Grade/Discuss Brian Strait

[19NYSports91]

C+ at best. Hope Snow and Cappy know what they are doing with this one. I thought he was a disaster in the playoffs.

He just came back from an injury, yet he still looked better than Hickey.

 

[bigd]

There's nobody else who has the talent to help in net besides Tim Thomas. The assumption is not "WTF?", it's reasonable.

So you're okay with running in place. I'm not. Brian Strait is great for depth. As a # 4 D-man he's sub-par. It's time to expect more. And the idea that we're going to use another NHL contract on a depth player is bizarre at this point. There's no room.

TT has been out of the game for a whole year. The only way I would even consider him would be on a camp invite and even then I would only sign him to an incentive laden contract. And yes, I'm OK with the team we have now to start the season.

 

[bigd]

He just came back from an injury, yet he still looked better than Hickey.

Yes, Hickey was a little overwhelmed but they were still both just rookies being thrown into a new system on a new team. I think this season we will really be able to tell what we have with both these players.

 

[redbull]

This was a really difficult call. I mean, it's really really hard to play Visnovsky and Hickey on the road in Pittsburgh, when they can throw out Malkin and Neal whenever they step on the ice. I mean, it's just not fair, I think.

In any case, this is not about Hickey or Strait. It's about Snow not doing anything to correct an obvious flaw exposed through that playoff series.

Well, Donovan replacing Streit is the only change on defense. I'd love Ryan Suter or Alex Pietrangelo because that's what the Islanders could really use but I seriously doubt anyone will be brought in of any caliber above what we have already.

Above average defenders who can play 22+ minutes every night and excel are rare, expensive and we have a few (maybe) that are at least 2-3 years away.

As excited as I (and many of us) are about the start of the season and seeing how much organic growth/improvement we will see (in players like Tavares, Bailey, Okposo, Grabner, Cizikas, Martin, Hamonic) and what players like Donovan, Strome, Nelson, Bouchard, Clutterbuck can add to the roster, there are three or four big holes on this team from being considered a contender.

1) Goalie - it's a huge "show me" for both Nabby and Poulin. Can Nabby avoid fading and can Poulin win the job outright?

2) a shut-down defenseman who can play - a top pairing one

3) a #2 centre AND #1 RW - these are two spots that are the most likely to be addressed with the players we already have. Bouchard, Strome, Nelson can fill those holes, if not, the addition of Clutterbuck and emergence of Cizikas might be able to provide much more balance from the other lines to compensate.

Honestly, it was a mistake to throw him in there after having been out of the loop for so long.

Should have simply had the six most fit guys in there.

Can't tell me for a second that an out-of-rhyhm Strait was more important than a Hickey who was at least in full rhythm.

But anyhoo...

Yeah. But the Isles needed a change of SOME kind and Strait does bring a physical game that Hickey doesn't. We'll see the same this year in the rotation with Carkner and Hickey/Donovan depending on who the opponent is. Same for Boulton at forward I'm sure.

It was fun watching playoff hockey with the Islanders IN IT! That was a fun series - seems like a year ago.

Hard to rate Strait because of how much he played, but he was solid. Not the best defensemen-but reliable and stable. Nothing wrong with that either-he's absolutely earned a top-4 role on this team.

reminds me of Dennis Vaske who was very unheralded but effective. I like Strait but he's not an impact defenseman. He can be an average NHLer who can play 13-16minutes, be physical, kill penalties and hopefully stay away from dumb penalties and he'll be a good Islander.

 

[Felix Unger]

Well, Donovan replacing Streit is the only change on defense. I'd love Ryan Suter or Alex Pietrangelo because that's what the Islanders could really use but I seriously doubt anyone will be brought in of any caliber above what we have already.

Above average defenders who can play 22+ minutes every night and excel are rare, expensive and we have a few (maybe) that are at least 2-3 years away.

What was the name of that guy who went to Edmonton? Rhymed with defence?

No chance we could have traded for Visnovsky's Slovakian d-partner either?

Course not. Impossible. Only other teams are allowed to improve from "outside".

 

[redbull]

What was the name of that guy who went to Edmonton? Rhymed with defence?

No chance we could have traded for Visnovsky's Slovakian d-partner either?

Course not. Impossible. Only other teams are allowed to improve from "outside".

rhymes with defense - well done

hmmm....let's see....not Denis Grebeshkov.......hmm

I'm not suggesting there weren't moves to be made but I also don't think players like Tallinder, Ference, Sekera or UFAs like Hainsey, Ryan Whitney, Tom Gilbert, Ian White, Carlo Colaiacovo or Douglas Murray are players who will make the Islanders significantly better. Other GMs all agree, otherwise they'd certainly have contracts by now.

Of course, many of those GMs will regret these non-moves because I do think there are some nice players still available as UFAs.

Maybe Ference at $13mm for 4 years (Isles would likely have to pay more than that) isn't a smart move when weighing the impact/dollar?

And one might argue that Strait, Hickey, Carkner and possibly Martinek are just as good than the available options at this stage.

I agree with you that the holes SHOULD HAVE been addressed but I'm not ready to admit failure or regret - yet.

Maybe Ference is more than "just depth" but not many such players are made available and some are expensive. Now, all nice things are expensive so if a player like Pietrangelo wants 7 years and $35mm from the Blues OR wants to be dealt then I'd have no hesitation in offering up Reinhart, Donovan and a #1 pick - for example - They'd ask for Hamonic though

 

[Chapin Landvogt]

This was a really difficult call. I mean, it's really really hard to play Visnovsky and Hickey on the road in Pittsburgh, when they can throw out Malkin and Neal whenever they step on the ice. I mean, it's just not fair, I think.

True. Just seemed like Hickey had one not so good game and then BOOM, Strait replaces him permanently although he's not in game shape.

Maybe other things played a role.

In any case, this is not about Hickey or Strait. It's about Snow not doing anything to correct an obvious flaw exposed through that playoff series.

I guess one of the issues is that you can't replace Streit from the outside AND work in Donovan at the same time. Gotta think that Donovan is high on the Isles' list. But if Donovan stumbles in the first 25 games and no-one else excels, I suggest we'll see a change made.

Basically, the only true fixed D at the moment are Visnovsky, Hamonic and MacDonald. How the others will ultimately be fit in is uncertain, but the 'others' include no less than Hickey, Strait, Donovan, Carkner and Finley. The latter two, along with Hamonic, are the only two who really add brawn, even if Strait gets his nose dirty.

I think the team is doing it the right way. Obviously the team could have done more to improve itself immediately right through free agency, if nothing else. Still, if the team is going to draft 8000 Dmen within 4 drafts, it has to start finding out which ones can play at this level. Donovan and a perhaps once again healthy de Haan gotta start getting a look.

Whether the team should be affording ice to the Hickeys and Straits of the world without adding a better, more proven guy from the outside is another issue.

 

[MattMartin]

Strait was very helpful to us, butttttttttttttt......

The really weird thing was when Strait went down with the injury we started to play better defensively as a team (it could just be pure coincidence).

In the 15 games he played before the injury we gave up 54 goals (3.6 GAPG).

After the injury (next 29 games)we allowed 73 goals (2.5 GAPG).

He returned for the final 4 games which we allowed 12 goals (3.0 GAPG)

For the record.

With Strait...3.47 GAPG in 19 games
Without Strait.....2.5 GAPG in 29 games

Maybe he is a Pittsburgh spy = )

 

[Felix Unger]

Maybe Ference at $13mm for 4 years (Isles would likely have to pay more than that) isn't a smart move when weighing the impact/dollar?

It's of course TRUE that Isles would have had to pay more (possibly much more) for Ference or Scuderi. But why not overpay?

I asked CREW99AW on the trade board, and I'll ask here: what's the point of bargain RFA deals if you don't use the savings to make yourself better? Do NYI fans just find it gratifying that the team signs discount contracts?

 

[Felix Unger]

Strait was very helpful to us, butttttttttttttt......

The really weird thing was when Strait went down with the injury we started to play better defensively as a team (it could just be pure coincidence).

In the 15 games he played before the injury we gave up 54 goals (3.6 GAPG).

After the injury (next 29 games)we allowed 73 goals (2.5 GAPG).

He returned for the final 4 games which we allowed 12 goals (3.0 GAPG)

For the record.

With Strait...3.47 GAPG in 19 games
Without Strait.....2.5 GAPG in 29 games

Maybe he is a Pittsburgh spy = )

Two things had much more to do with that: Visnovsky and... Well, I'll leave it at Visnovsky.

 

[bigd]

Strait was very helpful to us, butttttttttttttt......

The really weird thing was when Strait went down with the injury we started to play better defensively as a team (it could just be pure coincidence).

In the 15 games he played before the injury we gave up 54 goals (3.6 GAPG).

After the injury (next 29 games)we allowed 73 goals (2.5 GAPG).

He returned for the final 4 games which we allowed 12 goals (3.0 GAPG)

For the record.

With Strait...3.47 GAPG in 19 games
Without Strait.....2.5 GAPG in 29 games

Maybe he is a Pittsburgh spy = )

I think that was more a function of the team playing better. When he went down I think he was the only D-man with a plus, plus/minus stat. He was definetly one of our better D-men before he got hurt but when he came back you could see he just wasn't up to game speed. It will be interesting to see our first night lineup. Hickey and Strait will have to prove they belong because there are prospects chomping at the bit to take their spots. I'm not so sure Finely will even stick but we'll see.

 

[MattMartin]

I think that was more a function of the team playing better. When he went down I think he was the only D-man with a plus, plus/minus stat. He was definetly one of our better D-men before he got hurt but when he came back you could see he just wasn't up to game speed. It will be interesting to see our first night lineup. Hickey and Strait will have to prove they belong because there are prospects chomping at the bit to take their spots. I'm not so sure Finely will even stick but we'll see.

Agreed, was just a weird thing I noticed and just went to check the stats and see if I was remembering correctly. Hammer was slow out of the gates as well. I have my doubts about Hickey and I think Finley will not see the line up barring major injury issues.

 

[redbull]

It's of course TRUE that Isles would have had to pay more (possibly much more) for Ference or Scuderi. But why not overpay?

I asked CREW99AW on the trade board, and I'll ask here: what's the point of bargain RFA deals if you don't use the savings to make yourself better? Do NYI fans just find it gratifying that the team signs discount contracts?

completely agree. My distaste for Wang's budget or Snow's internal sub-cap-floor budget is still there - and I don't think that will go away. I don't Wang will allow even a mid-cap spending budget for Snow, so there's that.

But forgetting all that and simply "why not overpay"?

I don't think overpaying for a non-impact player makes any sense. We've seen this, most notably on July first when Bobby Holik gets a zillion dollars along with expectation he cannot live up to. Same for David Clarkson this past year.

Whether it's Wang's budget or Snow's philosophy, overpaying rarely makes sense. Paying "market value" in the supply-demand dynamic of the UFA period is so inflationary that it makes so little sense to play in that game. So we're faced with the BEST UFAs getting vastly overpaid, relative to their impact. The average UFAs are rarely impact players and they also get a lot of money.

The Bouchards and Hainseys become the best values out there, along with waiver pickups like Strait and Hickey. I'd much rather have Hickey and Strait rather than the huge dollars thrown at Ehrhoff and Paul Martin, for example. Sure the latter two are better players but not at that price-tag.

So yes, I'd love to overpay, for the right player, when it makes a difference. Chicago "overpaid" for Marian Hossa who's probably their third best forward - but he helped the Hawks win a cup. The Islanders are simply too far away from being in a situation where overpaying an impact player will bring any tangible results. And may actually hurt our ability to sign/retain key core players, especially when you factor in the limited budget.

It's a moneyball-esque approach, no doubt, but it's also a smarter way to do business. The Leafs aren't any better than the Islanders and they spend to the cap and overpay some pretty average players. Hickey, Strait, Carkner, MacDonald, Finley make less money COMBINED than JM Liles who they cannot even give away. And they have no money for Kadri and Franson because they are at the cap, and even after buying out Grabovski. I know the Leafs are an extreme example as well but the point of getting value is just as important, if not MORE important, than overpaying for a player.

 

[Felix Unger]

It's a moneyball-esque approach, no doubt, but it's also a smarter way to do business. The Leafs aren't any better than the Islanders and they spend to the cap and overpay some pretty average players. Hickey, Strait, Carkner, MacDonald, Finley make less money COMBINED than JM Liles who they cannot even give away. And they have no money for Kadri and Franson because they are at the cap, and even after buying out Grabovski. I know the Leafs are an extreme example as well but the point of getting value is just as important, if not MORE important, than overpaying for a player.

It also puts a limitation on the way you do business. Such a limitation, in fact, that we aren't getting ANY of the cap casualties that CREW99AW and other promised. Honestly, given the Leafs situation (and the Nucks, and the Kings, etc.) why don't we have Schneider or Bernier or Franson, yet?

My point is that we HAVE to get better, and it's not ALL happening from within. If you want to hoard the prospects, you've got to open the wallet. Or stagnate.

 

[PWJunior]

completely agree. My distaste for Wang's budget or Snow's internal sub-cap-floor budget is still there - and I don't think that will go away. I don't Wang will allow even a mid-cap spending budget for Snow, so there's that.

But forgetting all that and simply "why not overpay"?

I don't think overpaying for a non-impact player makes any sense. We've seen this, most notably on July first when Bobby Holik gets a zillion dollars along with expectation he cannot live up to. Same for David Clarkson this past year.

Whether it's Wang's budget or Snow's philosophy, overpaying rarely makes sense. Paying "market value" in the supply-demand dynamic of the UFA period is so inflationary that it makes so little sense to play in that game. So we're faced with the BEST UFAs getting vastly overpaid, relative to their impact. The average UFAs are rarely impact players and they also get a lot of money.

The Bouchards and Hainseys become the best values out there, along with waiver pickups like Strait and Hickey. I'd much rather have Hickey and Strait rather than the huge dollars thrown at Ehrhoff and Paul Martin, for example. Sure the latter two are better players but not at that price-tag.

So yes, I'd love to overpay, for the right player, when it makes a difference. Chicago "overpaid" for Marian Hossa who's probably their third best forward - but he helped the Hawks win a cup. The Islanders are simply too far away from being in a situation where overpaying an impact player will bring any tangible results. And may actually hurt our ability to sign/retain key core players, especially when you factor in the limited budget.

It's a moneyball-esque approach, no doubt, but it's also a smarter way to do business. The Leafs aren't any better than the Islanders and they spend to the cap and overpay some pretty average players. Hickey, Strait, Carkner, MacDonald, Finley make less money COMBINED than JM Liles who they cannot even give away. And they have no money for Kadri and Franson because they are at the cap, and even after buying out Grabovski. I know the Leafs are an extreme example as well but the point of getting value is just as important, if not MORE important, than overpaying for a player.

Wow redbull, I think you just blew my mind. Great post and I'm in complete agreement.

The organization has been incredibly methodical in their approach, I don't see Snow deviating from it at all. He wants a homegrown team that is cost controlled for an extended period of time. He is banking on the prospects to pan out and is now bringing them along slowly. It's the leap of faith that he has had to take and Wang is happy that he's not shelling out the big bucks. With the timing of when the core contracts were given out, he was always paying for potential. All of them are back-loaded in actual money. I think Okposo and Grabner were signed first in that fashion which was then followed up by Tavares' 'statement contract'. Frans, Martin, Hamonic, and Bailey all then followed suit. His work in that regard has been exceptional IMO.

The team is making strides in a positive direction (at what seems like a snail's pace), but it should continue to do so. Parenteau, Streit, probably Moulson were all let go because at this point in time, there is no more upside and what you see is what you get with them. The UFA's have all been bargain type of deals, stop gaps really. He sticks to his price and doesn't budge. It's risky, but he's willing to take it.

This is totally my own opinion, but Snow strikes me as a guy who would get off on going against the grain and going full on homegrown. Wang too. Imagine if they pulled it off with everything going to plan, imagine the Cheshire Cat's grin on their faces. They would be hailed as geniuses and live it up, a redemption for all the Micky Mouse franchise jokes over the years. If I was a billionaire myself with money not being a major hindrance, my ego would be stroked so hard that it would be irresistible to not pursue. Snow has probably the most job security of any GM in the league and you don't think he'd enjoy the GM of the Year Award because he'd get it if the Isles win the Cup, that's probably guaranteed. I would if I was him. It would be giving everyone the proverbial middle finger and being celebrated for it.

If I was Wang, I'd be on Cloud 9 and having his right hand man in Snow next to him to enjoy it would be biggest ego trip. Yeah, it could blow up and fall flat on his face yet the potential reward is too hard to pass up. Isles MoneyHockey is here to stay.

 

[bigd]

Agreed, was just a weird thing I noticed and just went to check the stats and see if I was remembering correctly. Hammer was slow out of the gates as well. I have my doubts about Hickey and I think Finley will not see the line up barring major injury issues.

I think Dan O is right. The turn around was mainly due to the addition of Visnovsky.

 

[Cacciaguida]

B- he could drop though.

 

[Aucoin3]

He just came back from an injury, yet he still looked better than Hickey.

If it were me I wouldnt have played either of them and it would have been Martinek. On top of that if they were making a playoff push Snow should have acquired a cheap rental vet dman for the playoffs.

All that aside is anyone else upset the Isles didnt sign Douglas Murray? He signed a very cheap one year deal with Montreal.

 

[Hip Of Rick*]

Every team has a Strait like dman. He is a bottom pair dman with zero offense and little physical play. If he was replaced another anonymous bottom pair dman it would have no impact on the team. He should not have been re-signed for multiple years. He should be on a 1 year deal, 3 years for him is silly

 

[bigd]

If it were me I wouldnt have played either of them and it would have been Martinek. On top of that if they were making a playoff push Snow should have acquired a cheap rental vet dman for the playoffs.

All that aside is anyone else upset the Isles didnt sign Douglas Murray? He signed a very cheap one year deal with Montreal.

Murray $ucks! We already have Carkner and I think he's better than Murray but we don't need two.

 

[rikker]

i doubt that he will ever be confused with an offensive defenceman, but his defensive game seems pretty decent.

his stats are comparable to Ference's. not bad for a rookie (albeit, an older one). he definitely is low risk, considering that he signed 3 year, $775,000/per...

i can see him and Hammer being shut down this year.