Let's take a VERY early look at some possible line combination's for the upcoming year. Just an idea of what things could look like. Let me know what you all think as well!
Bergenheim Tavares Weight
Comeau Bailey Okposo
Tambellini Nielson Hunter
Jackman Park Thompson
Streit Gervais
Witt Sutton
Martinek Hillen
Roloson/Biron
Putting Weight on a line with Tavares is quite obvious. Most everyone who has put some line predictions together for next year have those two together. Weight is here to not only be a leader for the whole team, but to really work with Tavares and show him how to be a number one center in this league. I put Bergeheim on the line as well too add a physical presence. Bergy is not the biggest guy in the league, but he has a nasty streak to his game and can definitely provide Tavares with protection. I wanted to put one person on each line that either had size or a mean streak in their game. I flirted with putting Hunter on this line and moving Bergenheim down to the third line. But in the end, I think Bergenheim will provide a better overall fit with Weight and Tavares.
The second line is the "kid line" of the season. Bailey and Okposo seem to have a natural chemistry when playing with eachother. This came out a little bit last year and hopefully with a full year of playing together this season it will improve. I see Okposo as a 25 to 30 goal guy this year and Bailey as a 45 to 50 assist guy. I believe them playing with eachother will improve their chances of hitting those numbers this year. Comeau is the size on this line. I am not as high on Comeau as some others are. I don't see him as more than a solid third line player long term. I have him on the second line on this team as there is not much developed top six talent on the roster right now. If Comeau finished with 15 goals this year, I think we should all be happy.
Hunter is the only player remaining of the Hunter/Sillinger/Hilbert checking line that played so well together 2 years ago. But Hunter is perfect for this role. I love having him on this team. He knows exactly what his role is and does not try and do more than he is capable of. He is not the 30 goal guy we thought he was going to become after his rookie season. In all honesty, the post lockout rule changes hurt his game. He is not a fast skater, and now speed rules in the "new" NHL. Nielson, one of my favorite players, is a perfect third line center. He, like Hunter, knows what his role is on this team. He is not a Tavares or Okposo type scorer. He would probably max out as about a 20 goal scorer and 25 to 35 assist guy. But having a 40 to 50 point player centering your third line long term is definitely a great position to be in. This brings us to Jeff Tambellini. They have him under contract this year and he is all but untradeable because he has a one way deal. So I needed to put him somewhere and this seemed like the best spot. But in all honesty, if they want to just sit Tambellini, or put him on waivers and send him down to Bridgeport and give either Trevor Smith or Jesse Joensuu a shot on this line, I would have no problem with that. I feel Joensuu could use at least another half season down in Bridgeport before he becomes a regular NHLer. So maybe this is when they will either dump Tambellini, or send him down. Either way, this is the last year Tambellini is going to be an Islander unless he miraculously turns into the scorer he was supposed to be.
The fourth line is led by Richard Park. A very underrated player in my opinion. While he lacks a natural scoring touch, he ALWAYS does the right thing. Think for a minute. When was the last time you remember him doing something wrong? Could take you a while. Then there is Tim Jackman. He really came into his own last year as a physical player. But he also showed that he has the ability to put the puck in the net. I see him as a possible 10 goal guy. Getting 10 goals from a fourth line winger is an added bonus for sure. Lastly there's Nate "the great" Thompson (OK I just made the nickname up). He is a nice little player in my opinion, but we have enough third line centers on this team. I am not really sure why they resigned him. I know he is one of Scott Gordon's guys, but he does not provide too much extra for this team. He does hustle a lot, I'll give him that, but that's about it. He is not a bad guy to have on the fourth line, I don't dislike him. But maybe this spot could have been used to sign an enforcer.
Now on to the defense. On the top D pairing I have Streit and Gervais. No surprise there. These two played extremely well together the last couple months of the season last year, and there is no reason to not put them back together. Streit showed that he is an all star and an impressive leader on and off the ice. He was easily the steal of the free agent signings a year ago. We all knew of his offensive abilities, but it was his ability to be a shutdown defenseman in his own zone that came as a surprise last year. He was consistently playing against the other team's best players and somehow, on a 30th place team, finished with a plus/minus rating of +6. Gervais started to excel at the end of the season after playing with Streit. He started to show the offensive ability that he was thought to have when he was drafted. Another season with Streit can and should do wonders for his game.
I put Witt and Sutton together on the second pairing to be the punishing defensive pairing. These are the two toughest players on this team and can work well together shutting down the top lines of the opposing teams. We all know how much Witt relishes the opportunity to take on players like Malkin and Crosby. Sutton, when healthy, is a very good stay at home defenseman. The health issue has always been his biggest problem. Hopefully the extra time off last year did him well. He could have played the last few weeks of the season, but it was determined that long term it would be better if he just rested until this season and let him be at 100% for the first time in a few years. Sutton is a key to this team. He adds a strong physical presence when he is in the lineup.
Then there is the third pairing of Martinek and Hillen. Hillen just signed a one way contract and this team is hoping he can anchor their second power play unit. This is a very important year in his developement. He is going to get playing time and a lot of responsibilities. Is he up for the challange? With veterans like Streit and Witt on this team, I believe he will be. Martinek is a very underrated defenseman, but obviously cannot stay healthy. So we will see. If he stays healthy this year, it is a major bonus for this defensive unit. But if he cannot, then Freddy Meyer is waiting to fill in for him.
The goaltending has been the biggest story of this offseason. Roloson was signed to a 2 year deal and Biron to a 1 year deal. My belief is that they will more or less alternate games. Maybe each will play three straight games, then the other will play three straight games, unless one plays significantly better then the other. As for our goalie for the next century, Rick DiPietro, I don't plan on seeing him in a game until Thanksgiving, at the earliest. Which is fine. He needs to be 100% before he plays any games. He cannot continue this trend of being consistently hurt. Even if that means he sits out this whole year.
So there is my projected line combinations. Can they change? Of course. Will they change? Probably! But this is a good place to start and I believe these combination's will allow the young players to continue their developement while learning from our vets.
Let me know what you think!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Dog Days Of Summer, So Let's Talk Tavares!
It's August 16th. It's a pretty ugly time of the year to be a hockey fan. All the best free agents are signed, the draft is done, and there is no training camp for another few weeks. We are seeing blogs written about ticket sale events and ice girl tryouts. Not exactly hard hitting stuff. But what are you gonna do? That's the life of a hockey fan in August. So I am at a little bit of a log jam at what to write about. Too early to do a season preview and too late to talk about what free agents to sign. So I thought I would take a look at our newest star John Tavares.
As I stated in my previous blog, I really do not have much knowledge on his past. I have, like almost everyone else, checked out some of his video's on You Tube, but that is the extent to which I have seen him play. Never have I seen him play live, not even at the World Juniors because they weren't televised here in the United States.
I did a little research to see what kind of player he was in Juniors and what kind of player we can expect him to be his rookie year and the type of player he will be long term. Let's look at the negatives first. The only thing I seem to find negative about him is his skating and his defensive ability. But it is never said that he is a bad skater; just that he is not a fast skater. It also is said that his defensive ability has improved greatly over that past couple of years. That is why his goal scoring total's have been down that past two years, because he has been focusing on learning the defensive aspect of the game. If the only things people can find subpar about his game are things he is either working on or are really not that bad (his skating), then, in the words of Quagmire, "I like where this is going."
His positives are his natural goal scoring ability and his natural hockey sense. He is also said to have uncanny anticipation and he is an underrated passer who has recently added a physical aspect to his game. His goal scoring is the obvious skill set of his that the Islanders are most lacking. But just having a natural ability to score goals does not make you a successful NHL player. Just go ask Jeff Tambellini how his natural ability has been helping him make it in the NHL. The scouting on Tavares seems to say he has the things that cannot be taught: anticipation and natural hockey sense. Anticipation is what players like Gretzky and Crosby possess. They can see the play before it happens. Knowing where to be one or two seconds ahead of everyone else on the ice is a major advantage in the NHL. In a fast paced game like hockey, being a second or two ahead of everyone else makes all the difference in the world. And it's not just anticipating where he should be, but being able to anticipate where his linemates will be. This is where his underrated passing abilities can be shown. A natural hockey sense is something that cannot be taught as well. This is just knowing what to do in certain situations. It is being able to read the play without needing to think about it. His insant reactions are correct. Knowing when he should shoot instead of pass, or pass instead of shoot. How many times do you see someone come down one a 2 on 1 and either make pass too late and the defenseman breaks up the play, or they wait to long to make a pass and they do not get a quality shot. Someone who has a natural sense of the game can read these situation's and make the right decision.
I am not going to try and predict what kind of long term player Tavares is going to be. Like I said, I have never seen him play. Let me see him play a few times before I label him for his entire career! Just kidding. But I am more worried about his rookie year. Based on what I have read, it seems to me that he could have a huge season. But also he could have a season where his numbers may not be that great, but learns what he needs to learn to have his future numbers be great. And that is what I am looking for this year. Even if he scores 40 goals this year, the Islanders are not going to be a playoff team. I want him to do what it takes to make his long term success the best. If that means he only scores 15 goals this year, but learns invaluable lessons from players like Weight, Park and Steit, then I will consider his rookie season a success.
Either way this season will be all about Tavares. I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Is it October 3rd yet??
As I stated in my previous blog, I really do not have much knowledge on his past. I have, like almost everyone else, checked out some of his video's on You Tube, but that is the extent to which I have seen him play. Never have I seen him play live, not even at the World Juniors because they weren't televised here in the United States.
I did a little research to see what kind of player he was in Juniors and what kind of player we can expect him to be his rookie year and the type of player he will be long term. Let's look at the negatives first. The only thing I seem to find negative about him is his skating and his defensive ability. But it is never said that he is a bad skater; just that he is not a fast skater. It also is said that his defensive ability has improved greatly over that past couple of years. That is why his goal scoring total's have been down that past two years, because he has been focusing on learning the defensive aspect of the game. If the only things people can find subpar about his game are things he is either working on or are really not that bad (his skating), then, in the words of Quagmire, "I like where this is going."
His positives are his natural goal scoring ability and his natural hockey sense. He is also said to have uncanny anticipation and he is an underrated passer who has recently added a physical aspect to his game. His goal scoring is the obvious skill set of his that the Islanders are most lacking. But just having a natural ability to score goals does not make you a successful NHL player. Just go ask Jeff Tambellini how his natural ability has been helping him make it in the NHL. The scouting on Tavares seems to say he has the things that cannot be taught: anticipation and natural hockey sense. Anticipation is what players like Gretzky and Crosby possess. They can see the play before it happens. Knowing where to be one or two seconds ahead of everyone else on the ice is a major advantage in the NHL. In a fast paced game like hockey, being a second or two ahead of everyone else makes all the difference in the world. And it's not just anticipating where he should be, but being able to anticipate where his linemates will be. This is where his underrated passing abilities can be shown. A natural hockey sense is something that cannot be taught as well. This is just knowing what to do in certain situations. It is being able to read the play without needing to think about it. His insant reactions are correct. Knowing when he should shoot instead of pass, or pass instead of shoot. How many times do you see someone come down one a 2 on 1 and either make pass too late and the defenseman breaks up the play, or they wait to long to make a pass and they do not get a quality shot. Someone who has a natural sense of the game can read these situation's and make the right decision.
I am not going to try and predict what kind of long term player Tavares is going to be. Like I said, I have never seen him play. Let me see him play a few times before I label him for his entire career! Just kidding. But I am more worried about his rookie year. Based on what I have read, it seems to me that he could have a huge season. But also he could have a season where his numbers may not be that great, but learns what he needs to learn to have his future numbers be great. And that is what I am looking for this year. Even if he scores 40 goals this year, the Islanders are not going to be a playoff team. I want him to do what it takes to make his long term success the best. If that means he only scores 15 goals this year, but learns invaluable lessons from players like Weight, Park and Steit, then I will consider his rookie season a success.
Either way this season will be all about Tavares. I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Is it October 3rd yet??
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Playoffs????
26-47-9
This was the lovely record of the New York Islanders last year. That totaled 61 points; a full 32 points out of a playoff spot. Yet I see on some message boards that some fans think the Isles have a chance to make the playoffs. Look, I understand that it is natural for fans to think their team is better then they are. Living in Western New York I am surrounded by Buffalo Bills fans. Every year they all say they are going to be 10-6 and squeak into the playoffs. It has now been 10 years since the Bills have made the playoffs, yet every year the fans think they will be good.
It's only natural for fans to feel this way. Every opening night I want to believe that the Islanders are going to be a competitive team. I want to believe that Trent Hunter is finally going to live up to the potential he showed when he scored 25 goals as a rookie. That DiPietro is finally going to be healthy and take that major step. That Jeff Tambellini will become the goal scorer that would justify first round pick used on him. There are so many other ifs that fans want to believe will come true. But they won't. Trent Hunter is not a 25 goal scorer. He is an 18 to 21 goal scorer tops. DP has not yet taken that step and he just cannot stay healthy anymore (however, he is the one of the "ifs" that can actually happen). Jeff Tambellini is just NOT a regular NHL scorer.
We must let reality take over here. Is it impossible for the Islanders to make the playoffs? Of course not. But in order for that to happen, it is going to have to be because the following players develop far more than expected since last year:
Kyle Okposo
Josh Bailey
Frans Nielson
Jack Hillen
Bruno Gervais
Sean Bergenheim
This was the lovely record of the New York Islanders last year. That totaled 61 points; a full 32 points out of a playoff spot. Yet I see on some message boards that some fans think the Isles have a chance to make the playoffs. Look, I understand that it is natural for fans to think their team is better then they are. Living in Western New York I am surrounded by Buffalo Bills fans. Every year they all say they are going to be 10-6 and squeak into the playoffs. It has now been 10 years since the Bills have made the playoffs, yet every year the fans think they will be good.
It's only natural for fans to feel this way. Every opening night I want to believe that the Islanders are going to be a competitive team. I want to believe that Trent Hunter is finally going to live up to the potential he showed when he scored 25 goals as a rookie. That DiPietro is finally going to be healthy and take that major step. That Jeff Tambellini will become the goal scorer that would justify first round pick used on him. There are so many other ifs that fans want to believe will come true. But they won't. Trent Hunter is not a 25 goal scorer. He is an 18 to 21 goal scorer tops. DP has not yet taken that step and he just cannot stay healthy anymore (however, he is the one of the "ifs" that can actually happen). Jeff Tambellini is just NOT a regular NHL scorer.
We must let reality take over here. Is it impossible for the Islanders to make the playoffs? Of course not. But in order for that to happen, it is going to have to be because the following players develop far more than expected since last year:
Kyle Okposo
Josh Bailey
Frans Nielson
Jack Hillen
Bruno Gervais
Sean Bergenheim
These are the players that will have to make major leaps for the Islanders to be a competitive team this year. I personally do not see that happening. That's not to say that each of these players won't be improved from last year. They will be. But unless your name is Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin or Kovalchuck, it takes a few years of NHL play to develop into the player that you can become.
I did not add Tavares to this list because we have no idea what kind of NHL player he is going to be yet. In all honesty, I have only seen a couple of You Tube highlights of him. That is the extent of which I know about his game. Could he have a Bossy type of rookie season and score 50 goals? quite possibly. And I sure as hell hope so! But he could also have a Steve Stamkos type of rookie season. Start off slow, learn the ropes, and pick it up in the second half of the season. If his rookie season is like the latter scenario, then it will not be enough to put this team into the playoffs. This is the type of season I am expecting out of him. If he scores 20 goals this year, we should consider it a very successful rookie season.
Our playoff hopes are not going to hinge on what Martinek, Sutton and Witt can do (when healthy of course), or even on what Streit and Weight do. Streit and Weight are great players and will be the 2 biggest leaders on this team, but we already know this going into the season and even with this knowledge, the team is not projected to be a playoff team.
Jeff Tambellini? Please. Time to move on. Sorry to be so harsh, but it is the truth. He is just NOT a regular NHL player. He doesn't lack the skill or even the heart in my opinion. I truly believe he is trying his best to become the goal scorer his natural skills could allow him to be. But professional sports are as much mental as they are physical; and Tambellini just does not seem to have the mental make up to be a NHL regular. It has taken me a while to accept this. Up until about the midway point of last season I was one of the few left defending him. I truly believed he just needed to have the confidence that he was going to stay up on the Islanders and not get sent down or benched after one bad shift, as happened while Ted Nolan was the coach. The 2 year, one way contract should have given him that confidence. But it didn't. He just cannot put it together at the NHL level. Look how good he is during shootouts. He scores almost every time. But in live action, the natural talent just does not come out. So we have one more season with Tambellini and he will be gone. He is not an impact prospect for this organization anymore.
So playoffs?? No. I'd say there is only a 1% to 2% chance to make the playoffs this year. Even if there are no playoffs, this can still be a successful season. If by the end of the year they are scoring more goals and are more competitive then last year and their young players have made major strides in their developments, no matter where they end up in the standings, they will have taken a step forward in their rebuilding.
I did not add Tavares to this list because we have no idea what kind of NHL player he is going to be yet. In all honesty, I have only seen a couple of You Tube highlights of him. That is the extent of which I know about his game. Could he have a Bossy type of rookie season and score 50 goals? quite possibly. And I sure as hell hope so! But he could also have a Steve Stamkos type of rookie season. Start off slow, learn the ropes, and pick it up in the second half of the season. If his rookie season is like the latter scenario, then it will not be enough to put this team into the playoffs. This is the type of season I am expecting out of him. If he scores 20 goals this year, we should consider it a very successful rookie season.
Our playoff hopes are not going to hinge on what Martinek, Sutton and Witt can do (when healthy of course), or even on what Streit and Weight do. Streit and Weight are great players and will be the 2 biggest leaders on this team, but we already know this going into the season and even with this knowledge, the team is not projected to be a playoff team.
Jeff Tambellini? Please. Time to move on. Sorry to be so harsh, but it is the truth. He is just NOT a regular NHL player. He doesn't lack the skill or even the heart in my opinion. I truly believe he is trying his best to become the goal scorer his natural skills could allow him to be. But professional sports are as much mental as they are physical; and Tambellini just does not seem to have the mental make up to be a NHL regular. It has taken me a while to accept this. Up until about the midway point of last season I was one of the few left defending him. I truly believed he just needed to have the confidence that he was going to stay up on the Islanders and not get sent down or benched after one bad shift, as happened while Ted Nolan was the coach. The 2 year, one way contract should have given him that confidence. But it didn't. He just cannot put it together at the NHL level. Look how good he is during shootouts. He scores almost every time. But in live action, the natural talent just does not come out. So we have one more season with Tambellini and he will be gone. He is not an impact prospect for this organization anymore.
So playoffs?? No. I'd say there is only a 1% to 2% chance to make the playoffs this year. Even if there are no playoffs, this can still be a successful season. If by the end of the year they are scoring more goals and are more competitive then last year and their young players have made major strides in their developments, no matter where they end up in the standings, they will have taken a step forward in their rebuilding.
A letter to the New York Islanders regarding pointblank
About 2 weeks ago we received the very disappointing news from Chris Botta that the New York Islanders decided not to fully fund the Islanderspointblank.com blog for the upcoming season. While Mr. Botta has stated that the Islanders made an offer to stay on as a sponsor, it was not enough to allow him to do the blog as a full time job. The initial outcry was strong and the Islanders were flooded with emails and phone calls. Then Mr. Botta decided to step in and say that we need to slow things down and focus on the Lighthouse project for the time being because of the important public hearing that was held last week. Well now that the hearings are over, we can get back to letting the Islanders know that their decision to stop the full time funding of the blog is unacceptable. Below is a letter that I sent to Chris Dey (Chris.Dey@newyorkislanders.com) the day after the announcement that Pointblank was no longer being funded. We cannot let up. If we want Pointblank around we need to fight for it. PLEASE continue to call and write emails to the Islanders about this. Even if you get generic responses, do not be discouraged, keep writing.
Good morning Mr. Dey. You can add this to the long list of email's I am sure you are receiving this morning about the unacceptable decision by the Islanders to no longer fund Mr. Botta's Pointblank website. Once again your organization sticks it to a fanbase that for some outrageous reason has stood by this team through the past 20 years of horrible on ice product.
Pointblank has become a gathering place for Islander fans from all over the world. Yes, all over the world. Canadian's, American's and European's alike read and comment on the website on a daily basis. The site has shown just how passionate this fanbase is about the team. The site was getting hundred's of thousands of hits a day and this team was in LAST PLACE. Imagine the hits it would receive if the Islanders were actually good? How can the team do this to their loyal fans? How cheap can you actually be? Lord knows the team is nowhere near the salary cap ceiling AGAIN this year and will all but certainly be one of the worst teams in the league AGAIN. So what do we have to look forward too? Watching them lose every game and have nowhere to go confer with other fans and let out our frustrations? Not to mention the inside access that Mr. Botta provides us on a daily basis. Nowhere else can the FANS (you know, the people that spend their hard earned money, even during a recession to support this team) get such access to their favorite team.
But none of that seems to matter to this organization. You prefer to anger your fans. That's fine. You have angered me. Every year I try and make it down to Long Island and catch a game or two at the Colesium. Well since your organization is going to be cheap this year, so will I. I now will not make any trip this year to the Island and will not purchase any merchandise for this team (was thinking about purchasing a Tavares jersey). I will encourage other fans of the team to do the same as this decision is completely unacceptable. I will continue to root and cheer for this team from my living room, but that is the only place I will be cheering from. I will not spend any hard earned money on this organization this year.
Comments!
Good morning Mr. Dey. You can add this to the long list of email's I am sure you are receiving this morning about the unacceptable decision by the Islanders to no longer fund Mr. Botta's Pointblank website. Once again your organization sticks it to a fanbase that for some outrageous reason has stood by this team through the past 20 years of horrible on ice product.
Pointblank has become a gathering place for Islander fans from all over the world. Yes, all over the world. Canadian's, American's and European's alike read and comment on the website on a daily basis. The site has shown just how passionate this fanbase is about the team. The site was getting hundred's of thousands of hits a day and this team was in LAST PLACE. Imagine the hits it would receive if the Islanders were actually good? How can the team do this to their loyal fans? How cheap can you actually be? Lord knows the team is nowhere near the salary cap ceiling AGAIN this year and will all but certainly be one of the worst teams in the league AGAIN. So what do we have to look forward too? Watching them lose every game and have nowhere to go confer with other fans and let out our frustrations? Not to mention the inside access that Mr. Botta provides us on a daily basis. Nowhere else can the FANS (you know, the people that spend their hard earned money, even during a recession to support this team) get such access to their favorite team.
But none of that seems to matter to this organization. You prefer to anger your fans. That's fine. You have angered me. Every year I try and make it down to Long Island and catch a game or two at the Colesium. Well since your organization is going to be cheap this year, so will I. I now will not make any trip this year to the Island and will not purchase any merchandise for this team (was thinking about purchasing a Tavares jersey). I will encourage other fans of the team to do the same as this decision is completely unacceptable. I will continue to root and cheer for this team from my living room, but that is the only place I will be cheering from. I will not spend any hard earned money on this organization this year.
Comments!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Let's go Rangers!!
Sorry about the title of this blog. Me even writing it made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. But hear me out on this one. The rest of the Atlantic division has gotten a lot better this off season and is arguably the best division in hockey. The Islanders, meanwhile, have not gotten any better except for John Tavares. Yes, their goaltending is much improved. But they still have zero offense.
So why is the Rangers, Flyers, Devils and Penguins all being really good teams a good thing for the Islanders? Because the Isles play them a combined 24 times this year will lose a lot of those games. Let's be honest, with the moves made by Snow this offseason (or lack thereof), they WANT to be bad again this year. Actually, they NEED to be bad again this year. They still have a lack of talent in their system. John Tavares alone will not make them a contendor.
Even if they were in a weaker division, this team would still not be a playoff team. But if they got to play Atlanta and Tampa Bay a combined 12 times this year, they would most likely end up with more points at the end of the year and subsequently end up with a worse draft pick. That is not what they need right now. They need the highest draft pick they can possibly get. Don't get me wrong, I hate watching them lose every game. I don't want to bear yet another 30th place season. Last year was a horrible experience. But, until they get a new arena, building through the draft is the only way for them to become competitive. Kovalchuck is not signing here after next season. Either is any other big name free agent. The draft is the only way for them to become a consistent contender.
Don't root against the Isles this year, as some fans stated they were doing last year. But realize that Snow's lack of activity in the free agent market this offseason is calculated. What will adding Tanguay or Zheredev do for them long term? Nothing. The only thing it will do is slightly improve the team in the short term and turn from a 29th or 30th place team into a 24th or 25th place team. And finishing 30th is far better in the long term then finishing 25th.
So let's go Rangers! Let's hope they make the trade for Heatley and hope the rest of the teams in the division lives up to their talent level. Because only 1 team can win the Stanley Cup this year, but only the Islanders can benefit from ALL the other teams in their division being much improved.
So why is the Rangers, Flyers, Devils and Penguins all being really good teams a good thing for the Islanders? Because the Isles play them a combined 24 times this year will lose a lot of those games. Let's be honest, with the moves made by Snow this offseason (or lack thereof), they WANT to be bad again this year. Actually, they NEED to be bad again this year. They still have a lack of talent in their system. John Tavares alone will not make them a contendor.
Even if they were in a weaker division, this team would still not be a playoff team. But if they got to play Atlanta and Tampa Bay a combined 12 times this year, they would most likely end up with more points at the end of the year and subsequently end up with a worse draft pick. That is not what they need right now. They need the highest draft pick they can possibly get. Don't get me wrong, I hate watching them lose every game. I don't want to bear yet another 30th place season. Last year was a horrible experience. But, until they get a new arena, building through the draft is the only way for them to become competitive. Kovalchuck is not signing here after next season. Either is any other big name free agent. The draft is the only way for them to become a consistent contender.
Don't root against the Isles this year, as some fans stated they were doing last year. But realize that Snow's lack of activity in the free agent market this offseason is calculated. What will adding Tanguay or Zheredev do for them long term? Nothing. The only thing it will do is slightly improve the team in the short term and turn from a 29th or 30th place team into a 24th or 25th place team. And finishing 30th is far better in the long term then finishing 25th.
So let's go Rangers! Let's hope they make the trade for Heatley and hope the rest of the teams in the division lives up to their talent level. Because only 1 team can win the Stanley Cup this year, but only the Islanders can benefit from ALL the other teams in their division being much improved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
