On the Islanders Beat

ugh, buffalo home and home to start the season. hopefully, they will still be shell shocked by then due to the loss of briere, drury and zubrus.

Hey! Check this out!

http://www.thehockeynews.com/en/news/news.asp?idNews=25398

What about a Ranger-Islander game at Shea Stadium next year!

Sked is out on NHL.com

It's crazy! There are 6 games in the first 9 days of the season, then 3 in the next 17!!!!!!

And how about the March-April schedule...it's mostly intradivisional games. BORING.

http://my.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?user_id=10270&post_id=1615

This scheduling has gotten worse and worse every year..i'd like to see every team by dropping the division games to 3 and 3, not 4 and 4.

I just checked the schedule. With the team as it stands now, the Isles won't win 25 games. And this is from a lifelong Islander fan.

Garth says be patient, so hopefully, todays roster will not be the same on opening night.

Elsewise, it is going to be a long season.

Bill,

What makes you think Snolan are done? If you really think that Snolan signed Comrie and Guerin and then planned to sit around sipping ice-tea all summer, you're nuts. We have plenty of cap room and Snow has said they will spend all they can. I know the roster looks depleted right now, but I'm sure they have a plan. Although I am getting impatient as well as we await Snolan's next move.

Bill.......Stick to watching The New York Liberty with pessimistic comments like that.

Isles will surprise again. ted Nolan and Co. will assure us of that.

HAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHA "elsewise" good one Bill!!!!

home and home with the NYR to end the season

Good thing the Avalance doesnt have an away game at the Nassau Coliseum this year. Smyth would have become "Captain Boo"

Hockey buzz reporting that the isles might have just acquired Kubina from Toronto...on an interesting note, bergy and mcdonald's names are now off the roster on the isles website

For all of you stat lovers out there...

Bryan McCabe's past 3 seasons average...

Goals: 17
Assists: 43
Points: 60
Plus/Minus: +9

Hmmmm...doesn't seem like too much of a defensive liability to me. Considering Campoli was a -11, I would pull the trigger here. We haven't had a defenseman who could put up those kinds of offensive numbers since Potvin probably. Oh and did I mention, he WANTS to come here.

Last season on a bad leafs team he was a +3. Doesn't even compare to Souray's -28.

Bring Caber back.

Bergenheim & MacDonald were moved to the "in the system" roster.

Thanks T, didnt see that

Thanks T, didnt see that

Jesus! There is a rumor that we might get Kubina? I would rather get Mccabe!

Stop posting as the Candyman. I would never refer to someone's "Meat Sauce." Mostly because, drumroll......there's no sugar in meat sauce. Moron.

what?

Kubina in 98-99 with TB was a -33! Last year he was +7.

He would be a good fit with Bergeron on the PP with his hard right-handed shot. I think I'd pass however, if it's a good offer and we don't give up much i'd do it.

Kubina is under contract for the next two-years at $5 mill. One thig I remember is Kubina always playing weel against the Isles.

thing and well

Dunno why every rumor has us interested in various Toronto D-men. That team was awful on D last year. But if it's all true, I'd prefer McCabe to Kubina based mostly on the talk that McCabe wants to come here.

Not as much of a "defensive liability" as McCabe. This really did come out of the blue. Get it done Garth.

bergy and macdonald are listed at the 'in the system section of the page.

Righty with hard shot to complement MAB on PP. Much smarter than McCabe and cheaper.

What about a trade proposal like this...

Campoli and Gervais and (2nd rounder?) for McCabe and Kubina.

I'm not saying I would make that trade, but what if....

Candy, take that deal (and you new top defensive pairing) and run!

Candyman I guess you didn't see this part

"Garth says be patient, so hopefully, todays roster will not be the same on opening night."

Maybe you can have someone read it to you.

Kicked/Junk

Wake up and be realistic. On the roster as it stands now there is

ONE top four D-man...Witt
ONE close to top four if he is recovered/healthy.....Martinek
ONE power Play sepecialist...MAB

A bunch of 5,6 and 7 th D-men.

How many TRUE top six forwards?

Guerin, Comrie, Satan
and possibly Hunter.
The jury is still out on Fedetanko

Luckily, we are LOADED with 3 rd and 4 th liners and spare parts (Bates, Park, Hilbert, Sim, and perhaps Simon).

Who is the powerplay quarterback?

We lost 2 of our top 3 D-men. The farm system is loaded with young forwards.
So what does Snow do?
Does he sign proven top four proven D-men?
No! He goes out and signs 4 forwards, two of whom are spare parts (Sim & Tank)

We still have no DEFENSE, and our prospects like Tambellini, Neilssen and Noke will spend another year playing 3 miniutes a game or in Bridgeport. That is, until we trade then for another "Nolan" type 3 rd liner. Then they can become more memebers of the EX-ISLANDERS ALL STAR TEAM.

eklund is mentioning it so i would give it some "possible" legs...

but to answer Upstate -

the reason every rumor has every team interested in some part of the toronto team is because toronto fans are infamous rumor-creators and spread them rather well throughout lots of sites.

toronto would like to think it is the center of the hockey world, but its really just the center of hockey bull.

Garth is a smart man. Most of the GM's in the league are NOT. Big EGOS and they just keep getting hired over and over again because they know somebody.

Bottomline is that Garth is going to make the most of the assets he has to work with.

Kevin T.

Bill,

Your words: "hopefully, todays roster will not be the same on opening night."

What do you mean "hopefully?"

Thanks for just proving my point.

Bill,
this team isn't as good as the one that finished last year, but it's better than the one that started the year. And there are two months left to improve on what's there.
Yes, they still need defensive help.
With the exception of the the Devils pickup there hasn't been too much going on for anybody. Have some patience.
there are teams that STILL haven't done anything to improve. The biggest story so far is that everybody left.
So far I can't see any reason to blame Snow for that... except he shouldn't have traded for Smyth (hindsight is 20-20), and he could have got real value for Blake last year at the deadline.
Nolan made Poti, Kozlov and Blake better players... we shoudl trust that he'll do the same with the next crop... and the next after that, until enough players go through the filter and they are left with a cup contender... maybe 2 or three years from now.
But don't think that this team won't compete this year... they definitely need some help, but they'll win their share of games.
Hopefully we can get McCabe, but if not, it's not the end of the world.

Candyman~ Throw a little pinch of sugar in your meat sauce aka Sunday Gravy aka sauce.....It will work wonders! lol

I 100% agree with McCabe....Stats do not lie!

What I know of Kubina is hes a big guy..hes like 6'4" 220 lbs and hes got a good slap shot... How many games does Chris Simon have left on his suspension? 5?

Anyone who didn't want Souray I hope doesn't want Kubina ...in his 8 seasons in the leage he only finished with a "+" rating twice ...and his offensive numbers aren't anything special ...I would rather take Souray ...if they do trade for Kubina I hope it's for Campoli and nothing more ...

Guerin on WFAN right now...

Guerin just said hes going to resign as captian because he cant handel the pressure. I dont understand...

Candyman:

I put a small pinch of sugar in both my marinara and ragu sauces. When you have tomatoes that are on the slightly sour side, or the sauce is too salty, a bit of sugar will balance it out.

JP in VA:

I got into a big argument with my Ranger fan friend about Smyth the other day. Bottom line is I would still make that trade. We gave away PROJECTS--not prospects. Call me when Robert Nilsson or Ryan O'Marra makes a damn drop of difference in the NHL.

Snow signed Smyth thinking he could put the Islanders over the top. Two weeks later, DP goes down and the Islanders have to struggle mightily just to make the playoffs.

What if DP didn't get injured? What if, instead of going 6-8 the rest of the way, the Islanders pulled out something like 10-4? They would have beat Florida without Dunham, maybe won that game in Tampa Bay...who knows? Hell, even three more points--THREE--would have put them in sixth place with a first-round series versus the Thrashers.

Seen through that prism, the Smyth signing doesn't look like the atrocity everyone (except me, it seems) makes it out to be. If that's not enough, how about the fact that it gave the Islanders alone the chance to lock him up long-term before July 1. If things had gone differently, maybe Smyth's still around. Maybe if his wife liked Long Island, he'd still be around.

You CANNOT kill Garth Snow for making that deal. He did what he could to put last year's squad over the top, and it didn't pan out. In the end, Smyth went where Smyth wanted to go and that's the end of it. Snow gave it his best shot, offering a decent deal and Smyth didn't want it...that's not Snow's fault.

Guerin did not say that joe in massapequa....

I don't have WFAN. Someone tell me what Guerin really said...

And Matt, I agree. The Smyth trade is what got me interested in the Islanders again. Everything that happened after was tragic. But had things stayed even slightly normal, the Isles would have had more success in the Playoffs. If that happened it might have tipped the scales for Smyth.

Kevin T.

Kevin t. My uncle who works for the coliseum told me from day one smyth wasnt gonna stay.....his wife hated long island....too crowded...

Matt,

You think a "pinch" of sugar will satisfy the Candyman? Now that's just crazy talk.

Everyone,

Please no more Smyth trade analysis. We will all take a look at the trade in a few years once we've had a good idea about how Nilson and O'Mara develop.

MAB's gona laser a puck at Smyth...right in the teeth.

Bryan McCabe. Come on Garth.

yeah can we please stop analyzing the Smyth trade. Its not like we were going to make the playoffs without him. And even if we did we would have gotten slaughtered (even though we kinda did) withough his brilliance in front of the net. He was just too good of a player to give up on too good a player not to trade. We gave away Projects, we dont have prospects because our farm system isnt good enough to produce them. As for the first round pick we gave away? It was a weak draft class so it dosent matter.

Ok. So the schedule has forced me to change some of my plans. Me and some friends are going over between 13-20 October and right now it seems as I won't catch a home game at NVMC. I have some questions I hope some of you could take some time to answer:

1. How many hours will it take to get from JFK to NVMC?

2. What about Newark?

3. Is it possible that the NHL will reschedule some of the fixtures? Or is this the final one?

4. Should I change depature/arrival in order to get to watch Isles-Rangers (10/10) or Isles-Devils (10/20)? (The latter is the easiest to arrange for...)

OK. I'm sorry to bother you with these questions, but hopefully someone will take 2 mins to answer. Thanks.

JFK-->NVMC = no more than 30 min.

newark = 1hr30min-2hrs

probably the final

i would come to watch an isles rangers game over the devils game, but both are good

Andyman-

Im not the real Jim. But, I'd like to spend time with you.

Steady, you have to trust me on McCabe. As much as I want to see Campoli either used or traded in that pending deal, you're really going to be dissappointed when McCabe gets back on the Island. He catches more heat night in and night out from the Toronto media and fans than you could ever imagine. He plays almost every minute of every power play and does contribute periodically but that's where it ends. He's brutal otherwise so getting Kabina here instead of McCabe wouldn't be that bad. The best part of all is it looks like Toronto now wants Campoli and Marty for McCabe and apparently Snow is mulling it over.

1. How many hours will it take to get from JFK to NVMC? At 1am... 30 minutes. At 6pm... 3 days.

2. What about Newark? At 1am... 55 minutes. At 6pm... 3 months.

3. Is it possible that the NHL will reschedule some of the fixtures? Or is this the final one? Uhh... if you're asking if this schedule is final, yes the dates are final. The game times are probably subject to change.

4. Should I change depature/arrival in order to get to watch Isles-Rangers (10/10) or Isles-Devils (10/20)? (The latter is the easiest to arrange for...) Isles/Rangers... change your schedule. Don't miss it if you can get tickets. Isles/Devils... (yawn) don't bother.

Campoli AND Martinek for McCabe???

PLEASE... Garth... DON'T DO IT. I've said it before, the Leafs should be sending US more players in exchange for taking on that cap hit. 5.75 million dollars. Yikes!!!

I've mulled this one over quite a bit, and I'm willing to trade for McCabe. But for Campoli ONLY. Straight up. That's it. (OK, maybe throw in Nokie. But not another D-man)

Candyman:
What do you mean "hopefully?"

"Hopefully:, Snow will be able to unload some of the dead wood on this team for some defensive help.

"Hopefully", Snow will sign
a free agent or two, that would be considered top four D-men.

"Hopefully", the roster as it stands now, will look different on October 1 st.

Is that clear enough for you?

I like Candy. And Bill.

Ok. Thanks.

Cincy,
JFK-> NVMC, you took the words out of my mouth. You'd still have to find a cabbie on crack to get you there in 30 mins at 1:AM.
Matt,
You're preaching to the choir. If you've read anything I posted over the past 12 months you know that I thought the Smyth deal was solid one. I'm not killing garth, just saying if he didn't make that move and traded Blake the team is in the same position July 1, with a whole lot more chips to deal... A WHOLE LOT.

there's no way I give up Marty for McCabe. Marty is injury prone, but he's been the most consistent "D" when he's healthy. He moves the puck, he's solid positionally, and he has strength to fight for the puck in front of the net and ont he boards.
I've only seen McCabe a handful of times and the only thing he has on Marty may be confidence and a little "edge". He's what Campoli MIGHT grow up to be...
campoli and a throw away.. but that's it. Anymore and you lose. Also Marty is about over 3 Million cheaper... for now.

TOR is in the same position we were in trying to shop Zhitnik. maybe they'll take Meyer... YEAH, RIGHT!
Next stop for Meyer is the Ice Capades in a barney suit.

Mccabe's wife says her parents don't stay on Long Island during the winter. Plus, like Jovocop, they have just finished building a house.

http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=437906c0-3f38-418a-9705-f890b74970d9&k=30970

I'm not a Toronto fan, but if the same GM who signed McCabe is still there, then his ego won't let him trade McCabe anyway.

Kevin T.

McCabe has a house in Laurel Hollow(Nassau County) and lives there in the summer

After talking to someone in marketing who works with the Isles, I've heard that McCabe is 50% in coming to the Isles.....Kubina is also being looked into in case McCabe deal doesn't work, but he said the Isles new #1, yes #1 D-man will be introduced in the coming days...

kinda off topic but ESPN is having this contest called whose who. It puts up big name athletes against each other in various categories. Sidney Crosby is up against Derek Jeter and nobody is givin Crosby a change. Lets show him some love lol http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=whosnow&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab6pos1

Toronto has a lot of dead weight on their roster and until they start moving some players their hands are tied with regards to bringing in new talent. They addressed their scoring & speed by over paying for Blake but they have goaltending and defensive issues to address or they are going to be one of those teams on the cusp yet again this year. So most likely they are looking to move players so they can bring in new talent. The Isles are probably interested in McCabe or Kubina but don't expect them to overpay. Garth I'm sure would like to pull the trigger, but the longer you wait the less you have to pay. Before his head started spinning on July 1st when Smyth, Blake, Kozlov & Poti were gone he had said he would like to add without subtracting (much like he did at the trade deadline). At this point I think he would like to live up to that; so don't expect to see Campoli or Gervais get dealt unless it is a NO brainer. Campoli is young, size & strength can be added over the years, skills on the other hand (offensive) are another thing, you either have it or you don't. Campoli had a shitty sophmore season (much like Cano on the Yanks until two weeks ago). He will bounce back and I hope he does as an Islander.

Matt: So the new #1 D-man could be in addition to McCabe/Kubina? We definitely need a #1 and a #2 D-man to be competitive.

we need more offense

Im so soft i break annually....WE NEED JOVO COP

Billy boy,

Hopefully you don't apply that pessimistic outlook on the Isles to your daily life...listen to what your saying..."hopefully the Isles don't leave their roster as it is" aka leave their roster $17 million under the cap...that makes plenty of sense...that's like saying hopefully they DP is their starting goalie and not Dubie...hopefully Ted Nolan is the coach and they don't fire him and hire back Steve Stirling...hopefully shmopefully, yeah exactly...

Of course there is more to be done with their roster...patience is a virtue...what Snow does with the rest of the cap space will truly show how good of a GM he is...let's go Snowy

Yes we need a D-man, Kubina is the better choice between him or McCabe. Yet I'm tempted to wish for more thing, and I know most Isle fans will hate this but here goes...sign Sean Avery to a multi- year [3] contract!! The Rangers are now hamstrung by the cap, with Lundquist getting 4.25 mill. If we were to offer Avery 3 yrs at say, 3.5 mill, the Rangers would more than likely be forced to let him walk or trade someone to free up the space to match. Think of the blow this would deal to the Rags,better yet, think of a 3rd line of Avery,Bergenheim and either Asham or Okposo!!! With the loss of Jason Blake, this team is screaming for a pest, who better to fill that role than Avery? I say do it Garth...NOW!!!

And then reality would set in and would tell you that Avery wouldn't take that offer to play for the Isles...

Ice Burger; your nuts! First off Okposo has already said he is returning to college; second, Bergenheim has played all of 20 games and sat out last year and suddenly he is the missing piece to the puzzle? Avery would never sign with the Isles and he will be over paid if we signed him @ 3.5 mill/year. The Rangers caught lightning in a bottle; that contract would bite you in the ass after a year.

The Isles give the captaincy to anyone who wasnt an islaner--great tradition schmucks. peca, yashin, smyth(hes too smart for it) and grandpa(aka Guerrin). The crosstown rags spend $$ for more scoring, ignoring the adage that defense wins championships. Goaltending at the garden is strong, but, one must see the puck to stop it. Who's clearing thee crease rag fans? No one. Sather, taking a page from 1994, is trying to buy a cup. Wont work. Will be fun to see rag fans getting pummeled again in Philly if they dare to come. We Flyer fans flock to thee garden...its all suits man. Boxes and suits---soft, faggy fans. The Islander fans, while dumb and few, are rabid nut jobs and that crap hole for an arena rocks at times. Ofcourse, not during the playoffs since Thai fungs team never makes it.

LOL!!! Keith Jones calls the Guerin signing ridiculous and the worst of the free agent period.

http://broadband.tsn.ca/tsn/?id=348&vid=9623

Dear Garth, im being patient but for how much longer? You dont actually think that you can sell to me that Guerin and Comrie make us a better team than what we had a month ago do you? Im doing my best but at this point we might as well have kept Yashin - If healthy he was good for 60+ points just take away his "C". But Please hurry my patience with a team who hasnt won a playoff series in 14 years is wearing very very very thin-----sincerely a 7 year season subscriber

Keith Jones did not call the signing ridiculous and worst of the UFA's, you must learn how to listen, He said at 2.5 it a great signing, but he understands the Isles had to over pay.They also said Buffalo and the Oilers had the worst off season.

I would never want to see Avery in an Islander uniform. I see Tambellini breaking out this year and puttin 15-20 goals in the net with ample assists. Looks like the Islanders are getting Chris Simon back. I think they should invest in Darcy Hordichuk as well to be the new pest/fighter. Hordichuk really wouldnt help the team too much it would just be fun to watch him beat up the rangers.
Im growing a little bit tired of everyone's impatience with Garth Snow. The entire team does not have to be built withing 10-15 days after July 1st. The season doesnt start until October, thats plentyyy of time to improve the team. I would rather Garth be patient and wait for the right deal rather then rushing a trade or signing so that we can look good on paper right now. Keep the faith fellow islander fans.

Miggsey~

I 100% understand where you are coming from with McCabe. Again it is just a hunch. If you ask Yankee fans about Arod, half the jabronies still say he stinks. The media still kills him most of the time. I just think maybe a change of scenery and less pressure on the Island will do him good. There are thousands of circumstances of players playing better with a change of scenery. I hope so if we get him!

I think I have come to the realization that I and the rest of the Isle fans on here are really just making fools of ourselves and our team. I just went back and read a lot of our posts and read some of the stupid things we talk about on our own blog and I have to admit I am kind of embarrassed. I think we are transferring our own anger and disappointment in our own team onto the rangers and there fans. What do you say we give up on this childishness and accept that we wish that the rangers new signings had even considered signing with us if for no other reason then to make us look like a legitimate franchise instead of the joke we are. Come on, seriously...how bad do we look throwing money at Comrie for one year and trying to make it look like a player we were actually after as opposed to a player nobody else wanted to sign and who was basically forced to sign with us out of desperation and greed? And giving Geurin the C without even consulting him first? That is just crazy. I think the rest of the players on our team are going to have a few questions as to why they weren't even considered. That is if they're not too busy contacting their agents to demand they be traded to a respectable team. I think I am going to be a duck fan from now on. I was going to switch to the Sabres but I dont think they're going to be very good after losing the player we should have really tried to sign (Drury). Actually, like most of our recent players, I am thinking about leaving the island myself.

Dear Rangers Fans,

I must apologize for the behavior of the Islanders "fans" on YOUR teams blog. I feel like it is largely my fault. My complete ineptitude has led the Islanders straight down the crapper and now our fans have nothing to look forward to other than hoping and praying that all the great Ranger decisions don't quite pan out. If Mr. Wang had kept his nose out of hockey decisions and actually hired a GM who knew what he was doing then our franchise wouldn't be in it's current mess. How about that open letter to our fans from Bossy?? Boy, was that embarrassing or what? I mean when we have to pull out the Seniors and force them to plead with our fans to stop cancelling season tickets and give me a chance, it really opens people's eyes to the desperation our organization is feeling. So we wish you all the luck in the world next year, especially when you play us, as I have the feeling we will have no choice but to really goon it up and try to injure as many rangers as we can...wow, this is pitiful. How did it come to this? How did I not read the writing all over the Mausoleum walls that screamed not to make the Smyth trade? I can't believe I really thought that he would give up a chance at playing on a winning team for the chance to be the captain of the laughing stock of the NHL!!! Well, it's time for me to go get my head chewed off by the Islanders executive board. Again I apologize for our immature and ignorant fans. You guys don't by any chance still need a back up to the King do you? I don't think this GM thing is really working out and I might be looking for a new job soon!!!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

keith jones is a meathead - plain and simple.

That being said, the rags have bought themselves a sick team - that's for sure. But c'mon - we've seen this before - their wheels fall off and they don't make the playoffs.

And on our end? Mediocrity at best. We still don't have the firepower or the depth to compete. We can only pray for luck, and injuries on the ohter teams. :P

jagr... shanny... drury... just scary. and we get who? jeeeeez

Guys, stop this nonsense. My Mom is going to get mad.

funny how the ranger fans come over here to post. I'd much rather be an islanders fan - we never seem to get the great players, but at least we have nothing to lose. The rangers continually buy the "best" players, and never produce. Ranger fans are horrified - omg - we got GREAT players - we got a GREAT team - what if we blow it AGAIN?

A post I cam across from month's past.

Anyone see Billy Geurin get hit with that slapshot? i saw it for the first time on vs. about 3 minutes ago, nasty! hockey players are the toughest sons of bitches in any sport, hands down. the guy wanted to play tonight, he skated in the warm-ups with no face shield.

Posted by: kickedinthejunk | May 7, 2007 9:18 PM

wen did news of the mcabe deal break out and if so where is it, ive heard of the kubina rumor on hockeybuzz but nothing on mcabe? can someone send me a link or something please!

ranger fans need to get a life.......seriously.......and how many times do u not understand this.....u CAN NOT BUY A CUP!

They bought a cup already. You can do it, but it's unlikely.

Will be interesting to see how things play off. I'm not worried, although I'm a bit envious.

Trade:

Isles get:
Brian McCabe
Todd Bertuzzi
3rd Rd Pick

Canucks get:
Trevor Linden

Oops. I bet somebody wishes they could have that one back.

Candyass,
"Of course there is more to be done with their roster...patience is a virtue...what Snow does with the rest of the cap space will truly show how good of a GM he is...let's go Snowy."

And so far it's been pretty bleak. You might even say all his signings have been nothng short of a "snow job."