Some Sunday Islander-NHL Notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 8/05/2007 10:30:00 AM | | | | |
You go through the hockey information on a day like today and it's just really shows how political and bias so many of the hockey media are or just flat out fans of what's best for the team they cover only as they take kicks at teams and players they don't not personally like.

Of course you always get a lot of websites sites that attempt to write a paragraph about thirty teams and just don't know what they are writing about because they don't follow all the teams. This will be the first of many like this as we get closer to training camp.

With that we begin with a very incomplete and uninformed mid-summer review of the Islanders in the hockey forecaster that does not even include the signing of Ruslan Fedotenko and is the only one to claim Bergenheim is replacing Robitaille, even thought Bergenheim is not a center. This also gives the impression the Islanders went all out to retain Jason Blake which was never the case as soon as it was reported he wanted at least four years and eighteen million. Also not a word about the defense from losing Poti to constant reports of Snow looking for a replacement?

I do agree the first line looks more like a second line and the second line is more like a third line, but after Yashin for years as the only credible first line talent, what's changed other than hopefully some harder workers with more speed and skill are on the roster?

So far: It was addition through subtraction when the Isles bought out Alexei Yashin's contract back in June. However, all that money they freed up could not entice Smyth nor Blake to stay. So it was onto Plan B, in which GM Garth Snow signed veteran Bill Guerin (promptly making him the team's captain), as well as diminutive center Mike Comrie. Both are expected to garner top-line minutes. Sean Bergenheim was also brought back from Europe, effectively replacing Randy Robitaille, who signed to play there. They also added Jon Sim to replace the departed Viktor Kozlov. Finally, Wade Dubielewicz was re-upped to be DiPietro's backup.

Still left to do: Their second line looks more like a third line and their first line looks more like a second line. The Isles would love to add a quality sniper, but the free agency cupboard is pretty bare now.


Ranger politician and spin doctor Larry Brooks at the Islander beatwriter-less
NY Post for some reason needed to get in his obligatory little dig at the Islanders in his Sunday cheapshots column here claiming like Edmonton, Garth Snow needs offer sheets because no one will come play for the Islanders unless that player is paid well above market value.

Funny, but the Islanders have never done as well in unrestricted free agency as they have done the last two summers, signing established talents like Mike Sillinger, Brendan Witt, and now Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie. Nor have they ever dropped an offer sheet on any other player, unlike the Rangers.

This only begs the question did he think the Ranger UFA's signed for anything but well above market value for one player who had less goals than Jon Sim last season, with only one twenty goal season in his career in (Gomez) and another who's never broken the seventy point mark? (Drury) Shanahan took no discount when you include his very easy to attain bonus-filled contract either.

Hasn't Brooks endured enough lawsuits from Brian Burke that he write about someone else at this point too?

News was not much better out of Toronto where Leaf lobbyist Steve Simmons
here feels something does not smell right with the new potential owners of the Predators or why the current owner took less money and that the Preds have no market.

Of course we all know Simmons wants another team in Canada to give him another team to write about which helps him and his meal-ticket in Toronto. Nashville has never had more than moderate success and still come close to 14,000 on avg, this idea there is no market in Nashville seems very unfair because they have produced solid tv ratings also and their campaign's have produced solid local interest.