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.

We Win. Finally.

At long last, Islanders fans can say they won something.

It only took 56 losses and six months of frustration, but for one night, the Islanders are champions. Yeah, they're champions of the NHL Draft Lottery, something they had a 48.2 percent chance of "winning". But so what? When you've had so little to cheer about over the past 15 years, these things become very exciting. And make no mistake about it, tonight was a critical night in franchise history.

Tonight was our Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. And for once, things went our way. We don't have to worry about Tampa Bay trading Vincent Lecavalier and stealing John Tavares from under our noses. We don't have to wonder which of the two super prospects we'll be stuck with. We're in control now. For once.

I'm not going to worry about what happens next. I don't want to think about what happens if Garth Snow trades the pick, drafts Victor Hedman, or does anything besides selecting John Tavares on June 26. There's no need to ruin this night. We'll deal with the draft on a different day. For now, I just want to relax and, if even for just one night, think about the New York Islanders as winners.

If this season was about getting the first overall pick - and we've both gone on record as saying as much - the Islanders just won the championship.

Morning Draft Lottery Links

Sorry to usurp Zach, but I had to link to this excellent piece by Chris Botta regarding Islanders fans who may be rooting against their team right now. The truth is, ANY fan who even cares about the Islanders right now deserves to root for anything they'd like. This whole debate reminds me of a Bill Simmons article about a similar issue that occurred with the Celtics fanbase in 2007. What's the right answer? It's hard to say. I, for one, think that if the Islanders play as hard as they can, the draft will take care of itself. That said, you only get one chance to draft a superstar who can immediately contribute, and in the Islanders' delicate situation with the Lighthouse, that can be the difference between staying on the Island or moving elsewhere.

I also wanted to link to a rather interesting article by Larry Brooks regarding the draft lottery. Brooks claims that the NHL needs to expand its lottery to all non-playoff teams because it's too tempting for a team with, say, the 6th-worst record to tank just to get into the lottery. And you know what? He has a point. The NBA allows all non-playoff teams into its draft lottery, though only the top four even have a 10% chance at winning; this is a far cry from the days when the Orlando Magic won the lottery despite having the 13th-worst record in the league. Brooks' system suggests that the team's lack of playoff berths and any recent 1st overall picks they may have had be incorporated into the formula, which would make things VERY confusing. But it also might help. Last year's NHL Draft Lottery ended up shaking out exactly as the standings did, and since the team with the worst record has a 48.2% chance of getting the first pick, that makes a lot of sense. Then again, the whole point of a draft lottery is to discourage teams from tanking, not to punish bad teams by not giving them top picks. In short, there might be a better answer, but the odds of the NHL finding it are virtually nil.

Crossroads

Right now is an interesting time to be an Islanders fan. Half the fanbase wants the team to play as well as possible. The other half wants the Islanders to lose the rest of their games. Who's right? Who knows.

It's tempting to come out and say something like, "If you're rooting for the Islanders to tank the rest of the season, you're not a real fan." Because it's not true. We've seen this many times in the past - a season becomes a total loss, after which the Islanders suddenly start playing well and get everybody all excited about the following year. Remember the second half of the 1999-00 season, when the Islanders were better than .500 and played some pretty good hockey despite giving regular shifts to guys like Mark Lawrence and Mats Lindgren? After that season, the Islanders won the draft lottery, made the infamous Rick DiPietro deal, ended October 2000 in first place... and went on to finish dead last in the NHL. Similar late-season "flourishes" occurred in 1992, 1997, and 1998; only the '92 example yielded any sort of success the following season. So you'll forgive Islanders fans if they're not buying the hype this time around.

Let's face it - Islanders fans deserve something. Anyone who has supported this team, anyone who has bought a third jersey; hell, anyone who has so much as paid for a ticket this year deserves something. Islanders fans went into this year knowing it'd be rough, and they willingly went along. And all you have to do is look at the Islanders' DVD set to see how little they've had to cheer for lately. The past 20 years have brought about pretty much nothing. The 1993 team easily could have won the Stanley Cup, but lost out to Patrick Roy and the Canadiens. Nearly a decade of atrocious play followed, and when the Islanders lost to Toronto in that bitter seven-game series in 2002, many fans thought it was the start of something special. Turns out that the series itself was not just the only reward for years of mediocrity, it was the only significant two weeks of Islanders hockey to take place this century. I know you're supposed to pay a big price for winning four straight Cups, but the Islanders' faithful have had more than their fair share of heartache.

That's where all of this is coming from. It's not about tanking in the sense of wanting your team to lose. It's more about having gone through so much that it doesn't faze you anymore. To Islanders fans, a 30th place finish wouldn't mean anything except just one more bad year in a string of them. They've been the 8th seed before, and they've been anonymously awful before. Why not be awful when there's a reward for it?

On the other hand, it's hard not to be inspired by the Islanders' play of late. In fact, it's been nearly a month since they've laid a total egg. In that period of time, their only regulation losses have been a 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh, a tough 4-2 loss to the Rangers, and a well-played 2-1 loss to Boston. Those are three playoff teams, and two of those were road games. (Insert your own joke about how the Rangers game was really a road game.) Granted, the Islanders haven't exactly played the toughest schedule, but they've taken road games in New Jersey, Montreal and Chicago over that stretch and have developed a ton of confidence playing well against teams they should play well against. Today's lineup included one player who was waived earlier this season and eight players who have spent significant time in Bridgeport this year. And yeah, you might have seen this kind of thing in prior years, but this is pretty cool.

The difference between this Islanders team and the ones in the past is that this team has a plan. They have an organizational philosophy and stability at coach and general manager. They know what kind of team they want to build and they seem to have a pretty good grasp on how to build it. They also know which players don't fit and have gotten rid of these players. It's no coincidence that the Islanders are 8-3-2 since trading Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie to Ottawa; 4-2-1 since trading Bill Guerin to Pittsburgh. Not to denigrate these players, but certain players fit this system best and the Islanders deserve credit for weeding out the parts that don't fit. This isn't rebuilding with the likes of Eric Fichaud and Niklas Andersson - this is a team, and it's starting to show.

Of course, if you're of the mindset that the Islanders should intentionally lose every game for the rest of the season, that's your prerogative. You're certainly not incorrect, that's for sure. I, for one, believe in karma, and tanking sort of plays with the fates a little too much. Besides, you can't coach players to lose, and this experience will help them in the future. And there's always the chance that the Islanders could finish as high as 26th and still end up with the first overall pick. The moral of the story is, you can't worry so much about draft picks, because you can never control what will happen. What you can control, though, is the talent you have, and it looks like many of these players are starting to turn the corner. And in a season that has given Islanders fans very little to cheer about, I'll take it.

Meet Dean McAmmond...

Last year, the Islanders made a huge mistake in not trading all of their potential free agents - Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Mike Comrie, to be specific. It turned out not to be a big deal with Comrie, because he re-signed on the Island and played this year as well. Satan and Fedotenko were big mistakes. GM Garth Snow needed to realize his team was going to miss the playoffs and he had to sell off the assets.

This year, with injuries to Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger, the "tradeable veteran" pool has quickly dried up. In fact, with Mike Comrie getting traded today, Bill Guerin and Andy Hilbert are the only real names left on that list.

I assume Comrie was traded so early because there was a chance he gets hurt like Weight did (Comrie was already hurt this year a couple of times) and brings his trade-value to Zero.

It should also be noted that Ottawa was the first team to go buying last year, when they were in a slump and make a trade for Cory Stillman from Carolina. This year, Ottawa, on the heels of a 5-game winning steak, thinks they have a shot at the playoffs, so they moved quickly again.

This trade isn't great for the Islanders, to be honest. San Jose's 1st round pick will be bottom 5 (somewhere between 26-30) probably. Yes, Mike Green was picked there, and it's still a nice bargaining chip if they want to trade it on Draft Day to move up, but if I was Garth Snow, I'd have wanted Ottawa's pick instead (I don't know if Ottawa still has it).

I think they could've gotten a 1st round for just Comrie and not have to have given up Chris Campoli also. Granted, that was probably a big sticking point for the Senators, because Comrie won't re-sign there next year (or at least there is a chance he won't) while Campoli is obligated to Ottawa through at least next season as well.

Dean McAmmond is a servicable player. That's my way of saying he isn't bad, he isn't great, but he goes out there and delivers his best every shift. It just so happens his "best" isn't very good anymore - as in 3G, 4A in 44 games, compared to 51 in 73 in 2002. He also has an injury problem, never playing a full season besides the strike-shortened 1994-95 season (81 in 2007 with Ottawa is his most, then 78, 77, 73, and then in the 60s... very poor numbers over a 14-year career). He was hurt during the 2003-04 season with Calgary and didn't play in their run to the Cup Finals that year.

Anyway, I'm not going to sit here and berate the Islanders. They made the move they had to while the iron was hot. Comrie's been playing real well and there is a chance he gets hurt again, a chance Snow couldn't take. I just wish, for Islander fans' sake, that they had gotten a better draft choice and maybe one of Ottawa's few prospects instead of an aging vet with a history of injuries and declining stats.

Coming Soon...

To be honest, I was going to write a little entry here about how important Johnny Tavares would be to the Islanders, and how much pressure it is on an 18-year old who isn't really thinking yet that he will have to be a savior for a franchise, but Bryan hit the points pretty well on his last post. Since he's the Islander blogger, I'll leave it at that for now. 

I also hope that this isn't a point that we write about and look back on and realize it never mattered at all. In that bucket are posts about acquiring Marian Hossa and Mats Sundin, Mike Comrie and Miro Satan being traded at the 2008 trade deadline, Petr Prucha being traded, and Brendan Shanahan/Sean Avery/Jaromir Jagr/Marty Straka returning.

Yes, as a devout, lifelong Rangers fan, I wholeheartedly hope the Islanders get Tavares. For the past 3 years, I had hoped the Rangers tanked the 2008-09 season so that they could get the #1 overall pick, but now that they have no chance at being in the lottery, I really wish the Islanders get their chance.

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By some divine streak of luck - aka my friend Tom texting me today - I will be at the Coliseum for the first time since the Rangers clinched the playoffs last year with a decisive victory.

In truth, it will only be my 4th game of the season, which is weird for me. Last year, I hit like 14 or 15 Ranger games (and one Islanders/Coyotes game as well). Most were at the Garden, but I traveled to New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Montreal as well to see them. This year, I saw "Opening Night" against Chicago (a victory), Avery's return against Dallas (a game in which my friend Tom passed out in the 2nd period, and the Rangers were playing so bad that I didn't wake him), and Petr Prucha's game-tying third-period goal against Pittsburgh in December (a shootout win). I'll probably be at 8, 9, or 10 games this year when all is said and done, including in Nashville in March.

Should be fun. I love going to the Coliseum for Ranger games. I like drinking in the parking lot and being in a 50/50 split. 

My hope is for some quality "Let's Go IslandersLet's Go Rangers!" chants (not a typo). My prediction is a Rangers overtime victory... not shootout... overtime! And as always, I predict Prucha scoring 2 goals.

Not Yet Done...

Quick! Name the Rangers forwards under contract!

If you said Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev, Blair Betts, Ryan Callahan, Nigel Dawes, Chris Drury, Aaron Voros, Patrick Rissmiller, Dan Fritsche, Brandon Dubinsky, Colton Orr, and Petr Prucha, you win a cookie.*

You also might have said Lauri Korpikoski, Dane Byers, P.A. Parenteau, Artem Anisimov, and/or Greg Moore.

Restricted free agent Freddy Sjostrom might also have made your list.

That's 19 forwards for a 12-man roster. With healthy scratches and injuries, figure 14 forwards on the roster and one (Moore) making the trip from Hartford to MSG for 5 games this year.

Oh, what's that? Brendan Shanahan still might sign?

I don't think Anisimov will make the team, nor do I think Byers will see more than 3 or so games in the NHL this year. Parenteau has the talent - as Anisimov does - but might not be ready. Then again, he might be a better choice in the line-up then Fritsche or Rissmiller. However, you have to think Korpikoski, a 2004 1st round pick, will make the team from training camp.

That's not the point of this blog.

The point of this blog post is that I doubt the Rangers are done. We assume Sjostrom is going to sign, making him the 14th NHL-ready forward on the roster. Then there are youngsters ready to make the jump and play their menial minutes on the 4th line. And then Shanahan might be the dark horse here. He wants to play, he believes he still has it in him, and he believes GM Glen Sather wants him back.

There's no way they go into training camp with this many forwards. Expect a 7th defenseman or a few draft picks to be picked up after the Mats Sundin domino falls.** The 2009 NHL Entry Draft is going to be very deep, and a few extra picks couldn't hurt the Rangers.

* No actual treats will be awarded by the blog owners, although they will recommend the fantastic chocolate creme stuffed Oreos.

** In no may am I hinting that Mats Sundin will become a Ranger. I'm just saying that his self-imposed August 1st deadline for making a decision on what his future holds will be another domino to fall. Remember on July 1 when Brian Campbell signed, then defensemen starting signing left and right, including but not limited to Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival.