The Blame Game
By: Frank Mazzola
(Guest Columnist)
(With apologies to mope rockers The Smiths)
"Panic on the streets of Lynbrook
Panic on the streets of Manhasset
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?"
The Islanders are in the midst of a goal-scoring, power play efficiency drought of Biblical proportions and the frustration is starting to mount. The question is: Who and/or what is to blame?
Unfortunately, there's plenty of places to point the oversized novelty "We're # 1" finger at.
The Players- Regardless of what anyone else feels about the culture of the team, the planning, the strategy or any other factor, the primary place the blame must go is to the team who takes the ice every night. Their lack of passion in during the home stand was inexcusable. We as fans were sold a bill of goods that has not delivered. The philosophy of this team, comprised of "Ted Nolan-type players", was supposed to be: "We may be short on talent, but we're full of pride, energy and determination." Opposing teams were going to have to earn every point against us by sacrificing blood. Sadly, this hasn't been the case as teams like Atlanta walked into "Fort Neverlose" (which henceforth shall be known as "Camp No-One-Comes") and waltzed out with two easy points. There has been an unacceptable effort exhibited by too many players to name here. Brendan Witt commented the other night that "We just gave up." Gave up? How many of us would keep our jobs if we just "gave up"?
Ted Nolan- If the players are not playing with pride and determination, the finger must be pointed at their coach for not properly motivating them. Nolan has shown a stubborn streak in regards to not benching underperforming players that is as big a part of the problem as any other reason. His refusal to infuse a youth movement into this lineup cannot be allowed to continue. He must learn that, when your veterans are struggling and show no signs of putting extra effort into breaking a slump, you bring up hungry, skilled kids who are desperate to earn a spot on an NHL roster. Oh, and you give them more than three minutes of ice time per game to do so.
Garth Snow- Some people blame Snow most of all. I don't, though I won't exactly give him a free pass either. Fans are clamoring for a big trade to happen. Well, I hope they're not holding their breath because help via the trade front is not coming. Snow simply has no assets that any other team would want to acquire in exchange for their top line scoring. While that's not all his fault (thanks, Mad Mike), he is charged with righting this sinking ship and has done precious little to do so. Josef Vasicek is looking like his biggest coup right now.
So, what can be done?
- Snow must demand that Nolan keep Tambellini on a permanent basis, give Bergenheim more ice time and start bringing up more youth (Nielsen, Comeau, etc.) so we can see exactly what we have. He then must sign players who are considered essential the long term success of the team to multi-year contracts and trade those who are not for picks and prospects.
- Nolan must take a hard line with his players, threaten to replace them with youth if they do not perform and then follow through. Everyone wants to be liked, but the Nice Guy routine is clearly not working. He must channel his Inner Mike Keenan for a bit.
- The players need to realize that drawing a paycheck from an NHL franchise is privilege, not a God given right. Lack of talent is no excuse for not working hard. Either they play with pride or they should be gone.
-The fans need to temper their expectations. If the youth movement is implemented, it may result in a losing season (This point can be argued indefinitely, but it is my contention that players adjusting to the big league will go through growing pains, resulting in lost games...though, really, what's the difference between that and what's going on now?) Fans also need to show patience and realize that rebuilding is the only way to go.
As Margaret Thatcher once told the people of England who were upset about the government's cost cutting measures in a time of economic crisis: "You may not like the medicine, but it's the only way the patient will get well.
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Game Recap: Thrashers 4 Isles 3 (SO)
Undisciplined
By: Geoffrey Gottlieb
I am in complete disgust after this loss. I am more then disappointed with only getting 1 point. This was a game in which we outplayed Atlanta and should of easily walked away with 2 points. 18 Minutes in the penalty box is completely undisciplined and unacceptable. It's a sign of laziness. We might have killed all 9 penalties, however those were times we could have been playing at even strength and trying to score goals. It also takes a toll on many of our players, especially our defenseman. Mike Comire reminds me of Jason Blake last year (expect he might be worse.) I have always been a big Comire supporter but his turnovers are starting to sway my opinion. Not only did he turn the puck over on one of Atlanta’s shorthanded goals, but he turned the puck over about 10 seconds before that only to get the puck back and turn it over once again.
Brandon Witt is the heart and soul of this team. Every night he comes to play and lays his body on the line. Tonight once again he was brilliant defensively, blocking shots and making outstanding plays. The Islanders need to generate more shots on the power play from scoring positions. They throw the puck threw the slot and it never seems to work. They take long shots from the point, which are usually ineffective. When they actually take shots from inside the circles they generate chances and score goals.
The shootout was awful. DP looked off, especially on the first goal where Kozlov made DP looked completely foolish after he made a slow move to the right in which DP just lay sprawled out on the ice. DP knew that wasn’t a good goal and you could tell was flustered when Kovalchuk scored. When things are going right for DP, he has so much confidence and can easily be compared to some of the best goalies of today. However, once he lets in a bad goal, his confidence begins to dwindle. DP is definitely one of the best goalies in the league and should not be blamed for this loss. Guerin skated in on Lehtonen 2 miles per hour and then took a soft shot looking 5 hole. We learn when we are 5 years old not to skate slowly on a penalty shot because it gives the goalies too much time to stick with the shooter.
For a supposedly well coach disciplined team we looked anything but that tonight. Taking bad penalty after bad penalty and having terrible power plays, we might have actually been lucky to get a point tonight. We are the only team in the league that can’t convert on 4-minute power play span in which part is a 5-3. We held Atlanta to 3 shots in the third period and outplayed them for most of the game, but the score sheet says it all.
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28 comments:
THRASHERS 4 ISLES 3 SHOOTOUT
I really don't know what to say about this game. On one hand, it was nice to see the team rally and comeback from 2 goals down.
On the other hand, anytime you get outscored on your PP you should be embarrassed.
Great PK, but we still took 8 penalties which is absurd.
Nice to get a point on the road, but we gave away two points to a team that will probably be fighting us for the last playoff spot.
Three goals is hardly an outburst but it is better than what we have been averaging.
Great to see Gerard Gallant screaming at MAB on the bench. As the coach responsible for a godawful PP, perhaps Mr. Gallant should be looking in the mirror.
Mike Comrie is still making ridiculous, soft, low percentage passes. This guy really needs to get back to basics.
DP let in another soft goal on Hossa's shorthander.
Justin, J., Shink et al-- I have a suspicion that DP is beginning to lose confidence in the team in front of him. I believe that he is putting too much pressure on himself and that it is finally getting to him.
I think he feels, that unless he pitches a shutout, he can't win.
Have you guys noticed how much he is flopping around. How hesitant he is when he has the puck behind the net? How many soft, bad angle goals he has given up lately?
DP is definately gripping the stick way too tightly. He looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders in the net.
He certainly does not look like the cocky, confident player that he has been in the past.
It appears to me, that the lack of offense has caused him to take too much responsibilty upon himself and his play is beginning to reflect that.
Someone on the coaching staff better realize this and do something about it before DP loses it completely.
Any opinions on this?....Bill
You guys must be reading my mail....Bill
Nilsson scored again !!He is heating up. LOL.....Bill
I just read on TSN that Mathieu Schneider is about to be traded to make room for Scott Neidermeyer's announced return.
The Isles are one of the few teams that could absorb Schneider's salary. Obviously, the Ducks can't take salary back, so they will have to accept prospects or picks.
Snow better be burning up the phones to get this guy. He is a proven leader, PP QB and and solid Dman.
With him, they can cut FMV, Berard and or MAB and really solidify the defense. This is a no brainer and if Snow can't get it done he should be fired......Bill
"This is a no brainer and if Snow can't get it done he should be fired."
What? How can a GM be fired for not being able to make a trade? The Ducks know they can get good things in return for Schneider, and who can the Isles give?
Not being able to make a trade is not a reason to be fired. There is another team involved, who have their own motives and needs. That being said, hopefully Snow is already calling, and hopefully he executes the trade without compromising the few chips we still have; but if he doesn't he shouldn't be fired.
I thought the Islanders were lucky to even get 1 point. It's not often that you take 9 penalties and do not pay for it. I thought they played OK in the first, terrible in second and pretty solid in the third. They are pretty much screwed when they get to a shootout because they don't have any guys that are good one-on-one. Guerin, Hunter, Tank, Vasicek are all guys that score off rebounds or shots while standing still. Satan is probably their best shootout option. I suspect Tambellini could end up working his way into that position. He can't be any worse than Guerin.
As for DiPietro, I think it's more of being tired than it is losing confidence. No goalie should have to play 70 games and that's what he's going to have to do, because Dubie sucks. He gave up one bad one to Hossa. The shootout is a crapshoot, he looked like he gave up on Kozlov because he thought his forward progress was stopped. The Kovolchuk goal, he got handcuffed on. He was probably thinking he was going top corner and he did the opposite. They need to find a reliable backup, DiPietro can't play 18 in a row, take one night off and then play 18 in a row again. He'll end up burning out by the end of the season.
Comrie scored again last night, giving him 9 on the season.
We're almost 1/3 of the way through the season, and at this pace, our leading scorer will have ~ 30 goals. This sounds like the Isles from the Milbury era...ugh.
I don't understand Comrie. From what I heard, he was the one who wanted a 1 year contract, to show he was a legit 1st line player, and here he is putting up 2nd line numbers, at best, with defensive gaffes abound.
This being said, do we make an attempt to re-sign him for 2nd line player dollars? I wouldn't mind keeping him, if he agrees to that. He's still relatively young, and I'm not sure he can go out and get a whole lot of money elsewhere. I wonder if the right move would be offering him a long term deal halfway through this season, where he's hurting for goals, and see if we can lock him up for a good value.
He's not a 1st line player, but I'd like to see him on our 2nd line for years to come.
NYISLES There are not many teams in the league that can take Schnieders salary because he is also signed from next year at over 5 million per. Besides teams that are up against the cap, there are teams who have self imposed restrictions.
That eliminates about 75 % of the league. I would also guess that Burke will only wish to deal with Eastern Conf teams to avoid a Schneider backlash down the road in the playoffs.
Looking at the Eastern Conf it appears that only Florida and Buffalo have the cap room to take on his salary. and both of those teams have self imposed restraints.
So, it would appear that Snow is in the drivers seat here. He can take added salary without hitting the cap.
If Snow can't get this deal done, then this is only the straw that broke the camels back. His track record is abysmal and this is a chance to really upgrade this team. Schneider would make this team much better by leaps and bounds. Snow should do whatever it takes to get the deal done.
So far he has managed to bring in a group of third and fourth liners who cant score more than 2 goals a game. Unless you are not watching the games, the Coliseum is quickly becoming a ghost palace. Schneider would bring some name recognition and add some excitement to a dull, lifless team.
Get 'er done, Garth....Bill
Agreed, his PP, +/-, and leadership on defense would be great. 5.5 for 2 years apparently, which isn't too bad, and which puts him at 39/40 at the end. I'd take it in a second. He'd be a great mentor for Campoli & Gervais, if they're still here after the trade.
Buffalo, in addition to salary restraints, has way too many D men anyway (some would say the same about us; though ours aren't as good as theirs). My only concern is Burke not getting what he wants for Schneider. He's a top 4 D man in this league, and the Isles can't just throw garbage at them. They'll want good prospects in return, and I have no idea who they can give. That worries me- Burke might be forced to deal with the West b/c he can't get what he deserves from the Isles, or any other East team as you mentioned.
NYISLES, I would give Burke what he wants within reason. Remember, Burke cannot take back any salary so he is going to have to take prospects and or picks.
Also, unlike the Ryan Smyh debacle,
Schneider is signed for next year, too.
Listen, we all know that nobody wants to come to Long Island. I think that last years group of Free Agents made that clear. If Snow has to overpay to get a top flight player like Schneider here for two years, he should do it.
Draft picks are crapshoots at best. We need help NOW.........Bill
I think the Islanders could offer them a 2nd rounder and Burke would probably take it. Or they could offer Ridderwall or Weslosky and a draft pick. The only problem with that is they are the only two goaltending prospects the Islanders have. Like Bill said, they probably aren't going to look for a roster player back because they don't have the cap room. Although, I'd gladly give them Berard. I rather see him go, I think Bergeron has been playing pretty well lately.
The Islanders have a lot of solid prospects, the only problem they have is with the exception of Okposo, none of them are top line players.
NYISLES.....By the way, I am agreeing with you, not arguing with you ...LOL,LOL...Bill
Shink, I am not a cap expert. Could Burke take MAB and send him down to the AHL and not eat his salary?
Burke could have had Berard for free in the pre season so I don't think he would pay for something he could have had for nothing.
Perhaps I was right about Tambellini being showcased and he is Anaheim bound?....Bill
Burke would have to put Bergeron on waivers to send him to the AHL, and I'm sure somebody would claim him.
Anyone know offhand what our draft picks are this year? Didn't we trade them away :( ?
Re Schnieder, this is a "no-brainer" as Bill stated. If you recall, Schnieder listed the Isles as one of the few teams he wanted to sign with. He would undoubtedly solidify the D and the PP probably in place of MAB/Berard. I would be very excited about a D unit that consisted of Witt/Martinek/Schnieder/Sutton/Gervais/Campoli.
The Isles D has already been among the tops in the league. This would leap frog us into the elite.
And while this would definitely help our PP, the problem with the Isles really has more to do with the offensive players. Comrie was dismal again. I called for his benching even before last night's contest, so if Nolan continues to stick him out there with the same amount of ice time then there certainly is a problem on this team. MAB was benched for 5 games because of ONE GIVEAWAY! All players on this team need to be treated equally. If the coach continues to play favorites, then he will lose this team quicker than you can say Garth Snow.
Speaking of the Snow man, where is he? Haven't heard from him in a while. Is he happy with the way things are progressing? Is he happy with the job Ted Nolan is doing? Is he even out there looking for offensive help? Or is he snoozing the winter away like a hibernating bear.
The Islanders have all of their picks for this years draft, plus Anaheim's 2nd round pick and Philadelphia's 5th round pick. According to wikipedia's 2008 NHL Draft page.
Good now let's offer some of them for Shneider. We have now taken 1 point out of the last possible 8. We are on a 4 game losing streak and something needs to happen to turn this ship around.
Nobody took Recchi so I presume Snow did not believe he fit into the Isles plans. Schneider most certainly would. During the off-season, we would have been thrilled had Schneider agreed to sign with the Isles.
Apparently, the Ducks have 21 days to figure out a way to reduce its team salary. The Ducks might intend to keep him until after the New Year if that is the case.
According to Newsday, Nolan said: "There comes a point where, if it ain't working, it ain't working," Nolan said of his struggling power play. "So, Vasicek has nine goals. Maybe he deserves a chance on the power play."
He was also quoted as saying: "Hoo dee hum deee dooo...I'm an NHL coach....dum dee dooo dee doo..."
It won't take Neidermeyer 21 days to get in playing shape. As soon as he is, the trade will happen
We can only hope Snow is working the phones right now.
As for Nolan....Big body in front of the net, top goal scorer on the team....Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
"Nah. Too much pressure on him to score."......Bill
Hmm...I understood the 21 days grace period as 3 weeks allowance to be over the salary cap w/o penalty, with all players playing. I would assume that means Schneider & Niedermeyer can play for the next 3 weeks for the Ducks.
Thats how I interpreted that, but does anyone know for sure more about how this works with the cap?
It would certainly benefit the Isles if the Ducks needed to get him off the team asap to make room, as to minimize the ability for other teams to finagle cap room through trades, waivers, etc. Whatever actually happens with the 21 days though, heres to hoping we see Schneider sooner rather than never.
Wow- just looked at the standings for the evening- the east is so tight. Despite our lack of wins, we're still only 4 points out of 1st in our division & 5 out of 2nd in the entire east.
It's crazy to think how a run of bad/good games can be offset by the parity in this conference. Every team is capable this year, and every game between east opponents has valuable points at stake. Lets start a run of 3-4 wins in a row tomorrow- the games are ours for the taking!
nyisles, As I read it on TSN, the Ducks have to have the proper cap space BEFORE Neidermeyer can suit up. They have 21 days maximum, after his suspension is lifted for him to rejoin the team.
So, Burke has to shed enough salary
before Neidermeyer can play a game.
He may decide to trade a different
player or dump someone to the minors to clear space but the concensus is that he will look to move Schneider.
Check out McKenzies column on TSN to see if I am interpeting this correctly.....Bill
http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/mckenzie/?id=224467
This is the link to McKenzies column.
Interestingly enough, his NEW colum now bactracks on what he said yesterday. He is now reporting that the Ducks just have to move 880,000 worth of salary to get Neidermeyer back.
At this point, I don't know what to believe......Bill
If it's true they need to move less than a million in salary, what do you guys think of this trade?
Andy McDonald for Mike Sillinger
McDonald makes $3.3m, Sillinger $2.3m. It would give us a center that has put up almost 80 points the last two years. He's having a tough year so far, but we'd be getting rid of some dead weight.
Shink I think that Burke is way too smart to do that. After all he's not Mike Milbury.
He still may dump Schneider so that he has some wiggle room at the deadline.
Time will tell......Bill
Obviously, it wouldn't be straight up, we'd probably have to add a draft pick or prospect. I don't think they have a cap problem this year. Everything I've read says it has to do with next years cap and something called tagging. According to nhlnumbers.com, Anaheim is $6m under the cap right now.
Another game... Another loss…. Guerin is too old and clearly not the same player he used to be.. The same goes for Sillinger... Comrie turns the puck over way too much. Hilbert shouldn’t even be playing in the NHL... The list goes on. We have 0 first line goal scores on this team. The truth is we don’t have enough talent to compete night in and night out in the NHL.
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