US Olympic Team...

The US Olympic team should re-name themselves Team Ryan: Ryan Suter, Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Kessler, Ryan Malone, and Bobby Ryan.

* * *

Why the big deal over Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, and Keith Tkachuk not making the 2010 US Olympic team? The US wants to win, right?

Weight had no goals in 11 games before being injured... again. His first game back was the night before the Olympic selections were announced. Guerin is actually scoring around the same pace he was in 2002 when the team won the Silver Medal, but he's 39 and the chances that he'll have anything left for 8 games in 11 days is very slim. Tkachuk hasn't been a force on any team since before the lockout, and he would just be taking space for a young power forward - say, Ryan Callahan (or Ryan Malone).

Scott Gomez was an interesting name left off. He just turned 30 last week and he played well in the 2006 Olympics in Italy, but those of us who watched him the past 2 years (and anyone following him in Montreal this year) know that he just isn't as good in another system as he was with the Devils.

I would also venture to guess that it came down to Gomez and Chris Drury fighting for a spot, and with John Tortorella as an assistant coach, Drury got the nod.

I like Callahan and Drury being on the team. I'm very excited for Callahan and I think the experience can only help him. As for Drury, he won't play 20 minutes a night for them so he won't come back burnt out. Plus, being there could inspire him to play better - he said so himself after being selected to the team.

As for Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik? Awful.

Remember how good the Rangers were playing in 2005-06 before the Olympic break? They were 20 games over .500, then ended the season 9-11-4 after the break. Lundqvist came back grinding his teeth and with migraines and was utterly awful in the playoffs against New Jersey (he'll admit it). Jaromir Jagr came back hurt from a Jarrko Ruutu check; on top of that, a nagging hip injury was made worse by the lack of off-days in the compressed Olympic schedule.

Without Jagr and Lundqvist, that team was just a bunch of role players who played great together and had a dream season.

Without Gaborik and Lundqvist, this team is a bunch of young players who haven't really meshed yet (and a few overpriced veterans who are just waiting for their careers to end).

What happens if Lundqvist gets hurt? The season is officially over. What if Gaborik gets hurt? So far, he hasn't injured anything that was hurt in previous seasons, but you shouldn't press the matter. An injury to him in Vancouver could have negative effects on him - and this team - for the next 4 years.

Plus, Hank could use the rest for 3 weeks before the stretch-drive.

Four reasons I am very against NHL players playing in the Olympics...

1) It should be an amateur competition.
2) You're stopping an exciting NHL season for 3 weeks and expecting people to pick off where it left off 21 days later.
3) The chance for injury is too great. (Ask the Ottawa Senators how the rest of their season was when Dominik Hasek was injured in the Czech Republic's first game in '06.)
4) It can be a career-maker for a young kid. Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg in the 1992 Olympics in the shootout was an instant classic. I'd much rather have that than see Chris Pronger snuff out Evgeni Malkin in the bronze medal game because they're division rivals.

On Face(off) Value

When you're a fan of a losing team, you generally don't watch them expecting to win. Instead, you watch hoping you'll see something amazing. For example, even though the Mets were out of playoff contention in July, I still watched them most nights, just in case they finally pitched a no-hitter (yeah, I know) or did something particularly special. In hockey, there are no milestones that would compare to a no-hitter, so I hope for very memorable games, the kind that transcend a losing season. Last year, beating Detroit and Chicago on the road were such games, and Opening Night would have been such a game had the Islanders pulled it out.

Wednesday night's game against the Rangers would certainly qualify as what I'd call a memorable game. If the Islanders to produce a 2009-10 highlight video, highlights of Wednesday night would be heavily featured. The Islanders played their game, were intense throughout, and won their first regulation game by sheer will. The Islanders also won because of a growing trend in their play - their success in the faceoff circle.

Over the summer, I read Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Moneyball, for those who don't know, explains how the small-market Oakland A's of Major League Baseball were able to stay competitive with teams like the Yankees by building their team around undervalued assets like walks and on-base percentage. As I read Moneyball, I tried to figure out what statistics in hockey could be the basis for a winning team in today's NHL. One of these days, I'll post my thoughts. For now, though, perhaps the most important stat I'd build around would be faceoff percentage.

Think about it. There are approximately 60 faceoffs in a game. The average team, of course, wins 50 percent of those faceoffs, meaning that they begin play with the puck 30 times a game. A team that wins 60 percent of their faceoffs, on the other hand, begins with the puck 36 times. That's twelve times more than their opponent. So, not only do you have the edge twelve more times than your opponent, that's twelve times that your opponent can't score until you give up the puck.

As of right now, the Islanders sit at third in the NHL with a success rate of 54.1% in the faceoff circle, with the Isles dominating faceoffs in their past few games. And while this success hasn't resulted in wins just yet, there's plenty of reason for optimism - aside from the Islanders (.409), Minnesota (.250) and Nashville (.458), every team over 50% in faceoffs has earned more than half of the points it could have possibly earned so far this season. What's particularly telling about the Islanders' success is that it's been widespread. Every eligible Islander is over 50% in faceoffs this year, including John Tavares at 50.3%, Josh Bailey at 53.9%, and both Doug Weight and Nate Thompson at 58.8%.

What does all of this mean? Simply put, if the Islanders are better than their opponents at controlling the puck off the draw, they're that much more likely to control play and potentially generate good scoring chances. In addition, their opponents will have to make more plays on defense than usual in order to get the puck. And if the Islanders can get past their third period hiccups - as they did on Wednesday night - their faceoff skills can help them become a truly dangerous team.

Don't Buy!...

As we all know, the NHL Deadline will be here Wednesday at 3, formerly Tuesday at 3 p.m. but since there was a big slate of games on Tuesday, they pushed it back to a more open day.

The Rangers, by and large, always buy, with the rare exception of 2004, when they had to get rid of contracts because of the upcoming salary cap. That year, they dumped Petr Nedved, Greg de Vries, Vladimir Malakhov, Brian Leetch, Chris Simon, Jussi Markkanen, Matthew Barnaby, and Martin Rucinsky for prospects, picks, Blair Betts, and Steve Valiquette. (I will have a post on this later in the week).

In 2006, they traded Ville Nieminen for a draft pick, then used that pick to get Sandis Ozolinsh, who, during the first round against New Jersey, did more damage to the Rangers than Jaromir Jagr's shoulder or Henrik Lundqvist's teeth-grinding-induced headaches did.

In 2007, Aaron Ward got shipped off for Paul Mara. They also traded Pascal Dupuis (formerlly Adam Hall) to Atlanta for Alex Bourret (since traded away). A pick also exchanged hands in the Atlanta trade, but I don't know who received it. I think it was a 3rd rounder.

Last year, Christian Backman came to the club for a 4th-round pick. No, he wasn't good, but he did add depth and it was cheap.

This year, the team needs more than a mediocre defenseman. They already have Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Eric Reitz, and Dmitri Kalinin playing that role.

Yet, what they do need will be expensive, and to be honest, won't work. 

With the exception of Carolina picking up Doug Weight and Mark Recchi in the months leading up to the 2006 playoffs, trade deadline deals don't always equal a sip from the Cup. (Carolina also never should've won the Cup. They got lucky against Buffalo, who was tired from a grueling series against Ottawa, and if Dwayne Roloson didn't go down in Game 1 vs. Edmonton, the Oilers would have won easily.)

What the Rangers SHOULD do is more like what they did in 2007. Trade money-for-money, as in ditching Aaron Voros for someone cheaper (maybe even an expiring contract), or trading a big name player like Redden for someone young and cheap. Of course, Redden won't be going anywhere. Other GMs aren't going to fall for him like Glen Sather unfortunately did. 

I like Nigel Dawes, but he is going to be a RFA, so maybe he can be moved to a team looking for forward depth for a pick or a young prospect, like Dupuis was. 

The Rangers probably will try to make a big splash, maybe moving pieces around to try to get Jay Bouwmeester. Bad move. Don't trade the future to have him for a month. Trade the present to try to get him in the summer for nothing but money.

I hope the Rangers don't deplete themselves like they did in the late-90s until 2003 at the deadline. Reason says they will not win the Cup this year. They might make the playoffs (probably will), may even eek out a win in the first round and be competitive in the 2nd, but their collection of 2nd line centers and 2nd pairing defensemen won't win them any silver in June.

Glen Sather doesn't read this blog, that's for sure. If he did, we wouldn't be suffering with Wade "I scored a goal!" Redden for the next 5 years. But let's hope he uses common sense, realizes the reasonable expectations for this team he assembled, and looks towards the future.

The Guerin Trade

So the Internet is abuzz about this supposedly "done deal" that has Bill Guerin going to an Eastern Conference playoff contender. And as is always the case when details aren't finalized, speculation comes to the forefront and people go crazy trying to figure things out. We're not going to be doing that. Sorry.

I actually missed tonight's game so I could take my wife out to dinner. When I got home, my mom told me Guerin warmed up, but didn't play. She's not as well-versed in NHL business as I, so while she was a bit confused, I immediately knew it had something to do with a trade. After all, he had agreed to waive his no-trade clause earlier this week. The story now is that he's going somewhere for at least a second round draft pick, if not more. Not bad for a team who is only really losing 20 or so games out of a player in a season that is going nowhere.

Now, when I told my mom about all of this, she responded with something like, "Oh, well if he really cared about the Islanders, he wouldn't agree to waive his no-trade clause." That's not true. If anything, I'm sure it was Garth Snow who initiated such a discussion. Besides, nothing is stopping Guerin from coming right back here next year. Remember when Guerin's buddy Doug Weight got traded from St. Louis to Carolina, won a Stanley Cup, then re-signed with St. Louis? It's not totally out of the realm of possibility. As Zach likes to say, Long Island is awesome for those who have the money to really enjoy it.

Most fans wouldn't mind Guerin and Weight re-signing with the Islanders next year. After all, this team isn't ready to become a youth-driven one, and it never hurts to have guys who want to play for the Islanders. But tomorrow's Newsday promises to be a fun one, as Greg Logan states his article will be about some veterans who have shaky relationships with coach Scott Gordon. It's hard to see Weight, who was enjoying a tremendous resurgence before being injured, being among the players who are tuning Gordon out. Guerin is on pace to at least match last year's totals despite playing with less offensive talent. This article will have huge repercussions with fans, especially since we all know players talk to each other and anyone who's not a Gordon fan will tell any prospective free agent not to come to Long Island. We can only hope for the best here.

In short, there's a lot in the air in Islanders Country right now. Tomorrow morning, we'll have a lot more closure. My only question is how the Islanders can possibly trade Guerin for only a draft pick and stay above the salary floor. I guess this is another question that will be answered tomorrow.

D-Day

Let's be honest - this isn't a good time to be an Islanders fan.

You have one legitimate All-Star in Mark Streit, followed by a number of question marks. Your coach has implemented a system that many veterans on the team do not care for. Your franchise goaltender has been MIA for the past two weeks, this despite the team acknowledging that he is medically cleared to play. Your captain is starting to show signs of weariness as the ship sinks deeper underwater. And, to top it all off, your top offensive player is injured, just the latest in the endless string of Islanders to land on the IR this season.

Here's the reality for those of us who bleed orange and blue. D-Day for the 2008-09 Islanders season comes on June 20, 2009. If Charles Wang, Garth Snow, Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, and the rest of the Islanders' brass walks up to the podium at the Bell Centre in Montreal and says, "With the first pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders select John Tavares, center, London Knights," everything we're going through will be worth it. The agony of seeing our entire team hurt, of having no idea of the status of Rick DiPietro, it will all be worthwhile. Tavares, you see, represents the future for the New York Islanders. Because John Tavares is the kind of player who can help keep the Islanders on Long Island. 

With all due respect to Victor Hedman, there is nobody else who can save this team the way John Tavares can. The Islanders can't draw a big-name free agent. They don't have the bargaining chips to swing a big trade. The Lighthouse Project, tied up in political battle, is going nowhere. The only thing the Islanders can do is draft John Tavares and hope he turns it around sufficiently enough that the Islanders can stay put while the Lighthouse Project is straightened out.

I know we're not supposed to think about these things. As fans, we're supposed to be loyal to the bitter end, not worry about the draft, not worry about our team moving, so on and so forth. But this is not a typical situation. Most fans aren't blatantly lied to by their own team regarding the injury status of their 15-year goaltender. Furthermore, most fans aren't slammed with propaganda regarding a massive arena renovation that nobody has any proof will ever happen. Those of us who are still left, the real Islanders fans, have given plenty to this team and we deserve something a little better in return. And if daydreaming of John Tavares in an Islanders uniform gets us through these dark days, I think that's a hell of a lot better than the alternative. When Pittsburgh drafted Sidney Crosby, we saw how one player can completely change a team's fortunes. Islanders fans deserve the same chance to watch our team rise from these dire straits.

And if we don't land Tavares? That's a discussion for another day. But I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the absolute worst.

Colin Campbell...

For the first time, I watched the Mike "4 Career Goals" Mottau's hit on Frans Nielsen. Very reminiscent of Brandon Sutter giving the Rayden Torpedo to Alexei Cherepanov in the Summit Series. He left his feet, he was looking for an injury. Here, Mottau headhunted Nielsen. A disgusting play on par with Chris Simon attacking Ryan Hollweg and Todd Bertuzzi-ing Steve Moore, and he gets 2 games for it.

Michael Peca touches a linesman's arm, automatic 5 game suspension. (Yes, I'm familiar with the ruling on an automatic suspension when an official is touched.)

Doug Weight gives a clean, feet-on-the-ice check to Sutter, and people vilify Weight for two weeks.

"Disciplinarian" Colin Campbell - and I use the term disciplinarian very lightly - claims it wasn't a direct hit to the head. Well, maybe he didn't see Mottau single out Nielsen and then LEAP off the ice and attack him.

Very questionable ruling.

Some plays are accidental. Weight on Sutter, for example. Jason Doig, while a bad player and a victim of the lockout (where only skilled players stay be in the NHL), injured Eric Lindros for the season, not on purpose but from a hard hit. Same can be said for Scott Stevens leveling Lindros.

However, my view on plays where the person is obviously looking for blood is that they should be suspended until the injured player can play again. Mottau should be out 2-3 months or however long it takes his victim to return. If it means a player will never play again, as it should be in Bertuzzi's case, so be it.

Anyone who wants to take the NHL to task on this horrific ruling can do so Thursdays at 4 as Gary Bettman goes on XM Home Ice 204 (and Sirius 208) to take calls from the fans. No doubt he will be hearing about this next Thursday (as I'm assuming he doesn't host a show on Thanksgiving), and no doubt he will be sticking to party-lines and reiterating what Campbell said, as he never makes waves and always touts the league as in the right. While I love the fact that the Commissioner of the NHL has a radio call-in show (that is always a good listen), I wish he wasn't so vanilla and he would stray from middle-0f-the-road, my-employees-are-always-right answers. If he came out and said Campbell flubbed this, maybe something could be done to change it.

* * *

Links to mentioned videos...

Sutter flying into Cherepanov

Nielsen getting attacked by Mottau

Weight's clean hit on Sutter

Moore getting his neck broken by Bertuzzi

Islanders Win Game 2

Well, that was unexpected.

I sort of expected the Islanders to crap out at some point. Maybe I was just preparing myself for the worst. You sort of learn to do that every now and again when you support this team. But it didn't happen. If anything, the Islanders got stronger as the game went on.

The first period was some pretty awful hockey. In fact, let's forget it ever happened. The second was a little better, but the Rangers pretty much dominated play. It wasn't until the third period that things got going... or, to put it more appropriately, for the Rangers to shoot themselves in the foot.

Two horrendous giveaways on the power play led the Islanders to score two shorthanded goals. And while I'm still not convinced that their standing as the team with the most shorthanded goals in the NHL means anything more than that they take a lot of stupid penalties, those two goals were huge. That they came from the likes of Nate Thompson and Richard Park is quite telling. Because these are the players the make the Islanders a tough team to play against. Nobody's under the illusion that the Islanders are an extremely talented team, but when you're going against guys like Thompson and Park, you have to work a lot harder to win.

After those two shorthanded goals, the Rangers were putty in the Islanders' hands. The Rangers immediately started pressing, trying to make the perfect play. That never works. The Rangers got frustrated, as evidenced by Nigel Dawes dropping the gloves with Jeff Tambellini with less than ten minutes left in the third period. The Rangers ended up getting one to make things interesting, but the game effectively ended after the Isles' secondhanded goal.

So, who to blame for tonight's poor performance by the Rangers? Pretty much everybody. Michal Rozsival is going to get the blame for much of this loss - Billy Jaffe said it best when he said Rozsival was "guilty of not being effective" - but you can also pin some of this on the offense for not scoring, on Dmitri Kalinin for being Dmitri Kalinin, and on Henrik Lundqvist for getting beat on the second goal, which he easily should have had.

For the Islanders? Much of the team played well, even if the supposed "scorers" continued what has pretty much been a season-long vacation. The star of the show would have to be Joey MacDonald, who probably played the best game of his career. Islander fans needed to see this kind of performance out of Joey MacDonald. Going into the building of your biggest rival and coming within 100 seconds of a shutout is pretty special. Plus, his performance led to this post-game exchange between C.J. Papa and Stan Fischler...

C.J.: So, Stan, what'd you see out there tonight?
Stan: I'll tell you what I saw, and it was Old MacDonald's Farm! "And a save-save here and a save-save there, here a save, there a save, everywhere a save-save!"

Had they heard this, I think even the Ranger fans among us would have to say it was all worth it. And as someone who hears these nursery rhymes dozens of times a day, it made me particularly happy. Every MSG Plus broadcast makes me a smarter hockey fan, but a dumber person. And for that, I'd like to thank everybody involved in making the magic happen, from Howie and Billy to C.J. and Stan. You all do a wonderful job.

Anyway.

Jaffe brought up the dreaded "Ranger hangover" in the same sentence as "Thursday's winnable game against Atlanta". Gulp. Make no mistake about it, the Islanders will be destroyed by an awful Thrashers team. The Islanders have been pretty awesome lately, but it can't last forever. At least not as long as guys like Mike Comrie and Doug Weight aren't scoring goals. The Rangers, on the other hand, are facing a Tampa Bay team on Thursday that has won three straight games and are finally living up to their pre-season hype. It's about time. To be honest, the Rangers-Lightning game will be a better one than Islanders-Thrashers. But like tonight, it'll be a good night for hockey in New York.

Kudos to Doug Weight...

I forgot to mention this on my earlier post, and as a Ranger fan, it's tough for me to praise the Islanders. However, if life were a MySpace blog post, I would give "2 kudos" to Doug Weight for his hit on Brandon Sutter Saturday night.

Brandon, son of Devil's coach and all-around nice guy Brent (does sarcasm come out well online?), is a cheap-shot artist himself who has never seen a dirty hit he didn't like.

Am I saying that Weight's hit was dirty? Absolutely, positively not. He never left his feet. He didn't hit with an elbow. It was just a rock-hard, solid hit. It was the kind people praised Scott Stevens for when he delivered them.

I'm also saying Sutter deserved it. Now, I'm not one to root for the injury of others, and indeed, Sutter didn't have any injuries suffered. But he is a Ryan Hollweg-type player, going for the hit regardless of the situation, regardless of the safety of the other player involved. Witness him doing a Raiden-esque Torpedo (you know, from Mortal Kombat) on Alexei Cherepanov for no reason other than to injure. Maybe his revered hockey family never taught him that leaving your feet to hit someone is illegal. (Oh, wasn't dad coaching?) And injure he did, as Cherepanov didn't play in another game in the 8 game series (the hit was in Game 2).

Once again, I'm not rooting for the injury of Sutter. But I am saying that this completely legal hit was a fantastic moment on Super Saturday in the NHL. People are calling for Weight to be suspended, for the league to look into this matter because it was a head hit. Hey, if Weight was shorter, it would have been a check to his shoulders. You can't fault a man for being tall.

It's Not The Arena

If I hear one more person complain about how the Islanders need a new arena to attract free agents, I'm going to puke.

As I write this, I'm watching a Vintage Game on the NHL Network from 1983. The Islanders are playing the Bruins in Game 6 of the Wales Conference Finals. The Islanders are winning by a score of 7-3 and the crowd is boisterious. As we all know, the Isles go on to win the game, the series, and their fourth straight Stanley Cup. But that's not the point.

This is the point. The Coliseum is every bit of a dump now as it was in 1983. Yet, people have packed the place at any point when the team has been good. It was full in the 80s. It was full in 1993 and it was full in 2002. It's obvious that if there's a product worth watching, fans will turn out in great numbers to watch it. Look at the Mets. Shea Stadium is the most awful stadium in all of professional sports, but they've set attendance records in each of the past two years. They've also attracted premier free agents, and these players would have signed even if CitiField wasn't on the horizon.

So, getting back to the Islanders, what's the problem? If it's not the arena, it's got to be something else. In this case, that "something else" is the quality of the team. Sorry to say it, but it's true. The proverbial elephant in the room for the Islanders is the fact that their "youth movement" is a misnomer. Their organizational depth is average; worse, there's nobody on the team that can really help bring this talent along for the long haul. There are a lot of teams with a lot more depth and a better plan to develop their prospects. That's just the way it is.

I'm not trying to be critical of the Islanders. That said, I'm sick of the excuses that always seem to pop up when things go wrong. When things went awry last year, it was because there were too many injuries. Never mind the fact that the Islanders were in ninth place or worse for the final six weeks of the season. It's not that they were screwed; they just weren't good enough. The same goes for the prior season's playoff against Buffalo. Maybe it's not what fans want to hear, but the truth is the Islanders are nowhere near the league's elite.

You don't need excuses when you win. And when you're winning, the good players want to play for you. Two years ago, Pittsburgh was a last-place team in a crappy arena on the verge of being shipped off to Kansas City. Now, they're one of the best teams and, as a result, a top destination for free agents. The Devils used to play in a half-empty dump, but still drew free agents because they're always competitive. Now that they play in a half-empty palace, players have the exact same level of interest. If the Islanders had just won the Stanley Cup, do you really think players would spurn the Isles because they play in subpar facilities? I highly doubt it.

Again, it's not the arena. It's the team. If the Islanders want to get the best players, they need to build slowly and wisely. This year, if they're in 10th place again at the trading deadline and they still have Mike Comrie, Mike Sillinger, Bill Guerin, and Doug Weight in the final year of their contracts, then they should suck it up and get what they can get for these players. As much as I love Garth Snow for going for it with the Ryan Smyth deal, the Islanders need to be smart. Within a year or two, they could be a very good young organization. They just need to know who to build around. That would be Kyle Okposo and Rick DiPietro, not The Lighthouse.

Four More Years...

While the Rangers now have four more years of a pass-first, clear-the-crease-last blueline, we also have four less years of Sean Avery.

Wait, did that make sense?

You get the gist of it. You know my view. The Rangers needed Avery just as much as he needed the Rangers. Once an outcast in LA, he came to NY for relatively nothing (Jay Ward, a pick, and a swap of prospects who will never skate in the NHL) and revived a franchise... twice. They made the playoffs the past two seasons because of him and Henrik Lundqvist.

You know how angry I am about him being in Dallas. However, I was on the golf course while this all happened (hey, let's be honest, Glen Sather probably was too). Luckily, I had a stream of texts coming in announcing it. 

I told my golf partner two things. 1) I'm not re-upping my subscription package this year. I was on the edge, and it hindered on Avery's re-signing. I have no problem paying his salary. I will not pay Wade Redden's salary. 2) I'm going to buy a Dallas Stars fallopian tube jersey with "AVERY 16" on the back.

Now, the trade. Nik Zherdev (#13, above) came alive last season for the Blue Jackets, especially at the end. His 61 points and -9 were career bests (hey, give him a break, he played in Ohio). Should be a good trade. Dan Fritsche (#49, above) is a decent player, definitely the throw in to make it an even 2-for-2 trade. To be honest, I thought he was a defenseman until just now. The Rangers don't need another 3rd line center, although he isn't a bad player at all.

The Rangers' biggest problem was defense. 

Now, they have 4 defensemen - Michal Rozsival (overpaid), Redden (grossly overpaid), Dan Girardi, and Marc Staal. Now, they have about 15 or 16 forwards, including one first line winger (Zherdev), and two first line centers (Scott Gomez, Chris Drury). Everyone else is a depth player, or an "energy" player. 

Who's going to score? Who's going to stand in front of Henrik? 

Zherdev is a $2.5M cap hit; Fritsche is well under a million. If memory serves me correct, Fedor Tyutin is making $2.75M against the Cap, and Christian Backman's hit is around $3.3M. While this does give the Rangers a scoring threat, it also opened up a lot of cap room.

Too bad Sean Avery won't see any of that money

* * * 

Do you think Doug Weight will fetch the Islanders a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round draft pick at the 2009 trade deadline? 

So... Now What?

With Mark Streit comfortably in tow, the Islanders had a far more successful July 1st than they did last year, and certainly a more productive day than anybody expected. Still, their work is not yet complete.

While Streit did play some forward last year with Montreal, the Islanders still need far more scoring help. Michael Ryder was an option, but he's off to Boston. There are still plenty otalented names out there. As good of a job Snow did getting his player at his price, there will have to be other similar moves. Remember, part of free agency is getting the right pieces in place that will entice other players to come.

So far, so good. As for the future? Doug Weight seems like a guarantee to come to Long Island eventually. While the last thing the Isles need is another aging veteran, they could do worse than Weight, who's won a Cup and could teach the youngsters a thing or to while playing some good hockey. There are quite a few other options out there; it'll be interesting to see how Snow plays this. I'd say he's earned the benefit of the doubt so far.

With Marian Hossa (reportedly) signed and Mats Sundin being offered big money, it's possible that the big guns will be off the market sooner rather than later. That's when we'll see what direction the Islanders take. For the first time in a long time, I'm not cringing at the thought of who Snow might bring in. That's the surest sign of progress so far.

EDIT: The Isles signed Weight to a one-year deal this evening. It is what it is, but it's a deal that will probably do more good things for the Islanders than bad. Hey, at the very least, it's an upgrade over Josef Vasicek and Ruslan Fedotenko.