redbull
Boss
- Mar 24, 2008
- 12,593
- 655
Did the team look better from further back? Maybe that's the bright side?
---
This thread is more depressing than the others. #brightside
The Bright Side (?)
- Thread starter davinhimself
- Start date
Did the team look better from further back? Maybe that's the bright side?
---
This thread is more depressing than the others. #brightside
Or maybe Lee got his contact and now mails it in?
Or maybe Strome would've busted on any team. Seriously, what is this guys skill set? Not fast, not physical, doesn't have great vision or a consistently great shot.
Richie Daggers Crime
Rugged individualist
I think it is possible, this team has not looked that bad in the games they have lost, anyone who is "hoping" this team is going to lose is not a real Islanders fan
LeapOnOver
Mackenzie is a hack!
The season is only 82 games minimizing how long we are subjected to this horrendous on ice product?
Here’s my take on the players current status (without referring to how coaching has failed them):
Roster Talent Offence: We have John Tavares, and then a huge gulf. There are guys here who were good elsewhere (Kulemin, Chimera, Ladd), big draft picks who are not performing well at all (Lee, Strome, and Nelson to a lesser extent). We have “they bring intangibles†guys who certainly have their uses but are asked to play too many roles (Clutterbuck, Cizikas, Bailey). We have some promising youth players (JHS, Barzal, Beavillier) but it is too much to expect them to rescue the season in any way. We then have guys like Quine & Prince who are good value for money.
Roster Talent Defence: Nick Leddy is a great skater and puck carrier, but not great in his own end. Hamonic is better in his own end but I personally think is overrated when you put him up against other 1st line shutdown defencemen in the league. Boychuk is a good 2nd line guy whose skills are not being used correctly and needs his deployment managed so he doesn’t get banged up. De Haan is an all-rounder but isn’t great at anything right now. Hickey plays in extremes (Calgary game he scored the OT winner but also completely failed to pick up Monahan on the equaliser). Seidenberg has been an unexpected success who I would love to see get more minutes right now. Pulock, Pelech, Mayfield are still unknowns in that they have either been injured or scratched/benched/send down and so we can’t really judge them. I think the three of them could all be very good in the future.
Roster Talent Goalies: Halak is number 1 in salary and status, but his time is done. He’s the most naturally talented goalie we have seen on this roster in a long long time but Snow wants him gone. It’s a damn shame in my view. Greiss has been super since he signed us up. Let’s give him a good 2-3 year deal on 2-3m and see if he wants the starting job. I think he can do it. Berube is a tire fire, I can’t judge him as he never plays but personally I see nothing special about a mid 20s goalie who has never played more than a few NHL games.
To summarise, the roster is very very average. Our D is better than our F but I think a lot of isles fans have their blinkers on if they think it is anything more than “not too badâ€. Our forwards are a shambles, we have one elite player and then a messy supporting cast of guys not fit to play top 6 minutes right now for a multitude of reasons.
The Coach: He needs to go. The style of play is boring and doesn’t work, his management of players, lines & chemistry is shambolic.
Special Teams: Weight needs to go too – he plays Cappy hockey, the PP has been terrible under him for a long long time. Cronin can stay – he made the PK what it is, and I think he has more to offer.
The GM – The honeymoon period where he bought in some big players is over. The off season was a mess, the handling of talent has been worse, the contracts are awful and the boys club mentality needs to be taken out back and put down.
The positives: I am absolutely sure Ledecky is going to do something at the end of the season, if not sooner. When it becomes clear in the next 5 games that the isles can’t make the playoffs, I think we may see Snow fire Cappy. I would expect Snow to go at the end of the year. An interim coach is fine because Ledecky can fire that coach and Snow together after game 82. This guy has been travelling with the team, watching the games, reading the press, talking to fans. No way does he stand for it. For a start, he’s a hard nosed businessman who doesn’t want to see income & attendance drop, and his partner Malkin is a retail giant who will not allow it. These guys didn’t buy the islanders to run them cheap & at the bottom of the league. I realise we all want to see changes right now, but give it a bit of time. Cappy will be gone, I am sure of it, and Snow will get the boot too.
Roster Talent Offence: We have John Tavares, and then a huge gulf. There are guys here who were good elsewhere (Kulemin, Chimera, Ladd), big draft picks who are not performing well at all (Lee, Strome, and Nelson to a lesser extent). We have “they bring intangibles†guys who certainly have their uses but are asked to play too many roles (Clutterbuck, Cizikas, Bailey). We have some promising youth players (JHS, Barzal, Beavillier) but it is too much to expect them to rescue the season in any way. We then have guys like Quine & Prince who are good value for money.
Roster Talent Defence: Nick Leddy is a great skater and puck carrier, but not great in his own end. Hamonic is better in his own end but I personally think is overrated when you put him up against other 1st line shutdown defencemen in the league. Boychuk is a good 2nd line guy whose skills are not being used correctly and needs his deployment managed so he doesn’t get banged up. De Haan is an all-rounder but isn’t great at anything right now. Hickey plays in extremes (Calgary game he scored the OT winner but also completely failed to pick up Monahan on the equaliser). Seidenberg has been an unexpected success who I would love to see get more minutes right now. Pulock, Pelech, Mayfield are still unknowns in that they have either been injured or scratched/benched/send down and so we can’t really judge them. I think the three of them could all be very good in the future.
Roster Talent Goalies: Halak is number 1 in salary and status, but his time is done. He’s the most naturally talented goalie we have seen on this roster in a long long time but Snow wants him gone. It’s a damn shame in my view. Greiss has been super since he signed us up. Let’s give him a good 2-3 year deal on 2-3m and see if he wants the starting job. I think he can do it. Berube is a tire fire, I can’t judge him as he never plays but personally I see nothing special about a mid 20s goalie who has never played more than a few NHL games.
To summarise, the roster is very very average. Our D is better than our F but I think a lot of isles fans have their blinkers on if they think it is anything more than “not too badâ€. Our forwards are a shambles, we have one elite player and then a messy supporting cast of guys not fit to play top 6 minutes right now for a multitude of reasons.
The Coach: He needs to go. The style of play is boring and doesn’t work, his management of players, lines & chemistry is shambolic.
Special Teams: Weight needs to go too – he plays Cappy hockey, the PP has been terrible under him for a long long time. Cronin can stay – he made the PK what it is, and I think he has more to offer.
The GM – The honeymoon period where he bought in some big players is over. The off season was a mess, the handling of talent has been worse, the contracts are awful and the boys club mentality needs to be taken out back and put down.
The positives: I am absolutely sure Ledecky is going to do something at the end of the season, if not sooner. When it becomes clear in the next 5 games that the isles can’t make the playoffs, I think we may see Snow fire Cappy. I would expect Snow to go at the end of the year. An interim coach is fine because Ledecky can fire that coach and Snow together after game 82. This guy has been travelling with the team, watching the games, reading the press, talking to fans. No way does he stand for it. For a start, he’s a hard nosed businessman who doesn’t want to see income & attendance drop, and his partner Malkin is a retail giant who will not allow it. These guys didn’t buy the islanders to run them cheap & at the bottom of the league. I realise we all want to see changes right now, but give it a bit of time. Cappy will be gone, I am sure of it, and Snow will get the boot too.
Last edited:
rikker
Registered User
good review. i am hoping that Cappy gets canned, the team plays better, and nothing else is needed.
now, get ready for the attack of the ledge squatters. if you don't use words like 'doomed', 'horrible', 'atrocious', or 're-build', then you will be deemed delusional...
TheWhiteWhale30
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2007
- 3,876
- 230
PK Cronin
Bailey Fan Club Prez
- Feb 11, 2013
- 34,122
- 24,951
Very fair review of the current situation. I'd add that the team could swing the pendulum in either direction. They could go from being horrendous right now to a playoff team real quick, with the right moves, or further into the abyss with the wrong one. The damage that's been done can be undone, for now (long term).
Yeah. I think it's right that we don't really see any significant change before year end. However, I hope that Ledecky has made it clear that there are to be no trades involving Tavares, Barzal, Beauvillier, Ho-Sang, Leddy, Hamonic, Bellows, and (our) draft picks.
I also hope that, somehow, the Islanders are able to get permission to talk to GM candidates in enough time prior to the draft to properly prepare.
I also hope that, somehow, the Islanders are able to get permission to talk to GM candidates in enough time prior to the draft to properly prepare.
That is a very astute comment, I would also like to see the forethought of a new GM being given time to establish himself in the offseason.
In soccer here in the UK, Liverpool bought in Jurgen Klopp as the new coach. His first half a season was spent evaluating what was there, and then this year with his "own" team they look superb. It is essential that a GM candidate gets enough time under the hood to not only evaluate the current roster but think strategically about who they want to draft - it could change the fabric of how the team is built and plays, and should not be taken lightly.
Don't just have a GM change the current team, have them change the culture of the club and its brand of hockey. The islanders need that more than any team that isn't called the Oilers.
There's a way to get the best of both worlds (culture + preparedness to act right away). I mean, the advantage of trying to hire someone like Julien Brisebois form Tampa is that he'll have plenty of familiarity with the Islanders roster and their weaknesses not to mention the rest of the eastern conference from the word 'go'. Ditto for someone like Dale Tallon if he becomes available.
I personally don't see the talent as being as bad as some have said. Flintstone and Rubble use to play an up-tempo, attacking forecheck game, which suited the team and we saw Strome score 50 pts, Lee add 25 goals, JB & Leddy show some real flashes of offense. In addition, Ladd has always been a consistently good player. The system they employ now does not suit the personnel that Snow has assembled. Cappy and Snow just are not on the same page when it comes to type of player brought in and scheme developed by the coaching staff. New coaches I think need to bring an identity/attitude with this team. The 3rd period lead collapses are a clear example of a mentally fragile team. How a coach can't see a consistent problem and not say "hmm, I think I need to change my thinking about this" is dim witted and another clear example of a guy way above his skill level.
I think once the coaches and GM are dismissed, a GM brings in a coach and TOGETHER they devise a plan and get the players needed to execute. I would even argue that you get a coach who could develop a game plan similar to what was used a few years ago, the Strome's, Lee's and Ladd's will start to prosper but hold everyone accountable to the defensive zone at the same time. Our goaltending is much better than it was a few years ago so think we could win some of those games we lost.
Until the current coaches and GM are removed, things look pretty bleak but I think we have the tools to be very competitive and with a player shuffle here and there, could return to being a very good team and, dare I say it, a potential contender.
I think once the coaches and GM are dismissed, a GM brings in a coach and TOGETHER they devise a plan and get the players needed to execute. I would even argue that you get a coach who could develop a game plan similar to what was used a few years ago, the Strome's, Lee's and Ladd's will start to prosper but hold everyone accountable to the defensive zone at the same time. Our goaltending is much better than it was a few years ago so think we could win some of those games we lost.
Until the current coaches and GM are removed, things look pretty bleak but I think we have the tools to be very competitive and with a player shuffle here and there, could return to being a very good team and, dare I say it, a potential contender.
Deadweight
Registered User
the bright side is with expansion we have 29(excluded the rags obviously) to root for.
As consumers if we don't like the product we keep getting, why keep buying?
If you purchased anything else and you were unhappy with the results, would you keep buying it? Unfortunately we already know that we are buying a defective product. Something inside of us keeps dragging us back to these clowns just to get dirt kicked in our faces, over and over.
As consumers if we don't like the product we keep getting, why keep buying?
If you purchased anything else and you were unhappy with the results, would you keep buying it? Unfortunately we already know that we are buying a defective product. Something inside of us keeps dragging us back to these clowns just to get dirt kicked in our faces, over and over.
Good post, but how can you, in the same sentence, call Berube a tire fire and say you can't judge him? Maybe we can't judge him, but the guys who watch him every day certainly can. I believe there has to be something special about him. Garth knows how bad it is carrying three goalies, yet he still does it. I think the intent is for Berube and Sorokin to be the goalies of the future after next year.
rikker
Registered User
this pretty well sums it up, IMO. ANY amount of *****ing and whining, will not change things.
Ledecky and Malkin may love hockey, but i'm betting that they love money more. force their hands. boycott. MAKE them make changes.
i remember the Ballard years in Toronto (fondly, as i grew accustomed to despising their fans and writers), and used to be amazed at how the fans didn't realize that they were the one's in power. Ballard even admitted publicly, that he'd be stupid to spend more money, when the fans keep packing the building.
yet they kept buying. and kept getting **** on.
Deadweight
Registered User
Im not buying any more tickets jerseys or merch until at the minimum cappy is fired. There are no strides in the right directions. Ive been on this ride for 26 years and im getting really tired of it.
I suppose I meant the situation is a tire fire rather than berube. You're correct on your analysis of berube and sorokin but I want Greiss in as well. Can't go with two nhl rookies
Agreed with a lot of this.
I actually feel the 2014-2015 team was much better than the team that won a round in the playoffs last year.
