Who Wants a Nolan?
I apologize for not posting this week, but it’s been a rough week in Islanders Country. The Isles completed the month of January with out a win at home, and are thus winless in 2008 at the NVMC. Games like last night’s contest against the Kings makes me wish I loved football or basketball, and not hockey. The Isles have gotten away from everything that makes hockey enjoyable.
As I first reported on Wednesday afternoon, Ted Nolan assured us that his team would quit trying to score so much so that they might concentrate better on defense. And in that the Isles were certainly successful. The Isles held the Kings (a highly offensive team) to two goals with their backup goaltender manning the crease. But what good is holding your opponents to two goals if you don’t even come close to creating the kind of scoring opportunities that could lead to goals? Against a horrible Kings backup goaltender, the Isles simply couldn’t muster up enough chances to even feel bad about losing this contest. As I have stressed for weeks now, the Isles found a way to lose another close game without forcing the other goaltender to blink at all.
Goaltenders like Chris Osgood are supposed to get easy games like the Isles' opposing goaltenders are getting. Osgood plays in front of a tremendous team that out shoots and out chances its opponents on a regular basis. In that regard, Osgood’s stats become inflated and he becomes an NHL all-star. (Did anyone else thing he looked out of place last weekend?) The Isles offense can make even the worst team in the NHL’s defense look like the Detroit defense.
Looking at the stats, one might fathom that the Kings defense surely held its own against a much better Isles team. (Better only in that the Isles were a playoff team as of last night and the Kings held the worst record in the NHL). The Isles actually out shot the Kings last night, but can anyone really remember any decent save by LaBarbera last night? The guy gave up a weak goal to Berard through his 5-hole from an off angle, and all the Isles can do is cycle, dip-see-doodle, and throw low-percentage perimeter shots at goaltender who has a mere 25 NHL wins since his NHL debut in 2000.
It’s perplexing to me how Mike Comrie is constantly the Isles’ leader in ice time among forwards. Am I watching the same game as Nolan? Comrie is a turnover waiting to happen. He hurts the team way more than he helps them. He was a minus player last night, and I think he is a minus player under any condition. In the same way we see why MAB got shipped out of Edmonton (I still love MAB), it’s very clear to me why Comrie is so well traveled in the NHL. Comrie will net a first rounder at the deadline, and this is a deal on which Garth Snow MUST PULL THE TRIGGER.
Anyone who has opposed my firesale campaign is losing leverage quickly. This team is simply not worth keeping intact and Snow must start to look towards the future. Hey, I’m all about getting a few playoff games come April, but after 4 straight first round knockouts (not counting ’94), it’s time we set our hopes a little higher. The team as is constructed today has no prayer to make its way into the second round of the playoffs. Cleanse this team of its perennial Nolan-type players, because the Isles of today don’t play the game Ted Nolan had in mind. They don’t fight for every puck, they don’t work for chances, and they don’t battle in front of the net. We already have a Nolan-type coach. That should fulfill the quota of Nolans per team. Who wants a Nolan? Nolans for sale. NHL take your pick.
Posts
30 comments:
Candyman, I agree with you 100%, and I honestly think this team could be quickly put on the right track through smart trading. If I were running this team, I would make the following deals right now:
Satan, MAB, and a pick (3rd-6th round?) to Vancouver for Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler, and Ryan Shannon
Spin Comrie, Sillinger, and Fedotenko into 2 first round picks
Call the Flames about Alex Tanguay - they need to free up cap space to extend Phaneuf and Huselius, Calgary fans are turning on Tanguay, and they need a physical player. See if they'll take Hunter and something else small for Tanguay (remember, this is mostly a salary dump, and in essence they're trading Tanguay for Hunter and Huselius).
See if a desperate team in need of a PP quarterback will take Berard for a mid-level defensive prospect (depth)
Kick the tires on Vasicek - see if a team in need of depth at center will give a 2nd round pick or a B-level prospect for him
Now, I might get slaughtered for this next idea, but I would then try to use at least 1 of those acquired first-round picks to pry Cammalieri away from LA. He's rumored to be available after a really vicious arbitration hearing over the offseason. In addition, he's 25 years old and puts up first-line center numbers.
When all's said and done, the new lines would look something like this:
Tanguay - Cammalieri - Guerin
Park - Kesler - Bergenheim
Tambellini - Shannon - Comeau
Raymond - Hilbert - Brennan/Jackman
Witt - Martinek
Sutton - Meyer
Gervais - Johnson
That looks like more of an NHL lineup than what we currently have. Freddy used to run the powerplay at BU, so see what he, Johnson, and Sutton can do at the point. I also think it's infinitely possible. Thoughts?
Nick,
On here it's just Justin haha. The deals you proposed each sound plausible, although I'm not the biggest fan of concocting lines based on a bunch of hypotheticals.
But what you have made me realize that with the right moves at this year's deadline, we might be able to turn this team around much sooner than I anticipated.
Justin i couldnt agree more... This is what i posted last night
Geoffrey Gottlieb said...
Here are my predictions and most of you will probably disagree and not like what I have to say.
As for the Atlantic Pittsburgh is going to win the division followed by the Rangers, Philly, Devils and the Islanders will finish last. As I said 2 months ago the islanders simply don’t have enough offense to make the playoffs. You can’t expect DP to steal the game every night.
I told Jeffery and Justin a few weeks ago my pick for the southwest is Washington they are going to surprise most and come on top of that division. Atlanta finishes second Carolina third Tampa 4th and Florida last.
Ovechkin (who arguably is better then Crosby) is going to win MVP easily epically after Washington wins the South East. The Northeast is tuff because Montreal is very talented and extremely fast. Ottawa doesn’t have a lot of goaltending and I expect that division to come down to the wire. Montreal will be a tuff team to play in the playoffs. I wouldn’t be surprised in the win the division mostly because Emery and Gerber suck
1. Ottawa
2. Montreal
3. Buffalo
4. Boston
5. Toronto
To the west lets start with Detroit. They are clearly the best team in hockey but like the best team in the east they have a major flaw…. Goaltending. Yes Hasek and Osgood have great records and great GAA however lets be honest but Osgood on the Islanders and he would have the worst GAA in the league. We saw in the all-star game Osgood is old and not very good. Same with Hasek.
Central
1. Detroit
2. Columbus
3. St. Louis
4. Nashville
5. Chicago
Northwest
1. Min
2. Colorado
3. Vancouver
4. Calgary
5. Edmonton
Pacific
1. San Jose
2. Dallas
3. Anaheim
4. Phoenix
5. LA
Notes
The rangers are going to start to gel. They remind me of the Yankees from last year. A lot of talent and a lot of injuries. They will start to win a lot of games they are just too talented and Lundquist is too good he will play much better. Montreal will go very far in the playoffs. San Jose will win the Cup. Ovechkin will win MVP. Washington will win the Southeast. The Islanders will miss the playoffs. Sharks in 6 over Montreal to win the cup...
January 31, 2008 11:29 PM
LaBarbara is LA's starting goalie, and his numbers are pretty close to DiPietro's so if he's horrible, what does that make DiPietro?
I also think you guys are crazy if you think Comrie is going to get us a 1st round pick. Teams are not going to be throwing 1st round picks around for mediocre players like last season. They only did it last season because that draft sucked.
Just b/c he gets a majority of the starts, it doesn't mean he's a starting goalie. Although, in the technical sense I guess you are right. But he is a backup caliber goaltender.
If any of you guys think that
anyone on ths team is bringing back a first round pick you are dreaming. Nor is a single trade that Nick proposed going to happen.
There are two players on the Islanders that would merit first round returns. One is Witt and the other is Satan.
Plenty of teams could have had Comrie, Tank, and Vasicheck for nothing over the summer and all passed. What makes any of you guys think that teams are now going to give away precious picks for a leftover at this point?
Let's face reality here. We have nothing of value to trade. Several players may bring low level picks in return. But if you think that teams are going to give away first round pick for underachieving castoffs, then you are mistaken.
Finish the season, dump the dead weight over the summer and bring up Tambellini and company next year.
Snow should have done it this year but was too cautious. All he did was set us back another year....Bill
Ho Hum, another game, another loss. Another offensive explosion of ONE goal.
Another Bill Guerrin defensive lapse resulting in a Montreal goal.
Another short handed goal given up.
Another powerless power play.
When a baseball team can't hit, the batting coach usually gets fired. When the power play can score (and gives up a league leading 10 shorthanded goals)should the power play caoch get fired?
Apparently not in Nolanland.
This season has now slipped away from us and the "brain trust" does nothing.......Bill
And just like the Isles...we are all losing steam as well...
I don't know how much longer we can beat a dead horse...
This team needs a shakeup...
Does anyone know why Bergenheim didn't really play? I'm guessing he didn't take his demotion to the fourth line very well.
Supposedly, Snow and Nolan were going to meet today to decide whether or not to bring up Neilsen and Tambellini. That's kind of a tricky decision. If they bring them up, they are basically leaving Okposo to play by himself.
So Snow and Nolan are going to meet to decide what to do?
This is exactly what's wrong with the Islanders. Snow is the GM. He should be making the decisions. It's fine to get input from the coach, but Snow has eyes and can see for himself that it is not working.
Nolan seems more comcerned with HIS repuatation for getting underachieving players to play above their level than he does about winning.
I suspect this is what got him released in Buffalo. I also think he attempts to undermine his GM by refusing to play the players (Tambellini, Walter) when they are brought up.
Snow was always a combative guy on the ice. It is time he applied the same fire to his GM role, and read the riot act to his coach....Bill
Bill,
I agree that Nolan has too much of a role when it comes to deciding who is going to play. And you're also right in that he seems over-dedicated to his reputation for maxing out his blue collar players.
The problem? The Islanders are far from a blue collar team. I have never seen a bunch of lazy idiots who refuse to pay the price in fron of the net on a nightly basis, while being paid millions. Who would have ever thought we'd miss Mark Parrish once he bolted for the Wild?
All,
Comrie's toe-drag move works about 1 out of every 15 times he tries it. He leads the team in turnovers, yet has not been benched once thus far this season. Nolan indeed has his favorites (Comrie, Silinger, Hunter) and apparently they can do no wrong no matter how poorly they play.
The numbers I provided last week are just getting worse...
Mike Comrie – 1 goal in his last 14 games
Miro Satan – 1 goal in his last 18 games
Josef Vasicek – 1 goal in his last 22 games
Ruslan Fedotenko – 1 goal in his last 15 games, 2 in his last 34
Trent Hunter – 1 goal in his last 20 games, 3 in his last 41
The Islanders have also merely scored 5 goals in their past 4 games. How can they expect to be winning. Do they think it's their natural born right to score? Do they not understand that scoring goals at the NHL level takes some work?
Bonus Stats:
Guerin has cooled off as well with no goals in his last 6 games.
Comrie is 779th in the NHL with a +/- rating of -17, good for 3rd to worst in the NHL.
Tambellini, Nielsen and Brennan did not practice in Bridgeport this morning and it is assumed that they were called up. The Bridgeport blogger also says there may be more players called up. Jackman was sent down a couple days ago.
Bill - you may be getting your kid-line wish, although it's not quite what you were looking for.
Tambellini-Neilsen-Bergenheim
I'm interested to see this line in action. I think this will help Tambellini, as he won't feel that he needs to get the puck to the veteran.
But will they play?
I am hoping that Nolan has been given the order to play this line.
It's close enough for me to what I wanted at the beginning of the year.
It's time for Snow to see exactly what these kids can do. If they prove that the can compete at the NHL level, it will make his job that much easier over the summer.
I hope that this line will energize the Islanders and that they will make some sort of run to the playoffs.
I asked for this, so now is the time to put up or shut up. Let's hope that they see 18 minuets a night and turn a dead team around...Bill
Not to beat up on anyone here, but I recall some postings listing just how the new players were going to score enough to replace the dearly departed. A couple of guys showed how Tank, Guerrin et al were going to score just as much as Blake, Koslov etc.
I would like to see that comparison again and see how it held up. I know that overall scoring has to be down, but I am curious how that prediction turned out. This is NOT meant to be a critique of anyone here. I just would like to see who did not live up to expectations...Bill
Bill- you ask, I deliver.
I think this is what you mean. Finally, I can post about something that isn't about how bad I feel watching this team on the ice. Finally, purely objective stats. Oh wait...this sucks...
Points 53 of 82 games into a season:
Comrie: 37
Guerin: 28
Tank: 23
V-cek: 20
Same stat for last year's dearly departed (estimate of their point total @ game 53):
Blake: 44.59
Kozlov: 32.96
Yashin: 32.32
Asham: 14.86
There's our drop from last year...explains the decreased scoring.
BUT, because I was interested, here are those same departed players' point totals THIS year (obviously minus Yashin):
Blake: 34
Kozlov: 35
Asham: 8
So the story isn't as clear anymore. Aside from Kozlov, the other departed players have regressed. I believe that was the point I made a few months ago- the average points/game over the course of the career was greater for the incoming group than the departed...and at a lower cost. Players had career years here last year, and cashed in elsewhere. Kozlov is the only one to deliver (even when we include Smyth, but he's injured). I believe strongly in stats, and would still have made the roster decisions to let Blake walk, buy-out Yashin, and do whatever with Asham. That said, I would have expected more out of Comrie & Guerin, and much more out of V-cek.
I'd like to do these same stats against each player's career ppg average to see what things have gone wrong. I think that might explain more than these current numbers....but that will have to wait until this afternoon.
I don't see them playing 18 minutes a game. There are only four forwards who average more than 18 minutes a game.
This is how I thought, they'd make them up. This was before they signed Vasicek:
Comrie -25 - on pace for 22
Guerin - 30 - on pace for 28
Fedotenko - 15 - on pace for 13
Sim - 15 - my injury concerns came true
Bergenheim -15 - on pace for 6
when do pitchers and catcher report?
I bet the world that the kid line sees less than 12 minutes of ice time tonight.
Well, I agreed about Bake and Yashin. Smyth was always going to do what he wanted to do.
I did feel that Kozlov,Poti and Asham should have been resigned.
Kozolv is about where you would expect him. Asham was needed for his toughness. Without him the Isles get pushed around every night.
Jackman was not the answer to that loss. Asham could also score the odd goal for you. I thought the "First Nation" connection between Nolan and Asham would have been stronger. I wonder why not?
I don't know how Poti is doing but it has to be better than Berard. Just by his presence Poti made MAB a better player. Berard is as bad as MAB on defense. Poti picked him up.
Anyway no sense crying over spilt milk. Let's see what these new faces can do. Let's not judge them on this one game. It is the Stanley Cup champs we are playing. It is unrealistic to expect them to come out and light up the Ducks.
They need more than a one game trial. For the first time in a month I am excited to watch a game......Bill
I think the kid line will play around 9 minutes depending on penalties. I'm assuming they are the 4th line, with Hilbert moving up to take Sillinger's spot on the 3rd line. Berard and MAB are out tonight, Johnson is the 6th defenseman. If Park can't play, Tambellini is taking his place on the 2nd line with Vasicek and Guerin.
Bill I agree with you re: Asham, but I think what made him expendable from the Isle's perspective is the same thing that bothered me about him...talent & toughness that resulted in inconsistant results. His slap shot has got to be faster than MABs, but he probably took 30 of those types of shots all season. He can fight & hit with the best of them, but there would be nights he would disappear entirely.
I recall the one Isles/Rags game when he came out sporting an afro...and proceeded to score 2 goals with his slap shot from the hashmarks. The next night he was invisible.
I'm worried, as most here are as well, that we won't be seeing the kid line much tonight. Even 9 minutes might be a stretch. I think we're only going to see them a lot if the game isn't close...in which case we really shouldn't judge their performance tonight.
Oh well, I'm too excited- it's been a while since I've actually caught a game. Maybe me watching in real-time tonight will result in a win!
I think we're all going to be on here in about six hours expressing our frustration at their lack of ice time. I don't think it'd be a bad thing to only play them 8-9 minutes. It seemed to work for Bergenheim and Comeau to start them out slow and gradually increase their ice time. Tambellini is a little different, but I don't think it'd hurt if he got to play against the other team's 3-4th lines and got some confidence.
I disagree with the 8-9 minutes playing time prediction. Nine minutes is 3 minutes a period.
I just have a feeling that Nolan has been told by Snow to play these guys 12-15 minutes a game.
On every Islander blog you see the same theme.....it's time for a change. As the Isles slide in the standings so does the attendence and so do the TV ratings.
I am sure that the Isles have people who read these blogs and report back to the brain trust.
You have to remember the Islanders are in business to make money and sell tickets. If the fans are unhappy, they will spend their money elsewhere, especially with the economy tanking.
There will always be the diehards (eveyone here) but the casulal fan looks at the standings and says "I'm not paying thoses ticket prices to see a bunch of losers."
A "KID LINE" that shows some life will attract people who want to come out and see what the buzz is all about. It happened back in '92 and there is no reason that it can't happen again.
Just my take on things.....Bill
Bill was half right with the ice time. Tambellini got almost 14 minutes. Neilsen had closer to 9 minutes, but that doesn't surprise me. He's not projected to be anything more than a 3rd liner. It baffles me that Bergenheim is only getting 5 minutes. He's not scoring points, but I'd rather watch him than Hunter or Tank.
Other than that, it was pretty much more of the same. I think it's safe to say, it's pretty much over. There is no reason to not be a seller, unless they can get a top line player signed beyond next season, which doesn't appear likely. I don't think they have much that will get anything Earth shattering, but I'll take picks in rounds 2-5 for any of the UFAs we have. I have a feeling we will be seeing an open audition of players from Bridgeport so they can determine who will be ready for next year.
If Nokaleinen plays in 11 more games, we get a 2nd rounder from Boston.
Same old Isles. Same old listless effort. Same old Comrie and Hunter getting all the PP minutes and never producing. Same old Nolan holding back the kids (Bergie under 5 min, Nielson under 10). Same old season going down the drain.
Good point about Nokie Shink, let's hope that pans out.
Sell sell sell sell sell.
REFUND!!!! I HAVE 2 GAMES LEFT TO GO TOO!!! Man, this is painful to endure..
Post a Comment