Mark my words

[PROMputt]

Josh Bailey, Michael Grabner, and Brian Strait come to mind immediately.

LOL you pick three guys(who I think received fair market value) but you do not mention the contracts he got Tavares, Hamonic, Nielson, Martin, Visnofsky, Halak and others to sign. Snow has done a terrific job with contracts. NOW, if Vanek had signed the contract that was offered Snow would be looking real bad.

 

[seabass45]

Josh Bailey, Michael Grabner, and Brian Strait come to mind immediately.

Strait's contract is basically league min, it's fine. I don't know what else you want for a #7 d-man. The problem is that he's playing too much.

 

[CupHolders]

[/B]

You guys have gone all into the kool aid. Garth Snow is not a good GM.. 8 yrs of a perpetual rebuild.. yeah sorry I can go on but ill leave it at the fact that we are winning and I a happy but I doubt it has anything to do with Garth Snow and Jack Capuano.

Of course the results this year have nothing to do with the GM responsible for acquiring the players and Coach for managing the game plan. However, all the previous failures are squarely on them.

Now, since we are back to drink analogies instead the latest fad of calling reasonable fans as a "family member" for not sharing a strict one-sided view... I raise my "kool-aid" and toast your "haterade!"

 

[Hip Of Rick*]

Strait's contract is basically league min, it's fine. I don't know what else you want for a #7 d-man. The problem is that he's playing too much.

I hate Snow more than the next guy but the Strait contract is a big whatever. Like you said he is a number 7 dman and its not Snows that Capuano plays him 20+min a night and give him a ton of PK time.

It is Snows fault that Capuano is still the coach and we may be 5 and out in the playoffs because of simple Jack

 

[Quicklime]

Awful lot of piss & moan over a team that just won and is leading the division still.

The team needs tweaks.....as does everyone. TB and maybe Montreal need them, and Nashville leads the whole league and is still making trades. This was a lottery team last year and is at the top of the echelon right below the teams listed above.

Can we save a little for after the trade deadline when we see what is or isn't done? I get that things need to be done, but sometimes I wonder when Garth Snow had affairs with some peoples' significant others while pouring sugar in their gas tanks considering the ire a division leading team can draw.

We'll see how far they make it in the playoffs, but things aren't as bad - or as good - as they seem. The team can still be beaten when the weakest links are exploited, but this team is still winning....are you ready for it......roughly SIXTY-SIX PERCENT of it's games. 38-19-1.....TWO THIRDS.......

This board should be sponsored by Ambion.

 

[bigtim1988]

I agree with OP that another physical stay at home Dman type would be a great pickup. However, we have more than enough defensive minded forwards & good Dmen to be at least adequate. We should at the very least be league average defensively. As much as it pains me to agree with Ray Ferraro (he was a jerk to me when I was a kid, so I HATE HIM) he is 100% right here. We play loose. It is our systems.

When we are on the PP teams attack us. They put constant pressure on us. When we are on the PK, we backup and give teams a lot of room to maneuver. And there's no reason for it either. I almost get the feeling that Capuano plays this way on the PK, because he hopes that teams will return the favor & play that way against us on our PP.

Bottom line, in order for this franchise to really make it to the next level, they need a new coaching staff. I'm still beyond ticked off they didn't make a run at Laviolette.

Nashville having 80+ pts at this point of the season is just a testament to Laviolette's coaching ability--guy is a winner everywhere he goes. I don't know what happens with him tho; he seems to be great for 2-3 years, but ineffective afterwords....its strange. we'd probably have more pts than nashville at the moment if Lav was our coach.

I've been tolerant of cappy because we're winning, and he's seems to have learned a lot since his first year in the league, but I'm still not sure if he's the one to lead us to the promised land.

I don't necessarily think the defense is that terrible, they're actually pretty good as long as they maintain structure. Once they get tired and start running around, thats when they run into problems.

 

[ScaredStreit]

Our ok must improve if we want to win in the playoffs.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

[/B]


Nashville having 80+ pts at this point of the season is just a testament to Laviolette's coaching ability--guy is a winner everywhere he goes. I don't know what happens with him tho; he seems to be great for 2-3 years, but ineffective afterwords....its strange. we'd probably have more pts than nashville at the moment if Lav was our coach.

I've been tolerant of cappy because we're winning, and he's seems to have learned a lot since his first year in the league, but I'm still not sure if he's the one to lead us to the promised land.

I don't necessarily think the defense is that terrible, they're actually pretty good as long as they maintain structure. Once they get tired and start running around, thats when they run into problems.

Laviolette seems to wear out his welcome. He's a real hands-on, old-school, rah-rah type of coach. I think he arrives like a bull in a china shop, can inspire everyone to buy into his system but the schtick gets old and players eventually tune him out. He's a my way or the highway type of guy and I think some players eventually get tired of that.

 

[PWJunior]

Laviolette seems to wear out his welcome. He's a real hands-on, old-school, rah-rah type of coach. I think he arrives like a bull in a china shop, can inspire everyone to buy into his system but the schtick gets old and players eventually tune him out. He's a my way or the highway type of guy and I think some players eventually get tired of that.

I agree, his track record suggests this to be the case despite all the success he's enjoyed in his coaching career. Longevity is not his strong suit.

 

[danteipp]

Josh Bailey, Michael Grabner, and Brian Strait come to mind immediately.

Like others have said, Strait is near the league minimum, complete non event for a 7th defenseman. Bailey and Grabner's contracts are also fair value and even a slight discount when compared to what they would get on the free agent market. Right now, Bailey is outperforming that contract by a wide margin. Meanwhile, Snow has locked up the rest of the core, outside of Okposo (and maybe Nielsen unless they upgrade on him), for below market value. That is solid contract management. Lot's of teams wish they were in the Isles cap situation.

 

[tolsen3]

You are talking about a D pairing that did not play against Carolina. Vis was a healthy scratch, de Haan was back in the lineup with Hickey and Strait was with Hamonic. Not only do you lose credibility because you fail(ed) to realize this, but because your entire summary of what happened while the Hickey de Haan pairing was out is completely wrong. How can you question a coaches decisions when you don't even know which players are playing and where?

Also, we've beaten all of those 'tests' at earlier points in the season, while beating superior competition as well.

My bad, I believe Strait was paired with Hickey for a few shifts last night that were particularly bad, but I could be mistaken. It was more of a generalization that nothing changes when it comes to Hickey and the smaller Dmen that get exposed consistently.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

I agree, his track record suggests this to be the case despite all the success he's enjoyed in his coaching career. Longevity is not his strong suit.

He also may butt heads with management... Purely speculating of course...

 

[danteipp]

The Vanek trades, one to obtain him, the other to jettison him. First Garth gave up too much, then he got too little. With the trade deadline approaching, he has no early round draft picks to use.
How many other GM's in the league would have a job after those two debacles?

Are you aware of what goes on in the NHL outside of the Isles? There are a lot more bad trades and terrible contracts signed that are far worse than the Vanek deals. If every GM was fired immediately after one "bad" trade or contract signing, nobody would ever make a deal, lol.

The Isles might not have a first-rounder in this coming draft, however, they have a war chest of prospects already in the system. Players like Ho-sang, who was acquired using assets from the Vanek deal, MDC, Reinhart, Pulock, Mayfield, Pelech, etc. Of course I am not advocating to give any of those chips away unless it brings back fair value.

They also used some of those early-round picks to bring in Boychuk and Leddy. Coincidentally deals that Snow appears to have "won" on the surface. Maybe the Bruins and Blackhawks GMs should be fired as well?

 

[tolsen3]

You want to laugh ?... Lol Okay. You can laugh or want to laugh...that's fine. I don't understand why but whatever. Anyway...the games at the end of month last month vs Det and Boston the isles were in the mist of a 3 game losing streak ( a big streak for them ) were clearly not playing their hockey. The other games vs BOS and rags we easily could've won (no getting into why) these last 2 games were 1 goal games and as far as I'm concerned you can forget the Rags game...it got out of control and neither team or coach will be happy with that game. That game should've stayed 5-4 and the isles going to the pp but that's beside the point. same goes for that Boston game if you remember...when they tied it at 1 that was also caused by terrible officiating...again not the point, both games we played well enough to win...can't win em all, but this teams record warrants a little slack no ?? Guess not. Point is we are competitive and losing by 1 goal every once and a while and even when our team is far from at its best.

I don't care about the thread as much as I do from the constant *****ing that comes with it when this team is playing so much better then anyone imagined etc and a few bad games or loss and people throw them off a bridge and it gets really annoying. If you don't check or read the boards much..maybe you should look before you start a thread before you just make one as it's probably being discussed in atleast 1 other place unfortunately...just a heads up.


These are some of the specifics i was not willing to get into right now. This x 10


This team is fine...the PK has been looking better in the last few games and chad is finally playing like a backup (will that last I don't know) garth will make a minor tweak or two and we will make a push for atleast the conference finals.

No reason to be confrontational, I was not trying to throw the team off a bridge and I happen to agree with a lot of what you say.

In my opinion with our offense, we are a solid defense pairing from competing for the cup.

Like I said I don't post much and I simply don't have time to review much of the message board at this time of the year. I have been ranting to my son about Hickey most of the year and he wasn't available to listen the last week. So I figured I would give it a shot here.

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

LOL you pick three guys(who I think received fair market value) but you do not mention the contracts he got Tavares, Hamonic, Nielson, Martin, Visnofsky, Halak and others to sign. Snow has done a terrific job with contracts. NOW, if Vanek had signed the contract that was offered Snow would be looking real bad.

LOL, he certainly overpaid both Grabner(based on his performance since signing) and Bailey(based on his career), but thanks for your opinion. Strait was offered his contract after a really short look, he is a borderline NHL #7. Snow got lucky this off season, or this thread does not exist. BTW, he still overpaid for Grabovski and Kulemin-although I am glad both of them are here.

 

[Seph]

I agree, his track record suggests this to be the case despite all the success he's enjoyed in his coaching career. Longevity is not his strong suit.

When you really look at his record, it's kind of crazy. First year for the Islanders, experienced one of the biggest single season turnaround in NHL history, and just missed winning the division by a point. Second year, barely made the playoffs as 8th seed. First full year in Carolina? Wins cup. Doesn't make the playoffs with them again afterwards. First year in Philly? Makes the finals. Doesn't make it passed the 2nd round in the next couple seasons, and then fails to make the playoffs entirely. And now, what he's currently doing in Nashville.

All of his accomplishments are from his first full season with a team, and then he fails to come close to repeating until he is dismissed and goes to a new team. At this point it does seem like a trend, though there was improvement in Philly that might indicate he's improving in this regard.

 

[TheWhiteWhale30]

No reason to be confrontational, I was not trying to throw the team off a bridge and I happen to agree with a lot of what you say.

In my opinion with our offense, we are a solid defense pairing from competing for the cup.

Like I said I don't post much and I simply don't have time to review much of the message board at this time of the year. I have been ranting to my son about Hickey most of the year and he wasn't available to listen the last week. So I figured I would give it a shot here.

Not trying to be confrontational, sorry if it came off that way. I agree, I honestly feel this team is too clots to competing for the cup. Boychuk, Leddy, Hamonic are obviously are 3 best dmen. Let Viz, De haan, Hickey and strait compete the next how ever many games before the DL and see which 2-3 are playing best (which I believe is being done already ) and go after 1 solid Dman to play on the 3rd pair. If CJ doesn't stay consistent between now and DL we need to improve there too. On forward is like the see Jussi Jokinen brought in. You do those 2-3 things and if the PK can continue it's play of late...then I have all the confidence in the world with this team.

 

[tolsen3]

Not trying to be confrontational, sorry if it came off that way. I agree, I honestly feel this team is too clots to competing for the cup. Boychuk, Leddy, Hamonic are obviously are 3 best dmen. Let Viz, De haan, Hickey and strait compete the next how ever many games before the DL and see which 2-3 are playing best (which I believe is being done already ) and go after 1 solid Dman to play on the 3rd pair. If CJ doesn't stay consistent between now and DL we need to improve there too. On forward is like the see Jussi Jokinen brought in. You do those 2-3 things and if the PK can continue it's play of late...then I have all the confidence in the world with this team.

No problem, we are so close to being a real bona fide contender for the cup for the 1st time since 93. I have never been a fan of Snow but I give him an A+ for this off season. A backup goalie shouldn't cost much if CJ continues to struggle. I don't see where JJ fits to be honest if Florida would even consider trading him. I agree with you about our top 3, imagine where we would be without those 2 deals this year. I like DeHaan's skill set best at this stage. Seidenberg is available from Boston but he has had a tough season this year.

I will say one thing for Cappy, the team has that no quit attitude that all of the great Islanders teams have had. Nashville is another of those test games for me. I can't wait to see how we look.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

No problem, we are so close to being a real bona fide contender for the cup for the 1st time since 93. I have never been a fan of Snow but I give him an A+ for this off season. A backup goalie shouldn't cost much if CJ continues to struggle. I don't see where JJ fits to be honest if Florida would even consider trading him. I agree with you about our top 3, imagine where we would be without those 2 deals this year. I like DeHaan's skill set best at this stage. Seidenberg is available from Boston but he has had a tough season this year.

I will say one thing for Cappy, the team has that no quit attitude that all of the great Islanders teams have had. Nashville is another of those test games for me. I can't wait to see how we look.

Couple of thoughts...

I don't think the '93 team was a bona fide cup contender. They barely made the playoffs (finishing 6th in a 12 team conference), overachieved in the playoffs having a nice Cinderella run and fizzled out after. (I know, I know, Hunter, Maloney...).

Snow made some nice additions in the offseason but how can we give him an A+ now without seeing if/how those additions improved the team?? Not October through February but when it really matters: March through April and beyond...

Season's been a lot of fun so far but let's cool it with handing out accolades. I'll evaluate management, the coaching staff and the roster once we play our final game this season.

 

[Dutch Frost]

Of course the results this year have nothing to do with the GM responsible for acquiring the players and Coach for managing the game plan. However, all the previous failures are squarely on them.

Now, since we are back to drink analogies instead the latest fad of calling reasonable fans as a "family member" for not sharing a strict one-sided view... I raise my "kool-aid" and toast your "haterade!"

Ill toast my haterade to new owners coming in and saying "yeah we dont want a minor league hockey team stinking up the joint, you all better do something or enjoy unemployment."

 

[tolsen3]

Couple of thoughts...

I don't think the '93 team was a bona fide cup contender. They barely made the playoffs (finishing 6th in a 12 team conference), overachieved in the playoffs having a nice Cinderella run and fizzled out after. (I know, I know, Hunter, Maloney...).

Snow made some nice additions in the offseason but how can we give him an A+ now without seeing if/how those additions improved the team?? Not October through February but when it really matters: March through April and beyond...

Season's been a lot of fun so far but let's cool it with handing out accolades. I'll evaluate management, the coaching staff and the roster once we play our final game this season.

I think you are underselling that 93 team. If we hadn't lost Turgeon to that cheap shot by Hunter we could have gone all the way. They got hot at the right time and beat a great Pittsburgh team without Turgeon and lost those back to back OT games to the Canadians when we had multiple chances late. I like to think that if Turgeon was healthy that makes all the difference.

You are a tough grader that is for certain, when you finish 5th from the bottom one year and then you are in the top 5 the next year I think it is fair to grade his off season moves as outstanding. I don't see how you can say that his pick ups haven't helped this team out when you are talking about adding your number 1 goalie and your top 2 defensemen as well as 2 solid 2nd liners.

I will reserve judgement on his trade deadline moves of course

 

[Doshell Propivo]

I think you are underselling that 93 team. If we hadn't lost Turgeon to that cheap shot by Hunter we could have gone all the way. They got hot at the right time and beat a great Pittsburgh team without Turgeon and lost those back to back OT games to the Canadians when we had multiple chances late. I like to think that if Turgeon was healthy that makes all the difference.

You are a tough grader that is for certain, when you finish 5th from the bottom one year and then you are in the top 5 the next year I think it is fair to grade his off season moves as outstanding. I don't see how you can say that his pick ups haven't helped this team out when you are talking about adding your number 1 goalie and your top 2 defensemen as well as 2 solid 2nd liners.

I will reserve judgement on his trade deadline moves of course

Let me clarify. Yes, of course the moves Snow made last year have helped so far. But I place WAY more importance on their impact come playoff time. If Snow assembles a team that is very good/excellent in the regular season but gets swept in the first round, sorry, I cannot justify an A+ for that. Time will tell.

As far as the '93 team goes, I totally get what you're saying but in my opinion, they got hot and overachieved in my opinion. The following year they again barely squeaked into the playoffs and got embarrassed by the Rangers.

 

[First Blood]

As much as it pains me to say, we are going nowhere in the playoffs with this defense. To be real contenders I feel we need at least 1 solid vet, a physical stay at home top 4 d-man. Someone in the Willie Mitchell mold.

It gets harder and harder to watch Vis and Hickey get consistently bullied off the puck. We are worst in the league on the PK, it's no surprise to me with Hickey on the 1st unit. I'm not even going to get into the coaching aspect that puts the 2 of them together which just doesn't work IMO. To me Hammer has regressed since signing his deal 2 years ago.

I see some people wanting to upgrade the offense, we have more then enough production from our forwards. We lack a consistent physical presence on the back end and I feel it is by far our biggest weakness.

Thoughts.

Anger clouds judgement

 

[Doshell Propivo]

Wait a second... The same guy that is giving Snow an "A+" for this season is claiming the defense sucks and we're going nowhere in the playoffs? Huh?

 

[CaptDenisPotvin]

Let me clarify. Yes, of course the moves Snow made last year have helped so far. But I place WAY more importance on their impact come playoff time. If Snow assembles a team that is very good/excellent in the regular season but gets swept in the first round, sorry, I cannot justify an A+ for that. Time will tell.

As far as the '93 team goes, I totally get what you're saying but in my opinion, they got hot and overachieved in my opinion. The following year they again barely squeaked into the playoffs and got embarrassed by the Rangers.

The 93' team did get hot at the right time but you say it like its a bad thing. some people had us losing to the caps and then without sneaky Pete we were def. supposed to lose to Pitt....i'd take "getting hot" in the playoffs any day. The rag$ last year were 3 points from missing the playoffs completely...got hot and lucky with the Price injury and the Pitt choke-job up 3-1 in the series...all of a sudden they are playing the Kings for the Cup.