On the Islanders Beat

Good for Dubie--he's lucky he's getting away from the Mickey Mouse Organization in Long Island. Thxs Dubie for everything.

The Russians are "high" on Dubie coming over.

Headline in the Russian paper states "Dubie's coming over from the the US". They're lining up.

The Isles might regret letting Dubie go... at least, if they're serious about giving DP more rest this season. If they're smart, they bring in a veteran to compete with MacDonald and let the best man play 15-20 games backing up DP.

http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com

Go Canadiens!!!

More and more NHL players will sign with the Continental Hockey league, a lot of bonusses and pay-outs are being offered in Euro's and that makes it more interresting for both agent and player as well owners.
Players that are ready to retire in the NHL can play for another two years picking up a lot of extra money just like that.
Its like retired soccer players coming here in the late 70's / 80's

Hmm, free agent issues?

Maybe the mystery player was Kristian Huselius? I'm interested to read the article tomorrow.

Good point Isles77 ... a Russian colleague of mine said the new hockey league in Russia is more akin to our MLS league ... even thought soccer isn't a top 4 sport ... they get certain big names over here to play for big $$$.

I see Forsberg lining his retirement fund instead of returning to Colorado.

---------------
I really think the whole Isles negativity thing is over blown in the media ... I mean ... come on. I can understand playing under Mad Mike was more of a circus .... and Snow / Wang has a some what tempered circus atmosphere ... but the Islanders aren't the only club with issues you know.

I think the Isles have been making a positive statement in the big picture over the last couple of years .... and I'm one of the biggest critics. I think Wang / Dey just need to keep their nose on the business side of things and all will sort itself out.

From what I understand .. and Nick .. maybe you know more than I do in this area ... but Ryan Jankowski is very well respected in Canadian Hockey circles ... and has cut himself out a great reputation in his career.

Snow, Nolan and Jenks are positive members of the organization .. and despite the NVMC condition ... which inevitably will be renovated ... what truely is negative about coming to the Isles for a good paycheck? Am I that blind?

If it's for the stage of re-building ... and I'm 30 or higher .. I'm totally understanding of that.... but if I'm in my 20s and I'm an impact player ... I'm up for the challenge of being part of the growth... it's more satisfying to win that way.

Just read Logan's article ....

Honestly .... 7 minutes to offer a contract before the trade deadline and have a player accept it is kind of unreasonable. If I was Huselius and the offer was to go to Pittsburgh I'd have to balk at it. 7 minutes is waiting at a traffic light at a busy intersection during rush hour for God's sake.

This from Logan's article says it all ~ "A source said Snow did all he could, but the time frame was too short for Huselius and his family to commit to such a career-changing decision."

That being said ... I think the point of the Isles getting back on the right track and having a media relations person (ala Botta) able to accentuate the positives is cricital to turning around the negative image of the Isles.

Long Island does have dozens of nice neighborhoods where a player can raise a family ... and that has to be presented ... it's expensive to live there .... so offering more $$ to live there will always be important ... even in the Light House era.

Just read the Logan Sunday article painting a grim free agent picture.
I'm gettin sick of hearin this chit.
Time to take the gloves off.
Need to see some offers that can't be refused.
Steady? Are you ready for a little road trip?

A lot of people love to kill Snow, but the reality of it is that no player of high quality will want to play here until 1) we get our building and surrounding area taken care of 2) build up a core group of youth that has a chance to win

Snow can't win ...he either does nothing and some of the morons on here will kill him, or he has to over pay for someone to play here and those same morons will kill him ...

I say make some fair offers, see what happens and be prepared to draft high again and then hope these young guys pan out and can help turn this team around ....

Dubie went for the $$. He wasn't going to get seven figures anywhere in the NHL -- no one sees him as a starter. I hope he does well in Russia; if he does. maybe someone will try him as a starter here. But remember: He's older than Ricky and has never held a full-time starting job in the NHL, nor was he going to get one this year.

The Isles drafted well. But please remember that no one they took this June is likely to arrive before 2010. By then, Wang & Co. will know what's happening with the arena. If the Lighthouse project is not approved, the team will be gone (maybe to Suffolk, maybe off the Island -- Gary Bettman said it will NOT go to Brooklyn, and that he doubts that arena will be built anyway). No Lighthouse Project, goodbye Isles -- at least from Nassau. Wang will move or sell

What the Isles need to do this season is be competitively lousy. They need to win enough games to keep their fans interested, but lose enough to ger the first or second pick. Do NOT go bringing in guys like McCabe (unless TO wants to throw in a No. 1 pick as well for freeing up cap room). They need to be bad enough to rebuild with high picks (as Pittsburgh has done).

Snow gambled on the Smyth deal and lost because Ricky got hurt (had he stayed healthy, they'd have finished sixth instead of the Rangers and whacked Atlanta in the first round, making Long Island a much more desireable location). But he got lucky when Smyth took Colorado's offer. The best thing about the Isles right now is that they are not encumbered by bad contracts (Rick and Trent Hunter are signed to long-term, below-market deals; no one else, as far as I recall, has more than 2 years on his deal). Low-revenue teams can't sign over-30 platers like Smyth to long-term, big-bucks deals. Colorado will rue that contract, if it doesn't already after Smyth spent most of the year out with injuries.

BTW: While Nilsson was good enough to earn a new deal and be regarded as part of Edmonton's future, the Oilers are very down on Ryan O'Marra. Another great Mike Milbury pick,

I agree with ya AZS ... I'm a sharp critic of Snow ... but he's not at all responsible for the negative vibe that has surrounded the Isles for 14 years or so. Mad Mike and the owners since are to blame ....

Snow's biggest problems as far as I'm concerned were the Smyth trade .... which all he was trying to do was put the Isles up to a level to compete deep in the playoffs .... bad gamble ... and he lost ... that in itself doesn't make players not want to play here.

Then there was buying out Yashin ... us as fans liked it ... but I think some players grumbled about it... and that sent Kozlov on his way too .... IMO.

Snow made big offers to FA's last July .. and they were turned down ... what can ya do?

Then there was this June's draft ... for which I give him an A- for ... and that minus is only because he might of been able to get something more from TO ... or Nashville ... but we'll never know. I was never 100% sold on Filatov or Schenn .. but I'd of been very happy with Wilson ... we'll see how Bailey turns out.

So that pretty much sums up Garth's resume... his tenure is too short to blame players not wanting to come here on him ...

Wang ... sure ... he had the chance when he came in ... but he had to much to learn .. and wanted to be involved in operations to much. A good boss / owner knows his place in operations... and it's to keep your nose out of it.

No matter what how you feel about Wangs motives for doing the Light House Project .... he's making a huge effort to get that off the ground ... and ultimately that will help the Isles ... the failure or success of that will underscore Wang's legacy as owner of the Isles ...

The Isles need to get Botta replaced with a real good PR guru... and fast ... the Isles are losing the PR war with the media, the players ... and worst of all ... its fans.

Posted by DonK What the Isles need to do this season is be competitively lousy.

this is expecting a lot. how bout entertainingly lousy?

Kevin .... sorry .... just read your post on the previous thread... Like I told you at practice last night ... watch the NHL Network and you'll see why 505 would get a kick out of our coaches' comments last night .... if that still doesn't answer your question ... I'll set ya up with a clue.

19Isles and Kevin...

ROFLMAO...I just went back to the last thread and read about your dilemma with your "coach".
Astrophysicists???

Kevin...
Does your coach look or sound anything like this guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjkUMbrT5SU

"Hockey players are the rocket scientists and astrophysists of the sports world. All jokes aside he's not far off."

Give me a day or so and some proper inspiration (tonight) and I will come up with a 30 second or so script for our NHL Network Coach to follow up on that thought..

That's pretty funny...Such fertile ground.

505 ~ LMFAO!!!! I was laughing out loud when the coach started to lecture us about playing smart ... and went into this diatribe about this not being softball or golf ... that we had to be geniuses on the ice .. blah blah blah ... after practice I went up to him and said ... Randy ... did you get that speech about hockey smarts from the NHL Network coach ... and he busted out .. he said ... did I really sound like him? .... I said ... you sounded so much like him that I thought I might of missed one of those promo clips ... and he said ... Oh nooo ... I gotta think before I talk .... I said it's all about hockey smarts coach ... and that goes for you too.

Kevin still has no idea ... I know he watches that network ... we'll see when he has his eureka moment.

Very surprised that Dubie didn't atleast wait for July 1st to see if teams were offering him some money to play. Tampa would've given him a nice offer, I think.

Must be a lot of tax free money over there then.

http://www.nyhockeyrivalry.com

Wang has to get his check book out, if you pay him enough they will come, let me tell you that Philly is no paradise either but when you show them the $$ they will come, once you have one under the belt, the second will come, give them one year to start and the second as their option.... if Wang does not want to pay then he should sell. Show your interrest in the team and the fans and they will come too.
Get rid of that bird in your office that sayz : "cheap cheap" the whole day

What a difference a week makes. Last Firday everyone here wanted to lynch Snow. On Saturday he was a God. Today he is cheap and can't seal a free agent deal.

I can't wait to see how the wind blows on Wednesday, after he has added a couple of pieces to his master plan. Oh, ye of little faith......Sir William

I have heard enough!! Enough of this crap that nobody wants to play here. This is just one big EXCUSE. It is not the arena, or the area, NY or any other reason. This has to do with putting together a solid organization and having a winning team. Bottom line. I am tired of hearing it. I dont know why Snow and the islanders use this line all the time. Is it for leverage to get the LH deal done? Is Snow holding his cards close so not to tip his hand? Does the org say this so to cover their butts when they dont land any FA;s? I dont get it. If you keep saying that nobody wants to play here then guess what? That is exactly what is going to happen. It sounds like our GM has a defeatest attitude. Rather, the isles should be staying on a positive note trying to get the best players possible and stop with the excuses. I was just watching some old and recent footage of Islander moments on youtube and you cant tell me that nobody would want to play in front of our fans at the NVMC! When this team is winning (key word) the fans always come out and it is the best home ice advantage in the sport. This is NY and when you win you get media attention and back pages and there is no place better to win then NY. Ask any pro athelete who has played in this town and won a championship here and somewhere else and they will tell you there is no comparison. I truly beleive this. What the islanders need to do is maybe put together a solid presentation and distribute it out to all the FA's agents so that they can truly get an idea of what it means to play, live and win on Long Island. Sell the positives about Long Island and NY and stop the lame excuses. I dont want to hear this stuff anymore and BTW I think the islanders will be players come July 1, maybe not big players but Snow will be out there putting offers on the table. If there was a deal for Huselius in FEB then offer him the same thing come July 1 and see what happens.

I have heard enough!! Enough of this crap that nobody wants to play here. This is just one big EXCUSE. It is not the arena, or the area, NY or any other reason. This has to do with putting together a solid organization and having a winning team. Bottom line. I am tired of hearing it. I dont know why Snow and the islanders use this line all the time. Is it for leverage to get the LH deal done? Is Snow holding his cards close so not to tip his hand? Does the org say this so to cover their butts when they dont land any FA;s? I dont get it. If you keep saying that nobody wants to play here then guess what? That is exactly what is going to happen. It sounds like our GM has a defeatest attitude. Rather, the isles should be staying on a positive note trying to get the best players possible and stop with the excuses. I was just watching some old and recent footage of Islander moments on youtube and you cant tell me that nobody would want to play in front of our fans at the NVMC! When this team is winning (key word) the fans always come out and it is the best home ice advantage in the sport. This is NY and when you win you get media attention and back pages and there is no place better to win then NY. Ask any pro athelete who has played in this town and won a championship here and somewhere else and they will tell you there is no comparison. I truly beleive this. What the islanders need to do is maybe put together a solid presentation and distribute it out to all the FA's agents so that they can truly get an idea of what it means to play, live and win on Long Island. Sell the positives about Long Island and NY and stop the lame excuses. I dont want to hear this stuff anymore and BTW I think the islanders will be players come July 1, maybe not big players but Snow will be out there putting offers on the table. If there was a deal for Huselius in FEB then offer him the same thing come July 1 and see what happens.

"TWEEEEEEET"

Let's gather around boys.
We're gonna talk about the power play today.
The power play in the game of hockey is a science, fellas, not unlike rocket science or astrophysics.
You line up your stars, which are your best guys, around the sun, which is the net, and then you have your stars rotate the earth, which is the puck, around the sun, with the idea that when you have enough energy generated from all of the rotations of the earth by the stars, you can then light the match which lights the fuse-the fuse being a slapshot or a wrist shot- and then blast the earth toward the sun with the ultimate mission being to land the earth within the sun.
And that's when things supernova for the other team.

Okay,

LET'S PLAY SOME HOCKEY!!!!!

I have heard enough!! Enough of this crap that nobody wants to play here. This is just one big EXCUSE. It is not the arena, or the area, NY or any other reason. This has to do with putting together a solid organization and having a winning team. Bottom line. I am tired of hearing it. I dont know why Snow and the islanders use this line all the time. Is it for leverage to get the LH deal done? Is Snow holding his cards close so not to tip his hand? Does the org say this so to cover their butts when they dont land any FA;s? I dont get it. If you keep saying that nobody wants to play here then guess what? That is exactly what is going to happen. It sounds like our GM has a defeatest attitude. Rather, the isles should be staying on a positive note trying to get the best players possible and stop with the excuses. I was just watching some old and recent footage of Islander moments on youtube and you cant tell me that nobody would want to play in front of our fans at the NVMC! When this team is winning (key word) the fans always come out and it is the best home ice advantage in the sport. This is NY and when you win you get media attention and back pages and there is no place better to win then NY. Ask any pro athelete who has played in this town and won a championship here and somewhere else and they will tell you there is no comparison. I truly beleive this. What the islanders need to do is maybe put together a solid presentation and distribute it out to all the FA's agents so that they can truly get an idea of what it means to play, live and win on Long Island. Sell the positives about Long Island and NY and stop the lame excuses. I dont want to hear this stuff anymore and BTW I think the islanders will be players come July 1, maybe not big players but Snow will be out there putting offers on the table. If there was a deal for Huselius in FEB then offer him the same thing come July 1 and see what happens.

I have heard enough!! Enough of this crap that nobody wants to play here. This is just one big EXCUSE. It is not the arena, or the area, NY or any other reason. This has to do with putting together a solid organization and having a winning team. Bottom line. I am tired of hearing it. I dont know why Snow and the islanders use this line all the time. Is it for leverage to get the LH deal done? Is Snow holding his cards close so not to tip his hand? Does the org say this so to cover their butts when they dont land any FA;s? I dont get it. If you keep saying that nobody wants to play here then guess what? That is exactly what is going to happen. It sounds like our GM has a defeatest attitude. Rather, the isles should be staying on a positive note trying to get the best players possible and stop with the excuses. I was just watching some old and recent footage of Islander moments on youtube and you cant tell me that nobody would want to play in front of our fans at the NVMC! When this team is winning (key word) the fans always come out and it is the best home ice advantage in the sport. This is NY and when you win you get media attention and back pages and there is no place better to win then NY. Ask any pro athelete who has played in this town and won a championship here and somewhere else and they will tell you there is no comparison. I truly beleive this. What the islanders need to do is maybe put together a solid presentation and distribute it out to all the FA's agents so that they can truly get an idea of what it means to play, live and win on Long Island. Sell the positives about Long Island and NY and stop the lame excuses. I dont want to hear this stuff anymore and BTW I think the islanders will be players come July 1, maybe not big players but Snow will be out there putting offers on the table. If there was a deal for Huselius in FEB then offer him the same thing come July 1 and see what happens.

jisles ... LOL ... OK.. OK ... we get the point ... LOL ... obviously you had an issue with the refresh button ... it posted your entry 4 times. LOL!!

I just have one comment about your post ... regarding Logan's article in this instance .... I'm not dismissing Snow's past comments regarding attracting FA's to play at NVMC ... but this is a RED MEAT issue with most fans .... but in this case ... you slammed Snow .. when Snow was never even quoted in the article ... you said ...

"I have heard enough!! Enough of this crap that nobody wants to play here. This is just one big EXCUSE. It is not the arena, or the area, NY or any other reason. This has to do with putting together a solid organization and having a winning team. Bottom line. I am tired of hearing it. I dont know why Snow and the islanders use this line all the time"

The quote about players not wanting to play at NVMC was from a player's agent ... see?

From Logan ~ One agent with a high-end client among a dozen free agents asked his players to submit a list of their top 10 NHL destinations. "Not one of them put down the New York Islanders," THE AGENT SAID. "Long Island is a great place, but no one likes to play in that arena, and they don't really see the Island and all the nice places to live from the [Uniondale] Marriott."

Listen ... I'm sick of excuses too ... and you just proved AZS' previous post when he said .. "people love to kill Snow" .... and I myself don't think it's fair. All we do when we do that is add to the negative vibe ... and it's a turn off to the players who may consider playing here.

Look ... Snow does a good job at making himself look bad at times ... he doesn't need our help. I for one have been a very sharp critic ever since Wang made him GM ... However, I think he did an outstanding job at the draft ... and have given him my support ... because this is what WE the FANS wanted ... the team to be re-built.

505 ~ Regarding .. ""TWEEEEEEET""

Hilarious!!! You might have a career in writing promo spots.

Well ... here is something different... as those of you that frequent this blog know ... I work in the satellite media industry .. and one of our clients is a whole sale scouting service company (Julien is my contact) ... we ingest satellite feeds uplinked from around North America and around the world of current NHL players and NHL drafted players ... we have NEVER uplinked data streams to Europe of North American players ... EVER ... well .. it seems that Julien's company has a new customer ... and that is a scouting service company in Europe ... looking to get some scouting info on players for the new Russian league ... I think Julien called it the KHL.... is that the official name of the league?

We are uplinking a broad band high speed stream to the Netherlands for European / Russian distribution... for about 3 hours ... they must be taking the entire catalog of North American players .... these Ruskies aren't playing around.
--------------
FYI- I tried to milk Julien for information to see if the Islanders or any scouts associated with the Isles wanted access to certain player files to find out if they were interested in signing a player as a FA this week.

Julien clammed up tight... he said he cannot give me any information at all .. strictly confidential ... that is their bread and butter .. and they never ever break that code ... or their business loses all credibility for their "trade secrets" .... he has no problem talking about players and their skill levels etc... because most of it is public consumption .. but he can never discuss sensitive issues regarding players and teams in the same context .... RATS ... I was hoping for a scoop.

No body wanted to play at Shea Stadium either...MEts went out and signed Piazza and changed the outlook of the team....Than did the same with Pedro.....I kind of agree with the fact that it is b.s a true GM cannot get people to come here.....I blame the BOBBLEHEADS a lot more than the arena....

Not saying it is all Snows fault...But his "committee" of morons, the owner, and all that are a part of the Bobble Nation dfinitely keep away the true talent.

STARTS AT THE TOP !!! In every sport and in every form of business.

I just read Zippy's article regarding Jagr ... However ... Jagr .. the topic of the article wasn't what caught my eye... it was Zippy's mention of which players the Rangers are targeting in FA ... now according to a conversation I just had with Julien before ... any team that discusses anything about a player they are targeting that they currently have zero negotiating rights to is considered tampering ... they can't mention anyone by name at all.

Now I know that Zippy isn't stupid .. so did he just misprint his article to state that the Ranger should target those players? I defer to others that may be more legally astute in these matters ... but if the Rangers leaked out their target list to Zippy to print it so that the word is out to the agents of said players ... is that not tampering by the definition?

According to Julien ... these quiet times prior to FA are very very nerve racking ... because one of the penalties is draft picks from the offending team to the team with the players' rights ... and fines ... if that is the case ... and the Rangers have just tampered by giving their wish list out to Zippy ... then the Rags will owe tons of picks to the teams of all those players.

That is one of the reasons Julien couldn't even tell me what teams were looking for files of which players .... because it's highly confidential ... Teams are allowed to scout any player at any time ... and in-house are allowed to discuss players and their worth for trades and possibly neutralizing the player on the scouting level for an upcoming game.... but they can never discuss in the press or with a player / players agent that is not their property the desire for said player to play for them.

I've seen Snow being interviewed and even say to the interviewer ... that he cannot discuss a player that he doesn't have the rights to or even mention the player in a context that would infer bringing that player to the Isles.

Am I totally off base here? Someone please clarify.

"Among the unrestricted free agents the Rangers have targeted are Penguins wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone, Leafs center Mats Sundin, Wild forward Brian Rolston and defensemen Brian Campbell of the Sharks and Brooks Orpik of the Penguins."

Hmmmmmm 19Isles.....
Rangers could always deny the Zip report, and say that it was merely speculation on his part.....and that no one from the Rangers mentioned anything like that to him...
But, if Zip has someone like Sather on tape mentioning those names....well.....that's just not right.

Either way, I will wager that Zip got a call from someone from Penn Plaza inquiring about that paragraph.
And given the relationship between Toronto and MSG right now, I'll bet someone north of the border has cut and pasted that paragraph by now as well.

I think Snow or any GM could get "Stars" to play here, but then when they have to overpay - like Omar did with Pedro (too many years) and with Beltran - people start to get angry with the $ spent. Wang has proven he's willing to bring in players and sign them ...now, this is where hindsight being 20/20 comes into play ...to get Yashin - who at the time was a legit #1 center here he overpayed in terms of players sent to Ott. and the years/dollars of the contract ...the team went to the playoffs two years in a row and people were going to games, but as the team fell apart Yahin became the scape goat with fans yelling about Wang overpaying for him ...

So, really it seems that Wang (and many other owners) and Snow (and many other GMs) are damned either way when it comes to bringing in high priced UFAs ...if the Isles overpay for a guy to play here while the team is bad, then when he starts to underperform the management gets killed, but then if they don't overpay to sign someone they're "cheap" ...

The reality - which is something many Isles fans sadly don't want to deal with - is that we are years away from building a real contender. We need to see what the young guys can do now, and in years to come, and as we build a nucleus through the draft other players will start to look at the team as a place to win rather than just a place to try and earn a new lease on life in the NHL. Also, don't think that a new building won't help. I'm not trying to say that once a new building is up that all of a sudden future H.O.F. players will start running here, but it would become a selling point ...

Sadly, today's athlete doesn't want to be the person to start the change and to help build the winner. He wants to sign with the team that is one or two guys away from winning. Which is why we have to develop the farm system so that we'll be able to sell this team as one or two guys away - with a beautiful new arena ...rather than a chance to start something with unproven young guys in an outdated dump ...

If you're infavor of overspending for a player thats fine, just don't get p'od when it backfires in the long run ...

This is the first time in a long time where I want the Isles to avoid every single player on the UFA heap july 1st. I really feel that this would actually cause more damge to a team that's trying to build a real core of players.

Right now we have the start of something with Comeau, Bergenheim, Okposo and Campolli. I see guys like Walter, Rashkanni, Tambellini, Neilson and Figren being the long shots. This season is pretty much make or break for Neilson, Walter and Tambellini.

If they can't prove that they have some staying power on an NHL club they will be moved.

505 ... yeah .. after thinking about it more ... I think that was more of Zips' slip of the lip (wishful thinking) .. so to speak anyway.

I can't see Sather or any of the other MSG cronies being that dumb to even slip that out to Zippy or any other journalist considering their dog house status with the NHL....

The NHL governors would be relentless in establishing sanctions on the Rangers...

But of course as you said ... the Rangers could deny it ... but would that be worth the risk?
------------------------
AZS ... great post .... couldn't of said it better myself.

agreed Ceasar ... but the Isles have to at least make the floor with the salary cap ... or as I've been told ... they forfeit a pick (unknown) and have to put the balance in escrow and pay the roster players the balance at the end of the year.

Hmmmmmm .... on the Islander main page on Newsday ... there are actually more Ranger stories bullet pointed than Islander stories .... You cannot convince me that it is just a coincidence.

Cablevision's control of the media on Newsday has begun.

19 isle in NJ 22, sorry I did have a problem with the refresh button. didnt know it took 4 times. Ok you got me on a technicality that Snow was not actually quoted but this has been the theme ever since last years FA period. Snow was quoted in an article during the season when he said nobody wants to play here. So he may not have been quoted this time but he has stated that. I like Snow. I was one of the few people on here who thought he did the right thing trading down and filling the prospect pool. I was in favor of the smythe trade and I think he has ability to become a GM so I am not anti snow. You corrected me when the articled referenced what an Agent was quoted. Well than that is the problem. Snow needs to start marketing the team and the area and highlighting the positives on playing here. I watch all the games and it wasnt like all the other buildings were full. Boston was empty, ottowa was nto full, I think the only road builidng I can remember the islanders playing in on the road that was sold out was in Minnesota and the rangers/devils. Other than that most of the buildings were empty and those teams were having good seasons. so what are these agents talking about that the players dont like the NVMC? Here are the positivies that need to be communicated to the Agents not the players because the players go where their agents tell them too.

1. The islanders play in a big city market with a small town feel which makes it a unique place to play.

2. The fans are passionate and want to root and watch a good hockey team that wins, is competitive and contend for the stanley cup every year.

3. The NVMC is the oldest bldg in the league and when it is full and the team is winning it holds an incredible home ice advantage that you cant get in any other arena. The building is known as Fort Never Lose. A remodel is in the works with the LH project.

4. Long Island is a great place for families with great neighborhoods and the top schools in the country.

These need to be the points to sell the team and org for potential FA players.

trade proposal

Islanders send Gervais/Tambellini to Toronto for McCabe/Antropov

McCabe comes to help the PP. Antropov is 27 yrs old put up 28 goals and 70pts is a Center. This takes the load off Comrie who needs another Center to man the other top line.

Also if we can land Huselius

Huselius-Antropov-Ko
Bergie-comrie-Cumeau
Hunter-park-Guerin
Sim-Nielson-Coliton

Witt-Marty
McCabe-Sutton
Campli-Meyer

19 ISLES Mentioning to a reporter what your wish list includes is not tampering. No offers were made and no agents were contacted. The whole subject is a joke. Does anyone beleive that Drury and Gomez got locked up within hours of the FA period without discussion beforehand? Or for that matter any of the other players who signed the first day. These are multi million dollar contracts. Anyone out there think that they were completed over the phone in an hour or so? And who was the last GM in the NHL fined for tampering? Beats me.

Ceaser " If they can't prove that they have some staying power on an NHL club they will be moved."

Where? Who would take them if they can't cut it with the Islanders? And if they get moved, who takes their place?

That is why Snow will be bringing in some FA's here. He needs to balance the team with some established players in case the rookies just don't have what it takes. And secondly, he needs to bump up the budget to make it to the cap floor.

Don't beleive anything that comes out of Snows mouth until after July 2 nd. He knows just who is he going after and does not want to tip his hand. Just like draft day.....Sir William

Snow and Wang have a plan...Isn't that an oxymoron?

The Oracle has already told you about the draft...I have already told you about the F.A's....We will get no major tickets.

AZS....I agree with you all the way, and did not mean to suggest I want them to go out and spend for the sake of spending....I just want to warn everyone that NVMC will be a ghost town...Us hard core fans will sit through a full youth movement, but no one else will....and I am still worried about losing the mind of our franchise goalie...I am sure promises were made to DP, Witt, Guerin, eyelashes, etc....Now what do they tell those guys??

I would tell DP that he was given a life time of security and that if he has a problem with what the Isles are doing then he can give back his contract and leave...I would also tell him to stay in his net and stay healthy...he won't give back the money and he also won't stay in his net ;-)

I would tell Guerin - you barely scored last year. We signed you to a 2 year deal and made you captain and didn't produce at all ...if you want the team to be better then put the puck in the net ...you've got one year left on your deal - try and do something with it ...if you don't like what's going on here than give up your contract and leave ...

I would tell Witt - you are a warrior. We appriciate what you do for our franchise. We're trying to build something here and we want you a part of it. We feel that we have to build through youth, but we want you to be a big veteran presence for us, and you saw Eric Cairns at the draft table right? Well, we can dust off another chair for you when you're done playing ;-)

I would tell Comrie - I love the toe drags - keep 'em coming! ;-) kidding ...

Steady, I wasn't trying to say that you wanted to spend for spending sake ...and I agree ...NVMC will be a ghost town - but trust me ...there were many nights last year when it was like that as well ...

FYI: Isles / Bruins Conference Final game from 1983 on NHL network

Would anyone try to give Bertuzzi a low-level offer?

The whole point of the FA period is not to go after "major tickets." Snow will go after players who are under 28 and who will be expected to grow with the team. There will be no Hossa's or Campbell's. But there will be a couple of pieces of the puzzle
that Snow is putting together.

It is clear that Snow is now calling the shots and that the so called "committee" experiment is over. Garth has a clear vision for this team and he is going to do it his way. Tuesday will tell the tale..............Sir William

Bossy's slapper was a laser beammmmmm ... I remember anticipating his goals. I wonder what his shooting % was over his career.

Where have you gone Pete Peeters??? We miss ya :-D

Sir W ~ I like your idea of Vrbata / Liles ... need help on the left side ... especially if Tamby falters.

BTW Sir W ... I did find out about the tampering question ... Zip never mentioned that Glen Sather or another Ranger official specifically said they were going after those players ... his article is suggestive in the context... but yeah ... if the Rangers did mention to anyone not "IN-HOUSE" that they were targeting players ... it IS tampering ... because it diminishes the team with said players' rights bargaining power on the eve of FA .... there are penalties financial and draft penalties.

I found this out from my old colleague at Fox Sports who knows the business side of both hockey and baseball. Tampering is defined by speculation .. on whether a player should sign with such an such 3rd party team ... or if a team mentions that it will target such and such player during free agency ... even if that is years down the road.

The difference is with Zips' article is that you can look at it in the context of that being Zips' wish list .. he was taking about trying to fit in Jagr ... but he could be asked what his sources are ... because he never mentions a source ..... and that is the loop hole.

So who knows if Slats leaked it? I didn't see anything like that in similar article in the News about Jagr ... no mention at all about UFA's in John Dellapina's article.

The same goes for Larry Brooks' article on Jagr too ... not one mention of UFA's ... so we'll chalk it up to Zippy's Homerism .. because it's obvious he writes just like a fan .... not that there is anything wrong with that.

Isles beat Boston 19Isles....thanks for the heads up...
That was fun.....I never got to see the Isles during their post season runs until they got to the finals.
( I was at game 3 in MN in 81--one of 4 or 5 noticeable Isle fans in the stands). I wore ketchup and mustard very well on my jersey and hat after the game.

LOL 505 ... yeah ... Isles won that game .... I watched that one on Sports Channel ... which became Fox Sports Net .. which now is MSG Plus .... ughhh .... the humanity.

I remembered doing home work during that game ... and not finishing it till after 12 midnight ... because I really wasn't getting much homework done watching that game.

Watching game listening to WPLJ when it was a Rock Station.

So here it is just over 24 hours away from the free agency period and Islanders fans have nothing to look forward to. But to this Islander fan that doesn't mean I wont be disappointed when the first week to 10 days goes past without anyone significant headed to the Island. I think the past month or two has been as disappointing as any as an Islander fan. First we lose the draft lottery and our chance at Stamkos. But the consolation prize is we have the 5th overall pick in a draft with 4 cant miss defenseman and a human hilite reel with a good work ethic out of Russia. Instead of taking a "cant miss" player we decide to trade down 2 times for more mid level picks - in a draft where we already had MULTIPLE 2ND AND 3RD RD PICKS!!! Now i have to hear our absolutely lost General Manager who has lost all confidence in an ability to lure a big name free agent here because Ryan Smyth shunned us for a chance to play in a stable organization that has other big name players on it. Garth do me a favor, Stop insulting my intelligence and telling me no one wants to come play in the Coliseum. No one wants to come play for a quirky owner who always thinks HE knows how to revolution hockey - and a back up goalie who is now a GM and an organization that has had more head coaches, and ownership changes in the past 15 years than playoff wins. How any of you fellow Isles fans can buy into "building from within" again must have lost sight of the fact we have done that about 8 times since 1993 - 15 years ago - the last TIME WE ACTUALLY WON A PLAYOFF SERIES - 2003 we gave the team a pass because the previous year we had a good team and should have beaten Toronto. But becuase of that and because Wang contrary to popular belief is a huge problem for this Organization got complacent with being an 8th seed that has lost 6 straight home playoff games. Look Pittsburgh's arena looks a lot nicer now than it did 4 years ago - why? Because they win games, and sell out the building. Yes they got Sydney Crosby handed to them to help out their cause but you will never hear their Owner Mario Lemieux say "We wont go after any big names b/c our building is unattractive." No he makes moves that he thinks will help his team in the present along with the long haul. He tried to sign Hossa to a long term contract and was turned down - will he now cower like Garth did after the Smyth shunning and not try again? I think not - he will do what it takes to take his team to the next step - only for them that next step is to a Cup - which is something we will never see again unless Garth and Charles decide to man up and play to Win. Its been way too long

Rob, I respect your opinion, but if you seriously don't think there's a plan, and that this team doesn't want to win, I don't know what we can do for you. You complain about free agents not wanting to sign big-money deals to come here, but were you one of the fans complaining that Yashin's contract was an albatross? You complain about Wang being a "quirky" owner, yet completely forget he's the only reason we still have a team and an excuse for you to bitch. You can disagree with our GM's strategy, but it clearly exists, and to call him "lost" and "clueless" seems pretty misplaced. It's an insult to the intelligence of most of the people on this board to claim we're drinking some sort of management kool-aid about building from within. It had been "done" before, but neither Maloney nor Milbury had a cohesive plan combined with the follow-through to execute. I hope there's execution here, and I equally hope you can tell the difference between planning and execution.

We would never see a Cup, as the Rags proved last decade, if we only concentrated on big-ticket free agents and ignored the need to cultivate and develop a farm system. I've said many times that I'm too young to remember any of the Cups, so there is nobody who wants to win one more than I do....However, from your perspective, I think you'll never get an honest opinion of this team until you decide to man up and show some patience.

Looks like Liles re-signed with the avs, per TSN...Sir W - whose next on your list?

What do you guys think about Roszival?

Jisles- nobody wants to sign here because of the perception that management has no clue. I would agree up to now and have to agree with SW that Snow is now calling the shots... We have to be patient. It took a long time to ruin this teams reputation...its also gonna take time to restore it. MSG and "the Igloo" are older than and they don't have problems getting UFA to sign there. But the perception that those teams know what they were doing makes them more desirable destinations than uniondale

Too bad about Liles. I was hoping that his having played with DP may have swayed him towards the island. I guess that Hainsey is next on the list, but if the D men disappear then McCabe may be headed our way.

I do not discount the fact that Fletcher and Snow may have made some other proviso in the deal that saw Toronto move up in the draft.

Vrbada and Hueslius are my first two choices, but Snow may have another young player targeted. All I can say is that he is not going after anyone over 30 and I don't see him signing any stopgaps like Tank or Joe V. It will be someone who can be counted on to be here for 4 or 5 years........Sir William

19 Isles Good job on the tampering investigation. I still think that it is mostly a "wink wink" deal around the NHL. Can anyone name the last GM or Coach who got penalized for tampering?

Or will we all be amazed at 12.01 on July 1 st when 20 players announced that they have signed with new teams?

Tampering in the NHL is baseball's phantom touch at second base on the double play. Everybody sees it, everybody knows it, but the runner is still out............Sir William

These are the types of Signings the Islanders Need - not overpaying for Christian Huselius - he won't be playing with Iginla.

D - Hainsey - 2 years 6.6 Mil (PP QB)
C - Morrison - 2 years 6.8 Mil(Playmaking Center)
LW - Hagman - 2 years 6.4 Mil (Good 2 way player)
RW - Asham - 1 year 700,000 (enforcer)
one of the next 3 goalies needs to be signed b/c
Macdonald is not the answer:
G - Auld - 2 years 1.6
G - Conklin - 2 years 1.6
G - Emery - 1 year 600

Try to Sign Ryane Clowe to an offer sheet - 3 years - 2.6 per

I would rather not see Andy Hilbert & Ben Walter on our team this year - I only good move by Snow was realizing Bates was done and buying him out.

What does everyone think???

Malone signed with Tampa for 5 years at $35.1M? WOW!!! Well .. if he's playing on the left side of Stamkos or Lecavelier .. he might just look like he's worth 5M per .... but he's still a 25 goal scorer ... a rugged one at that ... but still .... good luck with that Tampa.

That's going to set the tone for salaries this FA. I doubt Pitt could of been able to do that for Malone ... so Pitt swung a good deal ... they got a draft pick out of a guy that wasn't going to be around.

Cheers Rob...that's about how I feel, too. Garth seems very lost to me, and has for some time. This was painfully evident at the deadline. Now