Is New York A Playoff Team? Unlikely

New York Islander Fan Central | 7/30/2024 06:43:00 AM |
Sorry but not going to write much from here unless something happens. We have fans at the THN and bloggers who will take anything like betting odds, and sites throwing predictions at the walls to write anything for their resume, daily, you know that's never been the case here.
I did the roster in my previous post. They are slightly improved without Martin/Clutterbuck in the skating department, but there are still so many slow, soft players, who are bad in transition, bad along walls or unproven players, and it's not a team that will fight. It's hard to see a third year in a row where the eighth seed is only 12 over when the traditional cut is 15-20 over. I do think Devils, Wings, and Flyers who fell apart at the end will be improved, and someone in the group of teams who never qualify will make a jump forward.
How many more games where they give up 40+ shots, have periods where they allow 20+ shots, with worst pk in NHL have to happen before some tough choices are made with contracts not movable? Teams know they crumble and give up goals in bunches when pressed. And teams know there are major issues when Casey Cizikas is a first line left wing in playoff games.
Tell me why Bo Horvat is a nice player but hardly a franchise star will be better? Many goals against he was poor in transition, he hardly takes over games, even with Barzal next to him. Lee, and the dead weight in Palmieri, Cizikas, Pageau, Fasching, MacLean how are they going to put up the numbers necessary to keep them in contention?
I'm not a Patrick Roy fan, who barely matched Lambert, and walked from a job off his one good season as a coach. They hired an assistant who has not worked in the NHL in sixteen years, who did not even seem to be Roy's hand-picked coach.
Sorokin had five years worth of work the last three years, he was burned out from the lack of speed among the forwards. Varlamov did what Sorokin did the previous year to get them the 7th seed. Can Sorokin carry them or is his prime used up?
Is Dobson a victim of the slow forwards or his own gaffe's? Both. He's getting big money from someone. Pelech/Dobson get big money with no forward's help, and they are overworked. Romanov same thing with forwards back checking. Reily is signed, Mayfield will be back, Pens got Aho's skating which will help them.
Every year I wrote get crooked numbers, don't lose in regulation, the strategy got them a ton of overtime/shootout losses but a playoff spot that I don't see happening again.
That's where I am on 7/30/24.