No More Hiding For 2015-16 New York Islanders

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/27/2015 09:01:00 AM |
I do this entry every year so here is the short version.

The math never lies, it does change a little.

This is a conference where 16 teams fight for only 8 playoff spots, unlike the West. It's not the days of 16 teams qualifying  in a 21 team league. It's also far from the days of 2002-2003 where the one game over five hundred 83 point Islander team qualified.

Ryan Strome (or anyone) wants a place in this lineup they better earn it nightly now. 





Hamonic Trade Request: Personal Family Matter

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/19/2015 04:12:00 PM |
Islanders website: Has quotes from Travis Hamonic & teammates regarding his trade request. 

“The root of all this is a personal family matter of mine that I hold dear to my heart,” Hamonic said. “It has nothing to do with the organization or how I’ve been treated here for six years of playing and another two or three since I was drafted. I’ve honestly been treated like gold from the start.”

NHL.com: Hamonic had nothing but praise for management, Capuano commented, as did his teammates.

NYIFC Comments: 
What more can be written? A personal family matter is just that.....not our business.

At at some point Snow will accommodate his request, or Hamonic will have to go home

He reported to camp, played the games, but sooner or later Snow will have to act at a disadvantage same as when Chris Campoli requested a trade.

How it was leaked in Canada was a disgrace, but that's par for the course.
 
The team will have to carry on which is why you develop a prospect system.

Hopefully a future return will help the organization or the money saved will help retain one of their many UFA players.

Seems for the moment Hamonic will continue to play games for the New York Islanders.

New York Notables

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/12/2015 12:52:00 AM |
If you are asking if I have been surprised by anything that's happened the answer would be everything has happened exactly as expected from the Islanders attendance, to media game branding them, and how poor a job Mr Yormark, and his staff has done from day one along with our fans reactions.

He's great at signing sponsors/advertisers/booking events, he's a nightmare in the fans relations marketing department, anyone who followed the NJ Nets knew, same with his brother in Florida with the Panthers. 

Filling seats for Islander games anywhere in early months is beyond anyone or their marketing, we all knew that since 1989, and many teams have same issues (including Rangers, Devils, Bruins, Sabres, Wings) for openers with many others. (announced numbers not withstanding)

And last I checked the LIRR also runs from Manhattan to Barclay's for those release figures.

11/12: LI Herald had most detailed informaton on Coliseum but did not include D league basketball team since announced. 

NYIFC Comments:  
Now we know why that mid-August ground breaking took until a week past the contractual agreement date. Ratner had more unloading to do, which includes his majority stake in the Coliseum.

Basically he's renovating for someone else with a small stake which allows the lease to continue.

Either Nassau let Ratner/Prokhorov hold off acquiring an AHL team, or they signed a team for 2017-18, and it will remain under wraps until late in the 2016-17 AHL season.

For now the NBA will not let Prokhorov carry any more debt so the full sale of the Nets/Barclay's is on hold before Ratner can unload his stakes.

Ultimately Prokhorov is buying everything to keep it or sell it all to another party, given the constant flux of articles on him selling expect a sale of everything (including his stake in Coliseum) sooner or later.

We have no clue if Wang wants any part of this or his soon to be majority owners, their absence screams no.

What's Wang going to do in Bridgeport tell the fans happy 15th, we're leaving in two years? Bill Finch is out as Bridgeport's mayor which does not change his operating agreement until 2021 to put a pro hockey team in that building.

Wang's job as a grown up (which he used to ask of people) will be to run Iceworks/Twin Rinks/WBA when he's out of the majority owner business.

11/11: NY Post Mr Yormark basically feels Nets have been in existence only three years, and this is a transition year with rich praise for Msg/Knicks brand which has had many past years of empty seats, and a laughingstock for well over a decade beyond one year.

NYIFC Comments: 
The Nets moved into Barclay's having made the equivalent of three Vanek trades for several 1st round picks, to about 2018-19  where those players had the ability of Weight-Guerin when they signed here.


Mr Yormark sounds like a man who knows he needs Dolan/NHL permission for the NYI to have a second NHL home four times in regular season or may need a job at Chase Garden with Botta/ Jim Cerney at some future point when Prokhorov sells everything to a third party.

It's not going to help his resume making an enemy of Dolan.
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I asked a question the other day where it's impossible to know the answer because our media is so flat out awful. Most do not report the Rangers practice travel miles from Greenburg to Chase Garden is almost the exact same distance for a daily commute from Iceworks to Barclays.

But only the Islanders home games is an all-day road trip? Enough former players lived in NYC when they played for NYI, Brian Rolston commuted from NJ after Trent Hunter trade.
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Espn Ranger die-hard, Linda Cohn did a nice video. The Islanders/players thanks for their generous time was her going into ESPN studio to introduce her work with another pathetic Mausoleum crack, and how the Islanders could have moved to Portland.

Thanks for nothing. 

Never heard Portland, did Scott Burnside feed her that one or is Katie (Strang) Allen taking her usual shots from afar before she starts selling everything Mike Illitch continues taking from taxpayers in Detroit as positive?
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And of course Howie Rose feels our team name should now be Brooklyn Islanders, while he covers Queens Mets, and our cups were not considered NY by some. (he means Ranger fans like him in media)

Like I wrote, expected all of it. 

Seriously can't this part time misery machine just take the winter off, or wait at home for Rosen's job?

He does nothing for our franchise while Goring does all the running around with Hogan. Rosen runs downstairs to interview the coach, has Rose been in a locker room the last ten years besides saying morning skates should be outlawed?

Hasn't he socked away enough cash from Msg since 1996?  He's no Bob Murphy, who was the Mets version of Jiggs McDonald.

Rose gives our franchise nothing, his only honest moment was in Atlanta long ago.

No, did not forget my question......

Here's my question:
Who is paying the Islanders (2031) Devils (2024) television contracts now that Altice is buying Cablevision?

My math says those numbers come to about six hundred million dollars, the Sabres rights expire in 2016.

That's not spare change for a company given a reputation for penny pinching, and demanded Newsday/News12/AMNY in the deal.

Does Altice even want to show sports on their version of Cablevison who those hockey deals were reportedly signed with?
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Dolan's editorial board is too busy still being bitter they lost the bid for the Coliseum in 2013, to where everything is vetted with the most negative spin down to seat removal while Dolan get's his tax exemption check yearly & every penny of what he sold to Steiner Sports for the seats.

NYC made deals with teams/Steiner where both got portions/offset demolition costs while Bloomberg handed Yankees/Mets their taxpayer stadiums. 

Never mind Dolan bid less to renovate the Coliseum, and wanted a tax exemption/real estate control of entire HUB Ratner did not want.

Anyone telling you if this was Dolan's renovation  we would see the same negative coverage in his newspaper for now is flat out lying to you or clueless .......No other way to write that.

In all the years of their Newday ownership since 2008, I have never seen so many editorials based on one subject which has been worse than the campaign to defeat the 2011 referendum so they could bid.

From the IDA funding (both sides said they needed) to even Wang's short-lived Cantiague agreement where Newsday did not report NYI had a team store opened there in 2012, it's been one omission after another.

Randi Marshall would be praising an Msg-Live groundbreaking on Coliseum even over Wang-Rechler Lighthouse and how great it would be for Long Island. She used to go hunt for political contributions Wang made, while ignoring Dolan because they owned Newsday.

Wang opening Twin Rinks sure did not get a lot of media.
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And many of our clueless fans continue boycotting since 1989, or demanding a move back to a 13,000 seat arena without luxury boxes so 11,000 can show up where they demand a 70 million dollar payroll, and 20 dollar ticket prices. Did they graduate from the Kate Murray university of business?
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On The Ice:
They beat a San Jose team that was awful, and allowed two very soft goals or it's another 2-1 loss.

Sorry, but that's how I see it. 

My reasons for wanting Capuano's dismissal in May because of how fragile this team is in crunch time has not changed, and what was missing since day one of preseason in terms of being a tough team to play against remains absent.

A year older for the young players (including Leddy, Hamonic) has not been a year better. 

And the powerplay again is struggling with the five on five showing no sign of improving. 

I saw a few low shot/goals against games and was slightly encouraged, but the constant line changes to this day are obviously temporary as again Bailey (now Nelson) bounce from wing to wing.

Strome's hardly lighting up Bridgeport is his early return.

You want Capuano gone? Brent Thompson is 11-4, he'll become interim coach if things fall apart while the new majority owners decide regardless of how many good contracts Garth Snow signed if winning is how he must be judged after ten years?

Yes Snow/McPhee were player/agent, he was also Washington's gm when Mr Ledecky was co-owner.

Will end on a positive note, sometimes it just finally clicks. Look what Ottawa did last season with a very mediocre roster.

Strome Sent To Bridgeport

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/06/2015 06:06:00 PM |
NYIFC Comments:
Not going to lie, the thought crossed my mind this week. I thought perhaps he would no longer be eligible, but seeing sixteen goal Bernier looking good and needing games....no problem with this decision.

Nassau Coliseum Ground Breaking 11/5/15 10:30am

New York Islander Fan Central | 11/04/2015 03:30:00 PM |