NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #10-6

Back with moments 10 through 6 of the Isles' post-lockout countdown. Isn't it funny how Zach's Rangers list is full of games, whereas the Islanders list is all stuff that happened off the ice? This is what happens when your team has won one playoff game in the past six years.

10) Snow Job

July 18, 2006

That the hiring of Garth Snow even qualifies for this list is a testament to the job Snow has done as Islanders' GM. For a very long time, July 18, 2006 was a very dark day in Islanders history.

I can still remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember seeing the headline on TSN... my head hitting my desk shortly after... thinking it was an April Fool's joke in the middle of July... none of my friends believing me when I told them... Mike and the Mad Dog tearing Charles Wang apart during an interview... being teased incessantly by pretty much everyone. It wasn't fun. I even wrote this blog on my MySpace page from back in the day.

Thankfully, things have improved since then. The way the Islanders handled the move still doesn't make sense four years later, but time has proved that Snow was the right hire. At a time when general managers were still trying to figure out the "new NHL", the Islanders brought in someone who actually played under the revised rules. They hired someone who was completely reared on the new CBA and therefore had no preconceived notions about what he was "supposed" to do.

The results have been pretty spectacular. Snow managed to get into the playoffs in his first year, but saw that he couldn't rely on giving veterans one-year contracts forever. His ability to blow up the Islanders and rebuild them in his likeness shows that he has the support of Charles Wang and will be here for the foreseeable future. Of all the moves Snow has made, the only move that would be classified as bad is the Rick DiPietro contract, and that was Wang's call. So, while the move initially drew ire from the Islanders faithful, it's hard to argue that the move didn't pay dividends.

9) Islanders Sign Mark Streit

July 1, 2008

As the Islanders entered the start of free agency in 2008, nobody was quite sure what they'd do. They had made mention of their desire to rebuild and go with young players, but they didn't actually have any young assets outside of Kyle Okposo to build around. They had plenty of cap room to make any number of signings, but we all knew better than that. Most Islanders fans assumed that Snow wouldn't do anything on July 1; I joked on this site that Snow didn't even bother to show up for work that day.

Turns out he did.

As is customary, the big names flew off the board in exchange for big-money contracts. One of the biggest names, Brian Campbell, took seven years and $56 million to sign with Chicago. Wade Redden, as we all know, received $39 million over six years from the Rangers. At the time of these two deals, Mark Streit was still available. He was the one guy I thought the Islanders should throw big money at and, much to my surprise, they did.

Five years and $20 million later, Streit was a New York Islander. Zach, our Rangers writer, was furious that the Rangers had dumped so much money into an aging Redden while the Islanders got Streit - who had only played three NHL seasons - for far less. When asked why he signed with the Islanders, Streit replied that he wanted to be a true #1 defenseman, something that was never going to happen in Montreal. Streit did not disappoint in his first season on the Island, netting 56 points and earning some legitimate Norris Trophy consideration. His numbers have dipped a bit this year, but Streit remains one of the team's leaders and a potential future captain of the Islanders.

8) Islanders Hire Scott Gordon

August 12, 2008

After the shock firing/resignation of Ted Nolan, the future of the Islanders in terms of their next coach was unclear. It was a very important hire - the Islanders would be rebuilding and needed someone who would stay over the long haul. The big-name veterans like Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella weren't interested and passed on the Islanders' overtures, which came as no surprise to any real Islanders fan. As is the Islanders' custom, they went the road less traveled and brought in an unknown coach.

Scott Gordon, much like Peter Laviolette seven years earlier, came to the Islanders from the AHL's Providence Bruins. Like Laviolette, Gordon had turned the fortunes of the Bruins completely, taking a losing team and turning them into one of the league's best. Gordon had youth on his side, not to mention a reputation for mentoring young players, and his "overspeed" philosophy won over fans right away.

More than anything else, though, the Gordon hire was further proof that the Islanders were serious about rebuilding. Garth Snow easily could have brought in a big-name retread coach, but that would have been the safe maneuver. By bringing in Gordon, the Islanders effectively told their fanbase that the team wouldn't be good for a while, but they could get used to this core group because it'd be there for years to come. Fans have criticized Gordon's system, particularly when it has helped contribute to blown third-period leads, but when they're firing at all cylinders, the Islanders are one of the NHL's most exciting teams. This is one call Garth Snow knocked out of the park.

7) Al Arbour Night

Nassau Coliseum - November 3, 2007

I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit skeptical when Al Arbour Night was first announced. Did Ted Nolan really want to round off Al Arbour's career total, or did Islanders brass coerce Nolan into stepping aside for one night? Was this just another gimmick to bring Islanders alumni back and get a cheap sellout? Given the history of the Islanders, I was right to have my doubts. But on this night, they didn't really matter.

Prior to November 3, 2007, Al Arbour hadn't coached a NHL game since 1994. However, whatever he had lost in terms of X's and O's was more than compensated for by the desire of the Islanders to win the game for Arbour, the only coach of the Islanders that has won a playoff series. In many ways, the game itself was typical of the Islanders at that point in time insofar as the Islanders came from behind to win, Miroslav Satan scored the tying and game-winning goals, and Wade Dubielewicz came up huge in relief of the injured Rick DiPietro.

As good as the game was, it was almost secondary to the postgame celebration, which saw many Islanders legends paying their respects to their former coach. And it wasn't just the usual guys, either. The Islanders brought back some real fan favorites, including Benoit Hogue, Pat LaFontaine, and Steve Webb. I have to say, I was bawling while watching a replay of the ceremony. (Full disclosure - I was pretty hammered.) It was a great night and a great sendoff for Arbour, who doesn't get nearly enough credit for his work with the Islanders.

There's only one thing that bothered me about Al Arbour Night. The original Arbour banner read "739", referring to his number of career wins. When they replaced it with a new banner that night, it wasn't a "740" banner. Instead, it simply read "1500". As in, the Islanders had such little faith in Arbour's ability to produce a victory that they only had a banner made to commemorate his number of games, not his number of wins. The Islanders said they'd get a new banner made; nearly two and a half years later, "1500", not "740", hangs from the Coliseum rafters.

6) Islanders Win 2009 Draft Lottery

April 14, 2009

As the Islanders sucked their way through the 2008-09 season, we all hoped it'd be for a reason. In fact, the only way the 2008-09 season would have been successful would have been if they landed the first overall draft pick. After all, while there was a chance Tampa Bay or Colorado would have passed on John Tavares, there were no guarantees.

The Islanders clinched the league's worst record in late March, a distinction that brought with it a 48 percent chance that the Islanders would win the draft lottery. As the date of the draft lottery neared, Islanders fans feared the worst. Everyone figured that they'd get screwed out of the chance to draft a generational talent like John Tavares or Victor Hedman. Why should the Islanders get the chance to be successful, right? Besides, since the lockout, the team with the worst record had lost the draft lottery more often than not.

Thankfully, this was not one of those times. The Islanders won the draft lottery, and Islander Country breathed the world's largest sigh of relief. For the Islanders faithful, as sad as it is to admit, it was almost like winning the Stanley Cup. Finally, the focus was going to be on our team, even if only for the week between the Stanley Cup Final and the NHL Draft, and we were going to make the most of this extra attention.

Unfortunately, Garth Snow felt the same way. When asked who he was leaning towards on the draft lottery show, he admitted nothing, something that would become a trend over the next two months. While we were ecstatic about winning the draft lottery, little did we know that these two months would become some of the most stressful times Islanders fans have had in recent memory.

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #15-11

More of the top post-lockout moments in Islanders history. Monday, we'll have #10-#6 of the Rangers' moments.

15) Road Warriors

Chicago/Detroit - March 15/March 27, 2009

The 2008-09 season was largely forgettable for the Islanders. They had a decent start, but injuries - and the fact that they weren't very good - had the Islanders in their customary spot of last place by Christmas. The injury bug that ravaged the Islanders was absolutely insane, with the Islanders resorting to playing as many as a dozen Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the big club, then sending them down to play in Bridgeport.

It was under these conditions that the Islanders pulled off their two biggest wins of the season. The first came during a Sunday matinee in Chicago, a game in which goalie Peter Mannino earned his first NHL win. Two weeks later, the Isles played the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings on a Friday night, and to say Islanders fans weren't expecting much would be an understatement. However, these Islanders were up to the task, in particularly Joey MacDonald, who stole the show with 42 saves. In fact, it was MacDonald's save on Tomas Holmstrom that was named by NHL fans as the best save of the season.

These two games meant very little in the standings to either team, but they did a world of good for Islanders fans. Those who stayed loyal to the last-place Islanders were treated to two tremendous efforts against the eventual Western Conference finalists. They also got a glimpse of the team's future, as well as a reminder that the New York Islanders do not quit against any team.

14) Fight Night At Nassau Coliseum

Nassau Coliseum - September 24, 2007

Preseason games are often filled with fights. Islanders-Rangers games are often filled with fights. Put the two together, and there is serious potential for disarray.

There were a number of fights on this night, but there are two that stand out. The first involved Chris Simon and Ryan Hollweg. This game actually occurred during Simon's suspension for mauling Hollweg during a March 2007 game, but since it was a preseason game, Simon was able to play. Given the history these two players had with one another, it was no surprise that they went at it on this night.

The fight nobody expected to see, though, was between the goalies. As Rick DiPietro became involved in a scrum in front of the Islanders' net, Rangers goalie Al Montoya came down to defend his teammates. The tussle between DiPietro and Montoya wasn't all that special, but that they squared off at all was a pretty awesome moment. It was a great cap to yet another brutal moment in the Islanders-Rangers rivalry.

13) Opening Night

Nassau Coliseum - October 3, 2009

For months prior to the start of the 2009-10 season, Islanders fans saw October 3 as something more than Opening Night. Instead, it was Charles Wang's well-publicized date of "certainty". Wang stated numerous times that, if the Lighthouse Project had not been approved, the Islanders would listen to offers from potential suitors of the Islanders in other cities. As the date neared, the political games intensified, leaving fans worried about their team's future.

As it turned out, there was no deal by Wang's "certainty" deadline. However, that didn't stop the fans from filling the Coliseum, forgetting all the political nonsense, and simply enjoying the great game of hockey. They got to see a great game, highlighted by the NHL debut of John Tavares. Tavares didn't disappoint, recording an assist and a goal on the Islanders' first two goals. Tavares also made an appearance in the shootout later that night. While the Islanders couldn't knock off the defending Cup champs, they gave Islanders fans a tremendous memory - as well as a reminder that while it's easy to get swept up in the politics of the Lighthouse, hockey is what makes Islander Country a special place.

12) The Purge of 2009

February 20/March 4, 2009

As the Islanders made their bid for the first overall draft pick towards the end of the 2008-09 season, most people suspected that the Islanders would sell off at least some of their significant surplus of players at the end of their contracts. The Islanders did end up trading three veteran players around the deadline, but it wasn't merely to save payroll.

On February 20, the Islanders shipped Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie to Ottawa in exchange for Dean McAmmond and a first-round pick. Campoli wasn't going to be a free agent, but had something in common with Comrie - neither were happy with Scott Gordon's system. Nor was Guerin, who was pulled from the Islanders lineup on February 28 in anticipation of a trade, which did not materialize until just before the deadline on March 4. Guerin's haul was less than anticipated, but he did end up yielding a third-round pick when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.

The message in these trades were clear. Veterans who didn't want to mentor the young guys and play within Scott Gordon's system were expendable and would be moved out in favor of younger players. The trades were proof that the Islanders were committed to rebuilding with Gordon and that fans could finally embrace a coach without worrying about him getting fired anytime soon.

11) Islanders Hire Ted Nolan And Neil Smith

June 8, 2006

After the Islanders fired Steve Stirling in January 2006, fans were waiting to see who would be named the next Islanders coach. Interim coach Brad Shaw did a decent job to close out 2005-06, but most people were looking for the Isles to name a coach from outside the organization. Fans were also waiting for the team to name Mike Milbury's successor as general manager. On June 8, 2006, they would be pleasantly surprised to find that both the coach and general manager vacancies were filled.

For the general manager position, the Islanders brought in Neil Smith. While some Islanders fans weren't thrilled about the prospect of a former Rangers GM running their team, Smith also had a background with the Islanders, serving as a scout on their 80s Cup teams. In addition, it was hard to ignore Smith's work in bringing the Rangers the 1994 Stanley Cup. For coach, the Islanders hired Ted Nolan, the former Sabres coach who hadn't coached in the NHL since being fired by the Sabres and subsuquently blackballed from the league as a whole.

The additions of these two respected leaders with proven track records of success helped give the Islanders a sense of credibility they hadn't had for years. The additions of Pat LaFontaine and Bryan Trottier as executives only helped to enhance the good vibes of the day. Then, unfortunately, Charles Wang announced his "management model" whereby everyone would have an equal say and all would report directly to Wang. Smith was unable to exist within this "model" and was fired just 40 days later, with LaFontaine resigning his post on the same day.

Ultimately, Wang's "model" was quietly dropped two years later, but by then, the damage was done. Smith was out and Garth Snow was in; a decision, as we will see later in the countdown, that was not exactly warmly embraced at first. However, Smith's tenure did have some long-lasting impact, as his first draft pick as Islanders GM was Kyle Okposo. As for Nolan, he brought the Islanders to the playoffs in his first season, but was fired after the next season, his "GM-killer" reputation still intact.

NYI Top Post-Lockout Moments #20-16

When you're a fan of a team that has won one playoff game since the lockout ended five years ago, there usually aren't a lot of positives. However, much to my surprise, there are a fair amount of good things that have happened to our Islanders since the lockout. Not many good things on the ice, mind you, but still, it hasn't been all doom and gloom in Islanders Country. Here are the first five of my top 20 post-lockout moments.

20) Sound Tigers Invade Nassau Coliseum

Nassau Coliseum - February 18, 2005

We start off this list with a moment that occurred as the lockout was taking place. As the lockout dragged on, many Islanders fans were resigned to their fate - no hockey at the Coliseum for all of 2004-05. However, when it was decided that the Bridgeport Sound Tigers would play an AHL game at the home of their NHL affiliates, fans pounced on the opportunity to see hockey - any hockey - at the Coliseum. For an AHL game on a Friday night, the Coliseum was sold out.

Things only got better after the game, though. It was only then that fans received word that Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were headed to New York City to make one last attempt at restoring labor peace. High off the vibes that the Coliseum provided, Islanders fans were certain that they'd be seeing a lot more hockey at the Coliseum that winter. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. However, the Sound Tigers did host one more game at the Coliseum that year, a game that drew about 12,000 people. One of them was yours truly, who was only too thrilled to sit in the third row of the Coliseum for just $25.

19) The Fans Respond To Kansas City

Nassau Coliseum - January 15-19, 2009

When the Islanders announced that they were going to play an exhibition game in Kansas City, many fans immediately feared the worst. After all, how could they not? They had seen the Lighthouse Project transform from the team's saving grace into a political issue covered in red tape. Seeing the writing on the wall, Islanders fans responded with some of the best attendance figures the team has seen since 2001-02.

For three games between January 15 (the date the game was announced) and January 19, the Islanders drew 15,000 or more, with two of those games being sellouts. Granted, it doesn't sound like much, and yes, those games did include a Devils game and a holiday matinee, but the 2008-09 Islanders were a truly horrible team. In fact, they lost all three games and scored only one goal in each game. But the fans kept coming out to make sure everyone knew people cared about hockey on Long Island, even if they don't always show it - as evidenced by the 11,000 who saw the Islanders' next home game on January 21.

18) Islanders Showcase The "New NHL"

Nassau Coliseum - October 19, 2005

Heading into the 2005-06 season, we all knew the landscape of the NHL would be dramatically different. Speed and scoring would be up, and fighting could perhaps become obsolete. The early games of the post-lockout NHL were exciting and received rave reviews. But an early-season clash between the Rangers and the Islanders was immediately hailed as a prime example of what the "new NHL" could be.

The Islanders were one of many teams to overhaul their rosters in an effort to thrive under the new rules. It didn't work over the course of the 2005-06 season, but on this night, they were perfect. They played the Rangers tough in a hard-hitting game that did not feature a single fight, an action-packed game that went to overtime tied 2-2 thanks to the efforts of Rick DiPietro and a then-unknown Henrik Lundqvist. The game went to a shootout - the first-ever shootout for both teams - and thanks largely to the broken stick of Jaromir Jagr, the Islanders won, their first victory over the Rangers since the 2002-03 season.

17) Rick DiPietro, All-Star

Philips Arena - January 27, 2008

When the Islanders traded Roberto Luongo on Draft Day 2000 and selected Rick DiPietro, the Islanders made a statement that they believed more in DiPietro's future than that of Luongo. As we have all seen over the years, that was not exactly the wisest choice. Nevertheless, the Islanders faithful waited patiently for DiPietro to emerge into a star goaltender. That finally happened during the first half of the 2007-08 season, and DiPietro's progress was rewarded with the first All-Star nomination of his career - a nomination, Islanders fans like to note, that came at the expense of Henrik Lundqvist.

The notion of DiPietro as an All-Star only got better when Martin Brodeur bowed out of the game, leaving the starting job to DiPietro. DP took advantage of this opportunity to not only showcase his goaltending skills, but also his personality. He was frequently miked up by Versus during the Skills Competition and the game itself, and while he displayed his charisma very well, he also nearly stole the show on the ice as well. DiPietro let up just one goal all weekend long - while Versus was talking his ear off, of course - and nearly won himself MVP honors in the process. For an Islanders fanbase that had very little to cheer about, DiPietro's performance in the 2008 All-Star Game was considered a huge win for Islanders Country.

16) Islanders Acquire Ryan Smyth

February 27, 2007

Even though the Islanders were in the East's top eight in late February 2007, Islanders fans still weren't overly confident in their new GM, Garth Snow. The team had performed well thanks to some impressive performances from veterans on one-year contracts, but the credit for those signings went to Neil Smith. Snow, on the other hand, was facing his first trade deadline and, as a buyer, many were worried that Snow would find himself receiving ridiculous trade offers and getting fleeced on deals.

That all changed when the news of the Ryan Smyth trade broke. In a move made just before the deadline, Snow acquired Smyth for 2003 1st rounder Robert Nilsson, 2005 1st rounder Ryan O'Marra and the Isles' 2007 1st round pick. Islanders fans were stunned - after all, the Islanders had been devoid of superstar talent for years, yet they had just picked up the big prize of Deadline Day.

The bounty for Smyth, an unrestricted free agent at season's end, seemed like a lot at the time. I recall being certain that Smyth would bolt after the season and that the trade wouldn't actually help the Islanders get past the first round of the playoffs. I even went as far as to text Zach, telling him that the Islanders had just traded their entire future for two home playoff games. As it turns out, they did only play two playoff games that year. But Nilsson has yet to crack ten goals in a season on the NHL level, while O'Marra has only played three games in the NHL. It's also worth noting that the Oilers have not made the playoffs since dealing Smyth, while the Islanders got in that year thanks largely to Smyth's contributions.

The Return of the Franchise

To say that Rick DiPietro was the most important New York Islander in the 2000s would be an extreme understatement. Outside of possibly Charles Wang, nobody has been as central a figure to the Islanders - and their current state - as DiPietro. Here's a look at the influence Rick DiPietro has had on the Islanders organization over the past decade.

- 2000: Islanders GM Mike Milbury trades Roberto Luongo, clearing the path for the Islanders to draft Rick DiPietro. Luongo goes on to become a star, as do Marian Gaborik and Dany Heatley, both of whom the Islanders passed on in favor of DiPietro. In exchange for Luongo, the Isles acquire Mark Parrish, who would become the team's most consistent forward for the first half of the decade and a key part of the 2001-02 team.

- 2001-02: DiPietro leads the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to the Calder Cup Final. While the Sound Tigers don't win the championship, future Islanders Trent Hunter, Eric Godard and Raffi Torres gain valuable big-game experience.

- 2003: DiPietro is called up to the NHL for good. This forces the Islanders to trade starting goalie Chris Osgood to St. Louis for prospect Justin Papineau. Papineau goes on to become a typical Islanders prospect - a "can't miss" guy who misses horribly.

- 2004: DiPietro takes over the starting load for the Islanders, who are eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay. DiPietro earns his first playoff win, which is a shutout. DiPietro later appears in one game for the U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey.

- 2006: DiPietro is named to the U.S. Olympic team. After the team loses its first game, DiPietro is named starter, a position he holds for all but game until the U.S. is eliminated from the tournament.

- 2006: Having gone on record stating he would like to finish his career on Long Island, DiPietro signs a 15-year deal with the Islanders. The deal ensures that DiPietro's prime years will be spent with the Islanders at well below market value, while his later years will cost the Islanders well above market value. Word is that new general manager Garth Snow and DiPietro's agent are barred from the negotiations so that Charles Wang can negotiate with DiPietro one-on-one.

- 2007: DiPietro suffers a concussion while charging for a puck well before it reaches the goal crease. The hot play of Wade Dubielewicz allows the Islanders to make a miracle run to the playoffs, where DiPietro returns and goes 1-3 in four games.

- 2007-08: DiPietro has the best three-month stretch of his career, resulting in a selection to the 2008 All-Star Game. Due to an injury to Martin Brodeur, DiPietro starts the game. He lets in one goal over the entirety of All-Star Weekend and is considered for MVP honors. He also "f***s up" his hip during the Skills Competition.

- 2008: As DiPietro leaves the team to mourn the loss of his grandmother, the Islanders win the first game of a home-and-home against the Rangers, thanks in large part to the efforts of Wade Dubielewicz. DiPietro returns for the second game, but coach Ted Nolan starts Dubielewicz instead of DiPietro. The Islanders lose the game as well as the next five, knocking the Islanders out of playoff contention and, if you believe what you hear, costing Nolan his job.

- 2008-09: DiPietro has knee surgery over the summer. Both the Islanders and DiPietro claim a clean bill of health has been given. However, DiPietro only plays five games all season, forcing the Islanders to juggle the craptastic duo of Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis for the duration of the season, which for all intents and purposes is over by Christmas.

- 2009: Concern about DiPietro's short-term and long-term health force the Islanders to sign both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Many fans are convinced that DiPietro will never return to the NHL. Rumors persist that Biron's contract includes a clause stating that Biron is to be traded if/when DiPietro returns.

- 2009-10: Roloson's play keeps the Islanders within breathing distance of the playoffs as 2009 ends. DiPietro plays rehab games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and is called up to the Islanders roster in January. DiPietro joins the team on a West Coast trip, where he is to play his first game in over twelve months.

So yeah... it's been a busy decade.

As Rick DiPietro returns to his place as Islanders goalie - not to mention the face of the franchise - it will be interesting to see how people will react. Many fans have completely turned on DiPietro, to the extent that they don't even want him back.

In the eyes of this writer, this attitude towards DiPietro is juvenile at best and reprehensible at worst. In all of struggles Rick DiPietro has gone through over the past four years, the person who is least to blame is Rick DiPietro. He has worked harder than any of us would have just to get back to the Islanders, and for what? To play in front of a half-full arena of people who hate him? Please.

When Rick DiPietro signed his 15-year contract, there wasn't a John Tavares to get people excited about the team. The Islanders were coming off a non-playoff year in which the only two players who even qualified as decent were Miroslav Satan and Alexei Yashin. The signing came after the Islanders were also exposed as the laughingstock of the NHL after the hiring and subsequent firing of Neil Smith. Furthermore, the year after DiPietro signed his contract, Islanders fans watched Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth, Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov sign with other teams on the first day of free agency. Instead of following the money like most players, DiPietro pledged loyalty to an Islanders team that, quite honestly, had no hope whatsoever for the future.

What is the reward for Rick DiPietro's loyalty? An angry fanbase who doesn't want him back? I would certainly hope not. I understand that many Islanders fans are skeptical that DiPietro can stay healthy over the long haul. But DiPietro is as much an Islander as anyone who has ever worn the uniform, and we should be proud that he would fight so hard just to wear the Islanders crest again. Remember, this is a team that nobody wanted to be associated with us... and yet, Rick DiPietro chose us at a time when he could have commanded more money on the open market. It's time we, as Islanders fans, repay DiPietro for his commitment to the Islanders and Long Island in general.

It works out well that DiPietro will make his debut on the road. This will give Islanders fans a chance to see DiPietro in action from a distance and evaluate his performance in an unemotional setting. However, when Rick DiPietro makes his return to Coliseum ice, anything less than a standing ovation would be a disappointment.

Beauty And The Moulson

It was only a matter of time before the Matt Moulson puff piece was written. This actually came out about a week and a half ago, but it was so horrendous I had to share it. No, there are no Molson Canadian beer puns in this one... but fear not, as some awful wordplay still awaits you! By the way, sorry if the font jumps around in size a bit - you can blame ESPN.com's cracked web staff for that.

ST. LOUIS --

Ooh, look at me! I get to write an article from the road, and YOU don't!

At the risk of offending Linda Hamilton and the entire Moulson family and that furry guy in the old television series (Ron Perlman)

Anyone have any idea what this means? Me either. But I'm sure it'd make sense if I were like 30 years older.

and maybe even John Tavares, there is more than a little beauty-and-beast action with the New York Islanders' dynamic duo of top rookie Tavares and out-of-nowhere winger Matt Moulson.

Beauty-and-beast? Dynamic duo? Asinine alliteration? The books I read my 19-month-old daughter feature more clever wordplay.

But put it this way: Moulson, the hitherto anonymous 26-year-old winger who quickly has become the cheese to Tavares' macaroni through the first quarter of this surprising season for the Islanders, was drafted in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, 263rd overall.

There are 43 words in this sentence. I'll sum them up in four - Matt Moulson was unheralded.

They don't even have a ninth round anymore. GMs figured it was better to pack up early and go golfing or head to a bar than stick around and draft players in the ninth round.

Or, the eighth and ninth rounds of the draft were lopped off after the lockout because GMs had like a week to prepare for the draft once the lockout ended. Or the owners didn't to be stuck paying two extra draft picks. Either way, I'm sure it had nothing to do with golfing or drinking. By the way, Mark Streit was a 9th round selection of Montreal in 2004, meaning the Islanders probably have more 9th round draft picks on their active roster than any other team in history.

Does Moulson, who has 18 points, including five multipoint efforts, through the Islanders' first 23 games, get tired of being treated like the hockey guy who fell to Earth?

He laughed.

"It doesn't really bother me," he told ESPN.com. "I'm here now in the NHL. I guess I have an interesting story to tell. It's always interesting for people to find out things like that and maybe a good story for some younger kids."

See, this is why we don't go the route of some of our Blog Box colleagues and actually talk to the players. They do a good job with it. We can't. Why? Because hockey players are BORING. Sorry to say it, but it's true. What was Moulson supposed to say here? "I'm tired of being treated like the hockey guy who fell to Earth"? Furthermore, what does that even mean? Did Moulson arrive in a UFO? My head hurts now.

Indeed, an apprehensive Moulson was in regular touch with agent Wade Arnott as the July free-agency period approached and his contract with the Los Angeles Kings expired. "I was bugging him every day, 'Where do you think I'm going to end up?'" Moulson said.

I'm sure Wade Arnott was like, "Who's this Moulson guy who keeps calling me every day?".

Tavares was among the first people Moulson called when his deal was completed during that first week of free agency.

"I was right on the phone to Johnny, and it was a pretty good moment," Moulson said. "I still didn't know what was going to come of it, but I was excited."

I distinctly recall reading about the Moulson signing and loudly exclaiming the following words - "Who the hell is Matt Moulson?". So did every single Islanders fan out there - even the ones who *knew* he'd work out from the moment he signed the contract.

"Matt was a guy that I knew from my days in Providence when he was playing in Manchester. I thought he had the ability to score. But I went back and I watched some of the goals in the NHL, which were goal scorer-type goals, and as it turned out through exhibition, he was our leading goal scorer," Gordon told ESPN.com.

Yes, because scoring goals in exhibition games guarantees success in the regular season. You know who led the league in points during the pre-season? Former Islander Mike Comrie, he of the eight points in 16 regular season games. But I'm sure he'll rebound in plenty of time to win the Hart and Art Ross Trophies, even if he's got mono right now.

"The thing that's good about Matt is if he's not scoring from the tops of the circle, he's scoring from the front of the net. That ability to score from two different places, you're talking about two different types of players. Some guys don't like to go into traffic. But the fact he was willing to do that, I thought it would be a good complement for John."

Truer words have never been spoken. And by "truer words", I mean "cliches that apply to virtually every forward in the NHL".

And?

"We didn't have a lot of options," Gordon added.

That's more like it.

"Actually, when people kept cutting down my skating, cutting down my skating, Mike O'Connell, when he was with L.A., he told me to look at a player named Andrew Brunette," Moulson said, crediting the former Bruins GM who is now with the Kings' player-development staff.

"I used to tape all his games and watch them and watch what he did," Moulson said. "[Brunette] may not be the fastest guy out there, but he's great at protecting the puck and making plays around the net and getting to the net. He was up and down in the AHL as well starting his career, and he's made a pretty good player of himself and pretty good name for himself in this league. He's someone I followed closely."
Okay, this is actually something useful. This is something I didn't know and is nice to hear. It makes infinitely more sense to emulate a guy like Brunette than a superstar. But nobody does it, because you never see the grinders on SportsCenter. Oh, wait, you never see the superstars of the NHL on SportsCenter, either.

This week Moulson met his guide, who of course had no idea he'd had any impact whatsoever on his career.

"He gave me a stick last night," Moulson said happily.

You mean Brunette stuck him, as in speared him?
ZOMG! ROFLMAO!

"No, no, he signed a stick and gave it to me last night. I got it this morning," Moulson said.
Oh. See, hockey players ARE boring.

"I got it this morning, and I had a grin from ear to ear. I told him he was one of my favorite players."
I'm sure Andrew Brunette has never been referred to as "one of my favorite players" by anybody outside of the Brunette family and Matt Moulson.

"I told him when he made the team out of camp, 'Treat every day like it's your last, because you don't know,'" Gordon said. "'You battled high odds to make the team, but that doesn't mean tomorrow won't be a different day. You have to prove everybody right that we made the right decision every single day.'"

That's right, Scott Gordon. Matt Moulson's singular focus over his first 27 games has been to prove to everybody that Garth Snow is a genius. As opposed to, you know, proving that he's actually a pretty good player. Moulson, that is, not Snow. We all know Snow could never make it in the post-lockout NHL.

"It seems funny from where I started from until now. I get two goals against Boston [Monday night], and I'm upset because I wanted a third one. I'm not disappointed but wanting more after that. Coming from where I came from, I never thought I'd be wanting more after a two-goal game in the NHL."
If I had a two-goal game in the NHL, I'd be wanting more. But it'd probably involve sexual favors, as opposed to a third goal.

Beautiful.
The first few times I read this, I thought to myself, "That's an odd way to end this piece." Eventually, I realized it was a play on the copious beauty-and-the-beast analogies found in the article, many of which I edited out for the benefit of your sanity. I still have no proof of any beast-like tendencies in Matt Moulson, or Andrew Brunette, for that matter. So, you know, hooray for Matt Moulson and all that.

Reinventing The Islanders

Last weekend, I attended my ten-year high school reunion. I haven't spent much time over the past decade thinking about high school, but I was happy to attend. Though Facebook took away a good chunk of the surprise and small talk, it was great to see some people I hadn't seen since graduation day.

What I didn't expect was to be left with a bunch of blanks to fill in. Ten years ago, we all parted ways on relatively even ground. Today, we are all in different areas of life. How did we get to where we are? It's fascinating, really; all of the small choices we've made in our lives have added up and, for the first time, we're able to gauge our progress against our peers. To use a high school analogy, it's like getting a first quarter report card - an early indication of where we stand.

Because these things intrigue me way more than they should, I was far more interested in what people didn't say. For example, Bob lives in the city, where he works as a real estate broker. How did he end up there? Why did he choose to move to the city, and why has he chosen to stay there? Has he had any serious relationships? This person is the exact same person as he was ten years ago, but his experiences have changed him permanently. He's the same, but different.

Personally, I was a pretty big dork in high school, and I didn't have a ton of friends. Today, I'm still a dork without many friends. In high school, I appeared disheveled because I didn't care how I looked. At my reunion, I may have appeared disheveled because I was too busy attending to my two children and working two jobs to even have a chance to change my clothes, let alone shower or do anything else. Once again, same, but different. I wasn't particularly proud of the fact that I had no money and couldn't afford the open bar that night, but I was one of the few in attendance with children. So I reluctantly became The Guy With Kids - I've always detested The Guy With Kids - but I suppose it's a step above The Guy Who Doesn't Talk To Anybody, The Guy Who Can't Keep A Job, The Guy Who Has Drug Problems, or any other labels that may be out there.

I saw this reunion as a chance to reconnect with some old buddies and even make new friends. An old friend of mine once said that meeting people from high school was great because it's like meeting a complete stranger, but you have an automatic "in" with that person. And even though most of the old cliques remained intact, I was able to have a great time with many people, some expected, some totally unexpected. Things may have gotten a little sloppy at the end, but I felt I played my cards pretty well. My life is far from perfect, but I'm not the timid loser I was in high school. Maybe I screwed up some of the last ten years of my life, but I have a plan for the next ten, and my behavior reflected that. It was a nice moral victory, one that hopefully leads to some lasting friendships with some old classmates.

As I thought about the relative success of my reunion, I began to compare it to hockey. Surprising, I know. In my senior year of high school, the 1998-99 NHL season, the league was in the throes of the Dead Puck Era. Only one team (Toronto) averaged more than six total goals per game. Today, thirteen teams average more than six total goals. In fact, Detroit's 5.76 total goals per game ranks 20th in 2009-10, but would have placed second ten years ago. It's a different game... and yet, it isn't. The Red Wings have struggled this year, but have been on top of the league for the past decade. The Devils have been up there for ten years as well. The Sharks barely qualified for the playoffs in 1998-99, but they've been great for much of the 2000s. The Rangers are still chasing after big-name free agents, yet are still looking to get past the second round of the playoffs. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) And yes, the Islanders are still in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Islanders fans will talk until your ears bleed about how the Islanders are having a great year and how they're .500. Too bad they're sitting at 11th in the East, and too bad their 10-10-7 record would be 10-17 in any other sport. This isn't to demean the Islanders, it's just to illustrate the facts. For all of the progress the Islanders have made in 2009-10, they're still perceived as a second-rate franchise - and rightfully so. Over the past decade, the Islanders have had exactly one good season. They've won a total of six playoff games. Yes, they've made the playoffs four times in the past nine seasons, but three of those appearances came in the sacrificial role of the eighth seed. In short, there hasn't been much to cheer about. And yet, there's hope.

In 1998-99, the Islanders finished with 58 points. Their leading scorer was Robert Reichel. Players like Barry Richter and David Harlock saw significant ice time. Of the 41 players who wore an Islanders sweater in 1998-99, just eight of them had a plus rating; none of these players dressed in more than twelve games. How bad were the 1998-99 Islanders? In NHL 99, the Islanders' top rated player was Mats Lindgren. Not only was this team horrendous, but there was no plan for the future - aside, of course, from saving money. 1998-99 was Zigmund Palffy's final year on the Island; the same was true of Tommy Salo, Bryan Berard and Bryan Smolinski. The Islanders had acquired a nice group of talented prospects, but these players were being sold off rapidly.

Since 1998-99, the Islanders have transformed themselves on more than one occasion. After years of dumping the league's best prospects for pennies on the dollar, the Islanders finally figured things out in 2001-02, taking the Maple Leafs to the brink in perhaps the best first-round series of the decade. The Isles stuck with that core for a few years, albeit with much less success, until the lockout necessitated changes. When the initial post-lockout group didn't work, Garth Snow retooled the Islanders by bringing in spurned veterans on one-year contracts. While this method got the Islanders into the playoffs in 2006-07, it wouldn't work over the long haul, so Snow and the Islanders committed to a true rebuild. That's the Islanders team we see today.

Since Ted Nolan took over the coaching reins in 2006, the team has had the reputation of an extremely hard-working team, if not an overly talented one. Now that Scott Gordon is here, that hasn't changed. Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins has cited the Islanders as the team he hates to play the most, and for good reason. The Islanders give opposing teams routine fits, and now that the team is being rebuilt the correct way, they can continue to build around this identity - their identity. How many other NHL teams actually stand for something?

It's taken a while, but the Islanders are finally on the right track. Just the same as we might seem like we're doing the same old things ten years later in life, it's also possible that we're much further along than people realize. That's where the Islanders are right now. To the uninitiated observer, they're the same sad-sack team they've always been. Those of us who follow the team, though, know better. We know anyone who spends time with this team will be impressed and will be motivated to follow them regularly, just as I tried to use my reunion to show my old classmates that I'd made some progress over the past ten years. At the end of the day, it might not mean more wins for the Islanders or more money in my pocket, but success of any kind - even if it can't be quantified - is surely welcome.

Ryan Smyth

If this blog existed on July 1, 2007, I'd have written a post about the mass exodus from Long Island. On that day, all of the one-year contracts Garth Snow signed prior to the season expired, and just about every free agent bolted from the Island. Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti went to Washington. Jason Blake went to Toronto. Richard Zednik went to Florida. Arron Asham went to New Jersey. In essence, the Islanders were gutted, and the only player they acquired that day was Jon Sim - the same Jon Sim who would suffer a season-ending injury in the Islanders' home opener.

As all of the other players left, the Islanders sort of shrugged and looked at the real task at hand. That, of course, was signing Ryan Smyth to a long-term contract, giving him the "C", and making him the focal point of the Islanders. In the weeks leading up to free agency, the Isles attempted to sell Smyth on Long Island and the future of the franchise. It was a future that wasn't overly compromised by the trade to acquire Smyth, as history shows that both Robert Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra have been busts. The Islanders ended up offering Smyth more years and more money than anybody else... but Smyth decided to go back out West and sign with Colorado.

Though Smyth handled the situation really well, praising the Islanders organization on his way out, Islanders fans were devastated. This was their one serious chance to land a marquee free agent, and yet this player took less money to go elsewhere. To put it mildly, that Snow lost maybe his five best players on July 1, 2007 and only walked out with Jon Sim did not make Islanders fans very happy.

Fast-forward to present day. Garth Snow is no longer in the position of handing out one-year contracts to veterans with something to prove just to make a run at the eighth seed. Snow has a team full of young players and quality veterans, all of whom are on manageable contracts. Now, imagine if Ryan Smyth were among those players.

If Smyth were an Islander, the Islanders would be committing upwards of $6 million annually to an injury-prone player who hasn't exactly lit the lamp on a regular basis. Smyth's 40 goals over the past two years would have cost the Islanders around $12 million. For a team that loses money even with a payroll at the salary floor, Smyth's deal would have been crippling. Not to mention that he couldn't have gotten the Islanders teams of the past two years by himself. The Islanders would essentially be replacing Alexei Yashin's inflated contract with another huge deal that couldn't possibly come close to paying dividends. And perhaps, like the Colorado Avalanche have just done, the Islanders would have been forced to trade Smyth for pennies on the dollar in order to start rebuilding.

This isn't intended to trash Ryan Smyth. This is just the reality of the situation. Garth Snow, the Islanders organization, and Islanders fans everywhere should be very thankful that Ryan Smyth spurned the Islanders two years ago. Smyth's decision was a big part of the Islanders' realization that they had to rebuild, and perhaps if Smyth stayed with the Islanders, they'd keep signing crappy veterans in an attempt to win now. By moving on, Smyth saved the Islanders a lot of money and a lot of heartache.

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...

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.

Trade Deadline Wrap-Up

The post directly this one was truly exhausting. What you see on this page is the result of five hours of rumor scouring, quick posting when the boss wasn't looking, and general hockey obsession. We got a ton of hits for it, which is awesome, but that's not the point. Instead, the point is that this was a pretty unique trade deadline. We didn't see any superstars move; hell, we barely even saw any good players dealt. Probably the biggest name dealt today was Olli Jokinen, he of his zero games of playoff experience.

So what did we see? Glad you asked.

 - There were something like 25 teams buying and 5 teams selling. So we had the usual assortment of "veteran role player for premium draft pick" deals.  We expected this. But one thing we didn't expect would be this little nugget - not one first-round pick was traded today. In fact, the only first-round pick dealt in this entire trading season is the one the Islanders received for Chris Campoli and Mike Comrie.

EDIT: Zach - Olli Jokinen fetched a 1st round pick from Calgary to Phoenix. Phoenix sent Jokinen and a 3rd round pick for a prospect, Matthew Lombardi, and a 1st rounder.

 - There wasn't a single trade made today that helps both teams win now. Similarly, there weren't any "my problem for your problem" trades, unless you count Derek Morris for Petr Prucha. Most of these trades were horribly lopsided - and the vast majority of those deals favored the teams getting good picks for rental players.

 - Let's get into the local teams for a second. A lot of Islanders fans are already killing Garth Snow, not just for failing to get more for Bill Guerin, but for only making one deal today. We'll respond to each of these gripes individually.

Regarding the Guerin deal, I am convinced that the deal the Islanders received on Saturday - assuming this deal actually existed - was far better than the deal the Islanders made with Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, all the buzz regarding this mystery trade caused everyone to, pardon the expression, shoot their collective loads and quickly sour on the idea of a Guerin trade. And when that initial deal fell through, Snow was kind of stuck. But here's the thing. Everyone's complaining that it's a fifth-round pick. It isn't. The Penguins are going to make the playoffs. And they learned enough last year to steal a round. So it could easily end up being a third round pick. If it's not, does it matter? Not really. It's still a crapshoot; even a second or a first round pick doesn't guarantee a future NHL player. So let's back off Snow on this one. He got what he could; outside of the Dominic Moore deal, it's not like any other teams got much better picks for their rental players.

Sure, Snow only made one deal. But what people seem to forget is that next year's team will not be comprised entirely of kids. You still need veterans to lead the team. Brendan Witt is signed to a reasonable contract. Doug Weight could be resigned. And you never know, Guerin could end up back here next year. The point is, Snow is aware that guys like Weight and Witt have value, and that's why he kept them. Hockey is not just about sticks and pucks; there's a lot of stuff behind the scenes we never see. And Weight is reportedly as good as they come in the clubhouse. Besides, the same people who bash Snow for not being active are the same people who bitch about the Islanders never having a consistent core over a number of years. If there was a deal to be made, the Islanders would have made it. It's over now. Let's move on.

EDIT: Zach - I think the deal was to Washington, but Washington had to make room and couldn't move Michael Nylander and his $5M contract.

 - As for the Rangers... um... it's almost as though Glen Sather found out it was the trade deadline at about 2:30 and hastily threw together some Sather Staples (TM) - you know, the type that makes the team a little better now, but at a great future cost. Nik Antropov is a good pick-up - if you can sign him. The Rangers are screwed cap-wise from now until eternity. Derek Morris isn't a bad rental, but at the cost of Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes, two of the better players to come out of the Rangers' organization in recent years? Prucha should fare very well with a change of scenery, and Dawes will probably out-perform Morris this year alone. But hey, least they addressed a need instead of picking up yet another anonymous forward.

The Rangers are taking a huge risk. You could make the argument that since Prucha is a healthy scratch most nights and Kalinin is horrendous, it's not really a risk. That line of thinking is incorrect. The Rangers, who should have had a playoff spot sewn up months ago, had to give up a second-round pick, a conditional pick, and two young players just to get into the playoffs, where there are few guarantees. It's one thing to sacrifice a bit of the future for the present, but it's much easier when there's a good chance of success.  The Rangers, not unlike the Islanders of two years ago, stand a great chance of getting into the playoffs and being unceremoniously bounced in the first round. The Rangers obviously feel they can make a run, and good for them, but now would be a good time to start thinking about the future. Especially since the present isn't all that much to write home about.

EDIT : Zach - The only thing that this does for the Rangers is clear cap room for next year. Antropov and Morris are both UFAs on July 1. Prucha and Dawes were RFAs, and Kalinin is a UFA.

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All in all, a trade deadline that wasn't super-exciting, but had its share of interesting trades. Only time will tell how the Rangers' deals will work out. But if you're an Islanders fan, just be happy you got anything for Bill Guerin. Given the quality of players who were waived just this week, it sure beats the alternative.

Trade Deadline Eve

Sorry to usurp Zach, who wrote a quality preview of tomorrow's trade deadline. I just wanted to make a few quick points...

- It's hard to say what to make of all of today's waiver activity. Some big names were unceremoniously dumped, players Zach (and many others) believe could have fetched at least late-round picks from contending teams. In my eyes, the problem is that so many teams have screwy cap situations that they have no choice but to waive these players. So if I'm Ray Shero and I'm calling you, an opposing GM, in an attempt to deal Miro Satan, and you know I'm trying desperately into the playoffs, and you also know I'm right up against the cap, you might try to play hardball with me. If you play hardball with me, I might not be able to make a deal. And since I can't go out and get the reinforcements I need until I clear out some cap room, the only thing I can do is waive Satan, even though he might have gotten me a decent draft pick even one year ago. While some might say it's because of "the economy" - and really, what isn't these days - but it's more because most NHL GMs are too stupid to plan ahead.

- Speaking of NHL GMs, it is my steadfast belief that Islanders GM Garth Snow understands the CBA better than perhaps any other general manager. Aside from the Rick DiPietro deal, in which Charles Wang bypassed Snow and negotiated directly with DiPietro, Snow has never been stuck with a bad contract he can't move. The closest thing we've seen is the recently-waived Jon Sim, who is signed with the Islanders for $1 million for 2009-10, but would probably get that same amount (if not more) if he became a free agent. The point is, Snow knows exactly how long he needs players and, therefore, how long he should sign them. Snow's record in letting players walk away when it's not worth keeping them is exemplary, as evidenced by Tom Poti (42 total points in two seasons at $3.5M per), Viktor Kozlov (27 total goals in two seasons at $2.5M per), Jason Blake (37 total goals in two seasons at $4M per), Ryan Smyth (37 total goals in two seasons at $6M per), Miroslav Satan (16 goals in one season at $3.5M), and Ruslan Fedotenko (13 goals in one season at $2.5M). That's pretty good. Only Blake has gone on to have any real success in his new digs, while Satan has been waived and Smyth is on the block yet again.

The point is this - Snow knows exactly who he's keeping and who he isn't. And with no playoff push to speak of, outside of the need to meet the salary floor, there's no point in keeping any unnecessary players around. So anyone who Snow isn't going to keep will be shopped heavily tonight and tomorrow. We know Bill Guerin's as good as gone; Doug Weight could be right behind him. Guys like Andy Hilbert and Radek Martinek are suddenly being discussed. The Islanders find themselves with a ton of bargaining power and no shortage of suitors; with a litany of reasonable, expiring contracts, the Islanders could build up quite the nice haul of draft picks for the upcoming 2009 Entry Draft, which is said to be the strongest since the epic 2003 draft.

- Part of me totally expects the Rangers to buy, buy, buy. They've invested too much in the team to wave a white flag, and the fanbase could revolt with another disappointment in the playoffs. While there are a ton of teams better than the Rangers in the East, none of those teams (except the Devils) have a difference-maker like Henrik Lundqvist. For this reason, the Rangers will never believe they are very far away. The problem is, they don't have the organizational depth to really do any damage. They only have a handful of significant prospects and really can't afford to lose any of them. It's going to be an interesting deadline for these Rangers - and standing pat with just Sean Avery to show for the deadline is NOT a good idea, if for no other reason than that nobody knows what Sean Avery the Rangers are getting. Are they getting the same old pest who won them 50 games over parts of two seasons? Or are they getting a kindler, gentler Avery who lacks the mean streak the Rangers need? The Rangers would do well to cover themselves either way, but not at the risk of whatever future they have left.

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Enjoy the deadline dealings. We'll be around tomorrow to make sense of it all.

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.

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.

New York Islanders 2008-09 Preview

The Islanders' season starts tomorrow, and yet everybody is convinced that it's already over. Are they right?

Sort of.

I've gotten a fair amount of crap from people for being too hard on my own team. Hey, it's a defense mechanism. You root for teams like the Islanders, the Jets, the Mets, and Newcastle United and you start to accept losing. You don't want to get your hopes up because you know you'll just hurt that much more when the other shoe drops. I don't think any Islander fan ever expects to see a winning team, just that they really, really want one.

So, as the NHL Network would say, is this the year? In terms of scoring points, no. In terms of cracking the top eight, no. In terms of being a pushover? Absolutely not. These Islanders do have a few things going for them... and here they are.

- Nobody knows them yet. Scott Gordon is new to the NHL, and most opposing coaches are not sure what to expect. We've all heard about the Isles rebuilding themselves as a "speed" team, but with so many veterans in the lineup, who really knows for sure how they'll look? Even if it's out of necessity, that the Islanders can give opponents a number of different looks does work in their favor.

- They never quit. One thing you have to say about the Islanders is that they don't give up, even when they're playing for nothing and they're down four goals. Just because Ted Nolan's gone doesn't mean the team is going to go soft. Gordon might not be the disciplinarian Nolan was, but word is that Gordon's a very vocal coach, meaning he's not going to tolerate lazy play.

- They'll have support. People love to dump on the Islanders and their fanbase. Some of the criticism is justified, but a lot of it isn't. Hockey fans on Long Island are dying for a team they can be proud of. They might not have that yet, but with the Islanders' aggressive marketing and ticket promotions, they'll be looking at crowds of at least 12,000 on the worst of nights. Compared with where we've been, that's not bad.

- The young players will only get better. Josh Bailey is likely to play nine games in an Islander uniform this year. That's a great head start for an 18-year-old. But the other young players who just signed one-way contracts, like Frans Nielsen and Bruno Gervais, will have a full season to not only get acclimated to the NHL, but start to get extremely comfortable. There's a decent chance this team gels by March or so and starts to play a pretty good spoiler role. Even if it doesn't happen, at least next year's team will have a full year of NHL experience.

Now, those of us who have followed the Islanders for a long time can pretty much tell how this season is going to play out. They know because the same thing happens pretty much every year. The Islanders are going to start out doing well, ending October in the East's top eight. Over November and December, they're going to have ups and downs, but will steady out and remain in the top ten. They'll crap out on the West Coast, like they always do, and come home and get those points back. At the All-Star Break, they'll be within six points of a playoff spot. Sounds familiar? It should.

The key to any Islanders season is mid February through early March. This is where the team has to figure out if it's a buyer or a seller. It's been hard to tell lately. In 2005-06, they waived the white flag and dumped off Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel. In 2006-07, they sold the farm to get Ryan Smyth. Last year, they did nothing and collapsed in March. This year? Although they'll be situated fairly well in the standings, Garth Snow will see the opportunity to improve his team over the long haul by dumping off some veterans. And unlike last year, he'll take advantage of the opportunity. As the veterans leave and the not-quite-ready Sound Tigers fill in the gaps, the Islanders will slip. They'll play well, but will lose lots of close games after which the other team will say things like, "They've got a lot of energy," and "They've got a lot of good young talent over there."

Will it be enough to land in the draft lottery? Islander fans don't want to admit it, but they sure hope so. But be careful what you wish for, Islander Country. As Scotty Hockey ominously predicted, the NHL could very well decide to screw the Islanders to ensure John Tavares goes to Toronto. Could you script a worse ending? Ugh.

So let's forget that scenario. Let's not look at this season as an investment into our future. Let's enjoy it for what it is - the chance to watch our boys play hard for 82 games. If they do great, that's great. If they're awful, so be it. Me, I'm just thankful hockey is back.