Islanders Season In Review: Goalies and Defense

Before I begin, I would like to say that I am a huge fan of winning through the draft and player development. I believe that is how a team should win. I had always admired the Islanders of the late 70's and early 80's when they were winning year after year and then making the timely trades to push them to the Cup victories. Having said that, I have respect in recent times for teams like Detroit, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Boston because they have won in the same manner. Having said that, what I witnessed from this years Islanders team was that patience is a virtue.

At the beginning of the season I had the Islanders playing for 85-90 points, somewhere close to 10th place in the conference. Luckily for me, there were a few bloggers, writers and critics who were predicting the same thing, so I wasn't off base. The Isles ended up with 79 points and once again were in the draft lottery. Speaking for myself, this was a disappointing season and in no way should the Islanders be in the top five of this years draft. Now there are not going to be any grades. I'm not a teacher, but, I will be going over each position, including the management to illustrate where the holes are in this organization. Let's start with the goalies.

Goalies: Once again, the Islanders proved you can never have enough goalies. They dressed six goalies but played five, which is still at least two too many. Evgeni Nabokov started in 41 games winning almost half  of them (19). He went out with a lower body injury a couple of times during the season. Al Montoya started 26 games and could only accomplish 9 wins, but to his defense, it was said that he was playing through an upper body injury and possibly some concussion symptoms. In my opinion, he gets a pass for the last part of his season of troubled times. Rick DiPietro played in only 8 games due to a groin injury. See a pattern folks. If the Islanders want to make it into the mid 80's, there needs to be two goaltenders on the team not three. No team holds three goaltenders.

How to fill in the holes: For next season Nabokov should be the starter and, health permitting, should be able to play 55+ games. Whoever the backup is should be healthy and ready because of Nabokov taking control of the net. The bright spots for the goaltending are Poulin and Nilsson, who are developing nicely in Bridgeport, but to be fair, I think Poulin could use at most half a season while Nilsson could use a full season of development. However, their futures are looking good on Long Island.

Defense: Half of the top six defenseman played in 65 games or less. That's less than 80 percent folks. You're just not gonna win games when your top six only "show up" for 65 games. Steve Staios and Mark Eaton were the worst in giving up goals 5 on 5, while I believe Milan Jurcina did not use his huge size effectively nor was he nasty enough.  Moving on to the core players I believe Captain Mark Streit had very good offensive numbers despite missing all of the 2010-2011 season. I would like to see him with a combination of a better, younger defenceman than Staios and someone who could be a little more grittier than Jurcina. As for MacDonald and Hamonic, I truly believe this could have been a case of the sophomore slump since it was there second full season together. I would expect them to have bounce back years next year, and I'm going on record now, watch for Hamonic because he will be a player on a mission. In the system, Dylan Reese was very good for the Isles defensively in 28 games and looked liked he belonged. Aaron Ness and Matt Donovan got a few games under their belt.

How to fill in the holes: For me, it's simple addition by subtraction as Staios, Eaton and Jurcina are all unrestricted free agents. Let them go. The defense could be improved just by bringing up Donovan, Wishart and Ness and resigning the unrestricted Reese. I don't see that happening, but my point is if the Isles have trouble defensively, there is a good developed defensive pool in Bridgeport to pick and choose from.

Coming up soon on my next blog, we'll take a look at the offense and coaching staff including the General Manager. As always comments are always welcomed.

Have The Islanders Arrived?

I really need to stick to my guns when I make an original prediction. Scroll down a couple of writings (2/29) and you'll noticed I had hoped for 83-88 point from the Islanders. Then, in my last post, I thought for sure 77 was the magic number. Welcome to the enigma and the growing pains (of all kinds) that are the New York Islanders. They currently have 77 points with five games remaining after whipping a Pittsburgh team twice in a home and home series. The Islanders have found life in the form of the Bailey-Neilsen-Okposo line. You all know the numbers and you know the stats, to put it simply, they're on fire. Most important, the Islanders are winning without the help of their first line and their start center John Tavares.

As a fan, I could not be happier getting out of the lottery draft because I firmly believed that the Islanders simply did not belong in that mix. Yes there is still five games left and anything is possible, but my hope is that the Islanders get close enough to 80 points so they can avoid it. I've been reading a lot from fans saying that these games are meaningless and that there is no pressure for the Islanders, win or lose. I see where they are coming from, but only to a point. If you look at the Islanders schedule from this month, there are only two teams (Toronto and Tampa) that really are not playing for anything at this point. Every one else is either in a race for a playoff or even bigger, their division. So there is some meaning for the other team to win against the Islanders, but on the flip side, the Islanders don't want to be beaten down anymore that what they've gone through already, so pride has meaning for players and fans alike. Many fans have come to think that the Islanders did not have an Identity this season, which is true, but they have one right now....spoilers and they're doing a great job of playing that role.

But seeing players excel the way they have recently, is it less pressure or has this team finally turned the corner? Are Islanders fans witnessing a very promising future or just another tease? No doubt, fans expected more in the free agency last summer from Garth Snow than what was done, but what fans weren't expecting was the rise of players Snow drafted such as David Ullstrom, Casey Cizikas and the excitement of maybe having Michael Haley up for a full season along with having Nino Neiderreiter on a scoring line. Make no mistake, this offseason is crucial for Snow, the Islanders and it's fans, but what needs to be seen are the players who are excelling now do the same thing in October and November when the season begins to compliment what hopes to be a good offseason of acquisitions.  That responsibility lays squarely on the head coach, whoever that may be. This team needs to be assembled and ready before training camp, no more invites and sudden signings. The coach must have this team wanting to win and win early. If this all comes together, then it's time the players looked at themselves in their mirrors and show to the rest of the NHL that they, the Islanders, truly have arrived and show that these last games of the season are not meaningless.  

Isles 5 Pitt 3

Isles sign Grahame

NYISkinny: Eric Hornick's Blog: Isles sign Grahame: The Isles have signed veteran netminder John Grahame to a contract for the rest of the season.  This will allow Kevin Poulin (and Anders Nil...

Isles Win 5-3 over Pens Highlights

Which Draft Number Will The Next 7 Games Bring......

Looking at the remaining seven games for the Isles: two against Pittsburgh, Boston, Ottawa, New Jersey, Winnipeg and Columbus, I can't help but ponder where the Isles are going to end up in the draft lottery this year. Frankly, its upsetting because I did not have the Isles finishing in the bottom five this year, hoping not to have to blog about another lottery, but alas, here we are. Realistically, I could see the Isles winning two out of the seven, maybe throw in an overtime loss if they're lucky. Let's face it, other than the Jets and Jackets, the Isles are up against some of the top 10 in the NHL, all going after playoff positions and division titles. I doubt we will see the backups during this stretch, maybe Hedberg from Jersey.

So tack on four more points and the Islanders end up with 77 points. If you want to be a bottom five team, you need less than 80 points and the Isles will be doing just that. With Toronto and Carolina playing each other tonight, one of them is guaranteed 77 points and if it goes to overtime give the other 76 points. Anaheim just needs one win in seven and they're at 77 points as well. We'll assume that with 5 games left all three teams will surpass the 77 point mark. So will the Islanders end up in 5th? Maybe. I think it's safe to agree that Columbus will be in the number one, but I'm not sure Montreal will be picking behind them. A season ending injury to Taylor Hall of Edmonton  may actually put the Oilers at the number two position in the draft by seasons end. Number 3? This is where it's close. Only Minnesota could beat out the Isles in points while I think Montreal could finish with 77 points as well. Both have more home games than away and have more winnable games than the Isles. Unless there is tanking involved, Minnesota could very well end up with 78 points and there would be a tie with the Islanders and the Canadiens, giving the edge to Montreal, leaving the Islanders in third place. So even after the lottery, the Isles should be picking 3rd or 4th in this years draft. So my predictions goes as follows:

1st: Columbus
2nd: Edmonton
3rd: Islanders
4th: Montreal
5th: Minnesota

Who the Islanders should pick will be discussed after the actual draft lottery, but for now, let's see who tanks the final 6-7 games. Bring on Bridgeport!!

There's Still Optimism To Look For In The Islanders

     Having been on vacation all of last week, watching the trade deadline come and go (Isles fans should thank Boston fans when you see them) and watching the Islanders lose a heart breaker to the Caps last night, the feeling around the web was one of a lot of questioning and doubt. Why Neilson  took the faceoff and not Reasoner; why is Reasoner still on this team if not used in the right situation, like last night; Bailey trying to do too much; Capuano's decision making etc. When you sum it all up it's called growing pains and that's what the Islanders are going through right now, even the coach. Everyone will learn from this mistake(s) and hopefully move on. I'm sure Islanders fans have seen enough of this year that most are happy for spring training but I wouldn't put away your Islanders gear just yet. There is a combo that people should look at for the remainder of the year which may be a good sign in 2012-13: Josh Bailey and David Ullstrom.
     I'm not sure if people have seen the stats on these two, but when Ullstrom and Bailey are on the ice together, it makes you wonder what could have been if Ullstrom were here all year long playing with Bailey. In the 15 games both Ullstrom and Bailey have played together the Islanders are 6-5-4. Ullstrom has 2 goals, 2 assists for 4 points, while Bailey has 3 goals 4 assists for 7 points. That's almost a point every two games for Bailey, imagine a full season? Now by no means am I proclaiming the Islanders have solved the secondary scoring, but fans need to see if this duo can continue this nice pace for the remainder of the season and with Frans Neilsen playing center for a little while, it may have been that Bailey just lacked the talent around him to support the third line all of this year. Having said that, I would not be against sending Cizikas down to Bridgeport and having Nino Neiderrieter on the third line with Ullstrom and Bailey for the remainder of this year, just to witness. I also wouldn't mind seeing Bailey on the second power play unit and maybe contributing more from that end. The playoffs may be a stretch, but for me, 85-88 points is still a reachable goal if Bailey and Ullstrom can find and bring some needed support to the first two lines.

Eaton Demanded Trade

I would have to find a you tube link, but it came from Dennis Potvin during the Senators/Islanders game that I overheard. He basically said that Eaton has demanded a trade from the Islanders. Unfortunately that's all I have, but I do know that some of the Canadian media had put Eaton as a trade possibility. It also makes sense with Ty Wishart up on Long Island. If Eaton were to be traded (probably for a draft pick) and Travis Hamonic returns from injury, Aaron Ness would be the only one sent down and Wishart could be here for the remainder of the season. Thoughts?

Isles Big Week

     So since my last post, the Islanders have gone 3-3. The good side to that is having the Islanders six points out of  a playoff spot with plenty of time left in this season. In my opinion, the Islanders should have been buyers three weeks ago. Instead, they have made call-up after call-up hoping for a spark or just filling in for an injured player. The Islanders are down to one week to determine if they'll be buyers or sellers, but it will probably take a 3-0 or an 2-0-1 record to really make a case for Garth Snow to add payroll.
     What position should the Isles improve on? Who will be given up to get that player? Well that really depends on the this week, the next two days to be exact. With games against Ottawa and Buffalo coming up, the Islanders need to win both to make Snows decision an easier one. Give up a draft pick or two and get whoever is needed to make that push for the playoffs. Keep Parenteau, Nabokov and the rest of the vets and really put it together in March, then deal with contracts later. I don't care if the Islanders play the Rangers in the first round, actually, I would welcome that. There is nothing like a little television exposure and playing in New York City for a couple of days would be perfect to get some bigger, nationwide exposure for these young Islanders.
     The harder questions will arise if the Islanders lose the next two games. Yes, they could be sellers, but who really goes? Parenteau is now the number one favorite forward amongst other GM's  in the League, what kind of a price tag could he fetch? Nabokov certainly would be of interest to other teams, even Mark Eaton could be had for a decent 5th rounder (sarcasm).  With payroll being as low as it is, I would imagine that Snow would want a player in return, at least for Parenteau, maybe Nabokov. All these rumors, questions and conspiracy theories will be answered soon enough, especially if the Islanders could take the next two games. For now, they're in the playoff hunt. It's been a while since most Isles fans could be able to say that. It starts against Ottawa tomorrow.