Islander News Articles 3/1:

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/28/2009 10:02:00 PM | | | | | | | | | | |
Newsday: Greg Logan's game article claims the source close to Guerin reported him being scratched was " precautionary" and will make his decision in the morning about agreeing to a trade.

Head coach Scott Gordon comments, who Mr Logan claims Guerin has been " at odds with much of this season " discussed how he will fill the possible leadership void as he addressed some of his younger players.

Newsday: Greg Logan in Islanders Newsday blog after Tsn report (8:45pm) writes according to a source close to Bill Guerin the team has a deal in place pending his approval with an announcement either late Saturday but likely Sunday.

Bad News is Mr Logan reports Guerin's situation has been exacerbated by what he writes is a rocky relationship with coach Scott Gordon, some details of which will appear in a story in Sunday's Newsday about tensions between several veteran players and the rookie head coach.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
So much for enjoying another shutout win.

How come Mr Logan simply does not give us all the details now or does it have to be dragged out over weeks/months to create as much negative perception as possible?

Seems like the only time the club gets a special story in Newsday is when it's along these lines or it's obvious bad news. The good news kind of just fades away without much followup.

I'm not in the room, obviously it's been a tough year and of course there are going to be problems especially with a rookie head coach. Every time the Islanders played Atlanta, John Anderson was seemingly blasting his players.

Is this the same Bill Guerin who has praised Scott Gordon on several occasions in papers outside Newsday around North America (with Doug Weight) and went out of their way to do so?

Again, I'm not in the room so I do not know.

I hate to write it but this has to be somewhat of a cross-roads again for Mr Botta who was the one who broke the story on Nolan-Snow last year at a time he went from team official to independent blogger. Will he dish the dirt or confirm where Greg Logan is going with this and if he knew it why did he not report it already?

Why did Mr Logan wait for Guerin's likely departure unless the captain wanted it that way?

I tend to think unless it's well outside the norm these things should be kept in house for all teams. No team in hockey (or any sport) has everyone happy with their coach/manager and when you are in 30th place with four hundred man games lost nothing can be better than ok on the best of days.

This should really help free agency, Snow's status as gm and the Lighthouse.

The other team Newsday covers does not report on their dirt, regardless of whether the coach is fired or the players do not like the coach or one another. Seems like things are done differently with the Islanders in the reporting beyond the lack of updates.

Newsday: Mark Herrmann gives his view of Mr Wang's long interview with the paper on Friday with several of his comments repeated.

Newsday: Mark Herrmann has a few words from Msg on Bill Guerin sitting out as apparently the Cablevision owned club again will receive the bulk of Newsday coverage.

Updated 12:00am:
Tsn.ca: Darren Dreger reports the Boston Bruins are not the team involved in a trade for Guerin and after referencing Mr Botta's earlier report
notes sources close to the veteran forward say he has not yet been asked to waive it and that sources tell TSN that Guerin has been told he likely will not learn which team has expressed interest until the morning, as the Islanders work on finalizing a deal.

NY Post: Dan Martin's coverage of the Islanders win has virtually nothing on the game besides a brief recap with all coverage centered around Bill Guerin. Kyle Okposo's comments about the current captain, calling him " tremendous " as he was asked about the captaincy role for himself in his future.

Daily News: Peter Botte's limited space gave us one paragraph on the game with no quotes from coach or players with all Guerin/other trade speculation.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Sure would be nice to get an AP article link with that because Danis, Bergenheim and the team deserve some coverage on the win. When they play road games (or ex-owners go to prison) they get a sports ticker recap where more space is provided than this which is beyond the writer but should be able to manage his game space better.

Buffalo News: John Vogl already has a game article and reaction from the players with head coach Lindy Ruff.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Good stuff from a paper that used to post it's articles by noon the next day after most games.

Los Angeles Times: Helene Elliott reports a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed Scott Niedermayer has been told he won't be moved before Wednesday's noon PST trade deadline despite his UFA status while Espn's Pierre LeBrun's speculates on this and other possible trades.

CP: Reports Philadelphia has cleared enough cap space to finally add Daniel Briere to it's lineup.

Cbc.com: Reports Derek Boogaard of the Minnesota Wild was suspened for five games after an elbow to the head of Brandon Prust in the head with just over one minute left in Minnesota's 4-1 loss on Friday night.

AHL.com: Reports Bridgeport despite Andrew McDonald's callup won a big game Saturday against WBS Pens 3-2 at Harbor Yard with Nate Lawson in goal.

Mitch Fritz had a five minute major in this game so it could result in an AHL suspension for any possible Islander recalls.

1. WBS Pesonen, (18) (Goligoski, Letestu), 16:41
2. BRI McLean, (15) (Joensuu, Kohn), 16:20
3. BRI Iggulden, (22) (Joensuu), 1:44
3. BRI Kohn, (3) (Haley, Bentivoglio), 2:47
3. WBS Engelland, (2) (Goligoski, Letestu), 12:24 (PP)

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio has comments from Dustin Kohn and Nate Lawson on Bridgeport's win which moved them into second place in the Eastern Division with blog entries here.

Bridgeport plays the back end of this home and home at WBS Sunday at 5pm.

Times Leader: Has Pens coverage on their loss.



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New York 2, Buffalo 0

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/28/2009 07:37:00 PM |






















NHL.com: Recaps New York's 2-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday.

New York wins season series 2-1-1.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Sean Bergenheim's first career two goal game.
Yann Danis second shutout in seven days.

Before the game I wrote we'll see how bad the Buffalo Sabres want to stay together.

For the better part of fifty five minutes (aside from a few odd minutes) they were outworked by the Islanders and did not compete very hard for second chances nor did they generate a lot of breaks for themselves despite their injuries.

Only area Buffalo showed up was in the scrum department after whistles which we saw a lot in the October blowout but not as much in the games at Buffalo. Isles held their own with no fights but like most games are simply not as big as the Sabres with Comeau vs Paul Gaustad.

Not even Jochen Hecht could find a way he seemingly makes his living creating plays for goals against the New York Islanders.

Not a great start for the Islanders either with some choppy play, Bergenheim was the most visible again and seemed to look good whether he was on a line with Hilbert, Sim or whoever. He fell to strip the puck on the 2-0 goal off a nice feed from Nielsen.

Andrew MacDonald a good early shot but for the most part Islanders were chasing the play with Danis playing very well. Jackman had a great chance shorthanded but was robbed by Lalime.

Okposo, Comeau, Bailey again very quiet until that powerplay with six minutes left in the second where they did not score but worked the puck well in the Buffalo zone.

I know Okposo was in on Bergenheim's goal but again Okposo, Comeau and Bailey just seem like their game is more east-west than north-south. Okposo for a right wing seems to be favoring making plays off left wing. Comeau is either struggling or that is throwing his game off while Bailey drifts around the perimeter or screens the goalie from a distance and does not do much else or at best is spotty in games.

Hilbert and Sim again involved and active, Martinek took a big clean hit, Joe Callahan took off the gloves but did not fight. Martinek threw a solid elbow for a penalty, Buffalo hit a post but again had been a play/pass short without much of a second effort.

Callahan, MacDonald solid on defense with a nice play on Jason Pominville in the third, Hillen again is noticeable with his offensive play.

Mark Streit playing twenty nine minutes is too much for a team in this spot.

Danis seems to be in a zone where he seeing the puck very well or getting the bounces.

Third period Islanders could not put them away with powerplay nor could Sabres do a lot with their powerplay. Some good defense but not great execution for the most part from either side in that department.

Buffalo had a little more urgency in the final few minutes but Bergenheim made a play that created the 2-0 goal and that was the hockey game.

Next up the return of Colorado's leading scorer Ryan Smyth (pending trade) and a club playing like a fifteenth place team in the Colorado Avalanche on a four game losing streak against the Eastern Conference.




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Bill Guerin Not Playing, Trade Pending Approval

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/28/2009 07:28:00 PM | |
The Islanders told the Msg+ crew covering the game Bill Guerin is not hurt, sick and at this time (after first period) nor has not been traded.

No one was recalled to take Guerin's spot in advance so obviously whatever happened was not expected or part of Saturday's plan to start the day. If him sitting was precautionary someone else would be here to take his spot.

Could be a trade that does not go through but usually when it comes to a player sitting out a game he will be traded.

I guess we'll know soon enough or on 3/4.

Bottom line-Islanders will add a veteran player with a contract for next season or a prospect or a draft pick. Guerin will not be moved for a pending UFA unless something comes back with it that helps beyond this season.

Takes a lot longer to speculate than to report something is done.

Guerin is an UFA also.

Updated 8:30pm:
The Islanders announced there will be no announcement until Sunday.

Mr Botta at Point Blank reports
there is a deal in principle that will send Bill Guerin “to an Eastern team” and will be finalized by Sunday, pending his approval.

Tsn.ca: Obviously got the message from Cory Witt's blog the other day and credited Mr Botta with the story on Bill Guerin but considers what happened somewhat bizarre and added sources say Guerin has been told he likely will not learn which team has expressed interest until the morning, as the Islanders work on finalizing a deal and the Boston Bruins have been ruled out as a potential destination for Guerin.
**************************************************************
Unrelated but defenseman Derek Morris of Phoenix will be sitting out with his NTC according to Tsn until the deadline here but submitted a list of team he will agree to play for.

Morris is a pending UFA so he would have to be signed if by chance he were traded to the Islanders.



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Buffalo at New York 7pm Msg+

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/28/2009 01:00:00 PM |
Updated Player Pos Injury Expected Return
02/05/09 Maxim Afinogenov RW Groin IR. Out indefinitely
02/22/09 Ryan Miller G Ankle Out indefinitely
02/26/09 Jaroslav Spacek D Upper Questionable for Feb. 28 at N.Y.
02/27/09 Thomas Vanek LW Face IR. Might return March 4 vs. Montreal

02/26/2009 BUF 1 @ CAR 2
02/24/2009 ANA 3 @ BUF 2
02/21/2009 NYR 2 @ BUF 4
02/19/2009 BUF 3 @ PHI 6
02/17/2009 BUF 4 @ TOR 1

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Buffalo is playing win one/lose one hockey but are right in the mix for the final spot and this being their last game before the trade deadline should play their best if they want to stay together.

For the most part the Sabres are scoring their three-four goals a game which will make it tough on the Islanders unless they start getting some balanced scoring with the kid lines and Hunter due for a few goals and Streit the only defender finishing combined with the powerplay needing to score a few goals.

Patrick Lalime started the previous Coliseum game and is the expected starter for this game. Only Scott Gordon knows who will be his starter, if a rotation I guess it's Yann Danis turn.

Islanders had their worst game of the year in what seems another season last time Sabres came to New York losing 7-1 but went 1-0-1 in Buffalo since.

With Vanek out the scoring pressure goes up for Derek Roy, Pominville, Stafford and Kotalik. Tim Connolly has had another year of more time injured than playing but obviously is talented despite Mike Milbury who drafted him criticizing him a short time ago. The pressure should be on Connolly.

For the Islanders without Witt and perhaps Radek Martinek a defenseman or two Bridgeport callups likely becomes at least three and maybe four AHL defenders in the lineup.

Bridgeport played the same backline against Philadelphia Friday:
Lee-Gleed
Fraser-Wotton
Kohn-MacDonald

Utah has made no callups at this time and Bridgeport has games Saturday and Sunday.

Will add in updates/when I can.

May not have a game review until Sunday.





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Islander News Articles 2/28

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/27/2009 07:40:00 PM | | | | | | | | |
Newsday: Greg Logan in the Islanders Newsday blog has the transcript of Islanders owner Charles Wang's interview who invited Newsday sports editor Hank Winnicki, news side reporter Eden Laikin, Jim Baumbach, Mark Herrmann and himself to discuss the Lighthouse Project in a wide-ranging interview earlier Friday. According to Mr Logan in attendance were Michael Picker, president of the Lighthouse Development Group, Lighthouse public relations head Paul Lancey and Islanders general manager Garth Snow.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Transcript is too long but this is the version with Mr Wang's direct comments.

Whatever articles with writer opinion beyond this I will post below it but the transcript really is the entire ballgame where Wang-Picker answered anything I could think about the team, this process and the Lighthouse project.

You can essentially bookmark this as the blueprint for whatever happens ahead, seems Mr Wang was completely transparent in every area and did an excellent job.

If I read things correctly the Smg lease will be bought out at some point in the future if the project does move forward.

Newsday: Mr Logan's interpretation of Charles Wang comments.

Newsday: Mr Logan's other article is mostly a repeat of his blog entry on Brendan Witt's suspension with general manager Garth Snow's comments. Nothing from Witt about being suspended at this time, just mostly last night's comments from the NY Post.

NY Post: Dan Martin's Saturday article has Witt's comments from the postgame and added Witt will not appeal the decision with Garth Snow's statement.

Globe & Mail/CP: Report goaltender Rick DiPietro and Andy Sutton of the Islanders will be part of the committee to name a replace for Eric Lindros as NHLPA Ombudsmen this summer as Buzz Hargrove was named to the spot on an interim basis Friday according to Tsn.ca.

Buffalo News: Has coverage from Bucky Gleason & Jerry Sullivan of the Buffalo Sabres coming off their shootout loss to Carolina Thursday, they are without goaltender Ryan Miller after being injured last weekend.

Sporting News: Ray Slover has a few words on Bill Guerin waiving his NTC and trade deadline speculation on the Islanders.

NYI Fan Central Comments:

Mr Slover needed to do a better job here and point out what Mr Botta/Tsn included which was he would agree " under the right circumstances " which was left out of his commentary.

These things have to be including because it's simply misleading otherwise.

Sportsnet did an even sloppier job Friday without including that part and went a step further writing Guerin would only accept a trade to an Eastern Conference team here with a nice picture of Doug Weight next to the article which Guerin, Snow or the club did not have a single quote about.

This is how people read information and by the time it reaches outsides sources it is so out of context it's essentially worthless.

Vancouver Sun: Brad Ziemer reports with Vancouver claiming defenseman Ossi Vaananen from the Philadelphia Flyers, the Canuscks now have eight defenders and one coming off injured reserve with depth in the AHL.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Going to be interesting to see what Garth Snow does with his defense. Not making a move to claim Vaananen leads me to believe Brendan Witt is in his future plans unless a trade brings back a defender, no one is talking about Radek Martinek's status for Saturday.

Windsor Star: Reports former Windsor Spitfire Josh Bailey is among 28 players from 25 different National Hockey League teams who will be participating in the Donation For Minutes Weekend to raise funds for the international humanitarian organization Right To Play, which provides facilities, equipment and training for coaches in 23 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Each participant is donating funds based on minutes played and honouring a coach or role model that impacted their life as part of the weekend celebration.

Bailey, who will donate based on the minutes he plays in Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, has designated former Spitfires captain Mickey Renaud, who died last year, as his role model.

Windsor Star: Jim Parker has Spitfire gm Bob Boughner's comments there is zero chance Josh Bailey will be sent to Windsor to play in their upcoming playoffs before Wednesday's deadline and has had no recent contact with the Islanders. The article notes even a long playoff run for Windsor would not go very far beyond the end of the Islanders season for Bailey who is not AHL eligible for Bridgeport's playoffs.

The article also note The New York Islanders appear ready to give Barrie Colts enforcer Peter Stevens a pro chance and have asked the six-foot-three, 219-pound Stevens to join the East Coast Hockey League's Utah Grizzlies once Barrie's season is done which the Times-Herald Record confirmed with his comments a few day ago
here.

Barrie Examiner has a profile article on Stevens earlier this month here.

AHL.com: Recaps what is likely Bridgeport's final visit to Philadelphia in a 4-1 Sound Tiger win in Peter Mannino's return in goal.

1. BRI Joensuu, (16) (Iggulden, Colliton), 7:49
2. BRI Bentivoglio, (7) (Wotton, Fraser), 5:22
2. PHI Laliberte, (17) (Matsumoto, Curry), 7:50 (PP)
2. BRI Haley, (2) (Bentivoglio, Haskins), 9:05
3. BRI Walter, (15) (Joensuu), 15:29

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's game coverage with comments from head coach Jack Capuano and Michael Haley's line that keyed the win with Saturday's preview report no one at this time has been recalled for Brendan Witt (and maybe Radek Martinek) who left Thursday's game with blog entries on the win here.

Philadelphia Inq/Daily News: Combined Phantoms page with game coverage.





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More from Charles Wang

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/27/2009 06:48:00 PM | |
Newsday: Has some video of Islanders owner Charles Wang's comments about the Lighthouse Project and the team this afternoon.

Newsday: Jim Baumbauch in a blog entry had more from Charles Wang where he talked about the teams financial losses and was willing to show them to Newsday if given league permission while Mr Wang was "embarrassed" that TOH supervisor Kate Murray did not show up for TOH night and sent an official instead.


As for the project itself:

"But I don't want to have ultimatums," Wang said. "I have not done the ultimatums. I'm sure I will soon because I'll tell them this is what it is. But we've been jerked around on this for a little while now. Okay, I'm committed to keeping it on Long Island. I want to keep it on Long Island. It belongs on Long Island. Let us build the damn thing."

NYI Fan Central Comments:

According to Mr Botta, Mark Herrmann, Greg Logan and Eden Laiken all sat down with Charles Wang for this interiew with Mr Baumbach.

One thing we all know for sure is Cablevision-owned Newsday and at least their sports writing staff will take the direction of any discussion to the team moving to keep folks talking and because it's in Cablevision's best financial interest for the Islanders to relocate.

We now know the only way that can happen before 2015 is if the TOH does approve the project and Nassau County fails to negotiate a lease. If the TOH kills the project Mr Wang would have to sell to someone who would have to keep the club here for another five years to say nothing of Smg and Cablevision lease which Mr Baumbach would never touch because that is the domain of his new boss.

Mr Baumbach's speculation either way is essentially worthless but like virtually everything he does on the Islanders it has too much of a negative undercurrent which sometimes is fair and others is ridiculous which we saw after Al Arbour night.

Draw your own conclusions, these are mine.

For those who also think this is only Charles Wang's project Scott Rechler is just as important if not more to the Lighthouse.





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Brendan Witt Suspended Five Games/Notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/27/2009 06:18:00 PM | | | |
Islanders website: Report Brendan Witt was suspended for five games and will not be eligible to return until March 10th for the next game against Toronto if he remains with the Islanders past the trade deadline with general manager Garth Snow's comments.

NYI Fan Central Comments:

Seems like the number that comes up when it's time to suspend an Islander these days with Mottau getting only two games and Pock five. I'm almost surprised Colin Campbell did not take Witt out of play for the final game against the Leafs to avoid any potential problem and make it six games.

I guess Witt cannot get hurt in a game before the deadline if you consider that angle.

Newsday: Mr Logan in the Islanders Newsday blog had Witt's comments at 3pm Friday, most of which appeared in the 4am version of Dan Martin's NY Post article with only few extra words on the official's explanation.

Point Blank: Mr Botta had several earlier updates from the hearing to the Islanders statement and who was present.

Media blog: Cory Witt apparently is not happy the Tsn staff did not credit Mr Botta or his Point Blank blog for their report on Bill Guerin last night and claimed they just didn’t want to credit a blog with the scoop and if Newsday had it, he is sure they wouldn’t have had a problem with it.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
That was my first impulse also but who knows when the same sources spoke to Mr Botta vs Tsn. If Mr Botta was not an Islander team official for over twenty years I would not link to his rumors or reports either without confirmation from a credible news outlet for the same reasons a lot of fringe insiders who are not members of the print media are not used here.

Despite Mr Botta's long affiliation I guess Tsn is not ready to make that leap and credit a former team official with a site which is a new concept. Would Tsn reference Washington Owner Ted Leonsis's site if he broke a story?

Also in my estimation there is far too much emphasis on scoops and page views everywhere.

Sportsnet.com: Reports Florida Panthers defenceman Nick Boynton was sent home by the team Friday and will miss the final three games of this trip because of disciplinary reasons.

NYI Fan Central Comments:

Or until he's traded by Tuesday which is what this sounds like. Anyone get the feeling this player has forever seemed destined to wind up an Islander?

Glen Metropolit was claimed by the Canadiens.



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Garth Snow may have waiver claims to make

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/27/2009 02:00:00 PM |
Some may feel Islander general manager Garth Snow is done with the waiver wire and that could be true, however with a lot of teams looking to clear cap space to improve we could see some very interesting names placed on waivers or even recall waivers.

Snow already passed on Mark Bell from the Leafs and some goaltenders but unless he plans on giving Jeremy Colliton, Trevor Smith, Jesse Joensuu, Mike Iggulden, Kurtis McLean, Tomas Marcinko or Ben Walter a call he could well need players just to finish his final twenty one games.

There is also a clear-day list to prepare for Bridgeport.

Snow makes a trade for picks he may need a waiver or two to fill out a lineup.

Bridgeport has depth issues also and a playoff spot to secure with a lot of weekday games the rest of the way. They will play more of an NHL-like schedule.

Also keep an eye on players who are sat down or take a day off (see Ryan Whitney) as everyone knows by now he was traded to Anaheim.

Philadelphia placed center Glen Metropolit, 34, and defenseman Ossi Vaananen, on NHL waivers Thursday, clearing $2 million to find cap room for Daniel Briere's return, Metropolit has another year remaining on his contract, Vaananen, an unrestricted free agent after this season, make $1 million.

Just the fact the Islanders may lose Witt via suspension/trade and Martinek to injury/trade Snow may claim someone to fill out the NHL depth on his roster with Campoli, Skinner gone and no sign of Meyer, Pock or Sutton in the near future.

The depth department on the backline is very thin now with Andrew MacDonald, Chris Lee from Islander camp, Dustin Kohn, Jamie Fraser, Jon Gleed and Mark Wotton in Bridgeport.

Islanders have first call on all waivers, regardless how many players are placed on the list. If they go on re-call he has first choice again.

Garth Snow may need to make a claim just to stay above the cap floor if he moves a few veterans with larger salaries to compensate.

That could happen sooner than Tuesday, enough was written on Avery who's status has to be decided by then or he's stuck with Dallas.

A little twist to the rules after the trade deadline is anyone placed on waivers/or re-entry waivers cannot play for their new team in the regular season or in playoff games if claimed.

You can call this the Jeff Hamilton rule for all our Islander-Sound Tiger fans who remember all the times he was placed on waivers at the end of the season.

In most cases that allows teams to make call-ups without much risk of losing a player but in Garth Snow's case it could help him build his roster for next season.








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Brendan Witt's elbow, suspension?

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/27/2009 11:53:00 AM | | | |




Of course if this becomes a battle of the media, Witt will get a huge suspension because the New York Islanders have no media to lobby anything for them while the Leaf media will defend their laundry. Witt's been here a while with no history but a long career and has been outspoken against Colin Campbell which should never be a part of this.

Not defending anything one way or another, the pictures and video's I have viewed all come from the other side so I cannot see where exactly Witt's elbow landed whether it be the head, jaw, or neck which seemed to make a huge difference for Mike Mottau.

If Witt thinks his hit was illegal he will sit some game.

What I can write is if Niklas Hagman has concussion problems like with Kenny Jonsson all it takes is for a hit to graze someone that could knock them out. I just cannot tell enough here to know where exactly the elbow landed either way nor am I writing he only grazed Hagman. Witt had no stick and threw out his arm and the elbow caught him.

How bad and where I just cannot tell nor does that mean he receives a pass.

Both players were moving toward one another quickly. By the still picture you could make a case Witt threw out a leg too but we saw that a week ago not even come close to a penalty or review where the Islanders felt it was intentional.

Does this mean Witt should not be suspended? Absolutely not.
The intent, what the ref saw, the players comments and maybe another replay will give us that answer.

How long did it take even with slow-motion replay to determine Mottau hit the neck and that was considered different from a head shot, weeks?




Of course in another era Gary Roberts charged from center ice, took both hands and slammed Kenny Jonsson's head into that wonderful hard plexiglass, got a five minute penalty and no suspension.

What I can write is I have no faith in anything Colin Campbell and what his crack staff decide because the decision making has obviously been about who you are vs what was done far too often. The Islanders are out of the playoffs so Witt is an easy suspension target to set an example like a new official calling mandated penalties in a game long decided because they are graded.

That recent punch Sidney Crosby threw against Florida a while back to someone while they were down on the ice (to a sensitive area) with no suspension combined with Pronger vs Simon tells me all I need to know about rules vs special treatment for some players.

I guess it would be funny if he got a long suspension and somehow was traded to Toronto. Maybe Campbell rules the Leafs get the Islanders first round pick.

I bet that would be what their media really wants.
















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Islander News Articles 2/27

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/26/2009 11:00:00 PM | | | | | | |
Tsn.ca: Has the infamous NHL sources which report Islander captain Bill Guerin is willing to waive his no-move clause to accept a trade if the right opportunity is presented but hasn't asked for a trade. It's believed he has discussed his trade potential with Garth Snow and has acknowledged a willingness to consent.

Apparently the same league sources (or a different one) told Mr Botta this earlier which he presented on Point Blank as an exclusive with his personal speculation.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
We'll know when if he's traded, not before. This is not Miroslav Satan who is not quoted as much and the same thing could have happened with him a year ago. Snow would not be doing his job if he did not speak to Guerin and address what his options are if presented with a deal involving his captainn who has control of his destiny.

Newsday: Greg Logan's coverage of the Islanders shootout loss against Toronto's theme from head coach Scott Gordon and Jon Sim was that the team did not quit and has played hard as the coach talked about building for next season.

Mr Logan reported Brendan Witt said he has a disciplinary hearing scheduled Friday afternoon with the NHL office. Martinek left the game " woozy " after hitting his head/jaw on the dasherboard.

Newsday: Mr Logan's other article could be a repeat but is worded somewhat differently which is mostly a game recap with no quotes.

Newsday: Jim Baumbach had comments from former owner John Pickett about Stephen Walsh and Paul Greenwood.

NY Post: Dan Martin has a very good recap of the game with comments from head coach Scott Gordon, Jon Sim and Brendan Witt who acknowledged there are going to be repercussions, will likely be suspended, apologized to Niklas Hagman and is fine with how the league treats blows to the head.

Daily News: Peter Botte's painfully short six paragraphs barely touches on the game with mostly speculation on trades.

At this time this was posted here the short article does not even contain any quotes.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Daily News barely covers home games with no room for extra hockey related news but it did not stop their editor finding a writer named Rich Shapiro on Thursday to do a full separate article (beyond business article) about hockey related mistakes of Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh when they were Islander executives under John Pickett here.

That article was longer than Scott Gordon got from sports editor Leon Carter when he was hired which unfortunately tells too much of the Daily News story of their coverage (or lack thereof) of our hockey team.

Toronto Sun & The Star & Globe & Mail with
National Post covers the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Mark Harrington & James Bernstein reports Newsday plans to eliminated free web content in it's newspaper in the near future which was announced here which was discussed before the season started at this blog as Msg also is losing revenue.

Already the sports media department at Newsday comment and for the most part defend their employer here.


NYI Fan Central Comments:

Frankly the coverage is so poor on our hockey team Newsday should be paying New York Islander fans to endure it most days and that's being kind. The disparity is only growing wider and wider in favor of the hockey team Cablevision owns recently when we were first told it would enhance hockey coverage.

This is not going to bode well for the Islanders PR department who spent a lot of advertising money and will not get a bump in city coverage to make up for it. This could be why we have not seen ads for a while for games where before they were all over the sports section and front page but this late in the season there are not many games left at home.

NYIFC will not be subscribing under any circumstances (nor has it purchased Newsday once since Cablevision took control or prior for a long time) and if it means no Newsday updates at this blog life goes on as I wrote about last summer. Neil Best and Anthony Rieber are already defending the move somewhat and praising Cablevision who pay their salary.

It would not shock me if there is free content it will only be for Cablevision-owned teams.

Charles Wang and Chris Dey must love this decision from a company that would not even clear webcasted pre-season games until days after they were played in September. If I were them I would hire some more team sponsored independent bloggers/writers with professional print or media backgrounds like Mr Botta to cover games and get player/coach comments.

No, I'm not talking about amateur bloggers but find out if a Newspaper is cutting staff and sign up a Craig Cumstance or Pierre LeBrun who changed outlets from papers to websites.

As I wrote the other day those hundreds of millions saved by getting the Islanders out of this market are big bucks for Cablevision, plus they can attempt to expand Msg hockey marketing freely without the New York Islanders. I do not think the decision is about hockey but the incentive sure does not hurt.

NY Times-Lynn Zinser went to Msg, Dave Caldwell went to Newark, AP went to the Nassau Coliseum.

Rocky Mountain News: Rick Sadowski in their blog reports the publication will be out of business fifty five days short of the 150 year anniversary by the time they play the Islanders Monday, but did have a few words on what looks like the final game covered against New Jersey on Thursday.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's coverage of what is likely the Sound Tigers final trip to the old Spectrum before the Phantoms move to a new location under new ownership out of state with blog coverage here.

Norwalk News/The Hour.com: Mike Madar has a feature on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defense.



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Toronto 5, New York 4 Shootout

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/26/2009 10:03:00 PM |























NHL.com: Recaps New York's 5-4 loss to Toronto on Thursday.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
That was one of the more entertaining game of the season for this team and a fun three hours.

Some positives but some negatives that go beyond losing the skills competition for the extra point.

Very positive how the Isles kept pressure on for a good part of this game and just drove the net and attacked. Toskala had to be very good to hold the Islanders to only three goals before he did revert to his reputation on Sim's goal.

Hilbert worked all night, was all over the ref for the delay of game and got it.

Mark Streit just looks like a world-class defender well beyond his scoring in every area, his play to open up Toskala for the 3-4 goal was just amazing. Hillen another very strong game on offense.

Tambellini dropped Luke Schenn with a clean shoulder and it drew a penalty when the Leafs responded. That's how you change a game with a hit.

Only wish he could bring his shootout skills to five on five play.

Bergenheim ever starts producing at even strength they have themselves a player, he was dominating shorthanded.

Blame Toskala/whatever for the 4-4 goal but three goals in four games by Jon Sim is helping the team. McAmmond was robbed in the first before he got his first as an Islander in the second on a good play.

The downside of this game was again not a big impact from Bailey, Okposo, Comeau or Nielsen with powerplay time or even at five on five. This team got most of it's scoring on the powerplay earlier this season, not it's almost reversed.

Seems like Okposo favors going to left side of the ice to make his offensive plays (he is on the left point during powerplays) and Comeau compensates by drifting to the right wing, they still get their chances but their chemistry as a line seems off with Bailey just not getting himself enough into the mix between them.

Nielsen has been off a little bit on his line too, especially with all the powerplay time he is getting on right wing when Okposo comes in off left point. Hunter needs to have more of an offensive impact.

MacDonald again was spotty, he will make a great save and then lets in a softie which led at least two of Toronto's goals and a terrible goal on Moore. Leafs ran MacDonald a lot in this game too driving the net.

Kubina's shot for the 3-2 goal can throw anyone off from there, he was great or you wondered how shots got past him.

Martinek did not cover the lane on the 4-2 goal from an angle he needed to have his stick in position, either a rut in the ice or he hit his jaw on the dasher.

Colin Campbell must be licking his chops with his crack committee after a Brendan Witt five minute elbow after he got into it with him a few years ago. No clue what/if a suspension will be given because there is no consistency in the decision making process.

Give the Leafs some credit tonight, they were the better team at the start and getting games to overtime is what they have done well. Tim Stapleton looked very good
and Jason Blake, many of their big forwards skated hard for Ron Wilson.

They are out of contention but are getting games to overtime, that's the survival skills our team needs to learn again.

This is out how the Islanders kept making the playoffs.

Too bad they did not get two points but liked some of what I saw here.





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Quick NYIFC Trade Deadline Notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/26/2009 06:07:00 PM |
Our live blog on 3/4 from 1pm-4pm during the deadline is still on at this time but will be considered tentative down until the final day because of family issues.

If I'm here we will have it for everyone wishing to stop in and talk New York Islanders starting at 1pm and going to about 4pm.

Either way New York Islander Fan Central is ready with features to follow the trade deadline here for everyone.

All live, radio, television, trade tracker links from the various sites are on the sidebar. A sidebar widget has a trade tracker that is active, a new feed was added to the crawl today because the other one had Senators trade when it was with the New York Islanders.

For this blog the New York Islanders are the headline team. For now we'll go with NHL news which may have a few other items but give us trades and transactions which have already started.

I'll see if we can improve that as the deadline comes closer. I may add even more crawls on deadline day but it will only be credible news outlets which I think we have almost all of them represented.


Twitter is active for NYIFC

I added the new RSS Feed to the inactive Twitter page I made for NYIFC months ago and put the link up for anyone who wishes to find it and comment there as well comment/e-mail here.

Only updates that will go there are feeds from here.

If I think of more things or more items are made available I will add them to the sidebar in our trade deadline section.

Thank You.



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Toronto at New York 7pm Moved to Msg+2

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/26/2009 01:00:00 PM |
Islanders got bounced to Msg+2 for Rangers Wednesday (pre scheduled before coaching change) but apparently now have had their game moved the day before to Msg+2 for Thursday's game because Martin Brodeur is starting for the Devils.

Time Warner either no sound, picture or both almost half of the time the Islander games are on this channel now which was the story during the Pittsburgh pregame beyond Knick ads for upcoming games.

It's been tough during pregames all year on this station.

Call this no definition TV when games start with grainy picture. I'm sure it will be ignored when adding up Islander ratings to make the case not a lot of people (Neil Best) watch a team not even scheduled in their cable guide.

What's the over-under on some Leaf media telling us the New York Islanders should not be allowed to draft Jonathan Tavares because the Leafs championship tradition and status merit him playing for their team and not ours?

Maybe we should send them some tapes of the 81 playoffs where Islanders swept Toronto 9-2, 5-1, 6-1 on the way to the second straight Stanley Cup.

Toronto is a team that won two straight in overtime/shootouts against the Rangers and is essentially on a 4-3-4 streak this month playing out the string with virtually no playoff expectations beyond new gm Brian Burke telling us his entire team can be on the block for the right price.

Lately they have not hit the five goal mark but do have two five goal wins this month so they can score on a given night in bunches.

Updated Player Pos Injury Expected Return
02/18/09 Mike Van Ryn D Lower body IR. Out until at least late February
02/03/09 Tomas Kaberle D Hand IR. Out until at least early March

I'm very happy for Jason Blake. I felt all along it would take a good year and a half between a poor team, expectations set too high with a big contract and this little thing called Leukemia but the winner he is found his game and seemingly finally fits in with Toronto.

Only wish our fans would stand up and cheer the man because he's earned it and gave his absolute best to this franchise.

I guess Joey MacDonald starts? Sure would be nice if Scott Gordon did not hide it like a state secret because I cannot see any coaches on other teams calling emergency meetings to ponder what either one of them starting would alter film or game strategy.

It does not violate NHL injury policy either last I looked.

Does Toskala play his third game in four days? With fifty one games played I would think so. Our friend from 2002 playoffs Curtis Joseph last played 2/12.

I would like Comeau, Nielsen, Bailey with these increased minutes/powerplays to finish a few goals with all the other things they do. The powerplay has to create more quality chances and the coach is giving them opportunities.

It's time to scrap Witt in front of the other goalie with the powerplay, there are forwards like Hunter, Guerin and Jackman for this, no?

He made his point with Witt, this can't be a long-term strategy?

Unless a new injury is announced add eight to your man games lost to injury which is now being tracked on the sidebar.

Updated:
Newsday: Greg Logan in the Islander blog at Newsday has an update on Yann Danis's excellent play with comments from Mark Streit on what the club does with both their goaltenders who have done a very good job with Rick DiPietro out.



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Value of Islanders in potential trades will come 3/4 at 3pm

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/26/2009 10:57:00 AM |
I have read a lot about the value of many Islander players in potential trades vs resigning them or simply not moving them at all and seeing where it goes into the summer.

At the end of the day when 3/4 comes we will get our answers, most of the talk is just that.

As usual I suspect the game will go on until the final hour in most cases. We know like last year (and unlike two years ago) this is a deeper draft with first round picks being of greater value and harder to obtain.

At least for now.

Value is a funny kind of thing when a deadline hits and a general manager feels he/they (Dallas Stars) case must make a move to win a cup and has limited choices with rumors of the general manangers job in the balance. All of a sudden a player who may only be worth a third round pick for months is worth a second or a first when 2:30pm hits and options are closing fast.

Look at Adam Foote a year ago and what Colorado gave up to get him back? I can easily see at least this much for Brendan Witt as a return considering he is under contract for two more years and has good value for a playoff team.

I have no idea what Garth Snow will do or what direction he will go in terms of his veterans, this is not last year where he was a few points out a playoff spot and would have been foolish in my estimation to simply dump veteran players while still in realistic contention and had no control over Satan's NTC.

Oh sure, teams were lining up to give Snow a first rounder for Ruslan Fedotenko, and Josef Vasicek.

LOL.

Garth Snow has no control of Bill Guerin's NTC who may need some notice if presented with a trade or if it's been discussed. He may have already told his gm he will not accept any trade or left it open for next week.

Doug Weight if the doctors estimates are correct should be ready for the playoffs, he may or may not be in play or Snow is looking to bring him back.

I also do not see all the younger, smaller forwards returning even if they are prospects. This roster badly needs some size and the gm has a very tough call to make there with Bergenheim, Tambellini, Comeau, Park, Hilbert and Nielsen.

Value is going to go up and down, it's never as easy as these articles done in advance when final decision times comes under pressure.

Ask me on 3/4 at 3pm, that's when we will know the value.



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Islander News Articles 2/26

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/25/2009 09:05:00 PM | | | |
Newsday: Greg Logan recaps Islanders 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh which at this time only had head coach Scott Gordon's pre-game comments.

Post Gazette: Shelly Anderson's coverage & Dave Molinary's article here while Gene Collier felt the hockey from both teams were terrible and showed the Pens are not a playoff team here.

Tribue Review: Tricia Lafferty coverage of the Penguins win against the Islanders.

Sorry, too lazy/indifferent/non-hockey to be bothered with commentary on former Islander executives Stephen Walsh and Paul Greenwood arrested with so much Lighthouse News here which Newsday also had an article on here that Greg Logan even contributed to in some manner from Pittsburgh.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
If it was a quiet day, I may have more like the former Islander part owner buying the Miami Dolphins earlier this year. Some of the same reasons why I avoided the non-hockey items on the Montreal Canadians this week.

The Newsday article claims Walsh and Greenwood were bought out by Charles Wang when he acquired the team which would mean they were on the books into the Milstein-Gluckstern tenure which is somewhat questionable being that they bought their small percentage under John Pickett.

AHL.com: Recaps Bridgeport's 3-2 shootout loss against Albany at Harbor Yard Wednesday.

Scoring
2. ALB Sutter, (1) (Babin), 4:17
2. ALB Samson, (15) (Weston, Olson), 8:41
2. BRI Joensuu, (15) (Colliton, Iggulden), 11:51
3. BRI Haskins, (6) , 8:10 (SH)

Nate Lawson started in goal with twenty six saves.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's game coverage with head coach Jack Capuano and blog entries here.

Daily Gazette: Phil Janack covers the River Rats.

NYI Fan Central Comments:

Other than Bridgeport rallying for a point with a shorthanded goal the best story is Albany got back to playing some hockey games.



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Pittsburgh 1, New York 0

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/25/2009 08:47:00 PM |
NHL.com: Recaps New York's 1-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Bear with me here folks, I wrote this first part just before the game started.

Last week Joey MacDonald beat Pittsburgh at home in a shootout and had some good momentum for reason to start against the Rangers, Yann Danis got the start and played well enough to win but let in a soft goal.

MacDonald was spotty against Carolina the next night.

Saturday Danis started against the Devils and shut them out. Tonight he got another start against Pittsburgh, the team MacDonald beat.

I'm just trying to get a sense of the logic behind the decision making for who starts in goal because it's not consistent where it be momentum off a win or success against one team.

Not about winning, losing or final score tonight and Danis played very well. More about what Scott Gordon calls feel in making his decisions which from what I can gather could be starting Joey MacDonald at home on back to backs.

I don't know. Danis could have easily had a 1-0 win, would have written the same thing. Did the shutout Saturday carry that much weight for a Wednesday game?
***************************************************
NYI Fan Central Comments on Game:
Ok, as to the game Pittsburgh is clearly struggling and Crosby, Whitney absence does not help that, very choppy first but Pens had better of play and numbers around the puck. Danis made a few saves but nothing too dangerous until crunch time in the last seven minutes they got some quality chances off a powerplay and then kind of a break on the only goal where Witt and Danis were interfered with Malkin beating Comeau up top to the outside and Gonchar made a pass that found Sykora for a tap in and the game.

This reminded me of the tie game last year in Pittsburgh a puck hit Witt very late in the third and got past DiPietro that extended a losing streak.

Isles got a bit of a break when Malik's shot hit Witt and then the crossbar, another scramble had them miss an open net just before. You could see momentum building for them.

Islanders powerplay not generating much was a big factor in them not scoring tonight and it took away whatever momentum they created at times.

Malkin and Staal came close once or twice or generate chances but not a great effort at all by Pittsburgh.

Isles needed most of the first to get going beyond McAmmond almost getting a pass to Hunter. Okposo had a big hit but Nielsen's composure to pull the puck back in surrounded by three player and find Gervais for a shot was impressive. Joe Callahan also has two big hits and Witt skated well.

Seems like all of Okposo's best chances come off left wing with his right handed shot.

Hillen was excellent jumping in and by the second was generating chances and so were the Islanders. Bergenheim a shorthanded break, Martinek showed great composure to pull up and did everything but pocket his third goal in a few weeks. Comeau, Nielsen, Bailey had some shots blocked.

Sim again was hitting and skating well.

Islander powerplay for them was ineffective, took away momentum and as I wrote above was a key, but second period ended 0-0. Either team could have had a goal or two if they got the extra bounce.

Third period Islanders did not generate much beyond Jackman's penalty and shot by Hilbert with a big scramble. Witt got more powerplay time.

Fleury was not called on to make many tough saves. Streit finding Jackman was one of them on a shift later but really the Islanders last quality chance.

Tough loss but competitive, even if Pittsburgh cannot be very happy with anything beyond the two points.

We'll see what Islanders do against Leafs tomorrow at home.








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New York at Pittsburgh 7:30pm Msg2+

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/25/2009 01:30:00 PM |
Team Cablevision bumps the Islanders into lo-definition+2 tonight while announcing WPIX games for their own product.

Amazing the Devils have had several games on Msg this year and the Islanders none.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Dave Molinary has the latest on the Penguins.

Tribune Review: Also has Pens coverage.

2008-2009 Regular Season
SKATERS: GP G A +/- Pts
E. Malkin 61 27 60 17 87
P. Sykora 58 22 20 3 42
M. Satan 61 15 18 1 33
J. Staal 61 15 17 -11 32

Updated Player Pos Injury Expected Return
02/15/09 Philippe Boucher D Foot IR. Out indefinitely
01/18/09 Mike Zigomanis C Shoulder IR. Out for the season

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Crosby is out for tonight's game against the Islanders. Ryan Whitney also won't play against the Islanders after leaving the team for personal reasons. Whitney is expected to rejoin the Penguins in Chicago according to AP.

Pittsburgh under Dan Bylsma continues to play inconsistent hockey but they can score goals with a 5-4 win/loss before dropping a 5-2 game against Washington on Sunday which was their last game. This is final home game before the trade deadline and frankly it's two points they badly need given their upcoming games and the standings.

No, it's not must-win desperation for Pittsburgh, any winning streak places them in the top eight but they need it soon. These are two points I would place in the must have spot if I were projecting out standings for Pittsburgh to start such a streak.

Gonchar has enough games now where he's getting out of camp mode.

Islanders to this point in the season cannot win high scoring games with any regularity, those four goals against the Devils is one shy of their season high which they accomplished once against a goaltender (not open net) all season. That 5-4 win in Atlanta was the game recently.

No point guessing on Scott Gordon's goaltender, time off says MacDonald but Danis comes in off a shutout. If they keep giving up the chances they did to the Devils it will cost them. Islanders have Toronto on Thursday.

Seems no new injuries or players returning for now so the injury count stands at eight per game.

No NHL depth left on defense with Campoli gone and Pock, Meyer out. You start getting deep into AHL territory if another defender is hurt or traded.

We all know what happened last time Islanders visited Pittsburgh but that was a long while ago, both teams have made some significant changes.

Just want to see more goals like Okposo's against the Devils and the moves Bergenheim, Streit made to score or create plays from more players. Jon Sim keeps working hard beyond his goals.

I want to see a more active Josh Bailey, Tambellini and Comeau finish a few goals with Nielsen, not just set them up.

Time one of those posts for Gervais goes in the net.



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Games I'm looking forward to....

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/25/2009 09:57:00 AM |
Some fun games for the final month despite whatever the post-deadline roster is and some games that for me are a curiosity that I find myself looking forward to.

I know Phoenix was here last season and before that they were not at the Coliseum since 2002, they will play here next month. I want to see what I suspect will be Olli Jokinen's only visit as a Coyote.

The Islanders did play in Phoenix this season.

I also feel if Wayne Gretzky decides to step aside as coach, Tom Renney hooks up with general manager Don Maloney. I cannot tell you how much respect I have for Gretzky the coach unlike others who would never step into such a tough position after a legendary career.

This was a man who used to talk of retiring because of his fear of flying.

Colorado makes it's first visit since 2005 on Monday. I thought it was a lot longer and remember the game Garth Snow got caught at the blueline and had to scramble to make a save with the defense behind him. Feels like a generation ago we saw them here and this time Ryan Smyth will return with a Colorado team currently in fifteenth but somehow in the playoff mix.

The Islanders take a trip to Detroit before the season is over, I remember a win on a Mike York goal that I think was a 2-1 game. Could it really be that long?

Will we see former Islander Chris Osgood play his old team?

I know Mark Parrish never returned to the Coliseum with the Minnesota Wild and they visit the Coliseum in March, I know I wanted to thank him for his time here but want to see the Wild with Gaborik before his likely departure.

I'm also looking forward to seeing the Islanders play in Chicago. Seems like last time they visited the Hawks Alexei Yashin had four goals in a 9-2 win and Al Trautwig accused the Hawks of giving the game to the Islanders or the night Oleg Kvasha had an overtime goal.

I want to see those two games against Boston as a barometer, Islanders are 0-2 but had a great effort against them last time and were in a one goal game the day they were blown out at the end.

I want one more look at the Brodeur Devils under Brent Sutter now that they have risen to first place without him. Like Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe noted several times Saturday I would like to see a response against Mike Mottau before this series ends.

The final Ranger game is the first after the deadline so of course a curiosity. I want to see the initial roster changes by Garth Snow. I like Tortorella, think he's a very good coach but this is only his second stop and I'm skeptical of the working relationship with Sather unless Dolan fires him which I do think is finally coming.

Sure, I want to see the Senators with Campoli/Comrie and only wish that game were here. I have nothing negative to write about either player, Islanders signed Mark Streit and that somewhat negated Campoli's role which happens in sports. Garth Snow praised Comrie at length and I never read a negative quote from him who came here to try and be a first line player and carry a team and took one year deals.

A lot of players would not have gone for it.

Hopefully I can find a few more games that have me curious.

Park, Hilbert, Weight, Okposo, MacDonald, Streit for Nystrom award?
I think that's a good late season poll.




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Islander News Articles 3/25

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/24/2009 07:40:00 PM | | | | | | | |
Newsday: John Jeansonne has comments from Islanders head coach Scott Gordon where he compares coaching in Providence his first year to this level, how he feels the club has improved from the first half despite a second half with no playoff expectations and credited them for playing competitive hockey with adversity as he also discussed the veterans.

Newsday: Eden Laikin recaps Tuesday's meetings where Charles Wang says he has yet to secure funding for the ten year project because zoning has not been approved as different opinions are given from commercial real estate experts as to whether Mr Wang-Rechler could ever raise that kind of revenue for something of this size.

Newsday: Eden Laikin has more from Charles Wang where he talks about his " out " clause at the end of the process if Nassau County does not approve the project, makes clear enough the exhibition game in KC was not a subtle move and even though he wants the team to stay where it is and is not negotiating with anyone, he has to keep his options open.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
Sure seems like Newsday staff is keeping the KC angle in play going to the group of people in that market for reaction. This could save Cablevision hundreds of millions in television rights fees and eliminate the Ranger competition so they can expand their market, it is absolutely in Cablevision-Msg's best financial interest the New York Islanders relocate.

As for Mr Wang he said about what I expected which were comments made before the meeting (important to remember) and Tuesday's approval but bottom line if this is approved by TOH there is a good chance it will be approved again by Nassau. If not Mr Wang has his out on the lease (120 days after TOH approval if Nassau does not negotiate a new lease) but that is a long shot and makes clear enough the team belongs here and is not looking to sell or move.

Seems like Newsday overplayed relocation angle here a lot. Mr Wang's shot across the bow was at Nassau County, not TOH.

If TOH turns down project the lease remains in effect until 2015 with no out.

I want to see how he is going to get this kind of long-term financing, that's the miracle of this project yet to be seen.

Newday: Mr Logan in the Islanders Newsday blog defends his publications coverage of the hearings despite the articles posting late (8:40pm-10:00pm) for a morning meeting that ended 1pm (after a second full day of virtually non-stop blanket Ranger coverage) and for a second straight day the beatwriter also makes clear powerful interests in Canada also see the Isles as a potential target despite no such reports at this time as he questions the potential problems of financing.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
This is the second time Mr Logan has made clear there are interest in Canada for this team but does not tell us who or where? I have read this nowhere. If he has the scoop is he saving it because once again he sure ignored reminding us Queens was absolutely interested which Newsday did not break the story on?

I don't want to hit Newsday too hard on this but that meeting was in the morning and wrapped by 1pm, the LIBN has the recap within a few hours, Newsday took seven hours plus to have articles posted, the headline was a bit misleading and did not tell the entire story.

I was not at the meeting so it's not my place to comment as to whether the writer
was fair or not with the percentage of Islander fan influence in the hearing.

Oh yes, print edition at this time:
Rangers 3, Islanders 0 (apparently Mr Jeansonne's article for now is not included)
Mr Zipay, Herrmann, Staple and Katie Strang updates.
Three blog updates from Mr Zipay.

Greg Logan zero.

Islanders website: Had a few words from owner Charles Wang on Tuesday's meeting.

Islanders website: Has some very interesting quotes from head coach Scott Gordon at the IBC meeting.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
As a rule I would never post this but second time in a week Scott Gordon went to the board to explain his coaching, first he did it with Mr Botta, now the IBC members.

I like it a lot and hope he does it more so fans can understand his coaching and what he's trying to do. I'm hoping he can win me over and that does not come with wins and losses but his concepts. I want to discover why so many felt he would make an excellent head coach long before the Islanders hired him.
********************************************************
Mike Comrie has scored a first period goal in his return to Ottawa, Chris Campoli a third period assist in a Senators victory.

Fox Sports.com: Peter Schrager has an interesting feature on Denis Potvin hitting Ulf Nilsson and the genesis of " Potvin's Cups chant " with a lot of media reaction on the rivalry from one Gregory Logan of Newsday, Len Berman, Phil Mushnick, Scott Ferrall. George Vecsey's article is referenced from the Times the other day, Denis Potvin is again quoted with fan reaction on both sides.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
I think what caught my attention here was how many of the media folks commenting are so out of touch with today's rivalry and hockey in general. The Potvin chants at Msg are lukewarm these days at best.

Ranger fans say it's tradition, Islander fans say it's jealously. Put my on the side of jealously but I'm obviously biased here but I remember when and how it gained momentum which was with New York winning the Stanley Cup in 1980, 81, 82, 83 and Islander chants about 1940 which humiliated the Rangers across North America.

Article would have been better without fan reaction but I guess not much hockey media left to talk about it from that era.

Mr Logan had the following:
"The games between these two teams always are still the most intense of the season, And yes, the fans still hate each other. Just check the back-and-forth arguments on the blogs that are infuriating because they have no end."

Boston Herald/New Bedford Standard Times: Mick Colageo has Denis Potvin's comments on the trade of Butch Goring to the Islanders and what he told them that meant a lot to the players at the time.

Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio has comments from head coach Jack Capuano, Andrew MacDonald and Joel Rechlicz as well as the Albany River Rats who make their first trip along with Sound Tigers weekly here and game preview here.

NYI Fan Central Comments:
The XML feeds from the Ct Post work with Mr Fornabaio's newspaper articles now on our sidebar.

Anyone with a blog/website and wants the Ct Post feed drop me an-email and I'll be glad to give it to you.



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Islanders related “DGEIS” Lighthouse Summary

New York Islander Fan Central | 2/24/2009 04:47:00 PM |
This is kind of an Islanders only-overview of the Lighthouse project with a lot of numbers Forbes and other publications estimate or outright guess at.

I listed things in no specific order as I jumped around a lot in a summary that is well over a hundred pages with a lot of repeats.

It should be must reading for Islander fans who want details.

Existing Levels of Development and Activity:
Nassau Coliseum

Purpose, Needs and Benefits of the Proposed Action
The purpose of the proposed project is primarily to transform the Nassau Coliseum so
that both the New York Islanders and New York Dragons can remain, and can function in
a state-of-the-art venue that serves as a benefit to the Town, County and the region. In addition, this redeveloped facility will provide a quality venue for concerts and other events. The transformation of the Nassau Coliseum, including the Sport Complex and associated parking, is essential if the New York Islanders are to remain. This is demonstrated in the NorthMarq Study, which was commissioned by the applicant in order to determine what is needed to successfully transform the Coliseum to (a) help to ensure that the Islanders and Dragons will remain, and (b) potentially attract a professional basketball team. As demonstrated in the NorthMarq Study, arenas with characteristic similar to the existing Coliseum that do not have primary tenants are not viable.

According to the NorthMarq Study, development trends in the NHL indicate that 26 of 30 NHL franchises are tenants in new or re-developed arenas. Of the four remaining
franchises, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Rangers propose to have their
facilities renovated or reconstructed and the Edmonton Oilers were recently sold with the understanding that a new arena would be built. This will leave the Islanders as the only NHL franchise playing in an older venue.

Research by NorthMarq has demonstrated that older facilities, which lack modern
amenities such as multiple concourses and varied retail and food options, are often a
primary reason that major league sports franchises relocate to newer facilities. As a
result, the older facilities realize a steady decline in the revenue stream and are grossly underutilized. Without a primary tenant (i.e., an NHL or National Basketball Association [“NBA”] franchise), these facilities tend to deteriorate and are often demolished, resulting in eliminating a venue that has housed other important events to the community, such as concerts, ice shows, the circus, family shows and college fairs. Ultimately, the properties on which they are situated may be redeveloped for uses that may not offer the community the same opportunities for entertainment, education, cultural experiences, etc.

The continued relationship among the Islanders, the NHL and the Nassau Coliseum is
contingent upon the development of a state-of-the-art facility that can accommodate and address the needs of the team and its fans. The transformation of the Nassau Coliseum is essential if the Islanders are to remain, as the Coliseum will be facing increased competition for discretionary dollars within the region. Both Madison Square Garden and the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn are situated within 30 miles of the Nassau Coliseum. Madison Square Garden is scheduled for additional improvements and enhancements, and the proposed Barclays Center in Brooklyn would have a total square footage of 850,000 and a seating capacity of 18,000. For the Coliseum to maintain a successful partnership with the Islanders, and to be attractive to additional sports franchises and events in general, it must offer the overall square footage and amenities that patrons and franchises demand.

The Nassau Coliseum (located in the western portion of this parcel) is situated on 77± acres of County-owned land. It opened in 1972 and was renovated in the early-to-mid 1980s. It is home to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League and the New York Dragons of the Arena Football League. Nassau Coliseum is also a major
concert venue and is the Long Island home to the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey
Circus, as well as various other events. It also houses various exhibitions. The building contains concession stands, a pub, a lounge, and a room that can be used for private parties.

The Nassau Coliseum building is approximately 416,000 SF in size. The building rises
approximately 57 feet – 11 inches above grade level (“agl”) (to the top of the precast panels), according to the original construction drawings. The ice surface is located approximately 24 feet below the concourse level, making the total inside height approximately 82 feet (equivalent to an approximately eight-story building). The property contains approximately 6,800 surface parking spaces.

Under the existing conditions, direct spending by the New York Islanders for the year ended June 30, 2007 was $91.5± million. In addition, the direct spending by visiting hockey teams and the New York Dragons adds another $6.7± million, annually, for total direct spending of $98.2 million.

However, when the multiplier effect is factored in (when secondary economic impacts are considered), the total gross output increase and total earning increase for the Islanders, Dragons and visiting teams are $205.2 million and $74.9 million, respectively.

The viability of Nassau Coliseum is of great significance to the region. Under the existing conditions, direct spending by the New York Islanders alone for the year ended June 30, 2007 was approximately $91.5 million. In addition, the Islanders and Dragons generate approximately $2.6 million in entertainment and sales taxes (excluding concessions and other events sales taxes). However, when the multiplier effect is factored in (when secondary economic impacts are considered), the net gross output increase is almost $205.5 million and the earnings increase is almost $75 million, annually.

Based upon the socioeconomic analysis conducted, upon completion, the transformed
Coliseum could have 172 events in its first year of operation, including 44 Islander
games, eight Dragons games, 58 family shows and 23 concerts. The projections suggest
that first year ticket revenue will be approximately $81 million. In addition, concession and novelty sales could total almost $14.9 million. Thus, the transformed Coliseum is expected to generate over $95.9 million in ticket, concession and novelty revenue during its first year of operation.

Given projected first-year paid attendance for the Islanders and Dragons of 570,065, the estimated entertainment tax on Islanders and Dragons tickets alone would be $855,098. Furthermore, given the total projected first-year paid attendance of 1,295,765, estimated entertainment taxes in the first year of operation of the transformed Coliseum are estimated at over $1.9 million.

Based on projected Islanders and Dragons ticket sales of over $44 million in the first year of operation of the transformed Coliseum, there would be total sales tax revenues of over $3.8 million, of which approximately $1.77 million would go to New York State, approximately $1.88 million would go to Nassau County and $165,663 would go to the MTA. Total sales taxes generated by Islanders and Dragons ticket sales in the year ended June 30, 2007 were $1,892,478, of which $877,671 went to New York State and $932,526 went to Nassau County. Therefore, total sales taxes attributable to Islander and Dragons games would more than double in the first year of operation of the transformed Coliseum.

Further sales tax increases would follow as attendance increases in the
following years. There will also be sales tax revenues totaling approximately $1.29
million on projected concession and novelty revenue. This brings total projected sales tax revenue for the first year of operation of the transformed Coliseum to almost $5.1 million, of which approximately $2.5 million would go to Nassau County.

The generation of additional sales and entertainment tax revenues is only part of the
benefit that increased attendance at the transformed Coliseum will bring. Those who
attend events at the Coliseum also patronize local restaurants and other business
establishments either before or after the event. For purposes of analysis, it was assumed that patrons spend another 20 percent over and above the actual ticket price on goods and services in the immediate community. Total ticket revenues for the first year of operation are estimated at $81 million. Twenty percent of this figure is approximately $16.2 million. It is assumed that this money would be injected into the local economy and would undergo several rounds of re-spending, thereby creating a ripple or multiplier effect.

Transformed Coliseum/Sports Complex
The Coliseum is proposed to be transformed into a 20,000±-seat state-of-the-art arena, with luxury suites, restaurants, fan-experience amenities, and the most up-to-date technology designed to serve as a premier destination for sports and entertainment events.

The transformed arena would be part of a larger complex consisting of a world class
sports complex. The arena would continue to be the home of the New York Islanders and
New York Dragons, and will be able to accommodate a professional basketball team,
should one be secured, as previously noted. The transformed Coliseum would also
continue to host concerts, the circus, family shows, fairs, etc. The Sports Complex
comprises approximately 371,500 SF of the total 1,203,000-square-foot Coliseum Sports Complex.

The Sports Complex (including basketball courts, a fitness and recreation
center and ice rinks) within the building will provide the latest in sports and fitness technology. Four NHL-size rinks are expected to assist in making this complex the Northeast hockey capital -- attracting local, regional and NCAA tournaments. These rinks would not only be the home practice facility for the New York Islanders, but will also be available to the community for learn-to-skate programs, school and community groups. The facility would also include fitness center, party/meeting rooms, as well as viewing areas for the various rinks and courts. The Sports Complex is proposed to also house ground-level retail entertainment and restaurant facilities, situated along the north side of the Village Park.

Overall, it is expected that:
• Upon completion of the transformation of the Coliseum, the economic benefits
associated with the Islanders and Dragons would significantly increase;
• According to correspondence from the NHL, dated March 4, 2008, “a state-ofthe-
art arena on Long Island would be an attractive venue for high-profile League
events such as the NHL All-Star Game and the NHL Entry Draft…” Such events
would generate additional economic benefits for the surrounding community,
Town and County;
• Event attendance for other sports

It is also noteworthy that the need for a transformed facility is echoed by NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman, who has indicated in correspondence dated May 5, 2008
“…the Islanders are not viable in the long-term without a major change in the arena
situation.” In addition, Commissioner Bettman further indicated that “the loss of the
New York Islanders to Long Island would be devastating from an emotional and financial perspective…once gone I could see no prospect of an NHL franchise returning.”

Given the above, the impacts associated with implementation of the no-action alternative would be virtually the same as the existing conditions presented in Sections 3.1 through 3.13 of this DGEIS, with the exception that, due to the loss of the premier sports franchise from the Coliseum, there would be fewer associated environmental impacts (e.g., less water use, less traffic generation, less sanitary flow). The most significant difference between the no-action alternative and the existing conditions relates to economics, as all of the economic benefits associated with the current operations of the Islanders and Dragons would be lost, and any increased economic benefit associated with implementation of the proposed action would be foregone.

Specifically, if Long Island were to lose the New York Islanders and (probably) the New York Dragons, its output of goods and services (gross metropolitan product) would
decline by more than $205 million, the earnings generated on Long Island would decline by almost $75 million and almost 2,200 jobs would be lost.



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