Hockey in Seven Days...Final Closing at NYIFC

I guess to a degree I have been sending mixed signals about New York Islander Fan Central since last season ended, this was never my intention.

The New York Islanders have a hockey game in seven days against the Vancouver Canucks on September 14th with the club traveling to Saskatoon on 9/12.

Shockingly it will be televised on Time Warner at 10pm and repeated but will be the only pre-season game televised or at least scheduled at this time.

The Islanders half hour season preview debuts around 9/21-22 and runs only a half hour.

New York Islander Fan Central will not be covering the 2009-10 season.

If I wanted to keep things going here or even do this part-time I obviously could but I made my decision during last season and despite some blogging since 4/17, during the WC/NHL draft and some unexpected things happening like going audio for a brief time as an experiment (did not see that coming) I never changed my mind from what I decided in February.

Back on 7/29 I said it would be unfair to stop just before camp but I did extend things, left the blog viewable and the time went very quickly.

NYIFC did help what was a very quick summer go by even faster so it served a good purpose for everyone. I have done everything I wanted to test here in the last month and no longer have any need to do any more written blog entries and I got a great deal accomplished.

A month ago when the blog went private for a part of a week I got a bunch of very kind e-mails asking me to keep NYIFC visible or to keep doing the blog as I did at the end of last season knowing it would be tougher to stop just as hockey begins.

I have tried to be extra generous posting preview links with the articles lately to set everyone up as best as I could for 2009-10 because you have been so great here.

Sadly, having written this when the New York Islanders leave for Saskatoon to officially begin the 2009-10 season NYIFC is finished entirely.

I have written additional blog entries after this one here in the interim that will be released before Friday because hockey is always the story but when the team departs for Saskatoon that will be the official end of NYIFC.

At that time I will also be setting both blogs to private permanently.

I do not intend to update these pages or the sidebars any longer so to leave NYIFC visible is to present something that is sloppy and not fair to anyone.

You can always visit what these pages looked like with internet archives or Google cache old entries if you want to keep finding links from these pages.

That's about it, as I have written a few times (or said by audio) the 4/17 entry was our real goodbye and one I cannot improve upon.

Of course, when the Minnesota Vikings come calling offering me twenty five million to do NYIFC over two years we'll be right back at it next week from Saskatoon.

What will I tell you? I took the money.

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NY Times is the problem, not New York Hockey

All the News that's fit to print?

Long time since we saw that mantra at the Times.

Amazing what you get on a labor day weekend for stories from papers who rarely attempt to cover home games, fail to come out to cover press conferences when coaches are hired or even when franchise players drafted have their initial press conference after 10,000 attend a draft party.

It sure does not apply to New York hockey any longer at this paper. Since Ron Dicker left the Isles beat rare Dave Caldwell game coverage and mostly hit and run articles all negative beyond the Sugden feature last year is about all we have seen unless you are counting that Mandarin broadcast feature by the Times.

The Times even had legendary dynasty writer George Vecesy surface on 5/23 to tell us it may just be hockey has come and gone on Long Island here while claiming the league's biggest money loser at the Garden going into the lockout in 2004 cutting back here is a money machine despite the same paper contradicting him and as late as August 2009 the NY Times is still reporting Msg losses from it's sports division here.

But on this day the Times came out of it's New York Islander coverage cave here here to do a feature about the Isles dwindling coverage written by Mark Messier's biographer Jeff Z. Klein.

His content included an insulting old quote from Jaromir Jagr but he did fairly recap what Mr Botta saw in his tenure with the club over twenty years and noted the draft turnout showed there were a lot more loyal Islanders supporters than most outside observers realized.

And the NY Times are outsiders now, by their own choice and this is where the problem lies.

An expert was brought in to question blog coverage content hired by a team but none of that applied to Chris Botta who won over folks with his honestly and viewpoint regardless if we agreed every day or not as he told his story about Point Blank along with team President Chris Dey who gave his side of why a former team employee was hired to write about the club and in the biggest news out of this article was quoted as saying:

" There might be an opportunity for another entrepreneur to cover the Islanders in a similar manner " which was really the only thing new from the article beyond Mr Botta's efforts to find a new home for Point Blank which he has discussed a few times recently.

Mr Botta and Mr Dey as expected did a very good job here and Mr Dey put it out there about the lack of media coverage as he needed to.

Bottom line here folks is the problem has never been the New York Islanders and it's not about any clubs record or what uniform they wore in 1996 because the Devils receive the same poor coverage regardless of how many Atlantic Division titles they win.

The Rangers have had coverage cuts also, but not nearly to the same degree.

Rangers-Islanders at Msg received only AP coverage this year from the Times (for at least one Msg game) and most Ranger road games were not covered, but the budget has been there for Mr Klein, Stu Heckel and Lynn Zinser to do many Ranger game articles and blog updates plus keep an updated European league page.

If that is the case there should be plenty of resources to cover all the local New York hockey teams regardless of record by blog or print.

This problem goes on the Times editor and their staff, a small part of it goes on a lot of Ranger fans on the print side controlling spin but all of this is old news.

This problem with the Times (and you can absolutely include Newsday, Daily News, Post and the Journal News, SI Advance) is all about selective coverage that says a lot more about their business practice and not the teams they cover.

Mr Botta's Point Blank proved the fan interest is there in New York Islander hockey so excuses by editors and sometimes the writers are about them and their own lack of knowledge.

The Times supposedly went to an SI format for all hockey teams not playing at Msg (likely because they need the Knick ad revenue) but again this goes to their judgment and not how a team performs or the Knicks would not be covered by anyone.

As for the Times, go back to a traditional format, cover all eighty two games from all three local teams and forget Europe.

New York hockey comes first and this is what New York hockey needs.

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Would I take Heatley on the Isles? Absolutely

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson wants the situation with Dany Heatley settled and did not give him a ringing endorsement today so given the captain's comments combined with the Senators management making his trade demand public it's not a question of if but when he will be traded, Ottawa has a lot more money to pay someone who does not wish to play there and will remain a daily distraction until he departs.

I know the fans/management and a few other teams spoke out against having Heatley on their club and no doubt won no fans in Edmonton after refusing to waive his NTC to play for the Oilers.

Would Heatley waive his NTC to come here so the Canadian media and the New York media can bash him as they did Alexei Yashin unless became a Ranger so at least the Ranger fans in the limited New York hockey media can blame the Senators for his problems? Perhaps.

Bottom line Dany Heatley holds all the cards and can hold out for any team he wants and reject any trade, this was part of his contract agreement and he's entitled to force the Senators to trade him where he wants or keep paying him as long as he reports to camp which he says he will do.

As a general manager this is not all about courtesy class or signing good character people, it's about fielding a winning team and filling needs. If you recall I flat out wrote Garth Snow should claim Sean Avery and give him Nate Thompson's spot last year because it's about production and giving your team the best chance at winning.

Character players leave in UFA all the time or simply are not good enough to take a team to the next level.

Has Dany Heatley had enough of Ottawa he would be willing to play with John Tavares and could the Isles and Sens construct the kind of trade where the Isles do not give up anything significant from their future?

I don't know.

For myself, if Bryan Murray wants Heatley off the roster and is willing to deal with the Isles (and Heatley will accept such a trade) Trent Hunter is on the table with Richard Park or an Andy Sutton/Brendan Witt choice or they can have a second round pick or a Jeff Tambellini/Blake Comeau choice or perhaps one of the prospect defenders aside from deHaan but that's about it.

No first rounders or Okposo, Bailey, Tavares and I would even take Bergenheim and Nielsen off the table. If that's what Bryan Murray wants he can find another team to deal with.

If you are on Charles Wang's side of the trade you have to give back salary to balance out such a deal and know going in Heatley could want off his third NHL team at some point in the future.

Would I put Hunter, Sutton or Witt with some combination I mentioned to offset most of Heatley's salary while Bryan Murray can work a deal with Mike Comrie or sign another player? Yes.

I'm well aware of what Garth Snow thinks of Trent Hunter as he said on the NHLPA website late in July and I agree with Snow and Hunter is no doubt a class act and a big time character player who does a lot of things that do not appear on a score sheet to win a hockey game.

Having written that if there is a chance to improve on the ice and fill a need you have to take it, Hunter has had two very poor seasons offensively and off his fast start last season there was no excuse for such a falloff even with Frans Nielsen's injury.

Absolutely know going in Heatley without Alfredsson or Spezza may not be the same player coming to a roster with kids.

If Garth Snow is really interested in a Satan or inviting in Mark Parrish here it should be for Hunter's spot on right wing because that's where they fit best.

Having written this it's a risk I would take for a combination of the players I wrote about.

Would Heatley, Murray and Garth Snow agree? Stay tuned.

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Tsn Isles Preview: Lazy, Sloppy and Lacking

Another example of why no one site or individual should preview thirty NHL teams would be the Tsn preview today released on the New York Islanders.

I would not want to attach my name to that either and simply would write staff who released this worthless preview of our club today which at first had the Isles at 15th in the Western Conference?

How much misinformation can a professional hockey website get wrong about New York's " First " hockey team? (could not resist a play on their words)

Did they even write anything of consequence about another player besides Tavares or go down the roster besides the poorly done " Slick Rick " comment about a goaltender who before last season started over sixty games his previous two years and was an all-star?

" Umpteenth knee injuries" would not describe DiPietro's career going into last season to any degree where he has missed any significant portions of a season.

Charles Wang never threatened to move the team to KC or anywhere and has made that clear on several occasions, all they got correct was his WFAN comment.

An article that's supposed to preview a team should include all the changes and man games lost to injury the previous season as a viable reason for it's struggles. I checked the Colorado preview and they did not bother doing this for the Avs either but their preview did tell us how many of their players will be UFA next summer?

Of course the New York Islanders could finish 15th in the East, it's no problem here to make that prediction but to present what was obviously a poorly done article even if the team was projected first is the problem.

That was just brutal and gave us nothing. I feel bad for Scott Cullen having to put his name to a fantasy preview behind that.

Lazy, Sloppy and Lacking performance by Tsn staff.

It will not be the last one either.
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Nice interview by Katie Strang with Andy Sutton but to write the Mets debacle at CitiField is truly beyond comprehension with any other team in pro sports in terms of injuries is simply incorrect.

The Mets were not even close to the Islanders injuries problems last season which set a league record 580 plus games lost. (off the 402 games lost which led the NHL the previous year)

The Mets by comparison to the Islanders started the season relatively healthy while DiPietro, Sillinger, Comrie, Bailey could not play or tried to play hurt. The projected top six defenders over the six months played less than five games together as a unit.

Include Bill Guerin coming into camp off surgery and unable to play most of the preseason every single player on the roster sustained some sort or injury including Jeff Tambellini in camp last season.

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Islander-Sound Tiger-NHL Notables

What a surprise (not) Roberto Luongo got a huge front-loaded deal that will pay him ten million dollars starting next season after his current contract expires.

What folks do not get is DiPietro's 4.5m deal (much less than Luongo) was not front loaded which is why he did leave a lot of money on the table because an injury, retirement or perhaps a buyout at some point in the future would cost him money that is basically going to be paid to Luongo earlier as he will have the bulk of his money.

Charles Wang and a lot of owners cannot afford front-loaded deals to where players get 10-20 million early in the contract complete with NTC. Many corporations can take that kind of huge loss on the books which was a loophole in the CBA that needs fixing but most individual owners cannot.
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Which leads us to Paul Kelly being kicked out as NHLPA leader when that CBA is up in about two years. It will be interesting to see if the next person is militant and will want a league with many franchises losing money to simply absorb even more losses that should have a ceiling of about 40m and a floor of about 30m with no front loaded deals.

Pat Flatley resigned when Kelly was fired, I wonder if Glenn Healy will do the same and is the Heals and Flats show over at the NHLPA. I have no doubt if some players who were always about big money and making their own rules (Eric Lindros) are part of the next NHLPA leadership there will be another lockout.
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Here's a real shocker for Islander fans in New York, a market where the media does actually pull for the home team despite a decade of losing had both local writers rip the Luongo deal today because the league questioned the Hossa deal by the hometown Blackhawks in the Chicago Daily Herald & Chicago Tribune.

When the Islanders sign players to long term deals Newsday usually leads the pack with criticism for the home team. Goes to show how some local media in some markets do protect their own team regardless of how long the contract is or for how many years.

What do you want me to write about Katie Strang? She is covering two teams and trying to give blog entries on the Islanders. That's her editor's choice if you are looking to place blame.

Don't worry, we have Mark Herrmann to cover the home team for Newsday (not the Isles) too bad our club does not receive that coverage for a player coming here off a poor season and it sure has been a while since the local paper had a word from John Tavares.
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Congratulations and best of luck to Mr Botta for being added to Fanhouse, his feed and new site was added here for as long as NYIFC is visible, when he finds a new home for Point Blank that will be added as well.

Having written that his comments on Rob Hennigar to me were unfair writing his signing was brutally misguided and that he was a non-prospect. At the very least it required a lot more elaboration if he is going to make such claims.

Hennigar was the 2007-08 Canadian College Hockey Player of the Year and signed with an impressive resume here he put up some good numbers in Utah when he got adjusted to the next level and it's obvious another NHL organization had no problem taking a chance on him.

Hennigar deserved better from a man who a year ago at this time was lobbying to get rules changed so Brandon Sugden could play at the professional level and did such a classy job making his case the rules were waived so Sugden could return.

It should also be noted his recent entry on Charles Wang and honoring tradition was also unfair in a lot of ways. Whenever Wang brought back former teams all we got from Newsday was Wang was doing it to sell tickets and Jim Baumbach questioning whether Al Arbour's win should count which if he pulled that in a market with ten writers who were big time fans of the team they would have eaten Baumbach alive faster than Steve Zipay ripped Ranger fans for ignoring the Bathgate and Howell retirements.

Mr Wang tried to make up for a lot of things John Pickett failed to do and this organization has a lot of former Islanders working here. Bob Bourne should not be the only one in the new Islanders Hall of Fame but let's give Wang a little more time because two years ago he took criticism for Core of the Four Weekend which was absurd and now he takes criticism again?
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So the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Vice President to Howard Saffan is Luke Milbury, who I would gather is the son of our former general manager being Mike Milbury has a son named Luke, why was this hidden from the public until today's release?

I guess to ask this question is to answer it by writing that may not go over very well at all considering all the cutbacks in the Islanders media department, even if he does an excellent job.
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So the public comment period is over for the Lighthouse and it's down to the hearing, adopting a final scope which means x buildings go on x spot and then the zoning is approved or rejected with a vote. What are the fans needed for when they cannot speak or participate?

Especially when the team is basically shutting out any fan who does not live on Long Island?

Believe it or not folks, I actually believe the TOH did not know that was the date of the Kansas City game because most of these people could care less about the hockey team or name five players much less know their preseason schedule. If they really picked the date to bust Wang's chops it just tells me they don't want the project despite all the recent (election year) talk of working together.
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Finally I am almost out of things to experiment with and will likely be done by the time the club hits the ice in Saskatoon. I also added Justin Bourne's THN feed to our media blog feed section with his link and many other professional writers added to the sidebar.

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