In 13 Hours...

In less than 13 hours, free agency will start. Last year, on June 30, 2008, this web site probably had 10-15 posts.

In fact, I remember one that I wrote about the 4 big free agents for the Rangers: Sean Avery, Jaromir Jagr, Brendan Shanahan, and Martin Straka. I presumed Straka would leave if Jagr stayed, that Shanahan would not be back, and Avery wouldn't either. What I didn't predict was that Avery would sign elsewhere, get banished from the NHL, and return half-priced in February. But, really, I doubt many people guessed that. I remember I also put a good word in for Mark Streit in hopes he would be a Ranger. And I said that Wade Redden was awful and no team, especially the Rangers, should overpay for him. Well.

Anyway, this year, not as many posts. The Rangers, up until about 6 hours ago, were up near the Cap, and the Islanders appear to be growing from the inside, or at least attempting to. Besides some fillers and 4th line players, the big news would be which players wouldn't be returning.

Well, with Scott Gomez gone, $5M is freed up. The 3 players I would love to see don Rangers blue next season are, in order...

Mike Cammalleri, Mike Komisarek, Rob Scuderi

Cammalleri adds instant offense at a reasonable price. He scored 39 last year and had his 2nd 80+ point season (out of 4 career seasons). Plus, he's only 27, so a 5-year deal for $24-25M wouldn't be insane.

Remember how well Komisarek would shut down Jagr? He isn't going to give you many points, but he will crush opponents, clear the crease, kill penalties, and he would go a lot way to shutting down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin 6 times a year. Ah, but would he and Avery get along?

Scuderi will probably come cheap, maybe $1.5-2M. I think he grew up an Islanders fan, but even so, he can be enticed to playing in Manhattan. He did great in the Stanley Cup Finals, and gives his best every single shift. He would make a great 4th defenseman.

The only problem with signing D is there are so many of them. Redden, Girardi, Staal, Gilroy (according to reports, he is looking good), and Rozsival will all be on the team next season. That leaves just one or two spots and not much money to spend, since most of the Cap space should be used for scoring help (with some saved for emergencies and the trade deadline).

Should be an interesting day. Even though nothing happens until about 1:30, I'll be tuning in at noon to see how awkward it gets when nothing happens. Can't wait to see Bob McKenzie text messaging people on-air to see what's going on.

(I was happy that Dany Heatley was being sent to Edmonton, not because I want him in the West, but because I don't want the Rangers to trade a lot for him. The Rangers don't need a different $7+M deal for 5 years, especially one who requests trades from everywhere he has played. If they wanted a headcase with talent that he sometimes uses, hey, Alex Kovalev is a free agent tomorrow, too.)

Gomez Traded...

There are 2 big things in the Scott Gomez trade (to Montreal, for Smithtown's Chris Higgins, as you all know by now).

1) As we know, cap space. Higgins is making $1.9M against the Cap, and I'm trying to find out how long he has left on his deal. However, they save $5M by doing this move. If they don't get Dany Heatley, Mike Cammallari would be a good fit for that $5M. I would much rather have Cammallari and Higgins as opposed to just Gomez, wouldn't you?

2) The other big thing is Ryan McDonagh. He was drafted 12th overall in 2007 (5 picks before Alexei Cherepanov, 8 before Angelo Esposito). According to a Montreal Canadiens fan I am friends with, this was one of the big pieces and he was very sorry to see him go. He was their highest-rated prospect at any position, and he is incredibly fast. He is also big, a very physical player, and very offensively talented.

So, a good trade for the Rangers. How Bob Gainey was roped into this, I'll never know. Maybe Glen Sather let him take credit for catching a shark on a fishing trip one day. Beats me.

Anyway, look for McDonagh next year. He could be another young D-man on the blueline, probably not next season but the year after.

Bryan's Take: I have no idea how this trade went through. The Rangers got the two best guys in the deal and shed some serious salary in the process. Of course, you know this means the Rangers will sign another underachiever to an absurd contract tomorrow, but still. Sather is absolved of one of his biggest blunders and actually looks good in the process. And I guess we can put the "Lecavalier to Montreal" rumors to bed once and for all. Just think, for just about the same money as they'll pay Gomez, they could have a perennial All-Star. Aside from Montreal fans, probably the most upset person is Stan Fischler, who can't be all homoerotic with Gomez during their intermission interviews anymore.

What I Expect on July 1...

This is what I expect to happen on July 1 at noon, the start of free agency...

- TSN/Versus to have awkward coverage from noon until 2:00, when the signings start to happen. People like Ed Olczyk and Pierre McGuire (whose real name, by the way, no joke, is Regis) will sit talking about what might happen and periodically write text messages to other people, fishing for a story, while on the air.

- Colton Orr will not be offered a contract with the Rangers. On a related note, expect a lot more mangames missed in 2009-10 to injury without an enforcer in the lineup (remember the awful decision to sit him in Game 6 and what Donald Brashear did to Blair Betts?).

- The Islanders will sign an enforcer to protect John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Josh Bailey, much like the Capitals did when they signed Brashear to protect Alex Ovechkin. By the way, Orr and Brashear are both unrestricted free agents.

- Marian Hossa will sign on in Pittsburgh, citing "I think the Penguins give me the best chance to win a Cup, and I'm just happy to be here... again."

- The Rangers will not make a big splash in the free agent pool for once, mostly because they'll have no Cap-space due to 4 big splashes in the past 2 Julys.

- Noticing that they only have Aaron Voros, Mark Bell, and Brian Boyle under contract, the Rangers will go and sign another "gritty" 3rd/4th line winger who can't fight and won't score. Oh, what? Ryan Hollweg is a free agent? Quick, give him a million dollars!

- Glen Sather will once again laugh at Nik Antropov wanting $5M for his 59 points last year, while basking in the fact that he gave Chris Drury over $7M for comparable numbers.

- Bill Guerin will stay in the Atlantic division, either re-signing in Pittsburgh, or heading to Philadelphia or back to New Jersey.

- No free agents will want to play on Long Island again, regardless of who they drafted 1st overall.

- Both the Islanders and Rangers will want Mike Cammallari and his 40-goal season, but won't be able to sign him. The Rangers won't because they have no money, and the Islanders won't because, well, see above.

- The Sedin twins will not get their 12-year contracts because no GM in their right mind would give away two contracts to people who will be 40 when they expire. And no GM would be willing to pay $6M against the Cap to two different players when they are 37, 38, 39, or 40. Except, of course, Glen Sather, but luckily, the Rangers have no Cap room.

- Blair Betts and Freddy Sjostrom will not re-sign in New York. On a related note, the #1 PK will fall to around #15 or so, and Drury, Brandon Dubinsky, Michal Rozsival, etc., will be too tired to do anything on offense from playing so much PK-time.

- Journeyman Mike Sillinger will retire.

- Sather will forfeit 4 1st round draft picks by sending a $6.5M offer sheet to Vancouver for horrendously out-of-shape Kyle Wellwood.

- Instead of big, mean, passionate Antropov, Sather will opt for gutless, fancy, non-scoring Nik Zherdev.

- Instead of going for a good defenseman like Rob Scuderi, Mike Komisarek, Mattias Ohlund, or Francois Beauchemin, they'll probably take a salary-eater like Hal Gill or Marc-Andre Bergeron.

- Scuderi... Islander? He's in line a for big raise and they have the Cap-space, and he's from Syosset.

Speechless

I don't really know how to explain the emotions that come with the Islanders taking John Tavares with the first overall pick.

This is as much as I know right now. We broke out a bottle of champagne in the parking lot after the pick was made. As people looked on, half mocking us, half admiring us, we said that this was our Stanley Cup. And I stand by that. Like I said earlier, we don't dream of Stanley Cups, just the chance to be relevant again. After tonight, we've earned that right.

I'm watching the Draft on DVR right now, and I can hardly believe my ears as the hosts praise the Islanders. I'll admit, I don't know much about Calvin De Haan. But the moves that led to his drafting were made with house money. All of that moving down last year set the pieces for this year's activity. If it doesn't work out, it's okay. The story for tonight is Tavares.

The pick was made six hours ago, and I still can't believe it. For once, the Islanders are the talk of the NHL, but for all the right reasons. If this is as good as it gets, I'll take it.

Coming Up...

I find it very amusing that 40 minutes from now, Islanders writer Bryan, will be either celebrating with thousands of other fans - by the way, apparently the way to sell out an Islanders game is to give away free tickets - or drowning his sorrows in pretzel twists.

Contrary to popular belief, I am not rooting against the Islanders picking John Tavares. I am hoping they do, and I'm hoping that all the "will they/won't they" about Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene will go the way of the Mats Sundin to NY stories (as well as the Michael Peca and Dave Scatchard to the Rangers rumors).

No matter who they pick, they'll be getting a great player. Hedman is a beast and very well could be their #2 guy behind Mark Streit tomorrow, and Duchene could be a nice compliment to Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey. However, Tavares is the real deal, and I've been saying for 2 years now that I think he'll be better than Sidney Crosby.

Enjoy the show.

P.S.: Hey, you think Olli Jokinen will be moved again? I think he has been traded 3 times on draft day: from LA to the Islanders; from the Islanders to Florida; and from Florida to Phoenix.

One Last Thing On Tavares

I'm heading to the draft party in a little bit. I'll be updating Twitter (gag, I know) from the Coliseum.

Before I go, there's just one last thing I want to say.

Islanders fans don't dream of Stanley Cups. They don't dream of overtime goals in Game 7. They don't dream of becoming a dominant team that gets 100 points each year. Islanders fans can't dream big because they've had nearly all the optimism beaten out of them over the years. Instead, what Islanders fans dream of is being relevant.

Islanders fans are sick of seeing their team mocked by every analyst. They're tired of seeing their team overlooked by opponents and free agents. They don't want their team to be the laughingstock of the NHL anymore. They want so desperately to be proud of their team, even if just for one night.

That's where the John Tavares love really hits home.

Personally, I don't care if Tavares turns out to be an epic bust. If that's the case, every scout in the NHL was wrong. At this point, I just want to see the Islanders heralded for making the right decision, if only for one night. I don't want to hear any cracks about our "backup goalie GM" screwing up the draft. I want Garth Snow to be praised for keeping one hell of a poker face for two months. But most of all, I want to leave the Coliseum tonight proud to be an Islanders fan.

Because if they can't manage to draft the consensus top guy in the draft, the criticism of the Islanders is going to be worse than ever. And if being an Islanders fan is this hard now, I'm afraid to see what it'd be like if the Islanders pass on Tavares and he becomes a star.

Dear God

Dear God,

I don't ask for much. Come to think of it, I never ask for anything. This time, though, it's different.

As you probably know, every sports team I root for is absolutely terrible. These days, I openly question why I even bother watching sports. It seems like my teams only serve to let me down. The problem is, sports mean way too much to me. My teams are part of my identity, which hasn't been a great thing lately.

Of all the teams I root for, my favorite is the New York Islanders. This is a franchise that, as you are well aware, has been horrendous since I was in middle school. Everything they do is wrong, and every improvement they try to make just results in them looking stupid. Well, tomorrow night, they have the first overall pick in the NHL Draft, and this is a great chance to change their luck.

God, if you're there, please bring John Tavares to the Islanders. He's not only a good player and a great kid, but he could be the difference between us losing our team and maybe watching the Islanders win a Stanley Cup one day. We've been through enough bad times with this team. We deserve the chance to see something go right.

I know you're busy. This might be too much to ask. But I had to try. I only ask that if you can't bring John Tavares to the Islanders, please make sure that my team will be taken care of. The Islanders are one of the most important things in my life, and I don't want to see them taken away from me. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Bryan

D-Day

At long last, Draft Day has arrived.

I'm not sure how much remains unsaid about the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, at least from the Islanders' perspective. As Zach noted, the Rangers could be involved in some deals, which would be great for them. Truly, though, today is the Islanders' day.

It's been a pleasure to see the Islanders become the talk of the NHL, even if it's been for the wrong reasons. It's also been extremely interesting to watch the Canadian media totally turn on John Tavares because God forbid he joins the New York Islanders. But by the time tonight's draft ends, all of that will be a memory. The Islanders will return to their rebuilding project, the Rangers will prepare to make a big splash on July 1, and that will be that.

One of the most fascinating things I've read about John Tavares over the past year or so is that he might have been too good in juniors. That he scored 72 goals in 2006-07, then "only" scored 40 the following year. Tavares has been, easily, the most dissected prospect since Eric Lindros in 1991 - and Lindros doesn't even compare because he was the consensus #1 pick that year. What's happened with Tavares is what's happened with so many prospects in other sports. People have simply seen way too much of him and have started picking at every flaw in his game. And that's what scares me.

Zach and I appeared on our buddy Anthony's radio show in March, and one thing Anthony said is that it would take a new face to crack the "new" NHL. It wouldn't be one of the old guard; instead, a new GM would come in and figure it all out. I've said many times that Garth Snow understands the CBA better than any other GM in the game. And the way he's gone about his business over the past few years calls to mind the New England Patriots of the NFL. Very secretive, not giving much to the media, going about things a bit differently, but with a solid knowledge of what the organization needs and what it can do without. That's become the norm in football. But another thing that has become the norm is the overthinking of simple decisions. Coaches and GMs have too much information these days, and that can be a bad thing. So something that's a work in progress, like Tavares' skating, suddenly becomes a huge deal. And before you know it, people are saying things like, "Tavares might score you 40 goals, but Duchene will win you a Cup".

That's what scares me. Garth Snow doesn't live in a bubble. He doesn't listen to all the crap the Canadian media spits out, but he must be hearing the whispers that only came up after the Islanders won the Draft Lottery. I'm afraid Snow will talk himself into taking Duchene because it falls in line with his now-established model of unconventional thinking. Snow rarely plays it safe, which is usually a good thing, but now might actually be a detriment. Maybe someone should step into the Islanders' war room and remind them of a few things. Namely, Tavares has the OHL record for goals scored in a career. Tavares was the MVP of the 2009 World Junior Championships. Tavares averaged damn near a goal per game in juniors. Tavares was a slam-dunk #1 pick before all this nonsense about his skating and his defense came up. These are things the Islanders might want to remember before making their selection.

Here's the thing - I love John Tavares. Just about all of Long Island has fallen for this kid. From his play to his star power to how he went out of his way to assure the fans he'd love to be an Islander, every Islander fan is absolutely smitten with John Tavares. We like Hedman and Duchene, but we love Tavares. No other fan of any other team can imagine what Tavares means to us. For better or worse, he's our hope. And for once, I'd love to see the Islanders be praised for doing the right thing than to be questioned for yet another dubious decision.

With that in mind, here's The Rivalry's draft card for the top three selections. We're solidly in agreement on these items; we're just as solid in agreement that everything after the third pick is a total crapshoot.

1) New York Islanders: John Tavares, C, London Knights (OHL). There are just too many reasons why this has to be the pick. It's the safe pick and the sexy pick all at once. Tavares is the player the Islanders could never even dream of being able to sign as a free agent, and he could be theirs for the next 15 years. Tavares will not only get people excited about Islanders hockey, he'll be the goal scorer the team has lacked since Ziggy Palffy departed.

2) Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman, D, Modo (Elitserien). The Lightning went through a ridiculous 21 defensemen last year. Clearly, some stability is needed, even though they had that stability before they foolishly traded Dan Boyle. The Lightning have Lecavalier, Stamkos, Malone, Prospal, etc., but they have nobody on D. Hedman will solve that problem quite nicely.

3) Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, C, Brampton Battalion (OHL). With Joe Sakic on his way out in Colorado, Duchene could pick up where Sakic left off and be the face of this franchise for a long time. The Avs desperately need to rebuild, and Duchene is a leader who can hold his own at both ends of the ice.

As for coverage of the draft... I'm going to be at the Islanders Draft Party at the Coliseum. The Islanders have distributed more than 20,000 tickets for this event. If even half of those people show up, it's going to be one wild scene. Word is that there will be customization stations around the Coliseum so people can order their Tavares (I hope) jerseys and wear them home.

Anyway, as much as Zach and I completely despise Twitter, it's probably the best way to send frequent updates about what's going on. I make no promises, but I'll do my best to make sure the updates aren't influenced by the heavy celebratory/depressed drinking that will surely take place after the draft. You can find us at http://twitter.com/therivalry. There's also a little Twitter feed on the right side of our main page. As you can see from our most recent updates, we don't really use Twitter that much.

If you're looking for some live updates from Montreal, my Blog Box buddies Ken, Tom, Michael, and Doug will be fully credentialed media members at the Draft. Congrats to them for getting there, and they should be giving us some awesome stuff.

Enjoy the Draft. And if my allegiances weren't already evident enough, here's one last bit of proof...

Tomorrow's Draft...

There have been rumors of Toronto wanting Wade Redden. I normally don't address rumors here, because 99% of them never pan out, and 98% of them are fake and written for attention. This one is probably bogus as well, because any person who has ever seen Redden play - besides Glen Sather, that is - wouldn't want him going anywhere near their team.

However, there is hope that Wade Redden and the #19 overall pick could be sent to Toronto for Toronto's 4th round pick. Cross your fingers!

Words of Warning: The 1999 NHL Entry Draft

If you're an Islanders fan, you're pretty excited about this year's draft. You've got the first overall pick. Then, you have the 26th, the 31st, the 37th, and the 56th. Not a bad showing for the first-round, eh? You'd have to go back to 1999 to find a better prepared Islanders team in terms of draft picks in the first two rounds.

In 1999, the Islanders had four first-round picks. They had #5, #8, #10, and #28. This, coupled with the 1997 draft which saw the Isles draft Roberto Luongo at #4 and Eric Brewer at #5, should have been the start of big things for the Islanders. After all, according the Wikipedia, the 1999 draft was "considered one of the deepest in talent in years"... something that sounds pretty similar to what people are saying about this year's draft. Pay attention.

With the #5 pick, the Islanders selected Tim Connolly, the center of the future. Since the Isles had virtually no other talent to speak of, Connolly was immediately placed on the first line. This was a lot for the young Connolly to take, especially with the lofty expectations placed upon him. Connolly ended up totaling 75 points in his two years as an Islander, missing just one game over those two seasons. He was dealt to Buffalo as part of the Michael Peca trade; Connolly was still a 20-year-old future star at the time. He has only recently begun to reach his potential, though this high level of play has been tempered by constant injury.

At #8, the Islanders took Taylor Pyatt. Pyatt was considered to be more of a two-way player than Connolly, but still had potential as a scorer. Pyatt only played one year with the Islanders before being shipped to Buffalo in the Peca deal. Pyatt has since recorded years with 23 goals and 16 goals in Vancouver. He never became a great two-way player as many suggested he might, but he remains a solid NHL player who is in the lineup each night.

The 10th pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft was defenseman Branislav Mezei. Mezei scored exactly two goals in the Islanders organization - one in Bridgeport, and one on the big club. While it's worth noting that the Islanders didn't draft Mezei - he was drafted by Montreal - they should be scolded for trading then-captain Trevor Linden straight-up for Mezei. They were able to dump Mezei off to Florida for Jason Wiemer, but that's not saying a whole lot.

Kristian Kudroc was drafted at #28 by Dallas, but ended up on the Islanders as a result of a draft day trade. His biggest contribution to the team was being part of the package sent to Tampa Bay for Raffi Torres at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

Four first-round picks. A total of four seasons played by these four men. Wow.

It's worth noting that the 1999 NHL Entry Draft might have been the worst draft in NHL history. The first round has produced, to date, exactly three All-Star seasons - one each by Nick Boynton, Martin Havlat, and Henrik Sedin. The top ten featured such busts as Patrik Stefan, Pavel Brendl, Jamie Lundmark, and Kris Beech. In fact, the only truly notable players picked were Ryan Miller (fifth round) and Henrik Zetterberg (seventh round).

You'd think the 2009 draft couldn't possibly be this bad, right? Well, you never know. After all, the only real way to determine a player's worth is to see him play in the NHL. At this point, none of the big names have proven anything aside from the ability to dominate inferior competition. So don't get too frazzled about who the Islanders pick, because we truly know nothing about him right now. In other words, John Tavares might be the savior of the New York Islanders... or he could be the next Patrik Stefan.

With The First Overall Pick...

As every Islanders fan knows, the 2009 NHL Entry Draft is coming up on Friday. This is essentially the Stanley Cup Final of the Islanders' 2008-09 season. If they don't come out of this draft with a superstar, the entire season - and all the suffering that came with it - will have been a total waste.

Of course, there isn't much worry about getting a great player with the first overall pick in this year's draft. There are three stud prospects at the top of this draft. Everyone's ready everything about all of these guys already, so there isn't all that much I can add to the discussion. However, if you're an Islanders fan and you're not going absolutely insane wondering what they'll do with this pick, you're lying. After all, these are the Islanders; if there's a way to screw this up, they'll find it.

I will, however, say one thing. No matter what happens, I'm not going the route of many fans out there. That is, if the pick isn't John Tavares, I won't abandon the Islanders. With all of my heart and soul, I want them to pick John Tavares. After the past fifteen years of atrocious hockey and even worse personnel moves, I feel like the Islanders fanbase is entitled to see the team get the consensus top guy, not to mention a potential superstar. Make no mistake about it, if the pick is Victor Hedman or Matt Duchene, it's not going to be a pretty scene at the Coliseum on Friday night.

Islanders fans love to complain. (Don't get offended, but it's true.) To hear Islanders fans tell it, it's just their luck that this happens the year that they get the first overall pick. No other team has to deal with this crap... or so they say. Truth is, a very similar thing happened just three years ago.

In 2006, the Houston Texans had the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. That year, there were three main players that everybody thought had a shot to go first overall. There was Reggie Bush, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner who had torn up the entire college football world. There was Matt Leinart, Bush's teammate at USC who had won the Heisman the prior year and probably would have been picked first overall had he left school that year. Lastly, there was Vince Young, who pretty much won the Rose Bowl all by himself and had grown up in Houston. Of the three, the top guy was probably Bush, with the others not too far behind.

The Texans, not unlike the Islanders, refused to tip their hands. The night before the draft, word leaked that they had signed their first pick to a contract. Only thing is, it wasn't with any of the big three. Instead, they had agreed to draft Mario Williams, a physically impressive defensive end, but hardly a guy who would get fans excited about Texans football. As you can imagine, fan reaction wasn't very pretty. Nor was the reaction from pundits and analysts, many of whom immediately called the move one of the worst in football history.

There were two main reasons why the Texans made this move. The first was financially motivated. Contract holdouts, particularly among rookies, are prevalent in the NFL, and the Texans wanted to make sure they could sign the player they drafted. Williams wasn't the big name any of the other three were and didn't demand as much money. The other issue was that the Texans felt Williams fit their needs. Texans management felt they needed someone to pressure Peyton Manning twice a year more than they needed a quarterback or running back. Still, most thought they were crazy for passing on three elite talents.

Three years later, the picture has cleared up a little bit. During the Arizona Cardinals' run to the Super Bowl, Leinart lost his starting job and held a clipboard while his team played in their biggest games. Bush had a great first year for the Saints, but has been injured for much of the past two years. And, in perhaps the biggest tragedy of them all, Young had a mental breakdown, lost his starting job, and watched his Titans reach the AFC Championship game with a different quarterback under center. Williams, for all of the criticism he and his team received at the 2006 Draft, has recorded 26 sacks in the past two years and was named an All-Pro in 2008.

What can the Islanders learn from all of this?

- First and foremost, the players the Islanders pick doesn't immediately mean much. Only time will tell how good or bad of a pick this will be.

- The Islanders should be using this time to determine the best player available, not talk themselves into making the smartest move. This is something the Islanders have traditionally done, much to the chagrin of Islanders fans. We've seen Rick DiPietro over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik. We've seen Robert Nilsson over Zach Parise. Please, let's not see any more of this overthinking. The best player is the best player.

- The Islanders shouldn't be too worried about their needs right now. They need help in every area. Just take the best player.

After the Texans made their pick, many accused their management of overthinking the draft. This is something that's pretty easy to do, especially in the NFL, where crap players have suddenly become first-round picks because they had good workouts. And if anybody would fall into that category in this draft, it'd have to be Matt Duchene.

I'll admit, I've never seen Duchene play. But to hear the way people suddenly gush about him - particularly since the Islanders received the first overall pick - I'm a bit conflicted. People proclaim how Duchene is the most complete player in the draft and how he's a "winner". At the same time, though, he played on his team's second line in the OHL and didn't even make the Canadian World Junior Championships team - a team Tavares captained to the title, dominating throughout the tournament.

In addition, here's this. The whole theory of, "Tavares will score a bunch of goals, but Duchene will win you a Stanley Cup," is complete bullcrap. How can anybody say Duchene will be more of a winner in the NHL than anybody else? Duchene projects to be a Mike Richards-type player, which is great, but it takes a team to win. Besides, hanging the "winner" tag around Duchene's neck is just as bad, if not worse, than the "savior" tag Tavares has already been stuck with.

In the end, we know Garth Snow and his staff will show absolutely no consideration for what the fans want or what they feel they deserve. As much as that drives us crazy, that's the way it should be. My only hope, aside from Snow making the right pick, is that fans don't immediately turn on the Islanders if the pick isn't Tavares. Most fans have never even seen any of these three play. Let's not be so quick to judge this pick based on what we think we want. There will be plenty of time to judge the 2009 Draft over the next fifteen or so years.

The Purge at the 2004 Trade Deadline...

With a 2-week lull between the Stanley Cup Finals and the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, it's time to look back on what happened in March of 2004 during the week of the trade deadline. I wanted to post this around this year's deadline, but there was a lot of action going around and it would've gotten lost in the flood.

It seemed every time I looked online, or at ESPNews, or in the newspaper, they made another deal. (Remember, no beat writers had blogs back then, and this delicious website wasn't around for another 4 years.) In total, 7 Ranger trades were made in that week...

March 2, 2004
- Alex Kovalev to Montreal for Jozef Balej and 2004 2nd round pick.
:: A great move to dump Kovalev's high salary before the cap was implemented, as essentially this was a cap-saving move. Balej should've been great. He had a goal and 4 assists in 13 games with NY and 16 points in 16 during the AHL playoffs, but his lockout year was very poor in the AHL. Balej was eventually sent to the Canucks for Fedor Fedorov, who eventually became a punchline and an empty roster spot.

The 2nd rounder became Dane Byers. Byers was hurt much of this year (7 points, 9 games) but his past season stats and scouting reports suggest he'd be a replacement for Blair Betts if Betts doesn't return. He might have a decent NHL career but will never be a superstar. (I have also heard Byers' name as a possible replacement to Colton Orr - a grinder with better hockey skills than Orr - but it was purely speculation.)

March 3, 2004
- Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen to Edmonton for Dwight Helminen, Steve Valiquette, and 2nd round pick in 2004.
:: Nedved did good in Edmonton but they didn't make the playoffs and he never played there again. Markkanen played in Game 7 of the Finals in 2005-06.

Valiquette was a throw-in here. He was a big goalie with not much skill but he was re-signed as Henrik Lundqvist's backup because he was cheap. Benoit Allaire also helped a lot with him, and he has become a dedicated Ranger and a solid backup when called upon, especially against the Flyers.

Helminen is now a bubble player with Carolina, being called up when injury strikes. Not a big loss with him not in the Rangers system.

That draft pick became Brandon Dubinsky, one of the bright spots in the Rangers' future, regardless of his inability to hit the back of the net for long stretches at a time.

- Brian Leetch to Toronto for Jarkko Immonen, Maxim Kondratiev, 1st round pick in '04, 2nd round pick in '05.
:: A king's ransom for the greatest American defenseman of all-time that didn't really pan out for either team. Toronto traded their futures for Leetch (and Ron Francis) and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

Immonen was slow and underutilized by Tom Renney, scored 8 points in 20 games (aka Chris Drury numbers, quick, sign Immonen for 5 years!), and now plays overseas.

Kondratiev was a bust and quite frankly not NHL material. He was traded to Anaheim in January of 2006 for Petr Sykora, which was a great move for the Rangers. Sykora went 15-16-31 in 40 games and loved his time as a Ranger. This would have been considered a strong move if he was re-signed, but despite waiting until August to hear from GM Glen Sather, he never wore Rangers blue again.

The 1st round pick in 2004 was Lauri Korpikoski, who shows some good moves sometimes, but is either too slow, too mis-used, or not 1st round material. He could be, and I might be wrong. Next year is a big point for him, as other 1st rounders that year are already materializing. Korpikoski was picked at 19th. Still available at that point: Travis Zajac (20th), Wojtek Wolski (21), and Mike Green (29).

The 2005 2nd rounder was Mike Sauer, a good AHL player who had a cup of coffee with the big club this year. He looks to be trade-bait with a depth of good D-men in the system already (Staal, Girardi, Sanguenetti, Del Zotto, Potter) and two big contracts taking up space in the NHL (Redden, Rozsival).

March 6, 2004
- Chris Simon to Calgary for Blair Betts, Greg Moore, Jamie McLennan
:: The Rangers needed a goalie to play out the season with Markkanen gone, and McLennan played in 4 of those games, going 1-3. After that season, he played 19 more NHL games in 2 years and retired after a season in the Asian Hockey League. Yes, Asian. He went 8-4 in the Orient and decided to hang 'em up.

Moore probably won't get a real shot in the NHL, but he is a good asset to have and has played admirably when called up.

Betts, well, you know Betts. Best penalty killer in the league, good centerman, not terribly offensive, good team player, never complains, took a cheap shot in the playoffs and broke his face.

- Vladimir Malakhov to Philadelphia for Rick Kozak, 2nd round pick in 2005.
:: Malakhov's stats decreased from the Rangers to Flyers to Devils, and he eventually left the NHL. Kozak never did anything in any league, and now plays in England.

That draft pick got moved around a lot and eventually became Marc-Andre Cliche, who was traded to the Kings in March 2007 for Sean Avery.

March 8, 2004
- Matthew Barnaby and a 3rd round pick in '04 for David Liffiton, Chris McAllister, and a 2nd round pick in '04.
:: McAllister was a decent NHL player who played in the NHL for the last time in 03-04. Liffiton is currently playing in Denmark after 3 career NHL games with the Rangers.

The draft pick was traded to Florida and the Rangers eventually drafted Bruce Graham out of it, who is currently in the ECHL after never doing well in Hartford.

March 9, 2004
On the actual day of the deadline, the Rangers only made two moves.

- Greg de Vries traded to Ottawa for Karel Rachunek and Alex Giroux.
:: It was obvious that de Vries wasn't going to be back after the lockout, and he had horrible numbers (15 points in 53 games, which by the 08-09 standards would've been phenomenal), so he was shipped for a roster player and a prospect. Rachunek played in Russia during 05-06, but came back in 06-07, and most Rangers fans agree he should've stayed. He had 20 assists but was absolutely atrocious defensively.

Giroux, however, was let go during the summer of 2006 and signed with Washington. He then went to Atlanta and was traded back to Washington, and he has lit it up in the AHL. He had 28 points in 22 games in Hershey's march to the AHL title, and he had 60 goals in 69 games during the regular season. The Rangers probably should've held on to this guy instead of signing "talent" such as Mitch Fritz. Giroux broke Brett Hull's record for most consecutive games with a goal when he scored in 15 straight games. He won the AHL MVP as well.

- Martin Rucinsky traded to Vancouver for R.J. Umberger and Martin Grenier.
:: Rucinsky was a true rental for Vancouver as he returned to Broadway after the lockout and had great numbers in an injury-riddled season (55 points in 52 games). He did nothing in the playoffs (2 in 7) for the Canucks. Grenier played in Hartford, Charlotte, and 3 games for the Flyers, and now is in the KHL.

Umberger, however, was another prospect who went away. In 07-08, he had 50 points in Philadelphia in 74 games before falling to 46 in a full season with Columbus this year. Still, he would've been good to have on board as a center and maybe the Rangers wouldn't have gone out on 7/1/07 and spent $14M on 2 overrated centers.

Overall
Isn't that how it always works with the Rangers? The crappy players stay and the good talent is let go. That explains why Marc Savard is now in Boston (he was traded for Jan Hlavac and the pick that became Jamie Freakin' Lundmark). It also explains why, at one point, Dale Purinton was the most-tenured Ranger.

The best trades for the Rangers were getting Brandon Dubinsky and Steve Valiquette for Nedved/Markkanen, and ditching the dead weight of Simon for Blair Betts, who has helped offensively-challenged teams by keeping the other teams from scoring. Besides Henrik Lundqvist, Betts is the one most responsible for those 2-1 wins.

The worst was sending Barnaby away for Liffiton, McAllister, and Graham. Not that losing Barnaby was a huge disadvantage, but they basically got nothing for him - 2 mid-level prospects and a retiring veteran to play out the season.

I have no interesting way to end this, because it's late and I've been working all day, so I will just like to remind everyone that the Rangers actually traded Brian Leetch for Maxim Kondratiev. Hell, I wouldn't even trade a retired Leetch for Kondratiev!

NHL Awards Predictions

We've been a little light on the coverage lately, and I suppose it's pretty understandable. The Rangers have been on the golf course for the past two months. The Islanders have been preparing for the draft for the past, oh, forever or so, but Botta has the draft covered so well it doesn't even make sense to detract from that. So it's been a quiet time in the New York hockey scene, to state the obvious.

Fortunately, the NHL Awards show is coming up tonight. While I have no interest in actually watching the show - I can hardly think of something more boring than watching a group of wooden personalities congregate in a large banquet hall - the awards themselves are a blast to debate. I love everything about the NHL awards, from their antequated names to the diverse array of hockey prowess they measure. Reading the predictions of others is always fun, or at least it is until the awards are narrowed down to three finalists, at which time the winner becomes somewhat predictable.

So we're going to have fun with this. Just like we did at the middle of the season, we'll tell you who we're predicting to win - and who would actually win in a perfect world. Remember, the NHL awards are supposed to represent the regular season only. We'll be sure to keep that in mind. We can't say the same about the actual voters.

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Hart Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: The highest-scoring player on a media-friendly East Coast team.

- Nominees: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Zach Parise (New Jersey).

- Who Should Win: Ovechkin.

- Who Will Win: Ovechkin. Malkin will get far more consideration than he should, as everybody will forget that Pittsburgh spent about three-fourths of the season either out of the playoff picture or just barely hanging onto the eighth spot. Meanwhile, the Caps were great whenever Ovechkin played and were horrendous in October, when Ovechkin missed some time. Datsyuk would never have a prayer of winning an award where Ovechkin and Malkin are both nominated.

Vezina Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: Martin Brodeur. Whether he had a good season or not.

- Nominees: Niklas Backstrom (Minnesota), Steve Mason (Columbus), Tim Thomas (Boston).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers).

- Who Should Win: Thomas

- Who Will Win: Mason. For some reason, it seems like rookies have a better shot at the Vezina than any other individual trophy. And Mason had a truly phenomenal season. However, this is a group where each finalist is flawed. Backstrom and Mason play in defense-heavy systems, while Thomas split time with Manny Fernandez for much of the season. My gut feeling is that the voters will let it slide with Mason and will hold Thomas' low number of games played against him, even though goalies won the Vezina with even less games played one generation ago. Thomas, however, held it down on a team that was second in the league in scoring, truly a remarkable achievement.

Norris Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: An offense-heavy defenseman from a good team.

- Nominees: Zdeno Chara (Boston), Mike Green (Washington), Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Mark Streit (New York Islanders).

- Who Should Win: Green.

- Who Will Win: Green. Even if some of us detest the Norris becoming an offense-first award, it's hard to ignore Green's numbers and his solid play at his own end. Lidstrom has won this award for the past 50 or so years and it's time to see someone else take the Norris. Some, including notorious Bruins homer Jack Edwards, have championed Chara's cause, and he has certainly had a Norris-caliber year. That said, when Chara has 73 points in a season, he can win this trophy.

Calder Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: The league's best rookie... provided he's a "name" and had impressive numbers.

- Nominees: Steve Mason (Columbus), Bobby Ryan (Anaheim), Kris Versteeg (Chicago).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Cal Clutterbuck (Minnesota).

- Who Should Win: Ryan.

- Who Will Win: Mason. If Mason is a serious Vezina candidate, you can bet the Calder is his as well. Which is a shame, because Ryan should be the guy here. If Ryan had played a full season - and it's not his fault he didn't, as he wasn't called up until November - he'd have ended up with 80+ points; even out in Anaheim, those numbers would speak very loudly to voters. Versteeg had a great year as well, but his critics would say he had plenty of help in the high-scoring Blackhawks offense.

Lady Byng Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: A highly skilled offensive player who totally shies away from physical play.

- Nominees: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Martin St. Louis (Tampa Bay).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Like it matters.

- Who Should Win: St. Louis.

- Who Will Win: Datsyuk. He's the biggest name among these candidates. Since it doesn't really make much of a difference who wins, they usually go for the biggest name. I'd be more inclined to vote for St. Louis, who is as annoying of a little turd as you'll find in the NHL.

Selke Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: A solid defensive forward who also doubles as a top scorer.

- Nominees: Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit), Ryan Kesler (Vancouver), Mike Richards (Philadelphia).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: The Selke is like the Gold Glove or the NFL Pro Bowl - once you're on the ballot, you never come off. So let's say Jere Lehtinen, just for fun.

- Who Should Win: Richards.

- Who Will Win: Datsyuk. He seems like the perfect guy to win this award - skilled, yet fairly anonymous on defense. Really, though, Richards needs to win this award one of these years. He's too good to be denied. Most American journalists haven't seen enough of Kesler to give him the nod, which is a shame.

Adams Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: A first-year coach who turns a loser into a winner. Or a coach who has a super season with a perennial powerhouse.

- Nominees: Claude Julien (Boston), Todd McLellan (San Jose), Andy Murray (St. Louis).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Dan Bylsma (Pittsburgh).

- Who Should Win: Julien.

- Who Will Win: Julien. If it's possible to vote against a coach whose team was the second-best offensive team while allowing the fewest goals in the entire league, I'd love to hear the reason. Murray had a tremendous year in St. Louis, but it doesn't compare to the job Julien did with the Bruins. And as much as the Adams is supposed to represent the regular season, it's impossible to separate McLellan's 117 regular season points and his team's latest playoff choke job. A bit unfair, but that's life.

Masterson Trophy

- Who Usually Wins: The player who suffered the most grotesque injury the prior year and came back to play.

- Nominees: Chris Chelios (Detroit), Steve Sullivan (Nashville), Richard Zednik (Florida).

- Who Should Have Been Nominated, But Wasn't: Anybody who watched all 82 games of Islanders hockey this season.

- Who Should Win: Chelios.

- Who Will Win: Zednik. It's hard to vote against a guy who had his throat slit open and came back for more. But Chelios, the Ric Flair of the NHL, keeps coming back to work with the young guys in Detroit even though he's routinely scratched for playoff games. Do you realize Chelios was drafted twenty-nine years ago? That's insane.

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Funny story - before I was able to finish this post, the awards show actually started! So far, I was right about Datsyuk winning the Selke and Mason winning the Calder, but I missed out on Steve Sullivan winning the Masterson. He missed two years with a back injury and came back to play in Nashville, of all places, so he certainly deserves this one.

EDIT: Now that it's all over, let's see how I did...

- Hart: Correct on both accounts

- Vezina: My pick was correct, my prediction was incorrect

- Norris: Wrong on both accounts

- Calder: My pick was incorrect, my prediction was correct

- Lady Byng: My pick was incorrect, my prediction was correct

- Selke: My pick was incorrect, my prediction was correct

- Adams: Correct on both accounts

- Masterson: Wrong on both accounts

So that makes five of eight predictions in terms of picking how the "experts" would vote. Not so good. And I seriously only got four right? Jeez.

By the way, if you're looking for media bias - and I personally love to do this - there were four winners from the East Coast (three from Boston, one from Washington), two Red Wings, one from Columbus, and one from Nashville. Yeah, the winning players came from good teams. But if you'd rather cry conspiracy or East Coast Bias... you might not be far off.

Penguins Win the Cup...

Very happy for Petr Sykora and I loved seeing him lift the Stanley Cup, although I'm pretty sure he cursed very loudly on TV last night. (Thought he said "F***in' right!" as he lifted it.)

People are villifying Marian Hossa, but for no reason. He did the noble thing, it just didn't work out for him. He could've taken somewhere around $80M from Edmonton to play there for a few years, but he took a cut to play in Detroit. Granted, $7.4M is still a nice chunk of coin, but at least he wants a Cup. What's next for him, back to the Penguins? Head over to San Jose? Stick with Detroit? I doubt that one, because they have a bunch of players to re-sign as well.

Besides Petr Sykora, the one guy on the Penguins I really love is Max Talbot. Not only does he rock awesome facial hair (he used to have a huge mustache), but he is the nicest guy. Of all the NHL players I've met/seen, him and Martin Biron are the most genuine and the nicest. He signs everything, he gives pucks to all the kids in the crowd. Good guy, always smiling. And now, he goes down in history as scoring 2 goals in a Game 7, much like his teammate Ruslan Fedotenko did in 2004 in a 2-1 win after trailing in the series 3-2. (One difference, Tampa Bay was at home, not in Calgary for that Game 7.)

No, I'm not ashamed to have rooted for the Penguins to win last night. I was much happier seeing them win than I would've been had the same team as last year won.

Saw this phrase written somewhere, and I found a picture of the two of them together, so, here it is.

Two Girls, One Cup

Pittsburgh Penguins, Stanley Cup Champions

Say what you want to about Sidney Crosby.

Call him a whiner. Call him a diver. Call him a wuss if it makes you feel better. But don't forget one important fact.

Sidney Crosby is a WINNER.

Congrats to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2008-09 Stanley Cup Champions. Congrats to Crosby and Malkin. Congrats to former Islanders Bill Guerin, Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko and Eric Godard. Congrats to former Rangers Pascal Dupuis and Petr Sykora. And for the sake of both New York teams, let's hope they break this team up before they become a dynasty.

Playoff Bet Update, Finals...

An update on the playoff bet: If the Penguins win tomorrow, I will have ended with 12 points, ahead of Bryan's 10. If Detroit wins, I will end with 10, and he with 8. (We both thought Pittsburgh would do it in 6 games.)

Regardless, I am crowned Playoff Prediction Champion. A glamorous title, indeed. However, unlike Miss California, I will not be fired and I will not tell you my views on gay marriage. I will tell you, however, that I thought a movie on gay marriage, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, was awful and predictable, and I wish it wasn't made.

Anyway, as per terms of the bet, Bryan owes $100. Originally, I wanted the money to be given to the Garden of Dreams, since this is a hockey site, after all.

I have since changed my mind. Let James Dolan donate to the Garden of Dreams.

Bryan, please make your echeck payable to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a group out in Utah that houses 2,000 homeless dogs, cats, horses, pigs, burrows, rabbits, etc. They also work with animal shelters all across the country and they helped rescue stray dogs on the streets of New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav.

In the spirit of gamesmanship, I will be matching your gift with a donation to the Freeport Animal Shelter (in particular, my favorite dog there, Cinderella), in Freeport, Long Island, which just received 17 dogs from Hurricane Gustav that were going to be euthanised in shelters down south to make room for new lost dogs this hurricane season.

Ah, now only if Wade Redden could give away 90% of the $6.5M my season tickets go towards. I wouldn't feel so angry about him eating up that much Cap room if he gave the animals all of his money.

Enjoy your Game 7 tomorrow. For a while there, we had a string of Game 7's. There were 4 of 5 since 2001 until the past 2 years. Always exciting knowing the Stanley Cup will be awarded but not knowing to whom. (Am I grammatically correct there?)

Phoenix; Penguins; Sutter...

Three things on the docket today, a day when I'm off from work and it appears my softball game will be rained out. What is that old expression? June showers bring July flowers?

1) NHLPA head Paul Kelly agrees with me that Phoenix should no longer have an NHL team. He questions how much money a team should have to lose before people question that maybe they shouldn't have a team.

My point was that it should be marked as a failed experiment, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should admit it, and the league should move on. Kelly's point is that he doesn't care who gets the team - Hamilton, Toronto, anyone - but that Phoenix should not have it.

I personally think Jim Balsillie should be allowed to have the team. He has a passion for the game, the desire to own a team, and certainly the deep pockets necessary to launch and nurture an expansion team.

Links: My post on it. TSN's article on Kelly's comments.

2) Is it wrong that I'm rooting for Pittsburgh tonight? And not just so we see a Game 7 (although they are always great, especially in the Finals), but to win the Stanley Cup.

I always like to see new teams win. I loved Anaheim and Ottawa in the Finals in '07, and I liked Carolina/Edmonton in '06. This year, not only is it a rematch of the last two teams in the Finals, but the same team is poised to win in the same exact amount of games. The only difference is that last year's Game 5 had Detroit up 3-1 and one probably the greatest non-Rangers game I have ever watched. Maxime Talbot scoring with 35 seconds left to send the game to overtime, then a triple OT, and Petr Sykora scoring to keep the series alive.

While I can't stand the Penguins, I'm rooting for them solely to see a new team win the Cup, and once again, maybe if they do win, the NHL can go back to refereeing their games fairly.

3) It's going to come out today that Brent Sutter has left the Devils. This was a move everyone saw coming last month when Darryl Sutter hinted it was going to happen. Darryl fired Mike Keenan in Calgary, then at his 20-minute long press conference, said the 3 best men for the job were currently under contract. Someone said, "Brent?" and he said he was under contract and couldn't talk about it.

Ah, Brent Sutter, once a scumbag, always a scumbag. The man who gave his word that he would never leave the Red Deer Rebels (which he owns and managed) and then up-and-left for New Jersey. Now, an opportunity to work with his brother comes knockin', and he is on the next plane back to Alberta.

Brent Sutter, we won't miss you. Maybe you can take your intent-to-injure son back with you also.

Worst Stat Ever Stated?...

Up until last night, the stupidest stat I had ever heard was a few years ago while watching my 4th repeat of ESPNews, a TV show I used to watch religiously until I got tired of seeing Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals highlights.

The stat: Someone had hit a home run, and it was his birthday. They then mentioned that he was the 4th player to ever hit a home run on his birthday when his age matched his jersey number. So, for example, he wore number 33, and he turned 33 that day and hit a homer, joining this exclusive club.

Yesterday was the stupidest hockey stat I might have ever heard.

The stat: Jordan Staal's shorthanded goal was the first for a Penguin in the Cup Finals since 1992! The first since Bob Errey scored in Game 2 against Chicago!

My Lord! Stop the presses!

Let's figure this out. They Penguins played 2 more games in the Finals that year, as they swept Chicago in four games. They then played 6 last year and 3 games this year in the Finals without scoring shorthanded.

It was the Penguins first goal in 11 Finals games that came shorthanded. Wow. What an accomplishment. It's not like the Penguins had played in the Finals 6 times since then '92. They had made it two times, and one time they didn't score a shorthanded goal.

Maybe it wasn't even the stat that was completely stupid, it was the way they had said it. They said it like it was some sort of amazing feat, similar to the Chicago Cubs making the World Series (or in hockey terms, the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Cup or the Florida Panthers making the playoffs).

They were so astonished by this incredible 11-game shorthanded goal drought that they said it twice. They said it once, confusing me. Then, Christine Simpson did a between-period interview with Jordan Staal and said it to him, and then they flashed the stat on the screen.

Sleep easy Penguin fans. Your team has finally scored a shorthanded goal in the Finals after 11 tries. Now that the monkey is off your back, perhaps the team can get back to actually playing and forget about that. I heard that was hovering over them like a black cloud on a sunny day.

(For the record, the entire 2005-06 Rangers team only had 4 shorthanded goals in 82 games, less than 1 in 20. Imagine how crazy the Versus broadcast would've gone had they seen Jason Ward put one away while a man down!)

Tavares Wants To Be An Islander!!!

Who saw this coming?

I'm not talking about the part where John Tavares says he wants to be taken first overall. That's a pretty obvious one. I'm not talking about the part where Tavares says he'd be happy if the Islanders drafted him. That's what you're supposed to say.

I'm talking about the way Tavares handled himself.

Clearly, this is a young man who can be the face of the New York Islanders. He can bring credibility to the franchise. He can give fans a reason to believe in the Islanders. And best of all, he wants the opportunity to do so.

The Rangers fans among us won't really understand this part, so I'll try my best to explain this as clearly as possible. There are plenty of reasons for players to want to join the Rangers. It's a visible franchise with deep pockets who plays in what might actually be the world's most famous arena. Compare that with the Islanders. They have only one beat writer following the team on the road. They can't spend big money because they lose $20 million a year, even while scraping along the salary floor. They play in a dump of an arena that might or might not be renovated; hell, they might not even be playing in New York in five years. Not a very easy sell, is it?

We all know the Islanders have trouble drawing free agents. Even when players come to the Island, it's usually in the form of a one-year deal, with the player showing little or no commitment to the team. Mark Streit was an exception to the rule, a big-name player who wanted to come here. Prior to his arrival, I can't recall a single free agent signing by the Islanders that even approached big-name status.

John Tavares can be that big name. Do you remember the last time the Islanders had a big name? You pretty much have to go back to the days of the dynasty. Pat LaFontaine is the last superstar the Islanders have had. Sure, Pierre Turgeon and Zigmund Palffy were great players on the Island, but their tenures were too short and didn't elevate the franchise's stature on their own. Tavares can do just that. He can give the Islanders the credibility they need to attract the free agents that might otherwise avoid the Islanders altogether.

This isn't a knock on Victor Hedman or Matt Duchene. Hedman has said many similar things about coming to the Islanders. However, it's different from Tavares going out of his way to assure the fans he wants to be an Islander. Tavares has been accused of not wanting to play for the Islanders. His game has been trashed by the Canadian media since the Islanders won the draft lottery. As a result of these media reports, fans across Long Island have been fearing the worst. For John Tavares to come out and address these rumors straight on by going directly to the fans... this is something Islanders fans have never seen before. Unless you've been an Islanders fan for years and been burned by your team countless times, you can't even imagine how much this means. 

This kid is a superstar in the making... and he's chosen us.

It's sort of unfair to say this, but if the Islanders don't draft John Tavares, the fans are going to be extremely disappointed. We're already falling hard for this kid, and with good reason. We're going to get a great player no matter how this draft plays out. But to get a great player who wants to be an Islander, who wants to lead our team to the promised land, is a completely unique and unprecedented proposition. I truly hope we get the chance to give something back to John Tavares for the hope he's given us.

So Long, NHL Network

Today, I called Cablevision to cancel my subscription to the NHL Network. I was a bit sad about it... but not as sad as I thought I would be.

The way Cablevision works is they put the NHL Network in a package called the iO Sports Pak. For $5.95 per month, you get the NHL Network and a bunch of other sports networks. Of the extra channels, the only worthwhile network is GolTV, which doesn't show any of the leagues I follow. So it's essentially $5.95 for the NHL Network. Initially, I gladly paid this amount. However, over time, the quality of the NHL Network has fallen drastically, much to my displeasure.

When the NHL Network first hit the United States in October 2007, it was honestly the best thing to happen to me all year. The network was full of old games and horrible commercials; in short, it was heaven. There were times when literally half of my 100-hour DVR was filled with games and telecasts from the NHL Network. Getting up with my then-infant daughter for 3 AM feedings was a pleasure because there was always hockey on my TV.

Unfortunately, things changed.

This past year, the NHL Network has become much more of a "now" network. On one hand, that's a good thing, because it showcases today's top stars and storylines. On the other, it's awful. This is a channel that's buried on premium tiers on most cable networks; only the most diehard hockey fans, all of whom are already up on the latest happenings of the NHL, even subscribe to the network. So, in many ways, the NHL Network is preaching to the choir.

I became hooked on the NHL Network for two main reasons - NHL On The Fly and the footage of old games and playoff series. When NHL Live started airing, that became a third reason. When NHL Live was hosted by Don LaGreca and EJ Hradek, it was must-see TV. It was a heavy influence on me purchasing an XM subscription. Now that both LaGreca and Hradek have departed the show, NHL Live has suffered. It's informative, sure, but it's hard to get into the show when it's hosted by a revolving door of guests. Not so coincidentally, I canceled my XM service yesterday in another cost-cutting move.

But NHL Live is not what killed the NHL Network in my eyes. These days, the NHL Network shows too much of the same crap over and over again. Take today for example. The replay of NHL Live aired from 4 to 6 PM. This was followed by a pre-game show for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Then, they showed the same pre-game show AGAIN before the 8 PM start time of Game 3. After the game, NHL On The Fly airs - until noon tomorrow. That's followed by NHL Live, a replay of last night's game, and the replay of NHL Live. See what I'm saying? We have a 24/7 hockey network that shows more talk shows than actual hockey action. It's annoying.

I understand that not every NHL fan is as obsessed as I am with seeing games from the 1980s. But I think the NHL Network could clearly do a better job. For example, why isn't there a marathon of clinching games from previous Stanley Cup Finals? Instead, I turn on the NHL Network, excited to watch some hockey, only to see Patrik Elias in Belize or clips from The Hockey Show that already aired on NHL.com.

I'm sure I'll be back. If they end up showing a ton of classic games over the summer - and really, they have no reason not to - maybe I'll re-subscribe. But for now, it's not worth my $5.95 a month to not watch hockey. I'll miss the NHL Network - I'll miss the channel I fell in love with during 2007 and 2008, not what it's become in recent months.

It's funny - when the MLB Network launched in January, everyone raved about what a great job they did. I remember thinking to myself, "If these people could just give the NHL Network a chance, they'd see an even better network." Now, the MLB Network has clearly surpassed the NHL Network, and it's a damn shame. The NHL Network has already shown how great it can be - I hope it reaches that point again in the near future.

An Open-Letter to Gary Bettman...

Dear Mr. Bettman,

If the Pittsburgh Penguins lose again in the Stanley Cup Finals, does it mean that next season is yet another one with an obvious officiating bias against them, especially in the playoffs? It happened brutally last year in the playoffs, it happened heavily this season, and in the playoffs as well this year.

Please, no more. Let the best team win the games!

Sincerely,

Rangers writer Zach, www.nyhockeyrivalry.com