On the Islanders Beat

This should put the Isles near the top.

Top of what?

Big move by Snow - Now we will be playing for a cup next year!!

I like Tim Jackman. He is a good BPT player and does whats expected of him when he comes up to the Isles.

Man... for fans who are often completely obsessed with ranking people according to when they were drafted (cue all the cries for Nilsson and OMarra) why dont some of you check out when Tim was drafted? If it matters so much for someone else, why not him lol?

Or better yet, you can just be happy that the Isles made a good depth signing. Thats all this is, and its fine.

Tim Jackman will score the Stanley cup winning goal next year for the Islanders vs. Detroit in Game 7. You heard it here first.

Another example of the Islanders trying to get by "on the cheap."..

Priority number one should be Vrbata.
Number two Brooks Orpik
Number three JM Liles

All are young guys with good futures ahead of them. Throwing a 5 year deal at each would set the tone that the Isles are serious about winning.

Sign Witt to a 2 year extension.

Use Gervais and or Campoli as trade bait with one of the second round picks to grab a top six forward.

Asham and Goddard are ghosts of the past. Leave them there.

If all of these moves can be made and some of the young players work out we could have a fairly decent team next season. Not a Cup winner but the beginning of a building process.

Forget about Malkin, Hossa or Cambell. None of them are signing here. Malkin will be resigned by Pitt before next year is out.

Let's concentrate on who can realisically be signed here insead of wishful thinking............Sir William

NICK, Very nice that you got all those out of towners to sign your petition. I do applaud your determination and your passion to get something done that you beleive in. Kudos for that.

I am sure that you are politically savvy enough to know that at some point, a Town Of Hempstead clerk will sit down with your petition and remove all of the names that are not on the voter registration rolls within the Town of Hempstead. This is just politics 101.

Just as a word of advice, you may want to rethink your stratergy
of loading up the petition with non voters. It gives the appearence that people outside the Town or State are more interested in the Project than the citizens who actually can vote for Ms Murray and her cohorts.

Just some friendly advice, Nick. You can do with it as you will. Even though I personally am against the project, I do appreciate how hard you have worked.......Sir William

MR JOKE , Is that what people consider you? Seems about right...Sir William

Sir William...

Joke is the handle of someone who comments regularly on the Ranger board.
The person you are responding to is not him/her.
Just the imposter who has littered all the blog boards here with this nonsense.
(school is ALMOST out in the NY area).

I know it's difficult....ya just gotta ignore this/these idiots.

One other thing, Sir William......
As far as out of towners signing the petitions...

I think the Town of Hempstead would be foolish to disregard the signatures of non resident voters. We may not vote with our ballots but we can vote with our wallets.

I for one would appreciate a "Lighthouse" that serves as a tourist beacon. I would like nothing better than to come to the Island and be able to stay somewhere centrally located with amenities that go beyond the Borrelli's Italian Restaraunt across the street on Hempstead Turnpike.
I see the day when the Islander Marketing people get their act together and start putting "out of towner" hockey packages for us "diaspora'ed" transplants.
And spend lots of new money in your apparently flagging economy.

IF YOU BUILD IT, WE WILL COME.

Well, thank you 505. I do not read any of the other boards because I am not interested in what the Rangers do.

I do read and contribute to the Bleeding Blue and Orange blog and am about to win thier Stanley Cup contest tonight as Detroit closes out the Penguins (shameless plug, I know).

505 You give the politicians here way too much credit. They are only interested in getting re-elected, not what may or may not be good for the people they supposedly represent. Perhaps it is better where you are, but not here.

A wise man once said "all politics are local."

Ms Murray is a firm beleiver in the adage.............Sir William

I see no issues with signing Jackman. I don't want to see him in October, but he's a good player to have in Bridgeport.

SW, as far as your statement pertaining to Hossa and Campbell, I'd have to say you are correct. The organization is very scared about having another 07/01/07 on their hands. One has to believe that was why Comrie was signed for another year. I'm surprised they didn't sign Vasicek. He wasn't what they expected on a consistent basis, but there were early and late flashes that made that 750K look like a bargain... and it's not like they have four better options at center.

Comrie... may be a better offensive option, but overall I'd grade him below Vasicek. (And that is saying something). Comrie was far more disappointing that JoVas. If he was hurt, and they give him more talent up front, we might be pleasantly surprised... but I'm not holding my breath.

Nielsen... I think Nielsen has no. 2 center potential, but I'd take the experienced #2 that showed he was NHL worthy before I just handed Nielsen the job.

Park... Out of the gate he's the best #3 C option... he might be the best # 2 and 4 options as well. You have to love Park, but doesn't have the chops for a top two center role.

Walter... Loved what I saw out of him when Bridgeport played Norfolk. Was given almost no opportunity with the Isles, even after Silly went down. If he doesn't make this club by christmas I'm sure his agent will have a full VM. But is he a #2 guy... I don't think so... i think he puts the 3rd line back offensively where they were in 06-07, but he's not going to carry the mail for a 30 goal scorer...

Hilbert... ???? Puleeeeeeze!

505 Crass? Moi? Please elaborate. PMS? unlikely. Perhaps it was the strain of cashing my pension checks. How was work today?...............Sir William

JP IN VA I agree about Walter. He looked very good when he was given the chance. And then down he went and fell off the radar. I still do not understand why?

Park is a great 4 th line centerman and PK player.

Comrie is a number two playing out of position as a number one.

Neilsen should be given every chance to become the number two if Comrie stays as the top line center.

But really what needs to be done, is to have a real number one centerman brought in or at least another strong number two man.

Perhaps Snow has something up hs sleeve. I certainly hope so........Sir William

SW, I agree with you...I actually never asked for the petition to be plugged on Hockeybuzz, as much as I appreciate it, for the exact reasons you mentioned. This is why we also have letters for TOH residents to sign that we can hand-deliver to the Town....We want to make it clear that there are LOCAL people who will vote based on this issue.

SW,
as an ex-isled, I have agreed with most of what you have had to say.
505,
If the REAL Lighthouse in Montauk isn't enough, then a fugazi one in the center of Long and Thick Island isn't going to help.
If they need to boost tourism maybe they can make the largest ball of reprocessed tire rubber gathered from the LIE, Southern State, Cross Island, Meadowbrook and SOB parkways... that would pull them in all the way from Kansas!

I think when Walter was called up it was because he was the best option, but not for the position that was needed. I think if he was given a chance to straight out replace Sillinger when he went down it might have been different. But by they he had already fallen off the radar.
Tambellini was who everybody wanted to see... and ... they saw him do absolutely NOTHING. Sure, he hustled and he competed, but he wasn't a step faster than everybody else at the NHL level, and not strong enough to overcome that.
I think tambellini is going to get a lot of playing tim this year... but for a western conference team. If he gets packaged with campoli[or gervais] the Isles might even get themselves a nice draft pick in a very deep draft.
I would never wish any ill will on a player, any player, especially one that I respect as much as Sillinger. But it might be time to hang up the skates. that kind of injury, at the end of a career can be devastating to one's post career lifestyle.
He seems to be a really good guy who has a future in somebody's organization. Maybe if he sticks around long island there will be a coaching or GM job opening up.
I either want to see the 2006-07 Sillinger, or Ben Walter in that 3rd Center spot. Making it Comrie-Nielsen-Walter-Park up the middle. Sure, it's mediocre, but it's younger and faster than last year's version.
I still want to put in a vote to re-sign vasicek... if sillinger isn't around he was also VERY GOOD on clutch faceoffs when called upon. The other four options weren't very good at all... with the best of the face off centers being designated to the fourth line.
SCARY!

Sir Wilma, why in Gods name do you continue to talk about your $$$ ? Enough alreay, as you are embarassing yourself nightly.

I can name many people on this blog that buy tickets from me that can buy and sell you. Steady is a huge finance guy. 505 has run major business. Another regular is a big lawyer.

Stop talking money. they can buy and sell you!

Brian It was a joke. Sorry, if you didn't get it. And I do not bring it up nightly. It was a response to a questions about understanding economics a few days ago.

I highly doubt that there is anyone on this blog who could buy or sell me, as the buying or selling of human beings was done away with in 1864. Didn't you get the memo????.....Sir William

Blurt, I'll take the can when you learn how to spell.

Wadbaums????? LOL LOL LOL....Sir W

WADBAUMS !! sounds like a great name for a character in my next p*rn* novel. See, sometimes from small minds great things come. Thanks, Blurt. Funniest thing I saw all day...............Sir
William

Sir William..

The buying and selling of humans is only "unconstitutional", but that doesn't stop anybody from doing it.

And in the name of DIVERSITY, maybe Charles could get the Lighthouse fast tracked if he changed it from The Lighthouse Project to the LONG ISLAND RAINBOW PROJECT. He could replace the Lighthouse with a GIANT MENORA... and represent every ethnicity with a "cultural corer"... kinda like Epcot.

Hmmm... There aren't that many Jewish hockey players... or any other races other than white europeans for that matter... maybe only 3% of the NHL is non-white, and 1% may be non-christian and they're athiests for the most part.

Maybe that's why it's stalling.

NBA... predominatntly african american... when the Nets find a spot they will have shovels in the ground faster than you can say Jackie Robinson.

Baseball, predominantly latin and black (well... at least it is disproportionately dominated by non-whites relative to the population). two new stadiums going up AT THE SAME TIME!

Football... another sport that is disproportionally "diverse"... Giant stadium is being replaced well before it has become obsolete...

There is no hope for the white man... :-)

Viva Los Metsos!!!!

I think Godard and Asham would make the Islanders too tough. I dont like physical hockey. Look at Detroit --no need for physical players, just neat, fine skaters.

I work at Merrill and make more coin tthan all you girls.

Sir William obviously holds men in high esteem.

Sigh. Another imposter. Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery?

JP in VA I beg to differ, but not only does the US Title Code make selling or buying human beings illegal (amended in the 90's to include body parts also) but every state in the union has some sort of law on the books making it punishable by a lengthy prison term.

I can point you to several RICO's that were done in the Southern District versus Chinese Snakeheads who routinely sold Asian girls into prostitution. All are serving life sentences in Federal prison.............Sir William

What do you guys who post here about hockey, think about John Torterella? It appears, from all reports, that his days in Tampa are over and that he will be let go.

Would anyone here like to see him behind the Islanders bench should Nolan get the ax mid season. Or perhaps after the upcoming season if Ted is not re hired?

He is a firey guy, no doubt. Is that something that you feel is needed here or not? Just Asking..........Sir William

Wow......interesting evening of comments.

Sir William....
I am beginning to doubt any of your allegiances to the Islanders.
You ramble about needing this guy and the other guy.

What kind of team are you trying to build?

You watch that game last night and you think "this is what the NHL is all about". The Islanders haven't played a meaningful game in 15 years. It's sad. It's a joke. Tell me Dipietro (the first pick in the draft) is in the same stratosphere as Fleury (also the first pick in a draft). You look at the young talent on the ice last night, then you look at the Isles self promoting mediocre potential third liners like Comeau and Colliton.

Islander hockey....... just sad. And it's the truth!

We can hem and haw all we want about what we feel is the right moves for the Islanders ... personally ... I think we need to go "Back to the Future" ... we need to go back to the model that made the Islanders a dynasty in the first place to build for the future ...

I know some people want to make the Islanders an instant competitor .. but what does that get us? Mid level draft picks and always fighting for a 6th - 10th finish... No more quick fix trades to put us over the perceived hump. We'll be paying for that Smyth trade for a decade if any of the talent / draft pick make something of themself.

Here is a exerpt from NHL.com ... I've preached about this since the fall ... and it still stands ... you can feel what ever you want ... but it's a proven formula that built 2 power house American teams.

**** **** **** **** ****
One of the people Holland leans on is Jimmy Devellano, who Brian Compton profiled on NHL.com. Holland says that Devellano's legacy is as enduring as Bowman's doctrine of puck possession:

June 1, NHL.com: "He's my mentor," Holland said. "He gave me my first opportunity to get into the business. When he came to Detroit, one of the things he talked about was he was never going to trade a draft pick. He was going to build the team through the draft, and he obviously built that foundation. By the late '80s, our owner was real aggressive and told Jimmy D to sign college guys. Adam Oates was one of those guys. He's a tremendous architect. The '89 Draft was really the one that finished it off. We're still living off it today with Nick Lidstrom."
In the end, the relationship Devellano and Holland share seems to be similar to the one he had with Torrey on Long Island during the 1970s and the early '80s. Devellano said he had never thought of that way until he was asked, but admitted there are similarities.

"I'd like to think I'd be to Ken what [New York Islanders GM] Bill Torrey was to me," Devellano said. "I'd like to think I've been a good mentor to Ken. We hired him as a scout and promoted him to chief scout and promoted him to assistant general manager. In '97, I gave him my job. I'd like to think there's a real similarity."
...
"It really starts with good players, whether it was Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan or Igor Larionov or (Nicklas) Lidstrom or (Kris) Draper or (Kirk Maltby) ... you hate to leave anybody out, but it all starts with the players," Devellano said. "We've been blessed with two real great coaches in Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock. Both have been really top-notch coaches. We've been able to keep things together here for a long time. Our scouting, or management people have been together a long time, and I think it's worked to our advantage. Besides all of that, a lot of luck. It helps to have a little bit of luck."

"It's always an exciting time. I've been in the NHL for 41 years with three teams, and this is my 11th time in the Stanley Cup Final. From the very first time to this time, I always think it's going to be the last time, so I try to enjoy it."
**** **** **** ****

How many times have I mentioned Jimmy Devellano on this blog? The core starts with a competent executive ... and Bill Torrey may have been the face of the Dynastic Management Team ... But Jimmy D. was right there on the front lines with him.

I think Snow just needs to school himself on what build the original dynasty ... and just follow that blue print ... and yeah ... use his noggin... and as Jimmy said ... have a little luck to go with that.

Sir W ~ I like John Torterella ... but we have a good coach. I put JT at the top of the 2nd tier of the coaching fraternity. He has a cup ... but he also had some great talent ... did a horrible job with a team this year that on paper was much better than the Islanders ... so I'm not so quick to think about him replacing Nolan should Nolan get the boot .... but I do think he's capable of handling a team with talent ... he just didn't get it done this season .... did Tampa Tank? Sure ... I think in all likely hood they did ... they dumped Richards off at Dallas like a cheap set of luggage... but that's another topic for another day.

John Torterella ??? Did you see the talent he stunk up the NHL with this year? No thanks.

Let's not re-hash this, but look at the cast of fools Nolan is dealing with.

So NOW the bobbleheads have decided to go full throttle with YOUTH...Hmmmmm imagine if they did not do the Smyth deal, then we would not be another three years back in the re-building process. That is ancient history though. Last year we go out and sign another bunch of old men rentals, why not do the youth movement then??? Ohhh that's right, b/c then they would of admitted the year before was a mistake. God forbid.

See this is what I meant by BOBBLEHEADS for the past few years. They have NO CLUE what direction they have been heading. Now we are going to go stickly youth. Okay fine. What do you tell Rick D ? What do you tell Guerin? What do you tell the guys you promised you were trying to build a cup contendar? Ohhhhh sorry, now we are going youth.

Do not get me wrong....I am all for young scrappy kids playing their hearts out. But, as ususal the Isles and their moronic staff got it wrong. This should of been done three years ago. Now you are going to piss off many that signed here when they see all the kids.

Dubie- Good luck- you gave us some thrills and if you stay in shape I am sure you will find work.....Remember when I said that McDonald should play in the last Isles series to get his feet wet b/c Dubie probably would not be our back up next year ???? Well I guess I was right on that one. Satan and Tank....Bye Bye !!!

Avery and Ruutu and other pests of the league. They have their place I guess, but Avery would be a disaster on this team. Especially i na youth movement. PEsts are needed on contenders not rebuilders. We do need a heavy weight. A Godard would be welocomed. Asham's time has come and gone. Godard would be nice. Or just let Kip Brennan stay with the big club. He will be surrounded by all bridgeport players anyway!

Pitt - Nice win last night. Watching these two teams clearly shows how far away from a good team we really are!

19 Isles Now, I know that this was not you:

"Sir Bill just took the trash from downstairs,hear hisMoms is referred to as "Free Willy".

One can only hope that English is a second language to this person. Or has the entire school system failed us? Is this the product of a richly funded public education system? Turning out masses of functional illiterates? If this is a sample, then Long Island has more to worry about than the Islanders....Sir William

Concerning Torterella, if he does get let go by Tampa, I think that he will find a job as soon as he wants to. He may wish to take a year off and recharge his batteries. His coaching style appears to be extremely consuming and he may well just need to take a step back and see what shakes out over the next season.

Unless the Islanders get off to a fast start, I beleive that they will make a coaching change, otherwise they would have extended
the current coach's contract. Not fact, just my observation.

Torterella may be just what the team needs to breath some fire into what was a very lifeless bunch last year. If the trend continues this year, it may not be the worst thing for a young team
to have an animated figure behind the bench......Sir William

Anyone else think that last nights game was one of the worst refereed games of the playoffs? I admit to having a rooting interest in the Red Wings, as I picked them to win the Cup in six games.

But the two calls for goaltender interference were marginal at best and both made by the trailing ref even though the other referee was 10 feet away from the so called penalty.

I also saw several trips, hooks and holds that were either missed or just let go. There was also quite a bit of interference at the Penguins blueline whenever the Wings seemed to get some steam rolling. I also saw one of the Wings whack Hal Gill right in the back with the stick after they play was over and nothing was called.

This is the NHL's chance to shine and it deserves a better officiated game...........Sir William

How in Gods name will the Isles possibly get off to a good start next year? They are going into a total youth movement. I can guarantee they sign NO FA's this year and make NO Trades (Not that they have anything left to deal!)

The Bobbleheads are going YOUTH ....Three years and Three #1 picks too late, but that is what is happening.

Nolan is probably chomping at the bit to get out from the BOBBLEHEADS and I cannot blame him. He has done a very good job considering he was given a bunch of cast offs with avg. talent.

There is not one coach in the sport that can make more of this team than Ted has the past two years. Look at the players on this team. It is funny actually.

I love the team and will stand by them. I will attend my 12 or so games a year in LI, a couple at msg, and the few they play at Boston. Yet, I am sick of the Wanger and his bs speeches and promises when it comes to the direction of the team!

Let's at least hope they get the draft right!

Sir William....

"505 Crass? Moi? Please elaborate. PMS? unlikely. Perhaps it was the strain of cashing my pension checks. How was work today?...............Sir William"

FYI...the "crass/PMS" post was not me.....The troll at work.

Hey guys. Yep, last nights game was great. I wasn't really a Penguins fan, but I am definately rooting for them. Any of you computer geeks like me should check out the Linux Outlaws podcast. The german guy is a huge Penguins fan.

Anyway, I have to agree with Steady on the Bobble heads comment. I just don't see any reason to be so black and white in your statements. Every team in the league is developing young players all the time. The only thing I can think of is that he is setting up to get rid of Nolan. Nolan tends to ride the veterans, so I don't think he's going to take his new marching orders well.

Almost no draft picks are ready to immediately play in the NHL. It takes years to develop them properly. That is if they have what it takes to make the jump.

So my prediction is that the Islanders will try and go youth, they won't make the playoffs, and Nolan will take the fall. New coach and new hope for next year.

Kevin T.

505 and sir yaps alot. why not talk hockey and stop talking to each other. get a room already and just makeout.

SW:

I have to agree that what we saw last night (and this morning) was one of the worst officiated games according to the "new NHL rules". Numerous cases of obstruction and even plain old ruffing (stick swinging and skate kicking). If it was a regular season game we would have season 30 penalties easy but it was clear that the refs put the whistles away. Unless the penalties are extremely overt they weren't calling it.

Now I will agree that the goalie interference calls were about as obvious as all the other rough stuff but I think it was done to protect Fleury. Intentional or not you can't hit the goalie when he's in the crease, the second time actually would have led the Wings to a scoring opportunity.

I am very happy with the way the game was officiated as it was hard hitting fast paced hockey. The players knew they could get away with a lot and it showed in the spirit of play. The problem is that it shows the NHL is inconsistent in enforcing the rules.

505 I Figured that it was not you. Nor is the post above this me.
This is getting tiresome. Little geeks hiding behind their keyboards, clapping their hands after impersonating someone who does have the nerve to sign what they post.

I fear for the Nation..........Sir William

refresh

Amazing how there is finally something to talk about with the departure of all the rentals (Satan, Tank, Vas, and lil Dubie) and all you everyone is talking about is childish stuff.

Guess I did not miss to much in the couple of months I stayed away.

Merrick, AZS, Nick....what do you think ???

Islanders' DiPietro to have knee operation Tuesday
http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spisles0604,0,5712860.story
He better be good as new after this one.

Some thoughts:

Youth Movement : There is no reason this team can not develop players while filling roles on the club with the huge amount of cap space they have. There is plenty of room for two or three UFA’s to file CHASMS on the roster, while giving Okposo, Comeau and Bergenhiem plenty of ice time to grow. There is no reason why Nielsen can’t “develop” on the second and third lines.
Also, with the lack of any SUPERSTAR players they will have cap space for years to come... the way they look now.

Guys I think we all want to see get loads of ice time next year:
Okposo
Comeau
Bergenhiem

Guys that will:
Comrie
Guerin
Hunter
Witt
Martinek
Sutton

Players that are going to be watching the draft intently, with their business agents on one cell phone and their real estate agents on the other...

Gervais… He has shown he can play in the NHL, but the Isles have enough mediocre undersized defensemen.

Meyer… He also proved worthy of NHL 2nd pairing consideration, but Campoli is back, and there is really only going to be enough NHL room for one of them.

Campoli… If other teams don’t have him marked as UNDERSIZED and FRAGILE he might fetch a second rounder. Before he is dealt Snow would have to have locked down a UFA like Commodore or Campbell verbally. But on draft day I bet there is a lot of interest in Campoli.

Sillinger… If sillinger is planning on playing next year, and is cleared to play there will be plenty of teams that need that role filled. I’d trade his roster spot even though he could be valuable to the team. It’s guys like that who really don’t fit into a youth movement… though they do help kids develop the intangibles. All I’ll say about that is he has played side by side with Hunter for two seasons and Hunter still hasn’t grown the stones to play the way he needs to in front of the net.

Hilbert… Great role player…. This team has Park, and young guys that can score double digits, or at least help their linemates score. Hilbert was a very good Isle, but that definition is in serious need of an upgrade.

RE: DP surgery.... GeeezE!!! ... Does the injury bug ever take a break? Did he aggrevate it? Was he always scheduled to have it done? Was it a scope type surgery?
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Sir W ~ I'm with you on the officiating of last night's game. It was horrendous!!! ... even though I also picked the Wings in 6 ... I was hoping they'd pull it out last night.

Those two goalie interference penalties were the lamest penalties I've ever seen in a Stanley Cup Final ... and ironically .. they were both in the same game. I'm not suggesting an NHL conspiracy to help the Pens ... that was just plain old fashioned incompetent officiating ... and it took a bite out of one of the Wings' best assets ... and that is going strong at the net ... they were noticably tentative after the second call.

That being said ... the double minor that was drawn to give the Pens that PP that eventually helped them get the game winning goal was deserved.... but was fate changed by the previous goalie interference calls against the Wings and the lack of a tripping call agains the Pens shortly before the double minor was drawn?

I had a co-worker watch the game last night to get him into hockey ... I told him he'll be hooked on the game forever .... well ... his comments .... loved the energy ... the drama ... the athleticism and endurance ... he found himself not able to shut the game off after the 1st OT ... he said the big turn off that will probably kill the sport for him ... the bad officiating ... now if a rookie fan noticed that ... it had to be bad.
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It's official John Tortorella was fired by Tampa.

Long anon post was me...
Short anon post was not

DP getting surgery is going to mean as many as THIRTY games for the backup this year. Dubie has been somewhat inconsistent, but has some HUGE games for the Isles.
I think they've wanted to upgrade for a long time, but Dubie makes their decisions very difficult with his clutch play. I hope he gets a few BIG playoff wins somewhere... as long as it's not in our division.

I wasn't able to catch the game last night, but I will still give my opinon on the state of hockey. The officiating is going to be HORRIBLE as long as they allow the REFS to interpret obstruction calls as they go. Add to that the two ref system where a guy 120 feet away can call a penalty on something that a ref 15 feet away let go. God forbid the nearer guy should ever override a colleague.

With all the technology that's available they still can't get goal calls right.... and they have to be made fro TORONTO...WTF!!!

But we do have hockey in Nashville... and on VERSUS... THANK YOU MR BETTMAN.

Here's what Bettman just couldn't get through his empty noggin... During the Mets-Dodger gam on Sunday night they promoted teh NBA finals non-stop... not one word about Lord Stanley.

Bettman needs to find a hole and crawl in it... and he can take Colin Campbell with him...

19, tell your friend to stick to the other three major sports... you'll be saving yourself a lot of beer money in the long run.

The post at 16:25 was indeed me and then my favorite troll Gary took over at 16:31....Now I know why I stayed away.

All blogs are infected by Gary and his miserable life!

Isles need to make a major deal, maybe package Jackman, Johnson, Tambs, Dubie for Brian Gionta and a pick.

I have to think that Snow will add at least two players to the current roster either through a trade or FA signings. Yes, I heard what he said about making room for the younger players. I also heard him say that Yashin was still a part of the team a week before he unloaded him. Only a fool of a GM would tip his hand in public as too what plans he has for the team.

There is no way he can go into the season with the current roster.
Look for him to go after a top six FA forward and depending on the draft, a puck moving D man. If they draft a blue chip D man who can step right in, then look for him to trade one of the current Dman in a package for another forward.

All opinions welcome..........Sir William

Man, talk about a team with direction...... the coach makes the GM look like an absolute fool with regard to comments about Dubie.

Nice franchise, LOL!

JP & SW ... I agree ... and the Isles cannot go into next season with the current roster. I'm pretty sure Snow is going to try and grab a relatively young UFA with the enourmous gulf of cap space available. I think Wang should be showcasing the Light House plans in the media in Canada and around the US hockey markets to entice future consideration for any player watching on TV that may want to join the Islanders... just put the awareness out there. Players talk to each other ... this will keep Wanger busy and out of Snow and Nolan's hair.
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Seem's according to Logan's last article that Nolan isn't particularly happy about Snow not resigning Dubie. My question is ... Dubie turned down the 2 way offer ... right? They'd have to sign him to a one way contract then to make him happy ... so that being said ... we'd have to keep THREE goaltenders on the roster ..... and we already know that DP is going to be playing about 60 games or so. So Nolan would have two backup goalies splitting 20 or so games? Do I read that right? Not to mention taking up 3 roster spaces for 3 goalies ... What did Nolan expect ... the writing was on the wall last summer when J Mac was signed for 2 years with this year being a one way deal. I'm not even sure if Snow is the one who made that deal. Was that Smith's?
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Nick/505 ... got the 505/Nickvite to the pre-show to the draft party ... that looks like awesome fun ... I'm currently trying to compress my schedule to get to the draft party as it is ... but you guys throw that at me ... looks like more fun than the draft party itself ... so I'm gonna work on making room. I'll be leaving Dallas that morning ... flying into Atlantic City ... scoping out a job with biz partner ... then going home ... I'll have to get my girlfriend to leave work early ... but I'm gonna try to move mt. Everest ... it's kinda like the Grammy after party but on the front end.

BTW ... that invitation was great ... and I'd like to add another thing ... as we all know as Islander fans .... we've had plenty of sleepless nights the last 15 years ... so I'm glad if I can have a hand in helping my fellow Isle fans get some ZZZZZzzzzzZZZZ... lol
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Draft FYI ... Zach Bogosian Defenseman .. I was at the rink last night for an informal pickup game ... Thanks to my brother I spoke briefly with a Junior scout that was working on setting up this summer's youth camp ... he didn't scout Bogosian for the Petes b/c he lived closer to Montreal and Ottawa and would of been scouted by those area scouts ... but he added .... Bogosian is a probable super star NHL defenseman in the making ... he not only has all the tools ... but he knows how to use them. He is a can't miss prospect that is a true QB out of the Ray Bourque / Niedermayer mold. I'm going to talk to this guy more about OHL prospects on Friday night ... he's going to help us run our tryouts ... hey ... I think I may have also recruited another player for my team. LOL!

I think you can all join me as I give the Italian salute and say "F&*# Tiger Woods". Someone who is a professional "athlete" should be a little more in tune with promoting other sports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Tiger-Woods-ambassador-of-sports-except-for-ho?urn=nhl,85795

Nolan/Snow
Here’s my spin on the disagreement. MIKE MILBURY all over again. Here’s what I mean.
Tommy “Swiss Cheese” Salo goes into arbitration hearing coming off a better than average season for a young goaltender with a mediocre team. Mike Milbury slams him at every opportunity to save ~$300k (something like that). Reports say that Salo was “crying” when the meeting broke up.
This is the same situation. I don’t think anybody wanted a “crying” goaltender on their team anyway, nor one who got owned by a ranger goalie… but Salo had won at every level and did a fair job for the islanders. He definitely wasn’t the “future” of the franchise, like Eric Fachaud (SP?) was, but he didn’t deserve to get treated like a pee wee bedwetter.
This is the same situation. Dubie is an undersized, but serviceable goaltender who had some HUGE wins for the Isles. I understand the desire to upgrade the backup goalie position, but why kick him on the way out.
IMHO, Nolan showed some class by standing up for Dubie rather than just letting Snow’s comments go unchecked.
Again, in my opinion, Snow has one more strike left… Nolan has rekindled why he was exiled from the NHL 12 years ago. He is going to stand up for what he believes in, in the face of a GM who has done absolutely nothing to prove himself worthy of the job. At least Muckler had some credentials… Snow has done NADA to get this team to the next level.
One of them has to go… and history shows that Wang will stick with the PROVEN LOSER every chance he gets.

Good luck Ted, where ever you may wind up… Don’t be too surprised if Ted is elsewhere in October and the Isles take advantage of JT’s sudden availability…

It’s Mad Mike… all over again… Deja PHEW!!!!

Here's my attempt at a positive spin on this latest little tiff between Snow and Nolan...

There are some things that Ted DIDN'T say to Logan about recent events.
Specifically...no contract offers to Satan, Vas and Tank.
Apparently Snow and Nolan were on the same page there?
So, they agreed on 75% of the four no contract offers?

That's not bad....I can't remember in my checkered corporate history when I agreed with 75% of the decisions my bosses made.
I agree with JP when he says Nolan was showing some class by standing up for Dubie and not allowing Snow's comments to go unchallenged.
Snow was wrong for:
1/Saying anything other than a standard "he's not in our future plans" reason for not keeping Dubie.
2/Giving the impression, and in fact, shifting the burden of the decision for cutting Dubie to the coaches being unhappy with him.

I consider this a "chide" by Nolan to Snow for overstepping his bounds with comments about Dubie.
Nothing more.

Just my opinion....from 2 time zones away.

(But the honeymoon is just about over Garth).

I agree that this Dubie situation was mis-handled. However, I have a serious question:

Ted Nolan has been a coach for, I believe, 4 NHL seasons, and Garth Snow has been a GM for 2 NHL seasons. What has Nolan done to earn the never-wavering support of so many Islander fans? He should have gotten serious Jack Adams consideration in 06-07, but for my money his allowing Dunham to rust and stubborn refusal to give Dubie a chance until our backs were against the wall nearly cost us the season. Regardless of Dubie's conditioning, he still played DP too much this year, and I never really thought Nolan had any faith in Dubie.

I'm surely not taking Snow's side here, and I've said many times on this board that Nolan is this team's best coach in history not named Arbour. However, so many Islander fans are quick to defend Nolan and call for Snow's head regardless of the situation. Why is that, and what exactly has Nolan done, if you take an HONEST look at his body of work, to deserve that level of blind loyalty?

Snow is just too honest and open and says what he feels. Ted also says what he feels.... and Mr. Botta wasn't there to keep everyone in check. So now there is an internet explosion over both their comments. Great. Just what we needed. What was the blog entry about again? Oh... Right ... jackman. Good luck Tim.

Bobbleheads at it again.....Wang and Snow are morons....When are they going to learn ??? A simple call to the coach might of helped huh ??? What no one in the "committee" could give their coach a call on the matter ??????? No one in the "Boardroom" could give a jingle????

Snow is a puppet. He is learning on the job while being surrounded by computer geeks that do not know the difference between a hocky puck and a ring ding.

For all those that want Nolan fired, God help you. Not a coach in HISTORY could do any better. I am not saying Nolan is great. But he has done a very good job with this cast of mis fit toys.....Snow and Wang however have made mistakes that will cost us YEARS to mend!

p.s Dubie did not get playing time b/c he came to camp looking like a swollen tick!

p.s.s The last two posts on June 3rd were not me...I will not rip any of you personally or say the trash that the troll has said.....Unless you really get under my skin!!! :)

Understood....and again, Steady, I'm not saying Snow is right here, but it seems at times like if Snow said the sky was blue and Nolan said it was green there would be hundreds of Islander fans questioning Snow's sense of vision and demanding he be fired for denying the green sky.

Nick, give me a break. Is there in past articles, discussions, blogs where Nolan said Dubie was out of shape and warranted no play time. DP dictates to Chuckie Wang and Snowjob on his ice time. Hey Nick a big transport coming, oh I'm sorry you're blind. C'mon why would Nolan come out and say a thing like that? Wish Dubie the best and it's done. No hard feelings and end of story. But no what does your beloved GM do, tries to blame Nolan for him not signing Dubie, real class. This is the least of the Islanders issues. Need hockey players, bad.

You're clearly not able to read, because that's not what I said at all, Mr. Too Scared to Name Yourself and Debate Me. I'm not taking Snow's side, just responding to comments here and on other sites I read that say the franchise is going in the tank because of this disagreement.

If DP dictates his playing time, that needs to stop, because he's a player and Nolan runs the team on the ice. I do wish Dubie the best, I've spent the entire previous season saying that he needed to play 25 games a year, and if the team didn't feel like he could handle that role they should find someone who can. The whole thing should have been handled in-house, and I do blame Nolan for saying something controversial in the press when, as mentioned, he knew it would end up being a story and would add to the reputation of the franchise as in disarray. That was a bad move.

Let's get a better backup than Joey MacDonald, and let's hope that Snow and Nolan can keep whatever tiff they have in-house.

OK, hit post too soon....I can't believe I'm agreeing with Sir William on this, but I don't understand why Nolan is considered sacrosanct by so many fans. He MAY not be correct in all situations, and it's disingenuous to call for Snow's head every time they disagree. They need to get along, or one of them has to go, I just hope there's an objective look at who will deserve to go at the time.

Hey Nick, Why can't you beleive you agreed with me?. Didn't you agree about the Light House petition being signed by non TOH voters? Just funnin' with you, Nick.

Anyway, this has always been the knock on Nolan. He wants to be GM/Coach. It's what got him cut loose in Buffalo. It appears that Wang is firmly in Snow's corner, so perhaps Ted feels that he can push Snow into releasing him now. There are a LOT of jobs out there now and it was obvious from Wang's speech that he is not extending Nolan's contract. Wang wants to wait out the year and see how things shake out. Teddy may be looking for a way out before all the vacant NHL jobs are filled.

Not fact, just a thought.......Sir William