piece about Georgetown point guard Jonathan Wallace

Women's College Ball- W. Virginia over Rutgers

Patriots back-up QB, Matt Cassel

Nigeria tops Benin (soccer)

It may be of interest to anyone reading this post to hear that on all occasions when I have had the fortune of receiving a blog pass for Islander home games, I never saw a writer with a pass from The NY Daily News, The New York Post, or the Times. Now I'm not saying they have never been there, I'm just saying I have never seen one.

Reason for continued concern? Yes. Reason to get mired in depression? No.

The NHL can boast of having the most passionate base, if not the largest. We follow our teams religiously, despise our rivals, read blogs, write blogs, get into hockey message boards and buy too many Islander jerseys. And you know what, its a good thing we do. Its the only way our sport survives.

If you don't beleive me, I've got 47 words for you.

Inside the Locker Room

2008-01-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

Ken Rosenblatt, who writes another blog for the Islander blog box commented to me recently as we waited for Bill Guerin to arrive in the Islander locker room for a post game press conference, "Jim, I remember the last time we were here, and I saw this look on your face as sweat dripped from above you onto the floor and bench". This is why Ken does such a nice job with his blog, Islanders Outsider (http://islandersoutsider.blogspot.com/). He's damn observant. The night he was referring to, I was standing on the outskirts of a player press conference behind all of the beat writers when I noticed a gentle pat, pat sound off to my right. Its then that I realized I was standing under Richard Park's shoulder pads and hockey pants, which were trickling with sweat. I wish I could enjoy Ken's memory of seeing my face when this was happening, as I remember thinking to myself "that's probably just water from the ice".

As we sit here in the midst the all-star break weekend, I've reflected on some memories of my attendance of Islander post game press conferences throughout the first half of the season. One aspect that may be of interest to fans is the interaction of players with bloggers and beat writers, which is to say, there is none. When players like Berard, DP or Sillinger walk by me I go into "A" train mode. That is, I go out of my way to avoid eye contact. Rarely will a player ever acknowledge you. I remember one time Jon Sim (inj.) was walking around in a suit and he seemed to say hello to me and a couple of bloggers. I ignored him. I figured "he can't be talking to us, and I don't want to be an agitator."

One of the reasons I appreciate the way Chris Botta has run this program is that he is extremely hands off. They vetted us via an application process, slowly brought us into the press conference environment, and let us learn how to act in that environment by observing. It is a constant learning experience, but my fellow bloggers take their professionalism in the locker room very seriously.

I've noticed some interested characteristics of some of the players as well. For example, Witt and Sillinger are brilliant with the press. Their experience shows. They seem to know when to be reserved, and when its necessary to make a forceful statement. Very impressive. All-Star Rick DiPietro, who is also eloquent with the press, seems to give off the vibe that he would rather be somewhere else other than answering questions. Watch a few of his conferences. He winces, grimaces, slowly rubs his face and generally gives the impression that answering questions from beat writers isn't the favorite part of his job. Doesn't mean he lacks elocution, or for that matter, the ability to be an elite goaltender.

Bill Guerin is another interesting guy. I've noticed that when Bill is scoring a lot he exudes confidence in the post game q&a, and if he receives a question he doesn't like, he'll go right back at the inquirer. Conversely, when he is the midst of a scoring drought, he tends to become very thoughtful and philosophical, sometimes taking minutes at a time to answer one question.

Finally, for anyone who is wondering, I've never run into any ice girls behind the scenes, although I can assure you that is not from a lack of effort. (disclaimer to wife- I'm only kidding).

So to all you future Islander bloggers, you have sweat dropping on your head and players who will ignore you, to look forward to.

Chances are, if you're reading this blog and you're like me, you'll love every minute of it.

Witt, Martinek Back for MLK day matinee

2008-01-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Isles are reporting through their website that defensive horses Brendan Witt and Radek Martinek will return for Monday's game. This is clearly good news for fans, especially since Martinek is coming back a little sooner than I would have thought. Our defensive corp, replete with injury, has been over-extended as of late and guys like Johnson have been asked to carry a very heavy load, especially given his very recent recovery. This is an important back to back conference match up and we are fortunate to have these guys back.

January 18- Week in Review

2008-01-17T15:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry Marty- Prior to the start of this week's game against the devils former Islander Chico Resch said during the devil telecast that Coach Brent Sutter had had enough. He went on to say that the sentiment was shared by the devil players. They were mad as hell about losing 4 in a row to the Orange and Blue and they weren't going to take it anymore. Well, like it or not, they took it again. DP was spectacular, with a couple of glove saves (especially in the final minutes of the game) of his total of 37 that were truly amazing. I am concerned with Berard's play of late, however. Opposing forwards seem to have the ability to skate by him, and last night he took two almost consecutive penalties. We'll have to wait and see where Bryan (-8 for the year) winds up after Martinek and Witt return, but I believe he will be destined for healthy scratch land. Actually, Meyer's strong play of late will complicate things for Nolan further. In conclusion however, I am quite pleased with the devil game. The Isles (by my count) are 15 and 0 when leading after the second. And they accomplished something even more impressive, they've found a way to make Brent Sutter look even more sullen than usual.

Whero is Miro? Eleven games without a goal and only 10 on the season is a great disappointment. If you look at the countless 1 goal affairs the Islanders get involved in his lack of scoring becomes even more glaring. He had at least 2 very strong chances to score against the habs earlier in the week and had he netted one, the Isles likely would have picked up at least one point. As February 26th approaches, he's vulnerable.

Charles and Chris- The versus telecast of the Isles/ habs showed a familiar face sitting with Charles Wang in the owner's box, Chris Simon. The announcers speculate that Chris actually may start practicing with the team again soon. Not crazy about that idea? Any suggestions then on who to play in March against Orr, Hollweg and Avery? I will say this for the Islanders. They show loyalty. This is one example, Webb, Cairns and Dunham are others.

The New York Times has reported that Christie Brinkley, along with Ivanka Trump and Ed Norton, have helped pour thousands of dollars into Governor Spitzer's campaign account. I am very glad that she is a fan of the Islanders, even though I occasionally kid about her famous catch phrase. As for her political allies, I'm not even going there. I just thought you might find it interesting.

Go ISLES and goodnight!

Islander Fan Quiz!

2008-01-08T17:24:00.000-08:00

So tough guy (or girl), you fancy yourself an Islander fan do you? Well you surely are, but how much of a fan are you? Well I've come up with a quiz to ascertain just that. The answer key is at the bottom of this post. Good Luck Islander fans, they'll get harder as you move on!

1) This University of Minnesota Alum has recently signed a 3 year deal with the Isles:

A) Robert Nillson
B) Kyle Okposo
C) Butch Goring
D) Deb Kaufman

2) The Islanders first victory of the 07/08 season came against?

A) Pittsburgh
B) Tampa bay
C) Atlanta
D) Buffalo

3) This goaltender served as Wade Dubielewicz's backup when DP missed 3 games due to a knee injury:

A) Tim Jackman
B) Garth Snow
C) Freddy Meyer
D) Joey MacDonald

4) At the half way point in the season, which was the only Islander of the following who could not boast that he played all 41 first half games?

A) Richard Park
B) Andy Hilbert
C) Mike Sillinger
D) Trent Hunter

5) Of the 6 retired numbers that hang in the rafters at NVMC, which 3 of those dynasty players did not attend Al Arbour night on November 3rd, 2007:

A) Gillies, Potvin and Smith
B) Trottier, Bossy and Smith
C) Bossy, Nystrom and Potvin
D) Potvin , Nystrom and Smith

6) At the half way mark of the season, who led all Islander D-Men with 64 shots?

A) Radek Martinek
B) Andy Sutton
C) Marc-Andre Bergeron
D) Chris Campoli

7) The Islander scoring difficulties during the first half of the season were well documented. Perhaps what best illustrated the drought was the number of consecutive games the Isles went without scoring more than 2 regulation goals. Exactly how many games was that?

A) 10
B) 11
C) 12
D) 13

Analyzing your score:

0/7- You stumbled onto an Islander blog by accident
1/7- "Is Mike Peca still on the team?"
2/7- "I promise, I'll pick it up in the spring!"
3/7- You attend the occasional game
4/7- You watch most games- good for you!
5/7- You own Tradex's 20 game ticket plan. Great!
6/7- Do you work for the team or something? Outstanding.
7/7- You're Christie Brinkley, and You're an Islander!!! Amazing!!

Answer Key- 1-B, 2-D, 3-D, 4-C, 5-D, 6-D, 7-D

My Thoughts on Chris Botta's Recent Blog Post

2008-01-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

Like many Islander fans, I have been enjoying Chris Botta's blog all season long, as it often brings us behind the scenes insight of the team, or presents an alternate view to questionable media coverage. His recent post on the "Hey" song played after Isle goals, which has incorporated the "you suck!" element has really got me thinking. And after some reflection, here are my thoughts on this, and some broader issues.

Chris Botta believes this new chant should stop. He is not forcing a stop by removing the song, but rather making a recommendation to fans in the interest of maintaining a good image of Islander supporters. Chris wrote:

"Please understand this: if this goal-celebration chant continues to grow, this is what our extraordinary fan base will become known for.They will be known for yelling something vulgar at the legendary Martin Brodeur"

I understand his concern for the image of the Islander fan base, but I don't agree that it should stop, except by its own lack of momentum, which is probably inevitable. Marty Brodeur, the most recognizable face on the Devil team, dons a NJ Devil Jersey, skates into our building, and wants to beat us. When Marty plays at MSG he is met with deafening "Marty Sucks!" chants. Why at the Coliseum should fans be expected to behave in such a meek manor? We play 1) in the Eastern conference and 2) in the Atlantic Division. This isn't the sun belt. We play against very passionate and sometimes hateful fans in NYC and Philly. And you know what, that's part of what makes our Division so special; there is a lot of passion there. The playoff games against Toronto to me were amazing. Yes, there were a minority of fans who acted irresponsibly in booing the Canadian anthem, but the passion in that building was unforgettable, and no doubt intimidating to the Leafs. That's Atlantic Division hockey atmosphere.

And how about the vitriol directed at Denis Potvin for all those years by ranger fans? Outrageously vulgar chants were directed at the future hall of famer, a player who I am convinced will never, ever be matched in pure talent and drive. And they still have that Potvin chant! Where the hell are Messier and JD on the big screen imploring fans to stop that chant? It wouldn't take long if they kept playing such videos before the chants stop. Yet, the Ranger organization does nothing. (I used to get really furious at that chant, but I really don't mind it now as its such a poor reflection on Ranger fans and has made Potvin an even bigger hockey legend than he already was).

In summary my feeling is this. I am more concerned with being a fan of a team that doesn't boo Marty and give him a hard time than one that sits quietly and admires him. This is the Atlantic Division. I think we could use a little less Sparky the Dragon and "Everybody clap their hands!" and a little more 80's atmosphere. I will never condone violence, or heavy vulgarity. At the same time though, I can't tolerate apathy.

This chant may not be the most profound, but at least its a representation of passion.

Musical Pads

2008-01-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Its well after 11 o'clock and I have just returned from the Coliseum after having watched the Isles lose in OT to the Panthers by a score of 4-3. I felt the Islanders show great resiliency by coming back from behind three times to steal a point from the Panthers. The Isles did so by capitalizing on the man advantage twice. The final goal was executed beautifully as Park fed Sillinger who hit Guerin who notched the goal. The play developed from the neutral zone.

The press conferences that followed the game, however, had very little to do with the game; instead they had to do with DP's pads. In fact, as soon as Nolan hit the podium he was peppered with questions about them. It seemed like some of the beat writers were salivating to get at him. Rick himself was asked myriad questions about the pads. It was very difficult to ascertain what happened from the vantage point of the stands, but this is what I learned from DP's Q & A session. Apparently Rick had been breaking in new pads as of late, and had used them for the first time in a game tonight. However, at some point either during or just after the first period, it somehow became known that Rick had not cleared the pads with the NHL, which was required. He was forced to change pads, and unfortunately, there may now be a suspension looming over DP for the lapse. Rick claimed that the Isles brought this to the attention of the league during the first intermission, but it may have been too late. We'll have to see what happens in the next couple of days.

If you were not at the game, there are some interesting notes. There was a strong vociferous crowd in attendance tonight. Pat Sajak was in attendance as well, and played to the Islander crowd very well during a TV timeout.

And finally, during another TV timeout, Florida Panther color commentator Denis Potvin was recognized by the Islander crowd and received a tremendous ovation. To be honest, that was one of the reasons I attended tonight's game. Any chance I have to show appreciation to number 5, I'll take without hesitation.

Goodnight Islander fans.

Top 10 Reasons why people don't mistake me for Brendan Witt

2007-12-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Guys! Rather than write about the forgettable Ottawa game, I though I would introduce a new addition to the GFIC blog, the top ten list.

Top Ten Reasons why people don't mistake me for Brendan Witt

Number 10- It takes Brendan Witt less than 3 weeks to grow visible facial hair

Number 9- If I get sucker punched at work, I don't walk away laughing when my co-worker gets penalized

Number 8- Brendan Witt can call Rick DiPietro's cell phone on a regular basis without having a restraining order issued against him

Number 7- When Brendan Witt gets hit on the ankle with frozen hockey pucks he doesn't scream "Oh, the humanity!" as he lays twitching on the ice

Number 6- When walking outside the Islander locker room, Brendan Witt doesn't hear the equipment manager ask under his breath "who the hell is this guy"?

Number 5- If I come limping home with a black eye and stitches on my forehead my wife doesn't scream "I told you to wear that damn visor!"

Number 4- The thought, "That was a pretty nasty paper cut, looks like a sick day for me tomorrow" has never crossed Brendan Witt's mind

Number 3- Brendan Witt played for the Washington Capitals

Number 2- If I cross checked Sean Avery, I would be arrested (after my lengthy hospital recovery)

And the Number One Reason people don't confuse me for Brendan Witt- I can't tell my wife "I'm going to Ottawa honey, see you in ten days"

Why we may be in for a long Season

2007-12-20T16:51:00.000-08:00

I was having a discussion with a co-worker 2 weeks ago about the Islanders and what I felt were some glaring problems that were developing, and on December 19th the Islanders played a game against the Sabres that seemed validate my fears; unfortunately we may just be in for a long season.

When I look at this team, I consider its core to be made up of Rick DiPietro, Brendan Witt, and Radek Martinek. Honorable mention goes to Ted Nolan, but as he can't dress for us, that's all I can give him. Now don't get me wrong, you can laud players like Campoli, Vasicek, Park and Bergenheim, but I'm talking about our core, the real strength of our team. The only problem with the core is that it contains no goal scorers. When opposing teams play us, who do they fear? Which line? Which forward? Which defenseman playing the point on the power play?

The game against Buffalo was telling. We played an "Islander" type of game. We were strong defensively and generally played well in the neutral zone. The shot differential was incredible, 43- 17 in favor of the Isles. DP played well, and the effort from the team was strong and constant. Islanders hockey.

Only problem, as the final horn sounded, the Isles wound up on the losing side of the scoring sheet. And the culprit? No surprise, it was our inability to score. When we were in the worst of our scoring woes coach Ted Nolan often stated that the team just needed to work harder to create opportunities, which is true. However, does anyone out there think that for the 13 games in a row where we could not score more that 2 regulation goals we were consistently lacking effort. I don't buy it. Although Coach Nolan can't come right out and say this, what we are lacking is scoring talent, not effort. Again, lets go back to the Buffalo game. Here are some of DP's comments.

"We played the type of game we've talked about playing. The last month we seemed to get away from playing our smart kind of style and being opportunistic, and we did that tonight. Unfortunately, we weren't able to score more goals."

I do not see us acquiring one player which would allow us to break out of this, and enable us to fight for much better than an 8th seeded playoff birth. More importantly, we are more than one or two players away from being able to truly contend in the postseason. Plus, who can we afford to give up while still maintaining competitiveness? The message boards this Summer contained many optimistic posts where fans arrived at the conclusion that the players we were getting could produce the goals we lost on July 1. Unfortunately, the posts also assumed that Ted Nolan could basically walk on water and therefore get career results out of all of his forwards. He is an excellent coach who we are very fortunate to have, but he cannot score goals for us. Also, even with all the goals we had last year, we barely made the playoffs and bowed out early.

Look, I'm not saying we're out of it, just that we have a severe flaw right now that is not easily corrected. I think we have little choice but to lean toward the re-building route (I'll allow a moment for a cringe). We have Okposo to look forward to soon, along with a talented blogger that follows his every move , and most importantly, we have a championship caliber goaltender signed for a very long time. Garth Snow will have a great deal on his shoulders in the upcoming years, and it will be far from easy. If done right, however, the reward can be glorious.

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays. And as always, go Isles!

Chris Simon

2007-12-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, Chris Simon's actions against Jarkko Ruutu Saturday night left the Islanders little choice but to come out with this statement from Charles Wang:

"The actions of Chris Simon on Saturday do not reflect what the New York Islanders stand for. They were reckless, potentially dangerous and against our team concept of grit, character and heart.

We know Chris as a respected teammate and as a gracious man away from the playing surface and believe strongly that he has earned our continued support. The Islanders are going to provide some time for Chris away from the team and give him the counseling he needs and the compassion he deserves. When Chris is completely ready, he will be a member of our team again."

I believe this is the right statement, as there is simply no credible defense the team can make for Simon's actions. Actions which will produce the 7th suspension of his career.

As a fan, this incident and its aftermath saddens me. I personally saw how visibly upset Ted Nolan was at the press conference after the game against the Penguins. I am sure he knew then that we all may have witnessed Simon's last game as an Islander. Nolan has a bond with Simon that stretches back to Sault Ste. Marie, where he served as a mentor to Chris.

I have some memories of Chris Simon as an Islander (only time will tell if he will have an opportunity to generate more), and seeing him enthusiastically celebrate with his team as they clinched a playoff birth last year at the Meadowlands ranks high among them. This year, after being granted a media pass by the Isles I saw him in an office adjacent to the team locker room looking almost gentle as he spoke with a member of the team's staff. That image stood in stark contrast to the one he maintained in the outside world. And I will not forget that Chris Simon would never turn his back on one of his teamates, and often fought to defend them.

So while I will join the many voices who will criticize his actions Saturday night, I won't criticize him as a person.

Every night that man pulled an Islander jersey over his chest, he brought more heart to his job than I will ever dream of bringing to mine.

An Eventful Evening

2007-12-15T20:16:00.000-08:00

Driving on the Meadowbrook on the way to the Coliseum for last night's game vs. the Pens, I turned to K-Rock in the hopes of finding the Strokes or something to get me pumped up for some hockey. Instead, I found some dated Pearl Jam. Onto Q104.3, where I was greeted with "Tuesday Afternoon" by the Moody Blues. Great. I'm all hyped up to see my Isles on Saturday night and I get that ill-fitting tune. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an accurate omen of the night to come.

First let me say that I have no idea what Bergeron was doing when he, under no duress, threw the puck from behind DP off the side of his net, setting up Crosby for an early Christmas gift in the first. DP looked furious, as did the over 15 thousand in attendance tonight. Bergeron's puck handling was appalling all night, and my guess is Berard may be back in the line-up for Wednesday. Also, how long are we going to expose ourselves to shorties by keeping MAB and Satan on the points on the man advantage?

Let me get to the bigger stories here. At 12.33 in the second the referees (apparently showing some sense of loyalty to the other skaters wearing black and white) decided to get involved in the outcome of the game by levying 2 roughing calls against the Islander's Witt and Vasicek. The Vasicek call frustrated me, as it appeared as all he did was defend Witt who was getting attacked by several Penguins, but as Whitney got called too, I can live with it. The calls become controversial as we consider the following. Brendan Witt told reporters after the game that one of the referees told him he was "playing Crosby too tough" after he and Crosby cross-checked eachother and only Witt got called. The resulting power play led to Pittsburgh's game winning goal. Greg Logan of Newsday asked "have you ever been told that before"? Witt responded in the negative. So there you have it. There is an important lesson here for all defensemen from every team in the NHL. Do not play Sydney Crosby "too tough". Allow him to situate himself comfortably in front of your goaltender. If he looks thirsty, offer him a beer.

Fans of every team should be alarmed by this.

Next, the Simon penalty. At 14.06 in the third, Simon received a game misconduct for intent to injure. Now, from the vantage point of the blog box, we did not have a terribly clear view of what happened, and it appeared as if many of the beat writers didn't see it either. I did, however watch the replay this morning. This call seemed justified, and I simply question Simon's action. With 6 minutes to go in the game, Simon pulled out Ruutu's leg his his left skate (which was a little more innocuous as he was helping out a teamate), but then stepped on his leg. I'm trying to be objective, and if someone did that to DiPietro, or Bergenheim, I'd be livid. There may be some repercussions if the league levies additional penalties, we'll see. I'm going to wait for what the Islanders and Simon officially say later to be fair, but this one might be tough to defend.

I bought a new hat last night at the arena, the blue and white mesh one DP can often be seen wearing. And Patrick and Angela from Rockaway got engaged during a TV timeout (congrats guys). So, if you're looking for some positives, there you go. Now I get to watch the Jets play at New England. Great...Tuesday afternoon man, Tuesday afternoon.

Guess who's back, back again...?

2007-12-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

Last night, as my wife and I entertained company, a friend of mine from Florida called. "Guess where I'm going?" To which I responded, "you are so lucky, you are going to the Tampa game". Heather and Danny are former NY Islanders themselves (residents, not players), since transplanted, and they attended the game while enthusiastically reporting back to me "We hear 'Let's go Islanders' chants in the building". I love it. Like it or not, Islander fans are ubiquitous.

Its nice to know that when it counts, we can always rely on our top two goal scorers, Andy Hilbert and Billy Guerin to light the lamp for us. OK, I jest somewhat, but I am serious when I say that Hilbert showed good patience last night in holding the puck for a crucial moment before positioning himself to beat Holmqvist. And Guerin, good for him. He's been grinding, and fighting (literally as in the case vs. Florida) for this goal. And although I have watched the replay 3 times, I still have no idea how the puck floated into the net. No matter, it just goes to show, throw the puck at the net with some traffic, and you never know.

If you did not see last night's game, do yourself a favor and watch the 1st period on DVR. Andy Sutton laid the best shoulder/ hip check I've seen in a long time on Doug Janik. It was clean, it drew the ire of Tampa while generating an Isles PP, and it basically was the type of hit that makes hockey fans love the game. Andy Sutton has been superb at determining when he has forwards backchecking and leveling tremendous hits when those opportunities arise.

DiPietro was brilliant last night. By the time the 3rd period came around I said to myself, "we owe it to Ricky to win this game. We cannot let him down." And we didn't. Campoli (A) and Sillinger (G) capitalized on an overtime power play to take the second of the year from Tampa.

The captain is back (he's too good of a player for that draught to have continued much longer), and we broke the losing streak. And although I'm a little disappointed in a 1 for 8 performance on the man advantage, I'm happy with a hard fought win. The Isles now enjoy a little time off before they fly to Buffalo, where they'll hope a little momentum will come along for the ride.

Crosstown Traffic

2007-12-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

Due to my move in November coupled with holiday commitments with the family and in-laws, I was not able to attend Islander games with the frequency I did in October. As December rolled around, however, I knew that I would be back to my old self. And to get the ball rollin', I bit the bullet, and decided to make a weeknight game. Weeknight games present some logistical difficulties, but at this point, I was hurtin' to get back to the Coliseum.

I drove in to the city on Monday (I live north of NYC and work on the west side of Manhattan) and parked my car at the local garage. Throughout the day, I looked forward to the game. All I had to do was sneak out of work a earlier than usual (approx 5.15), pick up the car, and drive to the arena. Piece of cake, in theory.

I left work about a ten after five and went to pick up my car. My first mistake of the night (and there were a few) was to inadvertently take Broadway instead of Columbus and get stuck in the loop at Columbus Circle and shot out the complete wrong way heading north parallel to Central Park. I was able to right myself from this scenic detour 10 minutes later and eventually get to Columbus, where I made the biggest mistake of the evening. Instead of dealing with the certain crosstown gridlock further downtown, I felt the best bet was to get to the East Side via 57th street. Apparently, however, there are tourists that frequent that area this time of year, who knew? Shopping tourists helped create a complete traffic standstill. Lights would turn green, and literally no cars would move. This happened twice before I began cursing (and screaming).

At about 57th and Sixth I really began to lose it as it approached 5.45 and I was sitting still on the West side of Manhattan. This was approximately when I threw an elbow to the vacant passenger seat (see injury report at the end of this blog). Eventually, after an unforgiving western trek I made it to second avenue, and needing fresh air, I rolled down the window (yes, it was quite cold and I imagine it looked quite alarming to passing pedestrians) and flew south to the midtown tunnel. I cleared the tunnel at 6.10, exactly one hour after I left my office.

The LIE, as anyone reading this site will likely know, is a challenge of will. Myriad traffic jams presented themselves, most notably leading up to Woodhaven Blvd and around the Queens/ Long Island border. This game for which I planned so much for, and looked forward to with such enthusiasm, was slipping away from me as I sat in traffic.

At 6.45, as if by the grace of the hockey gods, traffic lifted and I drove with great alacrity to the Meadowbrook and onto the furthest reaches of the Coliseum parking lot where I began my run to the arena in seemingly Arctic conditions. In the end, I walked into Coliseum with just enough time to put my right hand over my heart as the anthem began.

In order to put this night into terms that a hockey fan can appreciate, I came up with my own version of an event summary:

Penalties: McGlynn 2 minutes (elbowing) at 19.26
McGlynn 2 minutes (unsportsmanlike conduct- swearing) various

Injuries: McGlynn (slight bruise, right elbow)

Number of times profanities used: 41 (includes commute and subsequent Islander 3-1 loss)

During the trip to the Coliseum, as outlined above, I swore up and down "never again on a weeknight"; but even though the Isles lost and continued their scoring drought, I was happy being in the building, and thrilled to be in the locker room for the press conferences.

Who am I kidding anyway? I'll do it again. After all, hockey is like religion, and I hear church bells every gamenight.

Go Time

2007-11-29T16:17:00.000-08:00

As I made the commute from the city tonight I passed 2 guys wearing Islander jerseys, no doubt on their way the the World's Most Heinous Arena for tonight's game against the Rangers. It was a sight that would get the adrenalin going in any Islander fan.

The Isles, coming off of a big win against the Senators, arrive with some room for improvement. Most notably, the power play has been nothing short of deplorable as of late. This morning, the NHL had us at 15th in the league. Compare that with October 22nd when we led the league in PP %. Going 0 for 4 last night only exacerbated the precipitous slide. The Isles continued the trend in the 1st, missing on a PP opportunity early, which included a 5 on 3 created by a delay of game call vs. the Rangers. The first closed with a double minor to Orr after a dirty hit on Comrie, which preceded some level of chaos when Ryan Holweg played mad scientist with Radek Marinek's stitches. Another missed opportunity on the man advantage resulted.

The second was intense with Betts inadvertently scoring on Lunqvist as Islanders crashed the net after an unexpected bounce off the glass (It counts as a PP goal, which we'll take). This was followed by a quick Simon/ Orr scuffle and a Ranger Power Play goal- Drury, his 6th of the season off a DP rebound. With less than 4 minutes to play Gomez netted his 5th goal of the season, another off the power play. This was becoming an unpleasant game to blog about until Comrie finally scored with about 2 minutes left in the second.

Ok, if you were watching the 2nd intermission, you saw Fischler and Trautwig talking about the "hockey pants" worn by the Flyers and Whalers back in the day. Images were shown. They looked like athletic/ workout pants matched with hockey jerseys. Very unpleasant.

Lunqvist had a great save on Hunter early in the third, and with about 14 and a half minutes remaining, the Sillinger line created another great scoring chance that Hilbert miraculously missed. I think it may finally be time to consider bumping Park to the third line, with Hilbert relegated to fourth line and penalty killing duties. His defensive talent and hard work is overshadowed by his inability to finish. Its probably far enough into the season to fairly come to that conclusion.

The Isles couldn't pull this one out of their hat, but I'll take 3 out of 4 against the Rangers thus far. Gallant and Nolan will have their work cut out for them improving our power play; because if it had been stronger tonight, this would have been a different game.

We won't see these guys again until March, and its any one's guess where these teams will be then.

You can have anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant

2007-11-25T06:06:00.000-08:00

Anything of course, except a Power Play goal.

I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I was in PA with the in-laws and have been watching a great deal of Islander hockey on DVR. On Friday morning the wife and I ventured out and took the plunge on a 32 inch Sony HDTV. So between hi-def Islander hockey and XBOX 360 gaming I put the over/under before I lose my job at three weeks, after which I can write this blog full time.

Andy Hilbert scores the game tying goal last night, how bout that? I wouldn't have let the guy hold my friend's newborn after his open net miss in the previous game against Boston, but he scored via a very pretty screen shot through Ward's legs and past Thomas. Park, positioned perfectly off the left circle, netted the game winner after a rebound generated from a Fedetenko shot.

Lines were tweaked for this game in an attempt to get the top two lines moving. Simon skated with Comrie and Guerin, where he was expected to forecheck and cycle the puck out to his linemates, who are more deft goal scorers. (Let's not forget, however, that Simon has better hands than anyone really gives him credit). I felt this generated some jump for this line, more early on than later.

Fedetenko was lined up with Vasicek and Satan and these players generally posed the most consistent threat. Miro led all forwards with 21.25 in ice time. While I am thrilled with another close win and another sellout, there is cause for concern with the lack of scoring from our top line and anemic power play production. Coming in at 3 for 40 on the man advantage over the past ten games (as reported by Greg Logan), we went 0 for 3 last night. If our top line doesn't score goals, and our power play does not connect, we will not win these one goal games forever.

This win puts us at at a tie with the B's with at least a game in hand on everyone in the conference. Reason to be excited, but not too excited. We have Ottawa to contend with this week, after all.

"DP is the new Denis Potvin"

2007-11-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

And a finer complement DP may never receive. As the garden faithful were giving DP the business in the beginning of the 1st with one of their brilliant chants, Howie Rose made the correlation as shown in the subject line. What a compliment for DP, as the only way the Ranger fans seem to be able to deal with their most talented rivals is to come up with chants. ______ sucks. (Insert name on the blank line).

First things first. If you were watching this game you saw Avery get pushed by an Islander player into DP's crease with about 3 minutes left in the first. You also would have seen Avery throw his hands up as he fell to cross check DP on the neck/ head area. This could have been inadvertent, but if you saw the tape, it was clearly intentional. It worked though, as it drew a retaliatory penalty from DiPietro. Jaffe was a little hard on DP for taking the penalty, but if it was me, I would have gone after Avery as well. (Assuming I was wearing pads and a mask, of course).

A very cautious first period gave way to an extremely intense second. It was nice to see Fedetenko finally score a PP goal for the Isles as they haven't scored one since November 10. Conversely, it was disappointing not to be able to score on the 5-3 we had in the second after the double minor to Avery and even more disappointing to give up the earlier short handed goal, which allowed the Ranger fans to get back into the game. And after watching Avery drive his glove into Fedetenko's nose for about 12 seconds toward the end of the period I discovered something. I absolutely can't stand Sean Avery.

Onto period 3. The Isles got things started with a devastating hit by Bryan Berard on Drury followed by a successful unrelated kill. The Isles had some tremendous chances on a subsequent PP with Berard ringing one off the post. Hitting was intense with time ticking down in the final few minutes of the game as the Isles did a nice job blocking passing and shooting lanes. With one minute to go the Isles had to fend off a two man advantage on a kill as henrik sat on the bench. And they did it. Make that 6 straight games at msg without a loss. Cue the HIP commercial and bring on Fischler baby!

I doubt I'll get another post in before this weekend, so I wanted to take a moment to wish all fellow fans out there a great Thanksgiving. Good night.

Hey, You're Earl "The Pearl" Monroe

2007-11-16T17:18:00.000-08:00

I was having lunch with a fellow Islander fan the other day when we realized that we are inundated with the same group of commercials when we watch Islander games. Perhaps you recognize the subject line from the HIP commercial with Earl Monroe and Gina at the firehouse. And how about "I'm Christie Brinkley, and I'm an Islander". Why don't we mix that one up a little bit? How about "I'm the Seventh Woman, and I'm an Islander". Why not, she's a loyal fan too. Anyone hungry for a cheese steak from Subway? I'm not, but I sure have seen enough ads for their newest Quizno challenging offering enough. And of course, if there's an Islander fan without Geico car insurance after years of exposure to cavemen and little gecko creatures, I'd love to meet him. My friend posed a great question. When the Islanders watch game tape, are they forced to sit through the same spots? Can you see Witt and Martinek sitting there reviewing game tape from the Devil game and Martinek remarking "not this HIP commercial again". I hope not.

Perhaps this is specific to our cable company? We have cablevision, as we like to support James Dolan and his tendency to keep the Knicks and Rangers mired in mediocrity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the sponsors of our beloved team. I'm just saying, if you're sitting out there in Islander country thinking, "If I ever see another HIP commercial again..." you're not alone. Chances are there are a couple of Islander defensemen doing the same thing.

Avery Incident- Update

2007-11-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

As I posted earlier, the NY Times is reporting that there are accusations that Ranger's forward Sean Avery "made derogatory comments about the recent cancer diagnosis of Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake". This allegedly occured during an on ice incident with Blake and Darcy Tucker prior to the start of Saturday's Ranger- Leaf game. The altercation with Tucker resulted in a fine of 25K to the Rangers, 10K to the Leafs, 2.5K to Avery and 1K to Tucker.

The alleged comments, which Avery vehemently denies, were first brought to light by a Toronto radio reporter. Here is Avery's official statement as released by the Rangers:

“I am extremely upset and hurt that false and damaging comments were attributed to me regarding Jason Blake. I made no such comments. I have lost two grandfathers to cancer and have been a consistent contributor to multiple cancer-related charities, first and foremost, Hockey Fights Cancer. I am unable to comment further, as the matter is now being addressed by legal counsel.”

So lets take the accusation about the Blake comment into consideration. There are 2 scenarios that I can see. 1) Sean Avery is the victim of horrible slander. Some Toronto Radio personality, or his or her source, fabricated this extremely specific and malicious slander directed towards Sean Avery. An outrageous lie was created to vilify a Ranger forward, or 2) Sean Avery said something to Blake and Tucker regarding Blake's illness in an attempt to agitate them.

Which do you buy?

I remember reading an interview with Sean Avery years ago when he was with the Kings. It was with either Maxim or FHM. In the piece, Avery stated that when he really wanted to get under a players' skin, he would start talking about their wife.

I would love to believe Avery's denial, but his past actions lead me to question it.

Avery attacks Blake's Cancer Diagnosis- Report

2007-11-14T05:58:00.001-08:00

The NY Times is reporting today that there are accusations that Sean Avery of the Rangers made disparaging comments about Jason Blake's recent cancer diagnosis Saturday night. The comment was allegedly exchanged with Darcy Tucker in a pre-game incident Saturday, which already produced fines for the Leafs, Rangers and both players.

Avery is vehemently denying these comments.

Tonight I will have the full story and my thoughts.

Road Jerseys

2007-11-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hello fellow Islander fans. I have finally moved back to NY and am now taking an inventory so as to ensure all the important pieces of my life made it through. Please bear with me.

Wife- Check

Autographed and framed ("Norris x 3") Denis Potvin Photo- Check

XBOX 360- Check

OK, I'm in good shape. Now how about our Isles? Since when did the Isles become number 8 on ESPN's power rankings? (thank you Thomas P). Since when did we become a team that somehow finds a way to win the close divisional games by coming back from behind? Since when did we become the team with the most improved attendance over last year? Since when did Chris Campoli become such a force on the power play? Since when...?

I'm not quite sure how to answer any of these questions, but I am sure that every single Islander fan out there should truly savor what this team is doing right now. We have balance because different players and lines are helping us win on different nights. We should be grateful because we have a goalie that is keeping us in every game. We have a coach that is making the right decisions and pulling the right strings with whoever he has on the ice on any given night. Finally, we have an organization that has shown vision in improving the exposure of this team by introducing this blog box, hosting Al Arbour's night, and flooding tv, print and the Internet with advertising in an successful attempt to improve Fall attendance. For the first time in a long time, this organization is running as we all knew it could.

I know its early, and its a long season, but let's take a moment to stop and enjoy this. We deserve it.

Good Luck to the Isles as they prepare for the "Godless" Flyers tonight. It will begin an unforgiving schedule as we make amends for a light October filled primarily with home games. The team seems hungry though, and I don't know about you, but I'm ready to sit back and enjoy every game.

On a final note, anyone else catch Fran Healy's show "Halls of Fame" with Denis Potvin which aired after the win against the Devils? In one night we saw the best of our current and past teams. Can't beat that.

It's Go Time...and a Shout-out to a loyal Isle fan

2007-11-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

Well, its not really go time for the Isles yet, but for my wife and I, tomorrow morning is our move. Its been terribly busy, but I wanted to take a moment to drop a line to my fellow Islander countrymen.

There's not much to say about the Ranger game at this point other than it brought me great joy. Its great to see Hunter finally getting some goals for his hard work, although seeing his hard nosed brand of hockey just reminds me of the disappointment I felt this Summer when we couldn't nail down a longer term contract prior to arbitration. Garth Snow will be an extremely busy individual once our season ends (hopefully in June sometime). I enjoyed Sutton's play as well... clearing traffic in front of DP and nearly sending Petr Prucha onto Hempstead Turnpike with an attempted hip check.

I want to take a moment to say hello to a loyal Islander fan out there, AZS. We don't know each other, but if I ever run into you at the arena, this round is on me. And while wearing a Potvin jersey...priceless.

Have a great weekend guys, and Go Isles!

Beautiful

2007-11-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight, in a game that could not have been scripted any better, the Islander players, fans, coaching staff, and hall of fame alumni came together to win one more game for the legendary Al Arbour.

As the Islanders came back from a two goal deficit thanks to goals by Hunter and Satan one could not help but notice the utter joy expressed by Ted Nolan as he uncharacteristically let his emotion show behind the bench. It is apparent, however, that his joy was not for himself or for his team, but instead for head coach Al Arbour. As fulfilling as it was to see Coach Arbour smile and celebrate after each Islander goal, it was just as fulfilling to see the appreciation of his joy expressed by Nolan and his players. As Ted Nolan said during the post game press conference, Al Arbour may not have known all the players on the Islander roster this morning, but they sure knew who he was. The deference shown to Arbour by this New York Islander team dispelled the belief that many modern hockey players are not appreciative of the sport's past. That view does not apply to the inhabitants of the Islander locker room.

It is so difficult to write about an evening like this, as the game and its aftermath wrote its own story. I have never teared up when watching a hockey game until tonight. Seeing the video played after the game with touching pictures of Arbour from his earliest days as an Islander coach was overwhelming. When the music played and the shots of Arbour with a young Denis Potvin, and Arbour hugging Mike Bossy after the Isles won their first cup were shown on the jumbo screen, several current Islanders could not hold back their emotions. And as the Islanders prepared to raise the "1500" banner to the rafters tonight chants of "740" thundered down from the ol' barn. The atmosphere was so intimate, so special.

Ted Nolan, and the New York Islander organization as a whole deserve to be highly lauded. They showed great vision in coming up with this idea and great respect, professionalism, and competence in executing the practices, media relations and most notably the wonderful post game ceremony. The sellout crowd was an integral part in this evening as well, as the fans pulled the Isles through this comeback before staying to make the post game ceremony as memorable as it was. There is only one word that can be used to describe tonight. Beautiful.

Al Arbour, one of the most successful coaches in all of professional sports walked off the ice for the last time as an NHL coach tonight. He did not walk alone. He was surrounded by his loved ones, his players from the dynasty years, Ted Nolan, and the current New York Islander team. He will always be a legend, and he will always be an Islander.

He will never walk alone.

A Night to Remember

2007-11-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

On the night when the Isles honored journeyman Mike Sillinger for becoming the 6th Islander to reach the 1000 game milestone, the 'yet to win on the road 'Lightning came to the Coliseum attempting to improve upon their disappointing visit to the NYC metro area. They already lost to the Devils and rangers while being outscored 9-2 in those two match ups.

Congrats to Mike Sillinger, who received the accolades of the Islander team and organization for doing what so few have done, namely survive 1000 games in this league. The Isles really seemed to take the bull by the horns with respect to getting fans to this game and preparing a fitting pre-game ceremony, which is commendable.

Anyone else get a little anxiety when MAB and Sutton are playing in their own end? That's not to say they both don't bring something to the table (Sutton for example can do a great job of clearing bodies from in front of DP and MAB has a devastating, if not unpredictable slap shot), but to me they seem to be our weakest pairing when speaking strictly defensively. Sutton's skating out of position tonight almost cost us a goal in the first, if not for DP's highlight reel save on Hlavic. Furthermore, Sutton's puck handling in his zone tends to deteriorate noticeably when under pressure. While Bergeron's previous defensive shortcomings have been well documented, Sutton has room for improvement.

Lets give some credit to Chris Campoli for a nice play in the neutral zone that sprung Vasicek, Park and Satan and lead to the second goal. (And to think how unsure Campoli's standing was on this team in late September). Its also nice to see Hunter get a nice tally in the third for his second on the season. And oh, by the way, congratulations DP on your twelfth career shutout!

I've go to cut this short as we're in the middle of packing for our move next week and I can't find any of my socks. Have a great night, go Isles, and happy birthday Mr. Al Arbour.

Hide the women and children- this one was ugly

2007-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

As I drove through midtown on my trek from New Jersey to Uniondale tonight I had Bush and Sponge blaring in my car. There aren't many other places I want to be on a Saturday night than the Coliseum for an Islander game. So as I deftly avoided brave traffic crossing pedestrians (including Ranger and Leaf fans on the way to the garden in Manhattan), I was about as happy as I generally get. Little did I know that I would be equally somber about 3 hours later.

If you were fortunate enough to miss tonight's game, here's a quick recap. The Isles lost 8-3 to the Canes in a game that wasn't even that close. For those of us who were wondering, the week long delay from their last game did not work in their favor. Campoli took an unnecessary 2 minute delay of game call that led to a Cane goal in the first. DiPietro coughed up the puck behind the net which cost the Isles a goal, also in the first. The Isles were getting beat to pucks, and allowed Cane forwards to march straight up the middle of the ice, which left DP, and subsequently Dubie nearly helpless. DP got benched for Dubie, and Nolan shuffled all lines save for Vasicek's. Brind'Amor had a hat trick, and the police on hand for Law Enforcement Night were able to prevent any Islander fans from attempting to jump from the rafters.

I've always wondered what beat writers ask goalies like DP after games like this. And tonight, I found out. One beat writer (I am unsure of his identity, although I think he may have been filling in for Logan at Newsday) asked the first question of DP. "What happened?" to which Rick responded "what do you mean 'what happened'?", to which the beat writer simply stated "the game". This little exchange might have been amusing under different circumstances.

DP, Guerin, and Sillinger were presented to the press and none gave excuses, even after they were asked several times about the extensive time off between games. Guerin did indicate that they lost the game due to mental errors, not physical shortcomings, implying that a lack of rest was clearly not at fault here. Coach Nolan (and I'm paraphrasing here) stated that that a week off from hockey can either work for you, or against you, and that tonight it worked against them. He also mentioned that extended time off is never good for a goalie. Unfortunately for Rick, he got more time off during tonight's game.

The Isles are professionals after all, though, and they know better than anyone that you just have to put these games behind you and forget them. Rick is one of the elite goalies in the league, and even the elites have their nights.

Its 76 degrees out and the Isles are not playing hockey

2007-10-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

And no, its not July.

There's an article in today's NY Times suggesting that this October may go on to be one of the warmest on record in NY. October temps typically range from the 40's though 60's and on October 22, we reached 76 degrees. Although such a meteorological anomaly is attributed to a quirk in the northern jet stream, it assuredly is a story that Al Gore will enjoy. For hockey fans however, it typically means horrendous ice conditions, which we have seen.

Myself and another fellow Islander fan co-worker treated ourselves on Monday by going to the NHL.com and examining league statistics (I recommend any Islander fan do the same as its quite enjoyable). The Isles are first in the league in PP% and second in PK%. Coach Nolan is directing much credit to assistant coaches Gerard Gallant and John Chabot for preparing the special teams so well in camp. Although its early, it is very encouraging to see so many new faces (especially on the power play) gelling so well, so quickly. Lets hope that the PP can continue to succeed in the absence of Bryan Berard (groin 2-4 weeks). I gather this will be Bergeron's opportunity to get out of Chateau Bow Bow (I have no idea if that is spelled correctly).

Greg Logan is reporting in his blog that Montreal may be offering Alexei Kovalev for Satan. Thanks, but no thanks, Habs. I think Kovalev is a little past his prime and that Satan will improve with Bergenheim on his line now. Plus, I have a suspicion that Alexei wouldn't fit here. No need to screw with the team chemistry for this trade.

Have a good week, and if you're like me, you can't wait for colder weather and Islander hockey.

Quick Notes on the Caps Game

2007-10-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm heading off to York PA this weekend so I wanted to post something before I hit the road.

Obviously much credit is to be given to Guerin, and it is well deserved. If you watched last night's skate, however, you know what an amazing game Campoli played. Four assists on offense, drawing penalties, and doing so many little things right. The local papers don't mention him today, but he is do praise. And of course, DP helped us weather the Cap onslaught and give us a chance to win.

A plea to James Dolan- can you give the Devils a shot on the TV guide channel? Admittedly, we don't have the biggest fan base in the metro area, but we don't have the smallest either. At least mix it up a little.

As I head out on my long journey tonight, I can smile thinking of the Isles performance before the Congressional Subcommittee on Line changes and Surprise 4th line forwards.

It feels nice to win in DC again.

I'm Christie Brinkley and I'm an Islander

2007-10-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

Seeing as Islander hockey has disappeared for a few days, I've found myself periodically staring at the Islander 07- 08 magnetic schedule provided on opening night by the good folks at Global Real Estate Services. And what a strange schedule it is. The Isles have only 3 games on tap from the period of October 13th through the 31st. For enjoying such a relaxing October they are punished by 13 (by my count) pairs of back to back games commencing in November. If the thought of that doesn't get you exhausted consider the final 8 games of the year are against Atlantic Division rivals. Of course, the season closes with a home and home against the Rangers. These guys will need a rest at season's end, but hopefully it will be a brief one before the start of playoff hockey.

As a fan of any contact sport, you know injuries are part of the game. You grow to expect them. What you don't expect, however, is to lose your first UFA signing of the Summer for the whole season after an injury sustained on opening night. While I still do not understand the cause of the injury (there have been rumors that it had existed previously in a lesser form and that poor ice conditions may have done him in, or perhaps that he simply sustained damaging contact to his knee), it is very deflating news. He had 17 goals with Atlanta last season and many were hopeful that under Coach Nolan he could have achieved more. Plus, I thought he was a good fit with Hunter and Sillinger, who now find themselves with a familiar winger in Hilbert. Not being able to see the potential that GM Garth Snow saw in Sim will bother me this year.

I think the line combinations as they were played in Philly are about right given the players we currently have healthy and playing. Again, I like Hilbert on the third line with his old line mates while Vasicek, Satan and Bergenheim can concentrate on scoring. And speaking of this line, Miro has to start lighting the lamp soon as I just can't see the Isles excelling without a guy like him contributing offensively. A lot happened this Summer and many fans, myself included, made the argument that we made some serious headway in gaining back much of the scoring we lost on 7/1 (111 goals by Greg Logan's count in Newsday). Remember though, we made the playoffs by the slimmest of margins last year. Just getting back to last year's scoring level is not enough. I truly think we can play better defensively, that Nolan now enjoys an improved understanding of this team, and that the chemistry of the Isles is vastly improved. And that is all very encouraging. That said, however, if our goal scorers don't score, we're in for a long season.

Apologies for the misleading subject, and thanks for reading.

Why I'll never be an NHL Coach

2007-10-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I would have sat Bergeron and played Bootland tonight. Its that simple. Figuring on a typical restive Isle-Ranger affair I would have thought we needed Bootland's muscle against Holweg and company. After all, we were fortunate enough to interview Darryl after the loss to the Caps on Monday and he was itchin to get into this game. You can tell the guy loves to fight, and seeing as his right arm resembles my left leg in size, he seemed like a sure thing to skate tonight. Of course had I been coach, we very well may have lost this game.

I thought Berard was a little rusty in his own end but hey, he scored in his first game back against the blueshirts! And besides, we knew when we signed him we weren't getting the guy for his plus minus ratio, but rather to play Chad Pennington on our man advantage situations. I do hope he succeeds for us this year but add him to the growing list of players who will become UFA's next summer.

Did Jaromir Jagr play tonight? Tough to tell. Witt did that good of a job being all over him.

An obvious suggestion to the Rangers would be that they consider improving their their 0 for 14 season power play conversion percentage if they plan on applying for that parade permit in June.

On a final note, my DVR lost the final two minutes of the game, so if there were any ice girl incidents or goalie fights, by all means, drop me a line.

Great game Isles, great game DP.

And now, its time for a little celebratory Halo 3, followed by sleep.

The NHL from behind the Scenes

2007-10-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

Typically, I would talk about the results of the Islander home opener and provide some analysis. However, from a fan's perspective, there is a bigger story here. As we are are the initial Islander blog box writers we were all given press passes to cover the game. The passes gave us unprecedented access to the players, Islander Management, and beat writers along with a trip to the Isles locker room immediately after the game. From the perspective of a fan, the atmosphere was intoxicating, and I want to do my best to convey the experience.

First, the seating. Upon entering the arena via the media entrance, we were directed to a large table directly behind the seats in section 201. Media guides were given to all. Tall wooden chairs were provided which were similar to bar stools. Mine was precariously placed about 2 inches away from the edge of the elevated platform upon which our table was situated. One sudden move on my part and I could have been blogging from a hospital. The view, however, from this vantage point was wonderful and vastly improved from the one I would typically be able to enjoy.

I'm going to skip immediately to the end of the game as this is where the experience really gets interesting. After the final horn cemented an Islander win, we were escorted to the Islander locker room area by a woman from the Islander staff. As thousands of fans make the slow pilgrimage out of the arena like salmon we were in the unfamiliar position of going against the tide. A line of twelve bloggers with press passes attached to their necks by strings snaked its way through a third of the coliseum to finally arrive near the locker room. Islander Media Relations VP Chris Botta directed us to the room where press conferences are held.

The room may have been a converted locker room facility. Countless blue and black wires likely used by TV and media personnel lay unused in a corner of the room, and many of us joked about the fire hazard this possibly presented. There was a podium, where Ted was to speak, and behind it hung a blue curtain with the Islander crest and the Allstate symbol placed symmetrically across it. The curtain was taped to a wall with black electrical tape and was almost imperceptibly uneven.

Chris Botta brought in Chris Campoli for us to interview. He stood, facing 12 bloggers while wearing blue sweats, a blue long sleeved athletic shirt, and porous black moccasins. After overcoming initial reticence, we began asking him questions about the seemingly continuous poor treatment of the team from referees, his perspective on the new jerseys, his thoughts about the uncertainty of Berard hanging over a seemingly cohesive team, and his confidence looking ahead to the rest of the season after already contributing so much offensively in the first 2 games.

In short, he said he likes the new jerseys and thus far has not needed to change during games, that Berard is still unsigned and in any event he simply gets paid to play the game and that was what he was going to continue to do, and he deftly avoiding getting himself into any trouble with the league by stating "not every call is going to go your way, and tonight none went our way. That's just the way it works". He further added that the Isles took some undisciplined penalties and frankly have to play smarter in the future. As far as his outlook toward the rest of the season (considering his great offensive showing thus far) he indicated that he wants to continue to create odd man rushes and get involved in the offense without putting his defensive responsibilities at risk. Over all, Chris was affable, and accommodating.

Although we did not have an opportunity to interview Ted Nolan, we were allowed to sit in on his press conference. (The whole conference can be viewed on IslanderTV). The tone and volume of the words spoken between Ted Nolan and the Isle beat writers are similar to that which can be heard at a funeral. The grave air that pervades these conferences cannot be appreciated by watching them on television.

Its hard to convey everything that was going on around us during this time near the locker room. Islander players walking towards the showers wearing only a towel and joking "there's no women in there, right?", Rick DiPietro working on an exercise bike only 6 feet from us as equipment men from both squads carried out heavy bags of sticks, forcing us to stand virtually flat against the wall. We saw Vasicek, Dubielewicz, MAB, Sutton, Martinek, and Comrie all dressed impeccably in pinstripe suits and sport jackets as they left the dressing room. Perhaps the most memorable, however, was seeing Bredan Witt carrying his daughter while leaving the arena with his family. How effortlessly he made the transition from NHL tough man to father.

As we were getting ready to leave, Chris Botta introduced us to Islander correspondent Deb Kaufman, who was extremely gracious. She greeted us like an aunt who you only see on Christmas; she somehow conveyed that familiarity to all of us.

We received unprecedented access tonight to an NHL game from behind the scenes. It was an experience that every hockey fan should be fortunate to have. That being said, its now time to get back to the task at hand of giving the readers of our blogs an inside look into the happenings of our team.

Season Opener- Isles win in a Barnburner

2007-10-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Well, if you were looking for a little old school NJ Devil type trap hockey, this was not the game for you.

My thoughts:

Play of the Game- for me, it's DP's highlight reel save in the first few minutes of period 1 stealing a goal from Vanek and additional momentum from the Sabres. Had Vanek scored there, who knows if we come back and win that game. Its often taken for granted, but we are very lucky to have 39 in our crease.

Ten Points for our number one line! Loved Comrie's play and two goals, especially the breakaway in the second. He played with a strong determination to find the net. As for his line mates, Tank was outstanding with a goal and 2 assists and Guerin with 3 assists. Did Nolan not feed these guys for a week? It gives us a lot to be excited about when our top line produces so well so early.

Sutton made some mistakes tonight, getting beat to pucks, being out of position and going to the box with about 3 minutes left in the 3rd. Its our first night, and I'm sure he'll get where he has to be. Plus he did deliver a couple strong hits.

Brendan Witt- what can you say about his guy except that he earns his paycheck. He is continuing where he left off last year by blocking shots, while agitating many he encounters. Our best D-man tonight.

Liked the play of Vasicek's line, although I feel as if it would have been much more of an offensive threat with Tambellini in there. I know Nolan wants Hilbert's defensive abilities but I felt the lack of a stronger scoring threat from left wing hurt the line.

Power play- I'm just postulating here, so bear with me, but if the Isles continue this 75% power play percentage I think we may just surprise some people this year. All kidding aside, I am thoroughly taken aback that this power play performed so well in the first night of the season.
Power play chemistry takes time, and constant re-working. Credit is due to the coaching staff and the players for having the special teams at the level they were at tonight.

Final thoughts- as a fan you have to be very happy that so many of our new faces got involved in a big team win tonight. There already seems to be notable chemistry and grit for a team that came back on the road and beat the Sabres in front of a raucous opening night crowd. Its very early, but if last night was any indication of this season, we just may surprise again.

And for words I've been waiting to say all year, I'll see you at the opener tonight!

Apparently, Glen Sather is saving Hockey

2007-09-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. Its early Fall and we're already starting to hear the the rumblings. The NHL needs the New York Rangers to win a Cup. Take, for example, Lindsay Berra's recent piece from ESPN the Magazine, "Two for the Show" (referring to new Rangers Scott Gomez and Chris Drury). This is one example of universally positive Ranger coverage prior to the start of the 07-08 season. After reading Berra's article, you would not have thought a more harmonious pair of free agents had ever been signed by an NHL club.

Here's a quote from the article:

"Although league officials would rather eat a puck than admit to rooting for the red, white and blue, a successful Rangers Cup run would thrust hockey back into the spotlight in the biggest media market in the world at just the right time."

I have some difficulty with this statement. For starters, instead of secretly pulling for the Rangers, shouldn't NHL brass be doing something proactive to fix the current state of the sport? Perhaps they might revisit some of the monumental decisions they've made in the recent decade. There are a growing number of teams that may very well be hosting their opening night games in cities where temperatures may exceed ninety degrees. If NHL exec's are unhappy with the fact that several of these teams have hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup in recent years while overall interest in the sport has waned they may want to consider their contraction. Additionally, they may look back at their tacit approval of horribly boring trap hockey that they allowed to proliferate without limit in the mid to late 90's. Yes, there have been rule changes enacted after the lockout that have helped improve the pace of the game, but whether or not its too little, too late, is a matter of debate.

Berra continues the theme by touting the ratings of the NY Rangers Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 in '94, as well as the state of the sport in its wake. What she neglects to mention is the fact that the Rangers second round playoff game last year which aired on NBC on a weekend afternoon was beaten in the ratings by both Yankee and Met regular season games played on the same day. That's not a knock against the Rangers, but rather an observation of the sport as a whole.

The league waiting for the Rangers to win a Stanley Cup is the least proactive, and likely least productive way to improve the popularity of the sport. If you disagree, feel free to pick up your new Gomez jersey and enjoy the red and blue kool-aid.

The Writing is on the Wall for Berard

2007-09-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

As I've followed the Isles through camp via the Islander site and Newsday, one player has been noticeably absent in the coverage. While guys like Tambellini, Bergenheim, Meyer, Comeau, Sutton and Sim, for example, have received attention, Bryan Berard has played the part of Colonel Kurtz. He's out there somewhere, but good luck finding him.
I, along with seemingly myriad other Islander fans reacted positively to the news that Berard would be invited to camp this year. Looking past the fact that he was a minus 57 in the last 3 years combined (as reported in Evan Grossman's blog), the ability to stir up offense and nostalgia generated enthusiasm.
However, if you read between the lines of the Islander post from a few days ago "The battle for the blue line heats up", the enthusiasm may fade into reality. The Isles speak of the 4 probable sure things on D, namely Witt, Sutton, Martinek and Bergeron. Fighting for the final 2 spots are Meyer, Berard, Campoli, Gervais and Johnson (who by the way is the only D-Man besides Gervais with a 2 way contract). So here's how I see it. Gervais and Campoli have shown too much development and promise- they stay and comprise the final pairing. Nolan will, by his own admission, dress 7 to start. That leaves the door open for Meyer. Johnson to Bridgeport and Berard, well, Berard is the odd man out.
I do not know what they are seeing in Berard that is causing their apathetic coverage of his play, but I'm guessing he may be a step behind as he is recovering from injuries and consequently a lack of ice time.
The Isles, effectively admitting the odds are a little stacked against Bryan, wrote "Berard will be given a fair opportunity to prove he can be a contributor before camp is over". Although I would have loved seeing the Riverboat gambler back in an Islander uniform, that tepid statement speaks volumes against its happening.

Comrie, Cairns and...Strahan?

2007-09-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

Its nice to hear that newly acquired center Mike Comrie is having a good start to camp in Moncton by tallying a hat trick this week in scrimmage. Although it is a little too early to get terribly exited about such accomplishments, it is an encouraging thought that he might me developing some chemistry with probable line mates Guerin and Tank. As far as lines 2- 4, Nolan will be busy determining how guys like Hilbert, Simon, Tambellini and Sim, amongst others, will fit in support of centers Vasicek, Sillinger and Park. Similarly, Nolan will be experimenting with his defensive pairings while ensuring there is good communication between DP and his D-Men. Its exciting to talk about line combinations now, although a little premature as the ups and downs of a typical hockey season will force Nolan to mix things up occasionally, plus there's always the constant unknown of injuries. But most importantly, it is only the beginning of camp.

Chris Botta is reporting in his blog that GM Garth Snow has invited former Isle D-Man and certified pugilist Eric Cairns to camp in a supporting role. I met Eric many years ago with Mark Parrish at an Islander skills competition and he looked like one of the most intimidating hockey players I have ever seen. However, anyone following the Isles in recent years will know what a big heart the guy had. He always took great pride in sticking up for his teammates, and served an invaluable role for the team. It is great to see him involved with Islander hockey, as he was, and will always be, a fan favorite.

Finally, in an unrelated note, my wife and I were in a mall in New Jersey this Saturday. We walked into a high end store (translation - a store with terribly expensive designer bags that I couldn't afford to buy for my wife in a million years) when NY Giant Michael Strahan walked in. He seemed like an affable guy, and no one bothered him. I am a Jet fan, but as I've become partial to living, I avoided a confrontation.

Have a good week, and enjoy the developments from Moncton.

The Quiet Times

2007-09-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

Aside from the invitation to training camp extended to Bryan Berard and the fact that 07-08 tickets go on sale this Saturday, Islander hockey news has slowed from from a crawl to a near collapse as of late. It's just that time of the year.
Fans are therefore encouraged to occupy their time in other areas. So as the heat begins to break, I (along with countless other hockey fans) will pursue some of my other passions. My highlight of this past Labor Day weekend was the fishing trip I embarked on with family and friends off Orient Point. We hauled in our limit of stripers east of Plum Island (the same made famous by author Nelson DeMille). This weekend my TV will be tuned to the Jets- Pats opener. In addition to a victory by Gang Green, I'll be hoping Pennington survives game 1 unscathed in the wake of Pete Kendall's departure. I'm similarly looking forward to rounding up a sizable crew for a trip to the Land of Meadows this Fall, likely for a game against the fins or the bills.
The rest of the weekend will be devoted to watching the Shield and perhaps a little Entourage, while hoping some giving soul may be inclined to buy an XBOX 360 for my birthday (Halo 3, anyone?).
I'll indulge in these activities only for a while because after all, opening night is less than a month away.

Reebok

2007-08-16T17:36:00.000-07:00

OK. So I blocked time to write my blog tonight. I made sure I had the place to myself, with all other social and non-blog responsibilities out of the way. It was time to address the recent additions of Andy Sutton and Josef Vasicek. That was the plan, that is, until the news broke. The new jerseys had arrived.
First I thought it was interesting how much attention was devoted to this introduction on the Islander site. If the Isles traded Sparky the Dragon, 2 ice girls, and a future 3rd round draft pick for Sydney Crosby I think it would have gotten less play. But I guess when the look of the franchise changes in such a dramatic way, it should be announced with some measure of fanfare.
As for the jerseys themselves, it will take some getting used to. First, the shortcomings. The old school tie at the collar of the jersey feels somewhat incongruous on an otherwise modern look. Secondly, the orange is a little intense (is orange ever not intense?), although its an improvement over our former alternate 3rd jersey. Overall, I'll concede that it may be perceived as a little busy. Now for the pros. The sleeker look and supposed semi water repellent material are pluses. Secondly, while I realize that some might disagree with me here, the number on the front is a nice touch. In time I believe many more teams will sport that look and that our fans will grow to appreciate it. And finally, and most importantly, the players seem to like it. The Isles are saying that jersey design was a very collaborative effort, and given the unpleasantness we have seen with past sweater offerings, this was absolutely the right approach.
So that leaves me with a very difficult question. Will I buy one? Let me phrase it this way. If my wife found out I spent $210 on another Islander jersey, I would be sleeping on the couch and eating frosted flakes for dinner for at least a week. That being said, I'll probably go with a replica.

Defense, but at what cost?

2007-08-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

I can see it now. Bryan McCabe, sporting an Islander jersey contributes about ten goals and 20 assists while providing some much needed "D" for our team. Only problem is, what I see is my memories of the 96/97 season, and not a crystal ball into 07/08.
There has been a great deal of speculation by many Islander fans that McCabe could be the guy to fill our needs at the blue line. Clearly, his stats from last season indicate that he can contribute all-star quality offensive support (if not defensive). However, it would come at a price. For one, we would be picking up a cap hit of almost 22 million over 4 years while taking on a contract littered with booby traps (incentives). For extending the courtesy of allowing the Leafs to get out of his contract and win some cap room, we would have to part with player (s). And realistically, are we in a position to trade what we have? Sure, since early Summer much has been done to improve the team and help mitigate the losses endured on July 1st. But if we are seeking a) McCabe b) prospect (s)/ future pick(s) and possibly even c) Toronto eating part of McCabe's contract, it will cost us. And cost us too heavily. Campoli's name has been mentioned, but that would be like taking a step forward, and another back. And if we were to make a weaker offering, Toronto will walk, given what Snow would be seeking in return.
The need is there. We have to have another quality defenseman to be competitive this year. I think it is more likely that concessions are made and a guy like Markov is signed than everything falling into place perfectly to make the McCabe deal feasible. Plus, they already got Blake from us, there's no way I'd help the Leafs again.
In summary, I don't see Wang letting us go into the season without filling this void, but Snow will earn his salary figuring out how.

The Key Dates

2007-07-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

After having about a month to digest the upcoming schedule, I’ve compiled some must see dates, otherwise known as the nights before the mornings I will be calling in sick at work. In no particular order:

11/16/07 So let me get this straight, the Islanders take on the Devils in New Jersey and I will not be getting on a port authority bus bound for “The Land of Meadows”. Instead, we’ll all be taking the PATH train to Newark to see our neutral zone trap loving rivals. That will take some getting used to. Although this is not our building, it will be exciting to see the Isles play in a new local arena. I believe the building will help the Devils improve their attendance for a year to a year and a half and guarantee a better atmosphere than Continental. Look, however, for attendance to wane as the new car smell of the arena fades.

10/11/07 Isles at Leafs. Jason Blake is really the only departing free agent I will have difficulty getting used to seeing in another jersey. If any of you saw the press conference introducing him in Toronto, you would have noticed that his jersey seemed way too large for him. Is this some sort indication of how he will fill expectations in Toronto? Only time will tell. I do know that given the contract he received 20-25 goals a season may be considered underachieving. And Toronto is one of the last places a hockey player wants to underachieve. I thought he was a good player, and seemed like a likable person. I wish him and his family the best.

2/5/08 Stanley Cup defending champs at NYI. We will see the defending champs, and at the same time a team we very rarely play, in one night. It will be interesting to see how the Ducks handle the post Cup season letdown that has afflicted other teams in the past. See Carolina Hurricanes.

11/3/07 Al Arbour Night. If you told me Al Arbour was flying in from Canada to coach the NY Dragons, I would be tail-gaiting by late morning. This, to me, is the must game to attend this season. There’s too much to write here, so look for a separate post as 11/3 approaches.

Some general notes. The eight games against the Rangers are heavily weighted to the beginning and end of the season. I know some have complained about this scheduling. I am more concerned with the frequency for which we play them (along with all divisional rivals), than the timing. Eight games is simply too much. I feel it weakens the intensity when you see a team so many times. You know something’s wrong when you hear a fan incredulously ask “The Flyers…again?” A final observation, look for a potentially grinding Spring, as from March 21st through the end of the season, its all Atlantic Division games.

Bio

2007-07-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

I don’t remember the year. I’m guessing it was 1985 when my uncle took me and my two cousins to our first Islander game. The Isles beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2, and there was a fair amount of organ music playing throughout the game. That’s all I remember, but what I remembered is unimportant. What really matters is that I became an Islander fan that night.
I grew up in Queens, NY attended college upstate, and lived in New York City during most of my twenties. I follow the Jets, but by far my true passion has always been New York Islander Hockey. My favorite memories as a fan were attending two of Isles-Leafs playoff games in 2002, while watching the third at a pub with friends in Hell’s Kitchen. The intensity in the arena was overwhelming as the fans voiced their hungry support of a resurgent Islander club. Although we didn’t pull it out in the end, the Coliseum earned the reputation as one of the most intimidating buildings to have to visit come playoff time. My favorite all time Islander is Denis Potvin. Yeah, I was only a toddler when he was leading the Isles through the dynasty years, and I was way too young to ever remember having seen him play, but it doesn’t matter. You didn’t have to see him play to know what the man was about.
I am 30 years old, work in NYC in a finance job and currently live in Hudson County, NJ with my wife. It’s my day job that pays the bills, but the idea of working in the NHL in any capacity is my dream. The Isles’ giving me the opportunity to write this blog is the closest I’ve ever gotten to living it.