Older, slower, overmatched in every area. That's how the four preseason games looked, and I grant you this was a very different preseason for the entire NHL. Rangers, Devils went through the 2026-2027 New York Islanders like they were not even there, total no-show efforts in four games besides beating awful Spencer Martin on powerplays Schaefer did all the work. Almost no five on five goals, struggling to get any shots most of the games, breakdowns all over the ice. Veterans who looked like they were in total decline. Lineups where team is completely overmatched on what they claim is home ice, in a building with virtually no fans, that's been a failure since it opened in 2021 in a place unfit for a professional sports franchise. But Dolan wanted his Nassau Coliseum events, lost to Ratner, and owns Cuomo. Wang did what he was told, Malkin saw his London Retail Village at Belmont, and we're off to the relocation races again as next Belmont was mocked without mercy for the last week.
Looks and feels like the same going away party for Bridgeport, it's not even discussed why they are gone today. No one wants to touch that or the Fisherman branding the marketing people constantly want to stuff down the few fans around throats as a cap max team looks like a minor league team.
On the ice, it's a roster filled with veterans who can't compete or score, and this was largely against two very bad teams last season. Why did Peter Deboer take this job unless he was worried maybe he would end up without a job this year? If you can't skate no game plan works and that's what it looked like on the ice.
I have no answers for this roster which looks far worse then last year's bad roster that produced two goals or fewer in forty games. They dressed seven defenders vs Devils. Schaefer playing RD already "tweaked something" in practice. Barzal is still hurt from two years ago as I can't tell if he's a LW/RW or center as the only two real puck carriers they have since Horvat came here and picked the Olympics vs three weeks or rest he needed off two major injuries. Heineman looks like a third liner who works hard with bad hands who will be outscored by Dobson. Everyone who has Palmieri, Pageau, Cizikas, Palat, Mc-Lean, Duclair on their lines is short-handed which means everyone. Engvall got his walking papers, and sadly he actually outplayed these players over the four games which says a lot. Romanov looks like he did before his injury, a ghost of the player acquired making huge money they can't move, who's going to get Isiah George another year in the AHL despite what Deboer said last season that he's an NHL player. The rest of this group is slow to react, slow to pucks, can't win them on boards. Palmieri has needed a cab to backcheck since 2019, and Pageau is getting nine years based on his 24 goal run in Ottawa, who read it right and sold as fast as possible. It's hard to get a true read on Maccelli or Eklund with this group around them. I have no clue who wins LD spot but my guess is Aicheson will be here over George because he's Darche's guy. Pulock looks like he is in decline or playing hurt, Pelech got smothered by two Devils in his corner and was just overmatched. Schenn's already dinged up, he was a ghost in his look also. I like Holmstrom a lot, he's still moved around too much, Ritchie is a player who can help if they clear out all the declining centers who can't produce getting in his way.
And of course we have an arena that's never been a home, that feels like a road game with a Fisherman/Lighthouse cluture that screams it's time to relocate like Bridgeport did. I want them back in New York City at Barclay's, the tiny LI faction who can't fill an outhouse keep acting like they are entitled to a team that did everything possible to get them to Barclay's. The money, corporate revenue, NYC fans who showed real signs this team can survive and build something to last works at Barclays. I could care less about seats, you play in the right location, everything get's fixed over time. The Nets need an NHL team in their building, the Liberty give NYI three fan bases to work from to fill the seats far better then Belmont, the PWHL team ran out of there due to poor attendance, same as St.Johns wanted no part of the Queens border, and the Liberty blamed being at Belmont lost them a tournament game in their championship season.
I suspect relocation is coming in two years to another market entirely under this ownership, that spends to cap and gets nothing as it's return but more red ink. Belmont revenue for NHL does not work, the attendance clearly never worked same as Nassau Coliseum was over by 1989 when the fair weather bunch walked out forever. The retail village is a total bust, the new racetrack is also a total bust omly smaller and cororate for an event who's time is over like circus was, like Nassau Coliseum became the moment Dolan ordered Cuomo to approve Belmont for the Coliseum concerts. Wang got his marching orders the NYI be a willing pawn and relocate. NYI were a short-term lame duck before ground breaking. Barclay's wanted the NYI to stay but no longer pay them to run their business. The ice is far worse at Belmont. Everything Yormark said about Belmont turned out to be true. No one wants to be there, the old Coliseum crew miss their obsolete 1989-2015-18-19-20 empty building experience at 1975 prices, nothing will get them to a game that is not a cup finals game.
The Long Island crew are kids who are not knowledgable about hockey, who act like expansion/minor league fans, who ignore this franchise is special with an incredible history. They make themselves not respected and influnced by interns in the teams front office & execitives with spead sheets who don't understand the NHL business of today. The NHL is about revenue, fan support/engagement & that means city-based franchises. The management will play it nice for this season because the NHL is not taking back the ASG New York/Queens was awarded which will be a NYC event entirely besides the Long Island spam campaign from the marketing department. Then the relocation will enter the radar like Bridgeport. Payroll going up near 130 million for a franchise that lost twenty million in Nassau Coliseum, and losses close to sixty million now? Barclay's is the only NY location to survive revenue-wise same reasons why Bettman moved playoffs there is why they will be relocating out of Belmont in two-three years absolutely max. This is not the Smg prison sentence lease. Dolan does not want to pay their television contract until 2031, and this lease can be vacated for only 86.25 million.
Darche seems like a nice, man, but overmatched & over his head in the general manager's chair, same as the roster he largely constructed. Hey Mr Malkin, that fifty million you were nice enough to give me for Romanov, well, we need to pay someone else to relace him, and we have about ten LD we have to pay soon.
Ok, they play another season looking far worse then they were as cap floor team in an empty arena. But this time relocation can happen at any time. They are not in an iron-clad go to prison lease if you don't honor it that Nassau County did for A'Amaton/Smg/Flyers. Belmont is on Queens border despite Brendan Burke saying on the Island like they play in the Hampton's fifty times a game, team acts like Dolan ordered Malkin to brand as Suffolk county or no more cable money/no more family-owned Newsday coverage, and clearly looks to be on borrowed time.
Ok, enjoy the Boston Bruins/Delaware North food, sausage ice cream, and a mickey mouse product/branding for an Elmont based uniform that supports a Lighthouse a hundred miles away as the next intern shows the Manhattan skyline. The in-game teams media person (I'm not posting her name) quit/went to Washington this week, unlike many teams she largely hid her name or profile.
I'm going to make my noise pushing for a return to Barclay's NYC fans/money, a chance to stay in business and grow something built to last. Many will not agree and do their Long Island dance, sorry, however I do not care what they want because they stopped going to games after 1988. NYI need what will work and that's being back in NYC at Barclay's permanently to continue what worked in 2015-16-17 and when they got a string of weekend home games in 2019-20. Utah will make it work, it can work here. Lee ran to Utah he knew what does not work at Belmont & played in a filled building for a preseason game last night. Shabanov/Tsyplakov will play like players paroled from Roy. The veterans here will drag the players who can help them down, despite being nice people. We have been dealing with the Scatchard visits sick kids in hospitals mantra and the Long Island country club since 2021 which is why a cap max roster is worse then the cap floor rosters. In summer of 2021 when fans were being fed a cup finals mantra, I was writing about how Pageau, Cizikas, Clutterbuck, Martin, Parise, Chara/others who were declining would drive this franchise into being a bottom team for a long time. Darche somehow has continued it & made that even worse.
