Islander/NHL Notables

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NHL.com: Brian Compton's in depth interview with Doug Weight, pulled no punches on his resigning, the prospects, the teams lack of media respect at times, and goaltender Rick DiPietro among several subjects.

NYIFC Comments:
One local paper owned by another NHL team used the work "weak" in describing the Islander offense, but did not use the exact same term to describe the team owned by the paper or the Devils despite all three locak teams scoring 222 goals last season.

The Comcast Flyers, packed with front-loaded contracts scored fourteen more goals than the 250 man games lost by New York last season.

The respect factor in some cases has nothing to do with the New York Islanders, but respecting the fans intelligence to not see through this selective reporting.

Brian Compton of NHL.com also noted this indirection.

Having written that no one cares or wants to write about how many man games to injury a team losses.

I'm guilty of pushing that point here often because so few media have reported it.

Edmonton had same problem last season, while Colorado lost second most games to injury here but qualified for 2010 playoffs.

After a while writing about all those one goal losses (via special teams games NY lost to Philadelphia) Weight is correct that if you want respect you have to win.

Weight also said in January, (paraphrasing) you have to have players who can finish the hard work when describing the Islanders offensive struggles. That obviously has not been answered to this point on paper about the 21st ranked offense in the NHL.

Mildly interesting Weight mentioned it was tough to make contact with Rick DiPietro, but in the end he will practice/play and that will give us our answer if to if he can hold up.

Mikko Koskinen, Kevin Poulin, Nate Lawson, and likely Anders Nilsson future contract offer depends on it.

As for Weight himself can he take a lesser role, or a seat in the stands if Andrew MacDonald or another defender is the better second pp point option? It's one thing to play hurt, but for his minutes he must produce in whatever role his is given or he was not the right signing if he cannot take a seat for a player who brings more to a specific game.

The Post Dan Martin (part time Islander beatwriter) was assigned to do some fluff on Henrik Lundvist for print edition, while Weight got a brief blog entry from Martin's editor.

The New York Islanders regardless of record will have the worst newspaper coverage out of all thirty teams.

In the end as I have written more and more, Islander fans are going to have to see through reporting standards or lack of them in many cases. Out of town NHL media or National outlets like TSN are also influenced by what they read when they do write/discuss a specific club due to their own lack of knowledge.

I suggest watch the games and make up your own minds based on how the team plays, what players/management are quoted as saying.

For myself, any one of the fifteen clubs in the East can finish first based on a year ago. All have some on-paper weaknesses at this time. No reason if the Islanders last year could compete with top teams in the East & West they cannot compete now.
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James Wisniewski is in Detroit with David Booth and some Red Wings practicing, no local reports on players skating, despite usually many players/prospects at Ice Works.
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Kovalchuk decision due Wednesday again by 5pm, I suspect another rejection means another NHLPA filing and arbitration hearing.

Updated-Now extended mutually per NHL/PA until Friday.
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The Lee Stempniak/Raffi Torres signings still leaves some players available along with many forwards from the 2008-09 Islanders. I see some invites coming for camp but that will not necessarily mean a player will be signed.

With so few preseason games including split-squad, spots will most likely be decided at practices because veterans have to participate in games.

I will keep writing this roster will likely go right to the opener as teams up against the cap will have to make trades and let players go.

Will a Niederreiter, Kabanov, Petrov make the club/sign? We have a long way to go before those questions are answered.

All I will maintain is my guess Garth Snow will have a trade before the opener. Can only have x number of one-way contracts.
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NYIFC Notables:
I will not be adding Islander player individual twitter feeds, too much non-hockey discussion. Isles have a website for this. It's been tough with too many NHL writers using their accounts for non-hockey subjects in summer.

As for NYIFC twitter, I appreciate and thank all who have joined but respectfully ask comments be kept to hockey-Islanders, if you joined to sell products or advertise, please unsubscribe.

NYIFC since April 2009 is not allowing comments after entries beyond e-mails.



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GM Garth Snow's Plan, Has He Really Learned Anything?

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I remembered this from April 2008, the Islanders website still has a link to it.

"Average is as close to the top as it is to the bottom, and I'm sick of being average," said Snow. "We've developed a strategy to become competitive every year, which is the key to winning the Stanley Cup. It's called "The Plan." And it involved three parts: drafting wisely, developing prospects and sprinkling in free agents. We're putting in all the resources to bringing home a Stanley Cup. We need you the fans to help make this happen. We want you to continue to be the great fans that you are and we'll make this happen together."

Snow was asked about his working relationship with Nolan.

"I think it's good," said Snow, smiling to Nolan before answering seriously. "We have a great working relationship. The key is communication and we communicate on a daily basis. I get taken aback when I get asked that question."

Since that interesting evening, we have see our GM keep referring to one part of his quotes, while the other part may have been true about daily communication, but absolutely did not prove out to be a great working relationship.

Bottom line is I have no problem with Garth Snow not speaking or being guarded when he does. Many general managers/owners rarely speak and it's also usually guarded at best.

Having written this, if he decides to say something definitive it has to be honest or don't waste our time. If he wants to interview and be cryptic in responses that is also fine.

Since that day Snow has kept to his words about his plan, no doubt folks would have liked him to go heavier on the sprinkles, but on the ice his team has been sidetracked severely by injuries.

I would also suspect we will see by action if the Atlantic Division's longest tenured coach does have a good working relationship with his boss.

For those scoring at home this was the opening night lineup for game one of the Snow-Gordon era at New Jersey in 2008, many others injured/scratched that night or backups are long gone.

35 Joey MacDonald *
39 Rick DiPietro **

32 Brendan Witt * 24 Radek Martinek **
38 Jack Hillen – 2 Mark Streit
44 Freddy Meyer * – 8 Bruno Gervais **

16 Jon Sim + - 93 Doug Weight ** – 13 Bill Guerin *
15 Jeff Tambellini * – 51 Frans Nielsen ** – 7 Trent Hunter **
89 Mike Comrie * – 10 Richard Park * – 11 Andy Hilbert +
20 Sean Bergenheim * – 45 Nate Thompson * – 21 Kyle Okposo

+ Waived/Resigned AHL
** Long Term Injuries in parts of seasons
* No longer on team

Many will recall that was Jon Sim's first game after almost a full seasons absence and the start of a nightmare season that produced 582 man games lost, after league leading 402 in 2007-08. Brendan Witt played 65 games (-34) on guts with knee problems, Kyle Okposo also played 65 games but to call him completely healthy missing seventeen games is pushing it.

Frans Nielsen played hurt into 2009-10 for his 55 games that season which also concluded Mike Sillinger's career. Mike Comrie to this day has not proven durable.

Hillen/Comeau saw a large part of 08-09 in Bridgeport.

2009-10 saw man games drop to 250+ and 21st overall in the NHL which by this teams post-lockout numbers was a dramatic improvement, but indicates an underlying problem that has yet to be solved which goes well beyond only Rick DiPietro.

This will be the year we start to get some hard answers about Garth Snow's plan unless the injuries start piling up early and often again. No gang, he get's a full pass on Rechlicz, Hennigar minor signings that obviously did not pan out, his early contract to Brendan Witt did not pay off, but also no criticism to lock up a character veteran.

The trades of Mike Milbury's former first rounders in Nokelainen, Nilsson and Ryan O'Marra have not proven to be bad decisions, it remains to be seen if Garth Snow's Islanders got the most out of Jeff Tambellini and former Milbury selection, Sean Bergenheim.

For what's it's worth Snow likely could have sprinkled in Guerin, Comrie, Satan or Richard Park by now if he wanted to sign them, along with some others.

That to me would be a clear sign Snow is not sticking to his plan. If Hilbert or Sim beat out some prospect at this point it's fair to say his plan is failing in some significant spots also.

As I have written often, I see trades coming and moves made which may go right down to opening night.



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Besides Selective Media Spin What's Really Different?

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Fun topic for a slow time, but one I have wanted to write about for a while.

A picture is worth a thousand words.



In the end, when you get past all the overt negative articles on the Nassau Coliseum (usually from media in other markets) who's employers have a vested business/advertising interest in selling their favorite teams meaning they don't call their own building dumps, it begs the question what's the real difference beyond the selective spin?

I have never read Maple Leaf Gardens, Montreal Forum, Chicago Stadium or Boston Garden take these kind of beatings from their local or national media and those facilities were horrible toward the end of their time.

The Buffalo Aud was finally demolished a year ago, it was not constantly ripped by opposing writers in it's final years as an active facility for the Sabres, who's scoreboard came crashing down in the new building.

Is it the plane ride, the LI expressway, the hotel/food/outside entertainment or simply the lack of any relevant media to objectively discuss the Nassau Coliseum?

Absolutely, Charles Wang has had to make his point the Coliseum is outdated, so are all these other facilities, but it's not a sidebar to games or previews about those teams.

Perhaps it's like the NY spin with the NJ football teams? They are entirely NJ in the same parking lot the Devils/Nets played in until they moved, but to tell the truth is not good for media business or teams so sports writers/editors look the other way along with the NFL/Networks.

Never mind NYC did not contribute one penny.

I cannot wait for the day NJ government sues the teams and NFL/Networks to demand they change the name to NJ Giants/Jets, because they are stuck in their 1.7 billion dollar stadium where NJ taxpayers are on the hook for 300m infrastructure here with 1976 Giants Stadium debt still on the books.

For 1.7 billion, it looks like a bad aluminum siding job on a house, with ugly gray speckled seats. It must remain team neutral week by week for it's twenty odd days per year of football use.

Good luck to any sports editor who allows their staff writers to constantly report the home teams facility is a dump or discuss how old or run down their facilities are at every opportunity because it's not a good career move.

Lot's of ad dollars at stake along with newspaper sales.

You think Jim Matheson or his editor at the Edmonton Journal are going to run down Rexall Place every few weeks to the point it drives away Oilers fans/readers from purchasing tickets for a 30th place team?

Daryl Katz demanded a new building a lot louder than Charles Wang ever has recently.

Detroit News: Ted Kulfan waved his Little Caesars Pom Poms a week ago, as he writes with sentiment about Joe Louis Arena, and great moments/while some players with front-loaded corporate contracts are quoted.

Mr Kulfan left out part about empty seats at Wings playoff games over several seasons, while Jobing Arena in Phoenix had better crowds in round one of the playoffs in 2010. A few years ago Mitch Albom called out Detroit Red Wings fans in the Free Press, claiming it's not Nashville.

Mr Albom forgot one minor detail, Nashville had more fans at games than Joe Louis Arena when it opened around the time the Nassau Coliseum was home to the Stanley Cup, and the Wings were offering free cars for people to attend games.

When was the last time a local paper did a similar article on great moments at Nassau Coliseum again like Mr Kulfan did?

New York Islanders problem is they don't have a media to ever defend the Coliseum the way media will defend/downplay the Little Ceasar's Wings (Joe Louis) or Cablevision Garden (Msg), Rexall Place (Edmonton) or former Pens home in Melon Arena.

You may be wondering why former Devils/Nets home is in this picture? Only because Devils owner James Vanderbeek may be purchasing the facility here despite his many disputes over rent/other items at Prudential Center.

Mr Vanderbeek also claimed the Devils were slightly in the red by his own words, in their partly tax-payer funded arena.

I'm not going to insult anyone here by writing the Nassau Coliseum is a great modern arena despite it's outstanding sight lines, but someone better tell me why we don't read the exact same criticisms about the other facilities posted about here just as often because the only dramatic difference I see is in the reporting.

Sports Illustrated In 2008 Michael Farber & Richard Deitsch, headlined knocking the Coliseum among several arena/stadium criticized and even though they included Cablevision Garden-Msg/Izod Center, left out these other facilities.

What makes this article notable was despite making the Coliseum the headline, they never provided a real reason to criticize the facility, where with others they did get specific.



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