On the Islanders Beat

It’s Halloween, and there’s a good chance the majority of seats for tonight’s game between the Islanders and Chicago at Nassau Coliseum will be occupied by the ghosts of Isles Fans Past. It’s a scary thought for an organization struggling to hold onto its fan base.

I hate to say it, but a couple of the sparse crowds this season reminded me of what it was like to cover a Knicks game at Philips Arena in Atlanta, where it seemed a large portion of the people in the stands were there to cheer the visitors. I suppose the Islanders will face that situation the first time the Rangers visit on the day after Christmas.

Just before the NHL lockout, the Islanders seemed to be gaining some traction with their fans in three straight playoff seasons even though they failed to move forward off the seven-game first-round loss to Toronto in 2002. But the lockout effectively killed that momentum for teams in weak markets.

You could say that’s a shame, but in the course of putting together the article about Islanders attendance that appeared in Monday’s Newsday, it became evident that the majority of markets in the league have survived the lockout in reasonably good shape. Even assuming that every team inflates its attendance to some degree, approximately two-thirds of the NHL is running around 85 percent of capacity. So, credit those teams with doing something right to connect to their fans.

Although it’s sad to see the decline in Islanders attendance from where it was in the glory years, it would be hypocritical for any sports writer to fault fans for voting with their feet. It’s the way fans should react when the product doesn’t meet expectations. Believe me, Knicks fans should take a clue from Islanders fans, but maybe there’s something to the cachet of Madison Square Garden that keeps them paying through the nose for an inferior product.

Since coming over to the Islanders beat, one thing that has impressed me is how important it is to the people working in communications and marketing to reach their fan base. They ran into a couple of major obstacles over the summer with the abrupt firing of general manager Neil Smith and the 15-year contract awarded to goaltender Rick DiPietro, two ownership decisions that undoubtedly fed the doubts of skeptical fans.

But the Islanders’ attendance problems were there before those decisions were made, so, let’s put the wisdom of those two particular moves aside for the time being.

If there’s one refrain coming from the fans that hits home with me, as a family man with a mortgage, high property taxes, one kid in college and another set to enroll next fall, it’s the high cost of tickets. It’s not just the Islanders. It’s all major sports franchises.

I know Mike Milbury’s name is a lightning rod for criticism from many fans, but in talking with the senior vice-president recently about the marketing of the team, it sounds as if he really is listening to the economic concerns expressed by so many fans. When I raised the cost issue, Milbury said there has been an internal debate regarding the emphasis on selling full season tickets, which are the lifeblood of any franchise, versus partial ticket plans to get people back in the building.

“How do you treat people who don’t want to be a full season-ticket holder?” Milbury asked. “There are people who either can’t afford to become a full season-ticket holder or don’t have the time. I feel people who buy partial plans should be treated like a season-ticket holder. They don’t get the same benefits, but still, get them the plans early and give them their choices.

“It’s a new day and age when it comes to marketing to your fans, and giving them choices is a very legitimate way to go. Let’s give them the options up front. Let’s show them the menu and let them make their choices. We need to treat those people who don’t come to all 41 games with as much respect as we can.”

As for those who can afford VIP treatment, the Islanders have added perks such as valet parking, have upgraded the accommodations in the luxury suites and have increased access to the team at Saturday practice sessions. The addition of Mike Bossy to the corporate sales team also was a welcome step.

“I think we’re getting a lot of things right,” Milbury said. “Now, we’ve got to get a few more points on the board and get a little momentum, and it will come back.”

That’s assuming the product is going to be good enough to remain competitive for a playoff berth. There will be plenty of time to analyze that. But at least, the Islanders management team seems to grasp the urgency of being more responsive to the fans’ needs.

Thanks to all the readers who offered such encouraging and thoughtful responses to my initial Islanders blog. I can tell you this feature is very important to Newsday and is destined to become a vital part of my job because of the obvious level of interest in the Islanders, even though the low attendance figures at games is an indication that many fans have been turned off by some of the decisions made by the franchise.
While I can’t respond to every question or issue raised on an individual basis, you can believe I’m listening intently to the things that matter most to you and taking it all into consideration, including honest criticism, as I familiarize myself with a new beat and begin to develop a season-long story line. For instance, the recent story I wrote updating the situation between Sean Bergenheim and the Islanders was a direct response to fan interest in that topic, and I can assure you there will be more follow-up on that subject as it evolves.
Understand that a good reporter can’t share every single thing he knows because some situations are complex and it takes time research and fully develop a story that has the substance all of you are seeking. Also, there are confidences that must be maintained with off-the-record sources who provide background information that informs the coverage. So, patience as I work to develop the major stories you want to read in addition to the daily demands of news on the beat.
But if I can raise the profile of Islanders coverage, I will. Part of my plan is to use this blog to expand upon the daily story you see in the newspaper. I see the reporting process as comparable to film editing. There’s always good material that, for one reason or another, hits the cutting room floor.
So, here’s an outtake from today’s practice, where reporters (amazingly all four major dailies, including Newsday, Daily News, Post and Times, attended) asked coach Ted Nolan about his defense and how it is adjusting to the speed-oriented attacks that have become the norm in today’s NHL.
Nolan’s six-man defenseman rotation includes such older veterans as Brendan Witt, Alexei Zhitnik and Sean Hill. As a group, they don’t really have the speed to go stride-for-stride with skaters the likes of Buffalo’s Maxim Afinogenov, who scored a breakaway goal in the Sabres’ 3-0 win Thursday night. So, Nolan frankly admits he’s emphasizing positioning to compensate for the lack of speed.
But the time will come when one of the vets might have to sit in favor of getting more speed on the ice. Chris Campoli is in Bridgeport right now working to come back from a groin injury. It has been assumed he would replace second-year man Bruno Gervais, who is getting the least ice time among defensemen at 12 minutes per game. But Nolan insisted that’s not necessarily the case even though he defended Hill by saying his savvy makes up for his lack of mobility.
Gervais had some rough moments in the first three games on the West Coast, but his plus-minus is even in the past six games and he has formed an effective partnership with Tom Poti. Naturally, Gervais believes speed and mobility is more important than ever on defense, and he offered a good explanation why when teams are using four attackers.
“You’ve got to make smart decisions, but you can’t just back up because that’s what they want,” Gervais said. “They’re going to send four all the time; they’re going to be skating and trying to score off the rush. If you play hard and play smart, that’s when you can create something the other way with a turnover.”
He described the decision-making process for a defenseman in terms of when to take the body and how to avoid taking a bad penalty this way: “If you know it’s a 50-50 chance to get the puck or if [an opposing skater] has his back to you and doesn’t see you, then, you’ve got to go and pressure those guys. If a guy like Daniel Briere is looking at you in the eyes and you decide to go at him, they’re good enough and fast enough to just blow by you. Then, you’re in trouble. You’ve got to be smart to pressure when he doesn’t see you coming or if it’s 50-50 and he can’t make a play.”
Penalties come when a defenseman has to turn and chase a player coming with speed into the offensive end. If the defenseman can’t match that speed and has to use his stick, he’s going to hear a whistle. The Islanders’ seven penalties against Buffalo included two hooking calls apiece by Hill and Martinek and a late tripping call on Poti.

Describing his goal as new coach of the Islanders at Wednesday’s practice, Ted Nolan recalled what now seems like the ancient era of 1980-83 when an expansion franchise grew up to win four straight Stanley Cups. “It’s a proud franchise,” Nolan said.

Gesturing toward the newspaper pictures from that time displayed on the walls at Iceworks, the practice facility in Syosset, Nolan added, “You look at the pictures here. They’re black and white of the glory days. We want to make sure there are colored pictures, and we want to make our own stamp and get these guys back to being proud to wear an Islanders jersey and proud to live here on Long Island. The only way to do that is one step at a time, one day at a time to reconnect and try to get these guys proud of who they are.”

Was it really so long ago? I got another vivid reminder of the passage of time recently when the Isles welcomed Mike Bossy back to the organization. Although new on the Islanders beat, I’m no stranger to the Islanders. I feel fans are entitled to know the reporter covering the team has a sense of where the franchise once was and where it is now by comparison, so, I’ll indulge in my personal recollections one time as I begin this blog.

Talking to Bossy brought back memories of all the Islanders games I covered before joining Newsday as the Jets beat writer in 1982. As the Trenton Times’ writer covering the Flyers from 1977-79, I used to look forward to seeing Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies, Denis Potvin, John Tonelli, Billy Smith, Chico Resch and all their teammates come into the Spectrum for what usually were the most exciting games of the season.

Bossy was by far the most thrilling player to watch in the NHL, and I recall being upset with Roger Nielson because of his tactics as Toronto’s coach in the 1978 playoffs I covered when he used Tiger Williams to knock Bossy all over the ice (When I got to know Nielson while covering the Rangers in the 1992-93 season, I learned what a wonderful person he was, but that still didn’t excuse his treatment of Bossy). My tryout story for The Bergen (N.J.) Record the following spring was written at the Isles’ 1-0 overtime playoff win against Chicago. I remember The Record’s night editor complimenting me on a story that captured the nature of the game and how the goal finally was scored. “Just one thing,” he said. “You forgot to put in the final score.” Yeah, silly things like that happen on deadline sometimes still.

But The Record hired me and sent me to Boston Garden the next year, where I witnessed Gillies beat the tar out of Terry O’Reilly in the first two games of the quarterfinals when the Islanders showed they were ready to get over the hump. A month later, Bobby Nystrom scored his Cup-winning goal at my end of the press box in Nassau Coliseum to start the dynasty.

We all were much younger then, and we looked much fitter as we congregated after games at Dr. Generosity’s in East Meadow. One night after an Islanders game in 1982, I passed on Dr. G’s and went to an East Side watering hole in Manhattan, where I lived at the time, and met my future wife. So, covering the Islanders has been lucky for me. But now my oldest daughter is a junior in college, and she was born three years after their last Cup win. So, that tells you how long it’s been.

Looking forward, maybe Ted Nolan is the guy who can resurrect the glory days. I don’t know, and judging by all the empty seats at Nassau Coliseum, a lot of Long Islanders have lost faith. Of course, it’s not just on the Island that NHL seats are going unused. There were tons of empty seats in Los Angeles and Anaheim during the Islanders’ opening road trip, and if it hadn’t been opening night in Phoenix, there would have been vacancies there, too.

Still, it’s sad to see the atmosphere at the Coliseum now compared to what it once was. But Nolan’s team is playing hard, and he’s starting to get a feel for what his players can do. Alexei Yashin has been productive, and sooner or later, Miro Satan will find his “on” switch. Trent Hunter is hitting everything in sight except the net, and he’s bound to get going, too. Maybe even tonight against undefeated Buffalo. A win of that magnitude might give the franchise the jump-start it needs to take the first big step on the long road back to prominence.

Greg Logan is in his third season covering the New York Islanders for Newsday. Greg intially covered hockey for the Trenton Times from 1977-79 as a Philadelphia Flyers writer. He switched over the Bergen (N.J.) Record in 1979, where he watched Bobby Nystrom score the Cup-winning goal at his end of the press box in Nassau Coliseum. Greg joined Newsday in 1982 as the Jets beat writer and later became the Knicks beat writer before returning to a hockey beat for the 2005-06 season.