When asked today if the decision by himself and general manager Garth Snow to expose veteran forward Jon Sim to waivers was a wakeup call for a team that has lost six of its past seven games, coach Scott Gordon said, "That's not the intent."
The coach also made it clear Sim should not be perceived as the "fall guy" for the Islanders' troubles. "That's not the design," Gordon said. "It's between Jon and myself, and we discussed it. I'm hopeful he's going to agree with it. Not the decision to waive him, but where I see things in his play and where the coaches, in general, see things in his play."
Sim, who is in the second year of a three-year contract worth $3 million, cleared waivers at noon today, but Gordon scratched him from tonight's lineup against Pittsburgh at Mellon Arena. He declined to give specific reasons for Sim's fall from grace, saying, "I don't want to blast him in the paper."
Sim now is eligible to be sent down to Bridgeport, but Gordon declined to say what the next move might be. The coach said Sim could play again for the Islanders, but whether he was waived or not, he wasn't going to play tonight.
Snow previously said the move was intended as a way to clear roster space. With Sim scratched, there's room to keep enforcer Mitch Fritz dressed for a game in which Penguins enforcer Eric Godard likely will play. Also, it allows Blake Comeau room to grow and gets Nate Thompson back on the ice. Thompson kills penalties, which is something Sim doesn't do. Then, there's the possibility of center Mike Comrie's return within the next week.
Someone had to go, and it was Sim, who tried to take the news with a stiff upper lip today. "I just have to be professional and take it day-by-day and do all the small things and get my game back to the performance I know I can," Sim said. "I have to get back to basics and be hungrier."
Sim said no one has said anything yet about a demotion to Bridgeport. "I'm going to control what I can control, and that's my work ethic and my attitude," he said. "Hopefully, when I get back in there, I can get my game going the right way."
Considering the investment the Islanders made in him as a free agent two summers ago, Sim admitted it was a "bit of a shock" to go on waivers. But he doesn't believe it happened because he fits former coach Ted Nolan's style of play better than he fits Gordon's system. "I don't think that's it at all," Sim said. "I mean, any player can play any system. I think it's more about my own game, not about any system. I just have to be hungrier and be more tenacious where I can be."
COMING ATTRACTION: Look for Islanders Insider online Friday at Newsday's sports website. The main attraction is Doug Weight's reflection on approaching his 1,000th NHL point, but there also will be sections on Josh Bailey's reaction to sitting out World Juniors and Blake Comeau's thoughts on his time spent in Bridgeport.
Comments (19)
Jon Sim's play this year can be summed up in the CRUSHING check he took on Tuesday that led to Asham's goal.
The puck was dumped by the Flyer's around the boards behind Danis.
Sim was the 1st one back to retrieve it but he TOOK HIS TIME getting to it (i.e. skating toward it like a Sunday afternoon with the wife and kids), which allowed time for the Flyer (I forget who) to line him up like a Russian partisan in front of a German firing squad.
The only difference is that Sim fell quicker than any Russian ever did on the Eastern Front.
Just a wee little but of hustle there Jon Sim and you could have saved yourself some pain. The net makes a good screen in those situations.
I have seen no "edge" to Sim's game, very little "grit", and overall he just comes across as a really nice guy.
Not what anyone expected.
Just my opinion....from two time zones away
Good post 505....I completely agree and said the same thing to Nick during the live blog .... ( Now you all know this post is me and not my PYSCHO stalker)
p.s I DO NOT predict a victory tonight like the fake Psycho did on the previous thread.
I do think they have a shot. The y have played the Pens tough this year before folding.
and YES, I do look forward to Fritz - Goddard Part Deux tonight!
Just ignore the troll steady. we know when it is you. The guy is one lonely bastard.
where is the live blog :?
Sim out of the lineup is better than Comeau out of the lineup. I smell change a'blowing.
When Sir William has something good to say about Comeau, we'll know that change ain't a'blowin', it's a GD Hurricane.
Damn, here I am for a live chat and Katie's probably got a date.
How could she pass up 505, Nick, Steady, Brian and the rest of us perves for some schleppy west sider with tensile hair and sushi breath?
Sim's been through this before. He's been claimed of waivers twice previously (LA, Nashville). If he has anything left to give, he should know how to get his form back. Whether he'll get that chance ...
I quess godard was a scratch--too bad, because the team is a bit flat in the 1st.
The guy I'm impressed with is Sutton--playing strong, smart hockey despite the hand injury.
Hit the net boys!
Now I agree with the real steady. Obvisouly the guy above is gillies the way he uses the -- and says sill things.
Hey troll above. steady is using ~ oracle with his name. Try and keep up you moron.
p.s There is a car at pump 2 that need some gas. Go get em over achiever.
bwahahahaha
Where's DP?
Big Mac looks like a meatball tonight.
This is one of Macdonalds best games of the year. I am the only one who can see this. The rest of you more often posters are too stupid.
Hi..I'm Steady in disguise. Dont swear at hockey games, it makes me cry. BAWAWAWA
fire gordon
fire gordon
fire gordon
fire gordon
Great game ladies!!! Maybe its because of the Lighthouse failure? Milbury? Luongo? DP?
Move whats left of the franchise !!!
Last Place!
Last Place!
ou8-1too
Fritz played nice tonight
Tied for 1st in the draft now!
Why is Guerin on the power play?
We are one putrid bunch!!
Looks like the bubble burst on JMAC. The guy played great for 6 weeks and now Cinderella has struck midnight. Which is the real JMAC? I disliked him at first, came around to admit that I was wrong, but now am starting to think the 6 week stint was a fluke.
DP can't come back fast enough.
505.........What's up with Comeau. He was a minus 3 tonight but certainly not his fault for this debacle. Only Fritz had less ice time than Comeau, who barely played 10 mins.
There is something going on between Gordon and Comeau. You would think that he would have given the kid all the mop up ice time that Fritz and Jackman got and he hardly played at all in the 3 rd period. Somethings wrong here.
Somewhere you know Tambs is laughing. They have yet to win a game since they sent him down and yet to win one with Comeau in the line up.
It took Tambs 23 games to get to minus 9.
Comeau is minus 7 in just 4 games.
Whoever guessed Jaques Lemaire is probably right. He came up the year of expansion and retired just as the Montreal dynasty ended. Great guess........Sir William
Send Gordon and Snow to Bridgeport for conditioning stint for, at least 2years or three. They want to do this experiment in NHL level?It's absurd for Isles fans. Snow even did not give Nolan a fair shot.