Forward Jeff Tambellini, whose difficulty breaking into the Islanders’ lineup the past two seasons under Ted Nolan, came to symbolize the former coach’s resistance to a youth movement, agreed today on a two-year deal worth $1.175 million.
Tambellini, who made an NHL salary of $882,000 last season, including bonus money, actually took less than his qualifying offer of $660,000 for the chance to prove he belongs in the NHL fulltime. In exchange for accepting a lower salary, Tambellini gets a one-way contract that virtually assures a full shot to play a role as a top-six forward. The deal calls for him to make $550,000 next season and $625,000 in the second year.
Centers Ben Walter and Jeremy Colliton both accepted the two-way qualifying offers they received before the 5 p.m. deadline for restricted free agents to make a decision to take their qualifying offers or not. Forward Frans Nielsen and defenseman Bruno Gervais declined their qualifying offers but are continuing negotiations with general manager Garth Snow. At this point, Snow has all the leverage because he can lower his offer to the take-it-or-leave-it stage, but so far, negotiations are moving forward amicably.
Forward Sean Bergenheim still is headed for arbitration, but Snow said he’s “making progress” in talks with agent Allan Walsh, which means there’s still a chance to reach agreement and avoid a hearing.
Comments (21)
Let the youth movement begin!!!!!
Schedule please. Time to book my trips.
And yes, i'm being serious
Oh NO Bruno!!! Not you too!! No hardball with SNOW! Yikes.
Find a way Sean... find a WAY!!
Good news for Tambs!!
Come on Bruno!!
660K punching bag!
Here is your shot Jeff, make the most of it.
Visit my blog at:
http://floridaislesfan.blogspot.com/
Read This article from ESPN...This is what the Wang has created and how others view us :
With Nolan move, Isles go from feel-good story to laughingstock
By Scott Burnside
ESPN.com
Funny how this kind of thing rarely happens with good teams.
Funny how it's always bad teams -- poorly constructed, poorly run -- that end up running into philosophical differences with their coaches, general managers, trainers and towel boys. Guess it's always harder to get along when you're a bottom-feeder.
On Monday, Islanders GM Garth Snow and coach Ted Nolan decided to part ways because of "philosophical differences." It turned one of the NHL's great feel-good stories from two seasons ago into just another power struggle, leaving the erstwhile coach and Snow more than a little soiled and making the team the butt of jokes around the hockey world -- again.
Ted Nolan had a 74-68-21 record over his two seasons with the Islanders.
"Cirque d'Isles," one NHL executive quipped to ESPN.com on Monday.
Remember when Nolan made Snow, the former backup netminder thrust awkwardly into the GM role by bizarro owner Charles Wang, look like a genius in the waning seconds of the 2006-07 season? With backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz (now playing in Europe) playing the hero, the ragtag Islanders defeated the New Jersey Devils on the final afternoon of the regular season in a shootout and stole the final Eastern Conference playoff berth from the Toronto Maple Leafs. It mattered little that the Isles were then dispatched in five games by Buffalo.
Nolan, who was brought into the organization from exile, proved he remained a master motivator and coach with NHL smarts. He took an Islanders club most assumed would be a lottery team and made it competitive. The Isles played hard most nights and were well-prepared. Nolan got more out of the bunch of castoffs and leftovers than anyone had a right to expect. Snow, to his credit, saw the Isles had created a long-absent buzz and went out and acquired Ryan Smyth at the 2007 trade deadline while keeping some of his veterans. It cost him some future picks, but it was a bold move for a team that had been long on bored and short on bold for a long time.
Last season, no one gave the Islanders much of a chance again, but they earned more respect, for whatever that's worth. But the bloom was off the rose for Snow and Nolan, who warred over how the team should be run. Injuries and simple logic (the Islanders aren't a very good team) caught up with them, and the Isles finished 13th in the Eastern Conference with 79 points, 13 fewer than the previous season. They finished 23rd in goals allowed per game and dead last in goals per game. Not a good recipe for advancement.
For some odd reason -- and let's hope it's not Snow just sticking it to Nolan -- it took the Islanders GM three full months to figure out he didn't want Nolan back behind the bench.
This will do little to dispel the long-held notion that Nolan is difficult to deal with. He was coach of the year in 1997 in Buffalo, but a feud with then-GM John Muckler exploded and cost both men their jobs. Nolan was out of the game for nine years before the Isles opened the door. Whatever the truth is of this nasty little piece of business, it no doubt will give other GMs pause when considering Nolan even though the on-ice results were impressive.
As for the Islanders, they are now looking for their seventh coach since Wang took over ownership in 2000 after Butch Goring, Lorne Henning (interim head coach after Goring was fired), Peter Laviolette, Steve Stirling, Brad Shaw and Nolan failed to pass muster. Snow represents the third GM over that period of time, following Mike Milbury and Neil Smith, who were brushed aside in pursuit of … well, what we're not exactly sure.
Snow said Monday that he will immediately begin looking for Nolan's replacement. One assumes he'll be making a call to his old buddy and former Stanley Cup-winning coach Bob Hartley, who might be able to replicate Nolan's success at getting blood from the proverbial hockey stone. One thing seems certain: Snow will need to find someone who isn't afraid to coach the kids; that was reportedly the tipping point for Snow, who didn't see eye to eye with Nolan on using the Isles' youngsters. And whomever Snow tabs, it'd better be someone prepared for some tough times before things improve.
One wonders whether Snow waited this long to dismiss Nolan so potential free agents wouldn't be put off by the notion that the team was in disarray. Given that Snow managed to lure only defensively challenged defenseman Mark Streit, with a whopper contract, and fading Doug Weight to the fold, it appears he need not have worried.
Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.
***How is Wang doing everybody ??? 7 coaches in 8 years...3 GM's.....BOBBLEHEAD !!! ***
I read that alos steady. Your team blows. And to sir yaps a lot, no where in the other espn article does he think the isles are making a "good" move going with youth. It simply says they are going with youth and it will take a long time. No where does he give his opinion. Stop making things sir yaps a lot!
You tell em JD. No where does it say he agrees with the direction of the Islanders. Burnside KILLS the Isles and their sad ways.
I almost feel bad for the icelanders.
Good signing for Tambellini and very cheap for the Isles if he blossoms.
Check out my blog, the last update was just made tonight!
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Please leave opinions and comments!
First of all trolls go home and worry about our own squad.
This is the line that really pissed me off :
""Cirque d'Isles," one NHL executive quipped to ESPN.com on
Monday.
I have always stated the NHL is a frat house....They all are "good ole boys" This is what they think of our once proud organization. Wang MUST change this asap !! He is being laughed at by his piers !!
505 wrote in the previous thread ~ "That Brooks' article is simply garbage Vukota.
If anything, it is becoming clear to me that more than a 1st line center or a boxer, The Islanders need a journalism ombudsman, hitman, or watchdog.
Cuz I continue to be amazed by the diarrhea that spews into newspapers back there by people who claim to be Sports Reporters.
They are simply fiction writers that couldn't even give Sir William a run for his money."
- - - - - - - - - - -
Brooks has always been a Ranger shrill ... he is just as if not more of a Ranger fan than Steve Zippy... When I worked for Fox Brooks used to be made fun of for his non-professional Ranger rants ... it was a time the Rangers were sucking it up as bad as the Isles did in the late 90s,
There was one NHL PR guy who I will not name since he still works there that thought Brooks was amateur hour and a pseudo journalist ... he actually was more nostalgic for the hockey writers of his own youth ... but he said Brooks' position is actually secure because he's eagar to cover hockey in town that barely takes notice of the Rangers compared to the other sports.
The post is just happy they have a sports writer willing to cover the Rangers as he put it.
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Also ... regarding Steady's ESPN pasted article ... Burnside has ALWAYS grilled the Isles ... even when they were doing well.... I believe he is the one that wrote the article that had the Isles fans steaming when they were chugging along and rated the Isles as the team on the verge of collapse ... and as much as I hate to admit it .... he was right ... he didn't predict the injuries ... but he said they will collapse.
The problem for the Isles is they have one thing worse than the talent on the ice .... and that is positive PR ... no mater how hard the Isles PR people try .... they create an atmosphere that makes their jobs next to impossible. Look at Chris Botta ... that guy can probably be a Union Carbide Spokesman in India with the trial by fire experience he got with the Isles.
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I am going to write a long post Sir W ... no worries ... I'm just waiting to hear back from Julien before I post something about this whole situation ... and he wants to make sure it's OK to post ... and I want to make sure it is something that will be OK to post without inflaming more sentiment ... Julien told me that it still has to be confirmed... all I know is that this goes back to what Steady mentioned ... about the good ole boy fraternity of the NHL... and Julien stated ... it has to be worded a certain way ... because the NHL and their clubs receive anti-trust exemptions .. and certain things can and cant be said ... and quite frankley Sir W ... I'm dying to hear what Julien has to say myself.
19 ISLES OK, I can't wait to hear this either. I would love to know
how this ties into an anti trust exemption or any "good ole boys" network. Because it seems to me that a coach with a very mediocre record refused to go along with the GM and got his ass fired. Period.
So was it Wang or Snow on the grassy knoll ?
Wait, Snow was too young.........Sir William
This is a direct quote from Hradeks piece on ESPN
"The Islanders have no choice but to take the smart route -- building through the draft. At the very least, that takes two things: time and patience."
What was it about SMART route that you didn't understand, JD?..........Sir William
Thoughts in the 13th inning of what has turned into an interesting All-Star Game from 2 time zones away.
A/I would laugh my ass off if Paul Maurice became the next Islander Coach in a joint press conference also announcing that Mats Sundin has signed a 1 year 12 million dollar contract.
B/Those legendary ghosts of Yankee Stadium are laughing their asses off right now as they are trying to put Bud Selig on the spot with yet another "TIE-GAME" scenario.
C/Anthony Rieber has gone off the wall on the Vinal Flore with record setting consecutive vitriolic nasty anti-Islander (and their fans) diarrhea on his blog. I guess no one told that "baseball writer" that there's an All-Star game going on in the backyard. Oddly, most of his commentary strikes me as childishly "troll-like". But I could be wrong.
Hmmmmm.
I have learned that other Islander commenters from this blog have been banned from commenting there as well.
Oh well, talk amongst yourself Anthony.
And when you finally tire of your spiel...satisfy your next itch and reinvent pulling wings off of flies.
D/Dan Uggla is living a nightmare in Yankee Stadium right now. I feel for the kid. Just got his 3rd error on the night (tough call-bad hop). He's only had 6 errors all season.
E/Let's enjoy the rest of the summer Isles fans???
Stranger things have happened.
And let's get those games started at 7:30PM, Right Merrick!!!!
Sir W ... there were two parts to what Julien had to add... and after just getting off the phone with him I understand some of the mystique to what he was implying.
1- He said it is very unadvisable to get into the news business ... so he will not tell me exactly what could be construed as tampering and anti-trust questions... he said that nothing of that sort happened ... but could be twisted that way ... lets just say that some people within the Canadian hockey rank and file (fraternity) made note of Nolan's dessention that actually may have began during last summer's FA period when he saw that Snow / the Isles even with their huge offers ... was ineffective in bringing in top tier FA's even after the Isles had a good season ... and that Nolan hadn't signed on to coach another junior level club.... when I asked to elaborate ... he just said ... Nolan wasn't thrilled according to some of the press up there .. and some hockey people (some with NHL club ties) might have even egged Nolan on. He said ... that I have to understand ... there is a huge gossip club up in Canada ... and Nolan isn't everybody's favorite for some reason or another... so he doesn't know if the current gossip is to tarnish him .. or to insult the Islanders.... or both.
2- The second part is ... the Islanders reputation ... he said deserved or not ... the Islanders always make odd moves at odd times ... he said that lack of stability also projects a lack of security with the organization ... and that the Isles seem to be grasping at straws trying anything to get noticed or change the way business is done ... thus far Wang has always proved to be wrong.
He did add though ... that even through the weirdness of this past draft .... and letting go Nolan ... that many feel that Islanders are actually on to something. It will all depend on who Snow is able to get to coach the team ... and he feels like many of us here do ... that finally ... the ball is in Snow's court .... this is his team ... and he's now in the position to succeed or fail all on his own.
Julien said he thinks Snow is a lot more clever than what most people give him credit for ... and in a way ... that is an asset. He said the sad part is the press contributes more to the Islanders' negative image than is fairly deserved. He said Canadian press likes to sew bad vibes for teams like the Isles with past success b/c it distracts away from some of the Canadian clubs' mis-fortunes ... he said ... take Toronto as an example ... he said 41 years is a very long time.
He apologized to me for leading me to believe that he had some huge scoop for me ... but that gossip is best left for the rag papers. He said it is bad enough that TSN and ESPN report trash about hockey ... just to say anything and stir the pot. He said living in NY I should know better.
I'll make my own comments regarding Nolan / Snow later.
Um...what has Tambellini done to earn a 2-year extension? He's looked awful in the NHL so far, regardless of ice-time.
Right Jon---hes done squat. We have this obsession with youth as a last hope gasp because of the painful dearth of veteran talent. These "kids" are not coveted by anyone outside this misguided organization. I hope Tamby turns out ok---I have no reason to think he will.
I really hope that they get a coach with little or no NHL experience. Someone to grow with the team... Lets hope the oracle is right again. Don't get me wrong if they come with Maurice and Sundin you won't hear a peep from me...but theres as much chance of me replacing Nolan....wait... these are the Islanders we're talking about....lol. I'll only do it if they fire Dey and replace him with 19isles and 505!
From 19's post above...
"Julien said he thinks Snow is a lot more clever than what most people give him credit for ... and in a way ... that is an asset."
LOL!!!... I suppose we now have "Columbo" as our GM !!!!!
themass -
Here's the link to the article you were asking about yesterday where it says Snow had already given Nolan written permission to look for a job elsewhere...
http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/islanders/ny-spisles0715,0,3241479.story