As you can see from the two most recent headlines on this blog, newest Islander Mark Streit has the kind of name that lends itself to a variety of headline puns. But I think “Streit sense” is apt in this case because of how the power-play quarterback fit the Islanders’ needs and where his five-year contract worth $20.5 million fell in the marketplace.
If you look at the YouTube video posted here earlier under the “Streit smarts” headline, you can see the kind of talent Streit has in one-on-one offensive situations and what kind of passer he is in traffic. It even includes a beautiful goal he scored against the Islanders on a backdoor play last season. Honestly, he was a player you couldn’t help but notice and appreciate every time the Isles met Montreal last season.
Some fans have compared him to former Isle Marc-Andre Bergeron, but there’s a world of difference. Bergeron’s slapshot was a powerful weapon, but there wasn’t much beyond that. He couldn’t skate out of his own end, waited too long to make the breakout pass and often made the wrong decision. On defense, Bergeron constantly angered his partners by roaming all over the place instead of playing his side.
Streit is an offensive playmaker. He will be able to make the nice breakout pass, and he has the ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone and the vision to make plays for others. Defense is his obvious weakness, which is why his average ice time of 17:31 was on the low end last season. Maybe that will improve with a regular shift on the Islanders.
I understand the pundits in Montreal are predicting a decline from his 62-point season with the Isles’ low-powered offense, and that certainly seems likely. But maybe the Canadiens will be surprised to see a decline in their power play and offense without a player like Streit to serve as a catalyst. The Islanders don’t have many finishers, but with Streit setting them up, their forwards should have a lot more chances to score this season.
Streit’s $4.1 million average salary might seem high at first blush, but if you look at it in the context of what other top free-agent defensemen received, it’s right in the middle. Check it out:
Brian Campbell, Chicago, 8 years, $7.1 million average
Wade Redden, Rangers, 6 yrs., $6.5m
Mike Green, Washington, 4 yrs., $5.25m
Michael Rozsival, Rangers, 4 yrs., $5.0m
Mark Streit, Islanders, 5 yrs., $4.1m
John-Michael Liles, Colorado, 4 yrs., $4.0m
Brad Stuart, Detroit, 4 yrs., $3.75m
Mike Commodore, Colorado, 5 yrs., $3.75m
Jeff Finger, Toronto, 4 yrs., $3.5m
On the preceding list, Commodore is the only defensive-oriented defensemen, and the only top offensive defenseman still on the market is Columbus’ Ron Hainsey. I’m betting Hainsey is holding out for a higher average salary than Streit received or possibly waiting to see how much goes to Pittsburgh’s Brooks Orpik, who is in the same age category. The Sports Network, Canada’s version of ESPN, ran a poll last night asking which defenseman’s contract would deliver the best value. The choice was between Campbell, Redden and Streit. Just to quibble, I’d say Green, who was a restricted free agent, will deliver the most bang for the buck for many years. But he wasn’t an option. Streit was the clear winner of TSN’s poll with 48 percent of the vote compared to 30 percent for Campbell and 21 percent for Redden.
Maybe performance will change those perceptions in the future. But at this time in the NHL marketplace, this is a very good signing for the Islanders.
Comments (41)
Streit captained Switzerland's hockey team at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
Streit was nominated by the Canadiens' for the Bill Masterton Trophy by the Montreal chapter of the Professional Hockey Writer's Association.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.
I don't really care how Montreal used Streit. I'd say we got a pretty good player.
Kevin T.
Coral, I write what I write about this team because its an embarrassment and I'll keep it up until its no longer an embarrassment or it ceases to exist.
A good step in that direction would be ownership that values winning over its own ego, and understands that being GM of an NHL franchise is not a learn-on-the-job occupation. This management would see the need for skill on this team over any other, and would do things like draft the most highly-skilled player they possibly can, instead of constantly trying some type of new approach that seemingly every other team in the league already knows is not going to work. You see, other teams don't do things like pass up potential franchise offensive talent when they have no offensive talent at all, or hire goalies to be GMs. But this one does. And so, year after year, it fails.
The fact is that no matter how much I know about Mark Streit, he is too much like the player we gave away in Bergeron because he couldn't handle the heat from the coach on defense, and Streit will provide at best a marginal upgrade to a powerplay devoid of offensive talent.
Allow me to illustrate: Last year, the powerplay did reasonably well at first with Bergeron on the point. Eventually, teams realized that all they needed to do was keep him from shooting, and the powerplay became useless, unless someone else stepped up and did something, which never happened because nobody on the team can score. There went the effectiveness of the man advantage. Then, Bergeron got traded, and teams didn't even have to worry about covering him anymore, and so it became that much easier to smother the rest of the powerplay, comprised of players who cannot score.
So what we've done, then, is put the one guy back on the point that other teams have to cover. If he passes to someone else, it doesn't matter, because they can't score.
So that really isn't much of an upgrade, is it? Unless, of course, you think this guy is Bobby Orr, in which case, I'm really looking forward to seeing him light it up for 30 and 60 and revive the franchise.
By the way, Simple formula: Losing Sucks. This team loses, has lost, and will lose big this year. Ergo, by the transitive property, this team sucks, has sucked, will suck more this year. We are on a collision course with 20 straight years of it.You dig that, I guess? That's what you're into, being a laughingstock? Remember it before you come to bust my horns, because I've long since grown tired of the "Check back in Three Years" thing. I first started hearing that around 1985.
Its probably best for you to go sit in your free or 12 dollar seat, watch the team get crushed, and just ignore my posts. One day if the team is worth paying $12 to see, I'll catch you at the game. But then, you're not from around here, so that's unlikely for more than just one reason.
Oh the puns... I can't take it. One minor point of contention, isn't it pronounced "strayt" and not "street"? Greg perhaps you can give some insight, who started the business of making every headline a pun?
Though I am a Yankee fan, the Mets always had the best ones last season after the collapse:
"Shea it ain't so"
"Ya gotta bereave!"
"Met's don't have Wright stuff"
"No Reyes of sunshine for the Mets"
"Mets hopes fall off Cliff....Floyd"
:)
Frei, it's 2008, not 1985. I watch the team on Satellite through the NHL Center Ice package from the West Coast. I guess I don't count as a real fan in your eyes.
I have a lot of questions too, but each move should be evaluated as to whether it improves the team or not. Snow's big move this year will not be in buying FAs, it will be in leaving room for the new young players.
Nolan has his marching orders, but does he have the skill to develop young talent? If they stay the course, they will be a young, energetic team that will lose a lot of games early in the season. Then, like the Edmonton Oilers last year, start to do some damage at the end of the season.
It shouldn't take three years to see to get excited about the team again. That does not mean they have a winning record right away, just that they are competitive.
Kevin T.
For the record, TSN has an OnLine poll of hockey fans asking which defenceman will give the best value, Campbell, Redden or Streit.
Streit 51%
Campbell 31%
Redden 18%
I agree with the 51%. Good signing Garth.
the islanders scored 194 goals last year-
only the columus jackets scored less (193)
they don't need Streit----
They need a goal scorer!!!!!!!!!!
they needed to spend $$$$$
they haven't won a playoff series since 1993 and didn't make the playoffs last year---
this team is a MESS--WAKE UP GARTH!!!!! PLEASE!
Frei....Comparing a man you have only seen highlights of on tv, too the pathetic MAB is comical. I am a MAB killer....I hated him and hope in my own little way helped others see how bad he was.
To compare the two is the DUMBEST thing I have ever read....Here is why:
MAB was a cancer in the lockerroom as said by the Oilers and ceratin Isles.......Strait has NEVER been called anyhting but hard working.
MAB fought with his own coaches and showed them up on the bench.........Strait has NEVER done that from all I have read.
MAB gave away the puck on the blueline more than he had goals...Go look at all the video tape...........Strait is not even close to be known for doing that on the PP.
The problem with MAB was not his shot!! It was his attitude, his lack of unity, his brains, and his B^LLS !!!!
FREI-
I've been a fan since '72-
You are on the money with everything you say!
I think Wang is going to pay as little as possible and then sell the team in 2 years and they'll be gone-
The Islanders have the lowest attendance and lowest season ticket base in the NHL.-
They just don't care-
If I hear Garth Snow say "youth movement" and "rebuild" one more time, I'll puke. What a joke!
Atlanta Thrashers sign UFA defenceman Ron Hainsey to a five-year, $22.5 million contract.
We need finishers. Plain and simple. I dont care if you're on a 1, 2, 3 or 5 year plan. No goals = bye bye Long Island. What good is a PP QB if there is no one around him who can score?
Ottawa signed Ruutu.....There goes the pest I wanted.
Still need:
Scorer....Pest...Enforcer (though I 'll take Kip Brennan as long as he plays.)
Frei - as I said in another post - I agree with you 100% - I cannot believe people are really supporting this move - the signing of Streit would be good if we had some talented offensive centers & wingers but the Islanders don't have any - Guerin is done, Comrie is not that good (he is a 2nd or 3rd line player) - The Islanders need to get a superstar....Snow needs to learn you overpay for superstars not 1 year wonders....He seems to be very confused on what this team needs. Richard Park should never get time on the PP unit , no matter how much he hustles
Players I want:
1) Matt Cook....Last good "PEST" left on the board
2) King George Laraque....The best enforcer on the planet
3) Any PURE goal scorer
Maybe no one could score on the PP, because they had no one that could dish them the puck from the blueline? I mean, Satan was on the point when he should have been down low - he was the one guy that even came close to being a sniper on this team, and was probably misused (but only because we had serious issues with the blueline on the PP).
Maybe the wrong guys were out there, which could happen again this year, but guys that can shoot - like Tambellini, hopefully Okposo, maybe Bergy/Comeau - will get more of a chance now that some of the other dead weight is gone.
Everyone says snow needs to come out and overpay for guys that obviously don't want to come here regardless of the money, so what should he do next?
(continued from above)
It is a chicken and egg thing fellas. We obviously can't sign the sniper, so we go for a setup/breakout man, and hope we can develop/trade for a true goal scorer.
E.J Hradek just KILLED Strait and Redden on WFAN with Mike and the Mad Dog!
Steady... I hope you are right.
I hope he is a leader, and cool under pressure, and a great skater, and scores loads of points.
But I'm afraid he's only as good as the skill that was around him, and won't make much of a difference to this talentless team.
Also if he is that good, why would he want to come here? A big payday is one reason... I think he got like a 700% percent raise. It seems strange he would want to be the only good player on an otherwise lousy team.
I don't think Garth is very smart, so I have a tough time believing anything he does is a good idea.
Oh, and one last thing: for you all still clamoring (on previous threads) that Snow should have traded the likes of Fedotenko, Satan, and Vasicek for the 2nd and 3rd rounders he accumulated instead of trading down from the 5-spot: don't you think he tried and it just wasn't happening? Does it give you any comfort that these guys names have not even come up in Free Agency, not even as backups to the guys who are backups to the supposed big dogs? I mean, it was a bunch of marginal talent, and this draft was deep, which is probably why Snow got no takers.
Isn't Sim a pest-like player, or maybe an agitator...or some other position that would never exist without the instigator rule?
We're probably good there...Bergy gets under people's skin too.
I honestly think Markov is the engine that truly turns the Mtl power play...many Mtl fans on various message boards seem to feel the same. That obviously doesn't mean that Streit can't be the man here. This should definitely help the power play, but it is not THE solution. You need threats down low to free up the people up high...and the Isles have no legit threat down low to speak of.
I'm curious to see what Streit brings, and more importantly, if he has the physical skills and communication skills to teach Campoli. We'll see, I guess.
I've finally broken down and decided to post on this blog after reading all of your comical posts over the past few years. I don't pay attention to who writes what, just the content of the posts. I am a huge fan and will continue to pay for the Center Ice package to watch this team no matter how bad they are (and they will be bad again this year). I watch this team in frustration year after year like all of you.
Where to start? Occasionally, one of you will say something interesting, like DP won't put up with losing forever, and then offer your miracle fix for the team which is often such a delusion from a homer fan it's like listening to a Canadian hockey broadcast. Here is my list of points you all need to come to grips with (in no particular order):
1. This team needs much more than a scoring winger/center to be a seriously completive team.
2. The current talent level of the kids is below average at best. I believe their farm system was ranked in the mid 20's with the kids we are now banking on to play 20 minutes a game (pre draft). Comeau, Walter, Nielsen (3rd liners at best on a bad team), Okposo (major upside, but still not proven), Bergenheim (maybe 15 goals a year).
3. Nobody will give up a 3rd round pick for Hilbert (seriously people)
4. We have no idea if Snow has a plan, but I guarantee you he is doing a better job than any of you can. Where is it written that a backup goalie can't be a good GM (and I'm not saying Garth is a good GM)? If we used this rationale across sports how many coaches and GM's would never have gotten a shot. We see how the greatest hockey player ion the word has done as a coach so far. Being a good/bad player has very little impact on whether or not you will be a good/bad coach/GM.
5. None of you really know where the Lighthouse project stands whether you are an activist on a committee or ran into a lawyer while throwing sea shells at Joans Beach or saw Wang eating dinner at his favorite restaurant. None of you are that close to the process.
6. The Rangers suck.
7. I can't even begin to analyze your trade proposals for McCabe.
8. New York is a great place when your winning and awful when your losing (we all know this). All I ask is that when you’re having these discussions about how to fix our beloved team, keep your suggestions rational. If you want to keep up with the blog the way it is, thanks for the comic relief.
9. For the record, I don’t have the solution, but I am ready to hear form all for you about how I can put down your suggestions, but don’t have any of my own.
I analyzed Streit's signing vs that of Wade Redden...go to
islesnet.blogspot.com
to check it out! It really is a pretty good analysis and comparion of that two players!
I- INSUFFICIENT TALENT
S- SOFT FORWARDS
L- LOSING TOO MUCH
A- ANGRY FANS
D- DRAFT PICKS SUCKED
E- EARLY SEASON MESS COMING UP IN '08-'09
R- RIDICULOUS YOUTH MOVEMENT BY GARTH SNOW
S- SELL THE TEAM AND MOVE IS WANGS PLAN
Can you critics at least take a position?
First it's "Garth won't sign anyone....this team is awful and our GM is an idiot."
Now it's "Garth signed somebody, but he spent way too much money and there's nobody for him to play with...this team is awful and our GM is an idiot."
Nobody is as bad as MAB was, and since Streit was a triggerman on the power play it at least gives us somebody who will SHOOT during the power play, and who, unlike MAB, hits the net at a higher clip than 1 in 20.
Otherwise I want to second everything D-Money said. As I pointed out yesterday, this is not NHL 08, where loading enough marginal talent will get you a good player in return, or where signings can happen just because you think they should.
Islesnc, welcome to the board....Thank you for the reality check, though from my perspective I hope the people I speak to (Nassau legislators, Town councilmembers, Lighthouse executives) would have a shadow of a clue.
FREI First, no one has been a fan and season ticket holder longer than I have. I sat in Sec. 337 row H for the first year and have held tickets for every year until this one.
Yes, I have seen the Cup raised and I have seen the 2,000 people
in the Coliseum nights.
Since you mentioned 1985, since then I saw a great run in 92-93 with Turgeon and if that punk Dale Hunter hadn't blindsided Pierre, who knows how far that team would have gone.
I saw the great Toronto series where the Coliseum rocked as loud as I have ever heard it.
And I watched as Dubie lifed the team into the playoffs in a heart stopping shootout.
And I paid about 3,000 bucks a year for my tickets. Not 12 dollars.
So it hasn't been all bad as you claim.
Yes, the Spano's, the Glucksterns and Milsteins, were horrible owners. Yes. Milburry stayed too long.
But that is the past and this is now.
I see Garth Snow growing before my eyes into a real GM. I see the great job he did at the draft. I see him looking at the teams weaknesses and addressing them. We needed a PP QB and now we have one. We need a scoring winger and he will get one.
Stop crying about the past and look into the future. The prospects have been restocked. Good solid players have been drafted.
Streit is a huge upgrade over MAB or nobody (since nobody was on the point when MAB was let go).
Snow has the vision, I can see it in his resolve. Watch and see what happens before the drop of the puck in October, before you judge. There is some excitement here for the first time in a while.
Roll with it and see what the outcome is.......Sir William
And Boomer, are you trying to out-Frei Frei? Seems like you're really trying to take his mantle as the most negative fan on here....If Wang has been losing money all these years (the amount is irrelevant, we all know it's happening whether it's $5 million or $20 million), and he already invested $10 million in the Lighthouse (not to mention the media buy that just went out), why would you think he wants to cut and run? What proof, in addition, do you have that all these draft picks this year will suck, as well as the ones from last year?
A few of you seem to think you know how to fix this team that isn't a "ridiculous youth movement by Garth Snow." OK...what is it? What's your magic solution that will solve all the team's problems in one fell swoop? Oh, that's right....we tried it 7 years ago (Yashin, Peca, Aucoin, Osgood) and it ended with a first-round loss, lost opportunities for great prospects, and an albatross contract that will hit the Cap for the next 7 years.
No matter how loudly you yell and stomp your feet, this team's problems won't be fixed in a season. There are more positive things going on around the team (community involvement, Lighthouse, Business Club, 2 strong drafts in a row) than there have in a long time, and all you do is insist it's still 1999. I hope you enjoy wallowing in misery, because personally I like it in the sunlight.
(SIR WILLIAM - AMEN BROTHER! Couldn't have said it better myself.....And it's very interesting Frei mentions 1985, since that's, believe it or not, the year I was BORN...)
SIR WILLIAM----
ARE YOU ON DRUGS OR DRINKING THE WANG/SNOW PUNCH????
WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO???
EXCITEMENT- ALL MY FRIENDS AND MY SON'S FRIENDS ARE LOSING OUR MINDS WITH THIS TEAM-
YOU CLAIM TO FOLLOW HOCKEY-
ARE YOU LOOKING AT WHAT TEAMS ARE DOING THAT WANT TO WIN????? IE. TAMPA BAY, WASHINGTON, CHICAGO, DETROIT ---- C'MON PLEASE.
WANG DOES NOTHING AND TELLS SNOW TO DO NOTHING-
1993 IS THE LAST PLAYOFF SERIES WIN- PLEASE.
CRAWL OUT FROM UNDER YOUR ROCK OR PILLOW OR WHATEVER YOU ARE SLEEPING UNDER-
THE ISLANDER FRANCHISE IS IN COMPLETE DISSARY NOT MATTER WHAT YOU SAY PAL!
Welcome back SW - I think you were about as close to the edge as Frei.
PS-
I'M 47 AND HAVE BEEN TO AT LEAST 800 OR MORE GAMES AT THE COLISEUM-
I'M FRIENDS WITH PLAYERS PAST AND PRESENT.
AGAIN, PLEASE NOTE-
LOWEST ATTENDANCE IN THE NHL
LOWEST SEASON TICKET BASE IN THE NHL-
(NOT FOR LACK OF E-MAILS THOUGH)
1993 LAST SERIES WIN - 15 YEARS-
ARE YOU PEOPLE BLIND??????
Rangers pull off a great deal for Zherdev.
Those are commonly-understood facts that nobody is disputing, and even if they did we'd have the Rag troll in here to throw it in our faces 5 times a day. From that, do you infer that the team is permanently wounded? Seems the Red Wings were in a bad way 25 years ago when Detroit called them the Dead Things and didn't think they'd ever rise to prominence again...I'm not quick to throw Garth under the bus because I see him growing, and I see a commitment from ownership. Let's see where we can take it.
LETS FACE IT-
WE'RE LIKE THE KC ROYALS-
WE'RE A SMALL MARKET LONG ISLAND TEAM IN THIS HIGH SALARY, FREE AGENT TIME FOR THE NHL.
UNFORTUNATELY IN SPORTS TODAY, THE HIGHER THE PAYROLL, THE MORE SUCCESS IN MOST CASES.
Boomer -
have you looked at the rosters of TB, WSH, DET, CHI? They all have drafted players (Lecavlier, Stamkos, Ovechkin, Datsuk, Zetterberg, Toews, Kane) that automatically give them more credibility than the Isles. Some got those draft picks because they sucked for a while. Some have great scouts. Some are original 6 franchises that are going to lure players just on that fact alone. One is repeatedly a contender every year because the franchise is run like a well-oiled machine. You can't compare the Isles to these teams...so find some other, more comparable teams and tell us what they are doing better.
Even with the rich history of the Isles, things have been run so far into the ground that rebuilding starts with reestablishing the foundation, which is exactly what Snow is trying to do.
Why are all these doomsday guys coming out of the woodwork all of a sudden. Where were you all year? Where were you on the draft weekend? Now that we finally spent some money and signed a real Free Agent you decide that it's time to jump in and tell me how horrible it is?
I don't get it. If Snow had sat on his hands, would you have written in to say how bad the team is?
So, to get this straight, you had nothing to say all year, until Snow improved the team by signing a true PP QB. Then you write in to say how awful Snow is as a GM.
It must make sense to you, because it makes none to me........Sir William
Nick..... 1985??? OUCH!!
You didn't believe me when I said I was too young to experience the Cups?
D-$$$
GREAT POINT-
THE ISLANDERS HAVE SUCKED FOR 15 YEARS NOW-
WHILE EVERONE ELSE HAS DRAFTED WELL-
THE ISLES HAVE NOT FOR 15 YEARS----
MAD MIKE F'D UP EVERYTHING-
SW-
WHERE HAVE I BEEN?
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW YOU EXISTED
C'mon boomer, we had the drafted talent, and MM tossed it aside. I'm not going any further with that topic though?
Oh, one more nugget I want to share before I crawl back into the woodwork. That new sweater they wore last year? God Awful. Bring back the original and stop trying to change it!
Isles just inked Dougie Weight......1yr I think per BD's blog on hockeybuzz.
They say 1.75mill......
Just to end all the fighting and hard feelings, I have it on good authority that Frei and Boomer are really escaped rags fans just here to stir things up.
By the way, nice posts by Kevin T. and Islesnc!!!!
From what i heard on Hockey Night in Canada, Streit only played on the power play? he didn't play on any regular shifts.
There must be some reason for that??
It seems like a lot of money to pay for someone who only played on the power play??
Boomer-
I'm really getting sick of fans like you..love the team when there hot..cry when they are bad. True fans stick with the team through bad times like this. The season hasn't even started yet and you already have your head so far up your a$$ and doubting the kids. Let them play at least then you can pass all the judgements you want. But for now sit back, grab a beer, and shutup.