Islanders/NHL/Finals notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 5/22/2008 04:38:00 PM | | |
Islanders website: Answered the fans questions from the open house last week.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Best player available, we'll see what we can do. A lot of stock answers to questions but impossible to blame the Islanders for this. They cannot give definitive answers to most of these questions without giving up strategy. What can they say about transportation answers that are more Nassau County than the club but who they no doubt will try and work with?

Point Blank: Mr Botta answered more questions in his blog with this one on fan relations with the team.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
It should be noted all links to Mr Botta's blog have been removed from the Islanders website. I would hope the person taking Mr Botta's spot would be willing to blog and talk to the fans at some point also.

What was the rush to pull his link or not leave it in for Islander fans who use the website to access it? I did not know this until today because his blog is linked here.

Media blog: Cory Witt reports Bill & Kara Guerin are being honored at the Long Island Children’s Museum on May 30th. Part of the evening will include a live auction, which the Guerin's are offering up the opportunity for 12 children to play a game of street hockey at their Long Island home with the Islanders captain.

National Post/several reports: Confirm Tony Granato has been signed on for a second time to coach the Colorado Avalanche.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Would I be correct in guessing Lou Lamoriello would be the last one to coach the same organization twice unless were talking about Larry Robinson from the same organization?

A little surprising but Larry Robinson went from coach to assistant coach back to head coach. Granato will do the same after being an assistant for the Avs.

Of course Robinson won a Stanley Cup for the Devils.

Islander fans are well aware Mike Milbury came back a second time from the gm box to coach and that did not end well at all with the players practically driving Milbury back upstairs for good.

I wonder if Peter Laviolette will in the same position a year from now?

Detroit Free Press: Has Gary Bettman's comments from a radio interview (WDFN-AM 1130) on the finals, the scheduling conflicts and a bunch of items.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
I know it's easy to blame Bettman for anything/everything but if this was scheduled over a year in advance by both leagues there is nothing that can be done to anticipate this. The Wings and Pistons no longer share the same facility and also the networks are competing with one another.

Also both the Wings and Pens have earned a few days off. If Dallas-Detroit went seven games that would only have been a two day break. We see teams at playoff time get a full week off and more all the time after a short series. Four days is not that big a deal.

Fun storyline for me is Scott Bowman coached both clubs to their last Stanley Cup.

I have no idea which club will win, both play a modified trap and can slow things down with a lead. Both have good offenses with an extra gear that can turn it up.

This is a different Chris Osgood than in past years who won a cup but mostly was about the club in front of him dominating. Now he is stepping up where in the past soft goals found him. Fleury is playing like a number one pick only getting better. On paper the Wings have the better names on defense but that is all about the chemistry of the collective group.

It could be very close but it could be a blowout also with one teams system/strategy simply better at this time. A long/competitive series between one of the two best national ratings markets in the East (Pittsburgh/Buffalo) & the top ratings market in the West (Detroit) is the dream exposure matchup for hockey.

A guess prediction here but I see Pittsburgh in six. I have a hard time seeing a different Osgood who allowed soft goals in critical moments because that's how I remember him even if he has seemingly turned around his career this season which is unfair on my part but an impression that marks his career for me.

For what little this is worth Osgood is one of those goalies who is not wearing an extra fifty pounds of equipment where he takes up another twenty percent of the net, he broke in during a different generation for goaltenders. My impression is Pittsburgh's great offensive talent will see those openings and exploit them.

Having written all that if Osgood plays like a stopper Detroit has a great chance.

Will Espn News be the only outlet with a full postgame when NBC goes off the air when they start covering games? This is a problems Versus should finally correct because in past years once the contract for their games was up they stopped all finals post-game coverage.

Games would be off NBC within minutes, Versus would be showing their own programming and hockey fans had to scramble to find any postgame press conferences after a team wins a Stanley Cup.

Enter Espn News for all postgame which is kind of ironic and only fuels the
Espn-spin doctors in the media business with a vested interest to market Espn & everyone else to make a great point why not get Espn back in the mix for hockey if Versus is not going to do a postgame.

Dick Ebersol, Sam Flood, Gary Bettman, Comcast, Ed Snider, Versus, repeat after me.

All finals games will have full postgame coverage and press conferences on Versus after each game of the Stanley Cup Finals followed by a repeat of the NBC telecast.

No law against Versus making every day hockey day with past finals highlights, hockey programming, and a pregame before NBC shows the live game either.

Updated:
Elite Prospects.com: Reports former Islander Zigmund Palffy signed a three year contract extension with
HK 36 Skalica today which their website confirms here.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Like Chris Simon we do not know if his contract could allow for him to sign as an NHL unrestricted free agent but given how long Ziggy has been out of the NHL I would expect he will end his playing career where he is after this contract. Of course this Islander fan wishes Palffy the best of luck.