Not too long ago, we Islander fans were faced with hockey armhegedden. Elimination in mid November. Then something so simple happened. Islandersfi management was forced to start Al Montoya basically everyday. And his play (up until tonight yet its not his fault entirly) has been stellar. And his stellar play alone can be attributted to the turnaround. Unfortunately, when you fall so far behind, and you can't win in OT or shootouts, 1 loss brings it all back to reality. 13th in the east. Too many turnovers. Sloppy play in the defensive zone. No big defensive stoppers on the blueline. The fact that we cant battle night after night against the Eastern division because the team is too small and too soft. Would a 1.5 mil cap hit for claiming character tough guy Sean Avery really be too much too ask. He would have helped. He is exactly what this team is missing. A semi talented, Tough, heart on his sleeve type player. all due respect to Matt Martin, hes no Avery. At least not yet. While i think the team will continue to battle and win almost half its games, this roster is not playoff caliber. And that is the goal after 4 years nada. Whats next? Do they shrug this off and continue to battle every night? Winning at least half of the time? Is that even satisfactory.Evan if we compete and find ourselves in the same conference position come february, it only means snow will certainly trade al montoya for a garbage draft pick. Its almost a better bet to hope the team returns to losing so perhaps after another year with lost revenues, Wang finnaly decides to change managment. But i fear this team is talented and prideful enough that come march, they will be near the .500 mark and that will justify another Dianetics believe speech from wang, another lost year, another lost draft, and another rookie non nhl coach, and ultimatly another lost season for us fans
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Il Nino mystery, Garth Snow FA falacy
Short and sweet.....
1.IL Nino, the 2010 5th overall draft pick, who Islanders mngt have indicated (they never said, they never say anything) will be a part of the team this year has sat in the pressbox now for 4+ games in a row. Hes neither hurt nor is he going back down to Bridgeport (according to the cryptic Garth), so he becomes a highly drafted "example" of what not saving the team will lead to under the Snow/Capuano regime. ok thats not the truth either. THE TRUTH IS THEY ARE HOLDING HIM OUT TO PREVENT HIM FROM REACHING PERFORMANCE BONUSES. IN FACT, BEING ON THE ACTIVE ROSTER COUNTS TOWARDS THE SALARY FLOOR(SNOWS GENIUS) WHILE PAYING HIM AS LITTLE AS CONTRACTUALLY POSSIBLE. THIS IS BORDERLINE CRIMINAL, THE NHL OR THE NHLPA NEEDS TO STEP IN HERE. THE ISLES ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE CBA AND RUINING THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF ONE OF SNOWS PRIZE DRAFT PICKS.
Now about the supposed lack of money for free agents. the islanders were mandated to reach the salary floor as per league rules, well at one point this summer, Snow had 9+millions to try to fix the teams shortcomings. his answers......paying an additional 3 mil per for aged Brian Rolston who coincidently came highly recomended from retired D Weight. regaurdless of what a 5-mil a year player should bring to the table. Jay Pandalfo and Steve Staios... while both can at bargain prices(what else is new) and attempted at filling needs, other options were available all summer (Colin White, Brian McCabe, Ian White, etc) Yes they would have had to overpay for them, but at least they could have helped the team and not just fill floor space. Tyler Myers??? what about, god forbid an offer sheet to Drew Doughty??? He would have been the top defensmen for years to come. Dont tell me he wouldnt come, TRY!!! OFFER a big contract and let him think about it.
The goalie mess-While its evident the team plays better for Montoya(which is something both caps and snow completely overlooked) didnt seem to hurt the team the first 15 games although they let the best goalie on the team sit and rot (MONTOYA) WHILE FORCE FEEDING NABOKOV to get a draft pick out of him blew up in garths face. Then playing DP simply because of the albatross contract again instead of Montoya has now cost us points and games. As bad as the record is, a few wins instead of losses would have the team alot closer to contention. Dont give me the MONTOYA INJURY EITHER, maybe if he had regular practice and warmups, he wouldnt have tweeked it. And whats with the damn secretcy on everything???? we are not the PATRIOTS. You dont get that right until you prove you can win games.YOU OWE IT TO THE LOYAL PAYING FANS/CUSTOMERS TO LET US KNOW SOMETHING. TREATING US LIKE IDIOTS SIMPLY SELLS LESS TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE.
Well thats almost it, the last point is this. My boys are 6 & 8, They cant wait to go to an Islander game on x-mas break. Well i absolutly refuse to spend a penny on this team right now. I am aware of stubhub and tickets are as low as 6 bucks. but im not paying for parking (when the entire fields around the coleseum are undeveloped) and should be free when they cant attract flies to the games. And i refuse to spend a penny on a pretzel, a beer, a tee shirt, etc, until this owner/mngt changes its ways. SO at the risk of my boys becoming Devil fans, i bought tickets to the ROCK.
1.IL Nino, the 2010 5th overall draft pick, who Islanders mngt have indicated (they never said, they never say anything) will be a part of the team this year has sat in the pressbox now for 4+ games in a row. Hes neither hurt nor is he going back down to Bridgeport (according to the cryptic Garth), so he becomes a highly drafted "example" of what not saving the team will lead to under the Snow/Capuano regime. ok thats not the truth either. THE TRUTH IS THEY ARE HOLDING HIM OUT TO PREVENT HIM FROM REACHING PERFORMANCE BONUSES. IN FACT, BEING ON THE ACTIVE ROSTER COUNTS TOWARDS THE SALARY FLOOR(SNOWS GENIUS) WHILE PAYING HIM AS LITTLE AS CONTRACTUALLY POSSIBLE. THIS IS BORDERLINE CRIMINAL, THE NHL OR THE NHLPA NEEDS TO STEP IN HERE. THE ISLES ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF THE CBA AND RUINING THE POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENT OF ONE OF SNOWS PRIZE DRAFT PICKS.
Now about the supposed lack of money for free agents. the islanders were mandated to reach the salary floor as per league rules, well at one point this summer, Snow had 9+millions to try to fix the teams shortcomings. his answers......paying an additional 3 mil per for aged Brian Rolston who coincidently came highly recomended from retired D Weight. regaurdless of what a 5-mil a year player should bring to the table. Jay Pandalfo and Steve Staios... while both can at bargain prices(what else is new) and attempted at filling needs, other options were available all summer (Colin White, Brian McCabe, Ian White, etc) Yes they would have had to overpay for them, but at least they could have helped the team and not just fill floor space. Tyler Myers??? what about, god forbid an offer sheet to Drew Doughty??? He would have been the top defensmen for years to come. Dont tell me he wouldnt come, TRY!!! OFFER a big contract and let him think about it.
The goalie mess-While its evident the team plays better for Montoya(which is something both caps and snow completely overlooked) didnt seem to hurt the team the first 15 games although they let the best goalie on the team sit and rot (MONTOYA) WHILE FORCE FEEDING NABOKOV to get a draft pick out of him blew up in garths face. Then playing DP simply because of the albatross contract again instead of Montoya has now cost us points and games. As bad as the record is, a few wins instead of losses would have the team alot closer to contention. Dont give me the MONTOYA INJURY EITHER, maybe if he had regular practice and warmups, he wouldnt have tweeked it. And whats with the damn secretcy on everything???? we are not the PATRIOTS. You dont get that right until you prove you can win games.YOU OWE IT TO THE LOYAL PAYING FANS/CUSTOMERS TO LET US KNOW SOMETHING. TREATING US LIKE IDIOTS SIMPLY SELLS LESS TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE.
Well thats almost it, the last point is this. My boys are 6 & 8, They cant wait to go to an Islander game on x-mas break. Well i absolutly refuse to spend a penny on this team right now. I am aware of stubhub and tickets are as low as 6 bucks. but im not paying for parking (when the entire fields around the coleseum are undeveloped) and should be free when they cant attract flies to the games. And i refuse to spend a penny on a pretzel, a beer, a tee shirt, etc, until this owner/mngt changes its ways. SO at the risk of my boys becoming Devil fans, i bought tickets to the ROCK.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Dead last in THE NHL!
well all the debate about not blaming capuano, its snows duly, well don't name snow, he's drafted great talent and is doing his best for an aweful ownership. Don't blame Wang hes lost millions and we should be thankful he's keeping the team in long island. Well its finally clear now. Took a while to understand how a gm who's missed the playoffs for 4 years in a row- wait who hasn't contended in 3 and his new fresh your coaching choices and his 1000 draft picks would change "THE CULTURE OF LOSING" CAN possibly still have a job. Why the best goalie on the team gets 6 starts in 20 games. Why the laughing stock of professional sports has no accountability by any of its management or coaching staff.
So why? Because its clear Charles Wang not only blames nasal county and the dilapidated building for his teams losing, he is now gonna do absolutely nothing as a statement to long island as his protest that the no vote on a new building and lack of any financial support is the reason the team stinks. The only reason they added aging horrible contract like rolston and paid a complete bust like Bailey and don't buy out DIPETRO AWEFUL CONTRACT is becaUSE the nhl mandates a salary floor. If any one remembers MAJOR LEAGUE the movie, the new gm wanted to lose enough to move the team. Well Wang doesn't want to move, he will let the team rot until he gets his gift wrapped building.
It's clear a move to Quebec city and a new owner is the only hope left. It's really sad. I raised 2 new islanders fans. My boys, ages 6 & 8, and although I can get tickets on any game for 6 bucks on starhub, I bought tickets for 2 devils games. I refuse to pay 1 cent on this team.
So why? Because its clear Charles Wang not only blames nasal county and the dilapidated building for his teams losing, he is now gonna do absolutely nothing as a statement to long island as his protest that the no vote on a new building and lack of any financial support is the reason the team stinks. The only reason they added aging horrible contract like rolston and paid a complete bust like Bailey and don't buy out DIPETRO AWEFUL CONTRACT is becaUSE the nhl mandates a salary floor. If any one remembers MAJOR LEAGUE the movie, the new gm wanted to lose enough to move the team. Well Wang doesn't want to move, he will let the team rot until he gets his gift wrapped building.
It's clear a move to Quebec city and a new owner is the only hope left. It's really sad. I raised 2 new islanders fans. My boys, ages 6 & 8, and although I can get tickets on any game for 6 bucks on starhub, I bought tickets for 2 devils games. I refuse to pay 1 cent on this team.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Islanders win!!!!!!! well hang on
A win is a win. so 2 points is more than we have gotten in a while but........lets be honest. Isles played the same game they play most nights.
a.solid and at times spectacular goaltending yet this is hurting team..will explain later
b.top line of tavares, moulson, (pa,grabs,anyone) played very well as usual. john tavares improved strength and skating ability plus his ability to stay with the puck and create/prolong o-zone pressure and scoring chances is almost spectacular. its even more impressive considering the horrible defense and defensive zone play and rediculous amount of careless turnovers by almost everyone who isnt named tavares or moulson. will elaborate more on this later.
c.what many still critisize and i was guilty of this too is becoming more evident that the islanders fowards whom arent the top line are not playing well or hard enough just isnt the case at least 2/3 of the time. the problem again, and its the teams biggest is the poor puck clearing and puck moving skills of the islanders defensemen in their own zone. by the time the puck is cleared or moved up the ice, the only offense the other 8/9 fowards can generate is off the rush. they have no energy left to forecheck. but lets face it, the nhl game is not a speed/pass/pretty play league. most decent d-men and goalies can stop most rushes most of the time. tonight though, the isles scored twice on the rush. while talented fowards like okposo,neilson, and comeau need to shoot more(like the wicked wrister that beat lundquist) , these goals dont come often especially for the isles.
d.garth snow seems hellbent on showcasing nabakov to get that coveted 3rd round pick. seems like garth snows main concern every year is to get draft picks. while i cant say nabakov has hurt the team (except the sharks game) at all, the fact that hes been banged up with a (unbelievably) healthy dp and the the best goalie on the team montoya on the bench/pressbox, i dont see the benefits of forcing nebakov into every game. its eveident at this point that no matter what nabakov does, no one is giving snow what hes holding out for. so trade him or trade montoya. but get rid of the 3 goalie system. again, all 3 have played well, but none have been allowed to get hot and really play great enough to steal games.
e.if trades arent there for better defensive d-men, and the young guys are clearly struggling, time to then do the bridgeport shuttle. hamonic and amac still have a bright future, yet their play in their dzone has been bad. thats generous. there is no physical play that gets teams away from the puck, there is no transition game at all since they turn the puck over almost every shift. and even wwhen theres no pressure on them, they either dont skate(moving the legs)to start rush nor do they make many good passes to get the fowards moving in tandem. so would it really hurt to bring up de haan and wishart. they cant play any worse.
f.can we really expect john tavares to show this much heart and effort every game, every shift if this team doesnt start winning, and get back into the hunt. theres so much losing a guy can take before the effort starts to wain.
well i was breaking down the game but it lead into the usual rant about the teams problems...sorry
now heres the part i get killed for. i agree its wangs cheapness and snows inability to bring in better nhk caliber players, especially on the defensive side that is hurting the team. but honestly, there is one glaring problem and ive mentioned it a hundred times. the teams lacksadasical play in their dzone and rediculous amount of turnovers thats really kept the isles in the cellar. as much as i like coach caps and i know he gets his team to play hard and fight every game.
BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT ADDRESS THE TURNOVERS??? HOW DO YOU NOT EVALUATE UR TEAM AND SIMPLIFY THINGS TO JUST CLEAR THE DAMN PUCK OUT OF THE ZONE? JOSH BAILEYS REDICULOUSLY LAZY AND STUPID FLIP UP THE MIDDLE THAT LEAD TO THE RANGER LOSSS IS INEXCUSABLE. COACH LAVIOLETTE USED TO SAY THIS ALL TIME AND COACH TORTS DOES TOO, WHEN THE TRANSITION GAME ISNT THERE, CHIP IT OUT, OR ICE THE PUCK. DONT GIVE THE DAMN PUCK AWAY IN YOUR ZONE!! IT EXHAUSTS THE FOWARDS, IT DEFLATES THE TEAM, IT HURTS THE GOALIES. IT LEADS TOO LOSSES. TONIGHT WHEN WE TOOK THE 3-0 LEAD, MONTREAL THEN HAD A 4 MINUTE SPAN WHERE THE ISLES SIMPLE NEVER GOT OUT OF THERE ZONE. AND THEY HAD LIKE 6 CHANCES. OFF THE BOARDS, UP TO THE JUMBOTRON, ICE IT, HECK TAKE THE DOG PENALTY. BUT DONT TURN IT OVER. AND THIS IS WHERE COACH CAPS TAKES A HUGE HIT. IF THIS CONTINUES, HE WILL BE FIRED.
all this being said, the team is 3 under 500. and really a hot streak from being back in contention. but that streak wont happen unless the turnovers stop or at least are brought under control. until then, we are doomed.
a.solid and at times spectacular goaltending yet this is hurting team..will explain later
b.top line of tavares, moulson, (pa,grabs,anyone) played very well as usual. john tavares improved strength and skating ability plus his ability to stay with the puck and create/prolong o-zone pressure and scoring chances is almost spectacular. its even more impressive considering the horrible defense and defensive zone play and rediculous amount of careless turnovers by almost everyone who isnt named tavares or moulson. will elaborate more on this later.
c.what many still critisize and i was guilty of this too is becoming more evident that the islanders fowards whom arent the top line are not playing well or hard enough just isnt the case at least 2/3 of the time. the problem again, and its the teams biggest is the poor puck clearing and puck moving skills of the islanders defensemen in their own zone. by the time the puck is cleared or moved up the ice, the only offense the other 8/9 fowards can generate is off the rush. they have no energy left to forecheck. but lets face it, the nhl game is not a speed/pass/pretty play league. most decent d-men and goalies can stop most rushes most of the time. tonight though, the isles scored twice on the rush. while talented fowards like okposo,neilson, and comeau need to shoot more(like the wicked wrister that beat lundquist) , these goals dont come often especially for the isles.
d.garth snow seems hellbent on showcasing nabakov to get that coveted 3rd round pick. seems like garth snows main concern every year is to get draft picks. while i cant say nabakov has hurt the team (except the sharks game) at all, the fact that hes been banged up with a (unbelievably) healthy dp and the the best goalie on the team montoya on the bench/pressbox, i dont see the benefits of forcing nebakov into every game. its eveident at this point that no matter what nabakov does, no one is giving snow what hes holding out for. so trade him or trade montoya. but get rid of the 3 goalie system. again, all 3 have played well, but none have been allowed to get hot and really play great enough to steal games.
e.if trades arent there for better defensive d-men, and the young guys are clearly struggling, time to then do the bridgeport shuttle. hamonic and amac still have a bright future, yet their play in their dzone has been bad. thats generous. there is no physical play that gets teams away from the puck, there is no transition game at all since they turn the puck over almost every shift. and even wwhen theres no pressure on them, they either dont skate(moving the legs)to start rush nor do they make many good passes to get the fowards moving in tandem. so would it really hurt to bring up de haan and wishart. they cant play any worse.
f.can we really expect john tavares to show this much heart and effort every game, every shift if this team doesnt start winning, and get back into the hunt. theres so much losing a guy can take before the effort starts to wain.
well i was breaking down the game but it lead into the usual rant about the teams problems...sorry
now heres the part i get killed for. i agree its wangs cheapness and snows inability to bring in better nhk caliber players, especially on the defensive side that is hurting the team. but honestly, there is one glaring problem and ive mentioned it a hundred times. the teams lacksadasical play in their dzone and rediculous amount of turnovers thats really kept the isles in the cellar. as much as i like coach caps and i know he gets his team to play hard and fight every game.
BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT ADDRESS THE TURNOVERS??? HOW DO YOU NOT EVALUATE UR TEAM AND SIMPLIFY THINGS TO JUST CLEAR THE DAMN PUCK OUT OF THE ZONE? JOSH BAILEYS REDICULOUSLY LAZY AND STUPID FLIP UP THE MIDDLE THAT LEAD TO THE RANGER LOSSS IS INEXCUSABLE. COACH LAVIOLETTE USED TO SAY THIS ALL TIME AND COACH TORTS DOES TOO, WHEN THE TRANSITION GAME ISNT THERE, CHIP IT OUT, OR ICE THE PUCK. DONT GIVE THE DAMN PUCK AWAY IN YOUR ZONE!! IT EXHAUSTS THE FOWARDS, IT DEFLATES THE TEAM, IT HURTS THE GOALIES. IT LEADS TOO LOSSES. TONIGHT WHEN WE TOOK THE 3-0 LEAD, MONTREAL THEN HAD A 4 MINUTE SPAN WHERE THE ISLES SIMPLE NEVER GOT OUT OF THERE ZONE. AND THEY HAD LIKE 6 CHANCES. OFF THE BOARDS, UP TO THE JUMBOTRON, ICE IT, HECK TAKE THE DOG PENALTY. BUT DONT TURN IT OVER. AND THIS IS WHERE COACH CAPS TAKES A HUGE HIT. IF THIS CONTINUES, HE WILL BE FIRED.
all this being said, the team is 3 under 500. and really a hot streak from being back in contention. but that streak wont happen unless the turnovers stop or at least are brought under control. until then, we are doomed.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
0 for the road.....
Well the 3 game road trip is over. The good news is we had a lead at one point. We didn't get shut out any of the 3 games. Al MOntoya got a start. (But the team gave up 50sog and montoya lost in ot and coach promptly benches him again for nabakov who to his credit, didn't give up all 3 goals in the first period. Remember, this is the positive part of the blog.
Well the glass half empty, this team sucks. All positive talk and optimism coming into this season is all but gone. Islanders coaches and shills can no longer point to the record and tell us fanatical
fans to relax. And that its early. And lay off the coach. And snow is a genius. And the team has so much young talent. This team for all intents and purposes, SUCKS. Once again the isles are the laughing stock of the eastern conference. Once again the isles are all but out of the playoff race and its mid-November.
This team failed to address its needs. A big top 4 defensive d-man and a gritty top 6 fowards who can forehead. This team remains the cheapest professional sports organization in north America. There unwilling Ness to spend money on a decent scouting staff, a decent NHL CALIBER gm, and most importantly, A REAL NHL COACH. The last nhl coach we hired was Ted nolan and all he did was get us into the playoffs with a backup goalie. Then he had us fighting for a playoff spot and asked for some offensive help to keep fighting. Instead he got some vets traded away and then was
let go.
Now the record is at 4-7-3. ??? Actually I'm Soo pissed I'm not even sure. Bad journalism? Yes, but I blog about an aweful team. So it all fits. Will there be any changes? Will there be any decent changes coming? Will anything happen or do they wallow into the abyss again? My feeling is that this is what we get. Another lost season. Maybe ill Nino gets a shot but even of he scores 36 goals for us (ala m grabner last year) , it won't make any difference.
This team has a counterfeit owner, a joke for a gm, a niceguy but honestly a coach who cart get his team to respond. Until major change is.made, it will be a long season, seasons, decade. It's really sad. Perhaps KC would be the best thing for this team.
Well the glass half empty, this team sucks. All positive talk and optimism coming into this season is all but gone. Islanders coaches and shills can no longer point to the record and tell us fanatical
fans to relax. And that its early. And lay off the coach. And snow is a genius. And the team has so much young talent. This team for all intents and purposes, SUCKS. Once again the isles are the laughing stock of the eastern conference. Once again the isles are all but out of the playoff race and its mid-November.
This team failed to address its needs. A big top 4 defensive d-man and a gritty top 6 fowards who can forehead. This team remains the cheapest professional sports organization in north America. There unwilling Ness to spend money on a decent scouting staff, a decent NHL CALIBER gm, and most importantly, A REAL NHL COACH. The last nhl coach we hired was Ted nolan and all he did was get us into the playoffs with a backup goalie. Then he had us fighting for a playoff spot and asked for some offensive help to keep fighting. Instead he got some vets traded away and then was
let go.
Now the record is at 4-7-3. ??? Actually I'm Soo pissed I'm not even sure. Bad journalism? Yes, but I blog about an aweful team. So it all fits. Will there be any changes? Will there be any decent changes coming? Will anything happen or do they wallow into the abyss again? My feeling is that this is what we get. Another lost season. Maybe ill Nino gets a shot but even of he scores 36 goals for us (ala m grabner last year) , it won't make any difference.
This team has a counterfeit owner, a joke for a gm, a niceguy but honestly a coach who cart get his team to respond. Until major change is.made, it will be a long season, seasons, decade. It's really sad. Perhaps KC would be the best thing for this team.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
How much longer can we wait?
Well, it hasn't been long but the bargain basement isles only play 2-3 times a month so every game is a bad one and then we get 4 days to digest it. There's no denying coach caps did an excellent job last Jan,Feb,mar and coaching the isles to the tune of the m2nd most points in the nhl at that time. No coincidence, we also picked up al montoya from purgatory and he had the best 2 months an islanders goalie has had since dubbie backstopped us into the playoffs late 2007. All the formulas and natural progression suggested the isles with a full camp under caps, a healthy okposo & streit, a full season with the reguvinated montoya, a stronger 3rd year tavares, the money b
acking of young players grabner and okposo,o the developing talented albeit underside and inexperienced defense, & finally adding gritty ve.terans reasoned, rolston, pandalfo. Everyone thought including me that we would at the very least battle every night, and contend for a playoff spot.
SURE, the big issues were not addressed in the off-season like adding a top puck moving d-man, a mid level big defensemen who can clear the crease and at least clear the puck over the blueline. Or forbid we sign a top 6 fowards who has size and strength so maybe we can get a forecheck going more than 3 minutes
a game. Yet, we were optimistic. 6 potential 20-30 goal scorers, a solid goalie every.night, and maybe we fulfill that hope and reach that impossible to get 8th seed.
So far, EPIC FAIL. big problem 1...goaltending joke has been let's audition nabakov so we can trade him for another.bust draft pick. Let's play DP SINCE he's healthy, disregarding the fact he hasn't been a top goalie ever. Hasn't been an average goalie in 6 years. Let's bench montoya despite his stellar GAA of 932.. 2. After a surprising 3-1 start, its been nothing but well we battled, we played hard, we coulda got a call, let's keep the system in place and good things will happen.isles don't just lose, they lose these battles, they lose VIA blowout, the now added heartbeat. But there's one constant, team is still too small. They lose every physical battle, they have zero forecheck, they can't defend the forcheck, they have trouble clearing the puck out of the zone.
What is getting really alarming, things are getting worse of that was possible? 50 shots.on goal from a coach who preaches heart, work ethic. There's something amiss hear. Before its too late and yet another season lost, DO SOMETHING! but not fire the coach, fire Garth snow. All his picks have equaled zero success. And There is no defending that and as the picks come to the team and play. And the team loses, those picks become busts. Yet there's a legion of programmed to lose isle fans who accept this and tell u well just wait until Nino and strome make the team. I don't wanna hold my breath. I wanna win. Change is needed now
acking of young players grabner and okposo,o the developing talented albeit underside and inexperienced defense, & finally adding gritty ve.terans reasoned, rolston, pandalfo. Everyone thought including me that we would at the very least battle every night, and contend for a playoff spot.
SURE, the big issues were not addressed in the off-season like adding a top puck moving d-man, a mid level big defensemen who can clear the crease and at least clear the puck over the blueline. Or forbid we sign a top 6 fowards who has size and strength so maybe we can get a forecheck going more than 3 minutes
a game. Yet, we were optimistic. 6 potential 20-30 goal scorers, a solid goalie every.night, and maybe we fulfill that hope and reach that impossible to get 8th seed.
So far, EPIC FAIL. big problem 1...goaltending joke has been let's audition nabakov so we can trade him for another.bust draft pick. Let's play DP SINCE he's healthy, disregarding the fact he hasn't been a top goalie ever. Hasn't been an average goalie in 6 years. Let's bench montoya despite his stellar GAA of 932.. 2. After a surprising 3-1 start, its been nothing but well we battled, we played hard, we coulda got a call, let's keep the system in place and good things will happen.isles don't just lose, they lose these battles, they lose VIA blowout, the now added heartbeat. But there's one constant, team is still too small. They lose every physical battle, they have zero forecheck, they can't defend the forcheck, they have trouble clearing the puck out of the zone.
What is getting really alarming, things are getting worse of that was possible? 50 shots.on goal from a coach who preaches heart, work ethic. There's something amiss hear. Before its too late and yet another season lost, DO SOMETHING! but not fire the coach, fire Garth snow. All his picks have equaled zero success. And There is no defending that and as the picks come to the team and play. And the team loses, those picks become busts. Yet there's a legion of programmed to lose isle fans who accept this and tell u well just wait until Nino and strome make the team. I don't wanna hold my breath. I wanna win. Change is needed now
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
NOVEMBER IS UPON US
Well november is here and as isles fans we all know what happened last year. we all know that even though the (cheap cheap cheap) front office made some nice decisions to pay some young talent to stay here, the didn t address the blaring needs of this team. At least the needs that would have made us more of a contender consistantly. Lets break it down, shall we.......
One of the biggest upsides we have is a ton of talent. Highly skilled top 6/7 fowards and highly drafted and developing defensive talent.(hamonic,andy mac, return of striet) and some needed powerplay QB's in rolston and striet. The team played well from dec to end march and gave us fans alot to be excited about. AL Montoya finnaly showed he can be a no 1 goalie and so far Nabakov and even DP have played very well. So goaltending appears to be a strength even though no one is being allowed to grab the job by the .........
Now the negatives, for all the young and gifted players on the team, the much improved powerplay and PK. Nothing can mask the fact that the team is soft and the defense is too small. Milan Jurina should help a bit but he wasnt a Physical player to begin with. Coach has benched comaeu in favoer of Trevor Gillies for obvious size and grit reasons but then playing him for 2 shifts per game is Basically pointless. Its too late to bring in enough size to make a difference now but is it too late to coach this team to play tougher????? My perfect example is John Tavares. 2 years hes played like a skilled yet non physical special teams scorer. HE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.....HE WENT ON A MUCH PUBLICIZED STRENGHT, SKATING, & CONDITIONING program and this difference is immense. Hes a new player. Same headsy skill player but a guy who now fights through checks and skates through defenses trying to create offense. and along with his linemates, look excellent thus far. WOULD it be too crazy to put some of our other young talent through the same program. or simply coach them to dump and chase more and get more damn physical. Mike peca was 185lbs but played like he was 215. throwing hits all over and it helped those teams win games.
Anyway, getting back to now, its easy to say the isles played well the past 2 games but its easy to see that a non physical team cant crash the net and move defensmen. nor can they hit enough people to detur the forecheck. These are things that have to change. Do i see another 0 for november??? god i hope not. but i havent seen anything yet that shows me we are going to be even a .500 team.
some things we can try........WHERES HALEY??? and give him serious minutes with the 2nd and 3rd lines. If we are convinced comeau is too soft, then trade him ASAP for a more physical top 6 foward. not a draft pick. we need nelp now. If we are convinced DP is healthy, then dump nabakov and give the no 1 back to montoya. Perhaps JURCINA also helps the physical game. And perhaps some of those 30/40 outside shots start finding the twine. Also maybe time to have someone like mike bossy work w GRABS to teach him some finish on all those breakaways.
ONE LAST GRIPE...what the hell was JOsh bailey supposed to be anyway??? and was he simple a cheap draft pick?? he wasnt an Offensive talent, He wasnt a physical two way foward, So what the hell was his upside, and is he really a disapointment or is this what he was though to be. And since hes not even a shadow of the "pat Flatley" type hes being projected as now, Time to do something. Cheaper and more effective penalty killers are out there. Hardly worth a top 10 pick.
This month will tell alot, just hope it doesnt tell us what last November told us.....
One of the biggest upsides we have is a ton of talent. Highly skilled top 6/7 fowards and highly drafted and developing defensive talent.(hamonic,andy mac, return of striet) and some needed powerplay QB's in rolston and striet. The team played well from dec to end march and gave us fans alot to be excited about. AL Montoya finnaly showed he can be a no 1 goalie and so far Nabakov and even DP have played very well. So goaltending appears to be a strength even though no one is being allowed to grab the job by the .........
Now the negatives, for all the young and gifted players on the team, the much improved powerplay and PK. Nothing can mask the fact that the team is soft and the defense is too small. Milan Jurina should help a bit but he wasnt a Physical player to begin with. Coach has benched comaeu in favoer of Trevor Gillies for obvious size and grit reasons but then playing him for 2 shifts per game is Basically pointless. Its too late to bring in enough size to make a difference now but is it too late to coach this team to play tougher????? My perfect example is John Tavares. 2 years hes played like a skilled yet non physical special teams scorer. HE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.....HE WENT ON A MUCH PUBLICIZED STRENGHT, SKATING, & CONDITIONING program and this difference is immense. Hes a new player. Same headsy skill player but a guy who now fights through checks and skates through defenses trying to create offense. and along with his linemates, look excellent thus far. WOULD it be too crazy to put some of our other young talent through the same program. or simply coach them to dump and chase more and get more damn physical. Mike peca was 185lbs but played like he was 215. throwing hits all over and it helped those teams win games.
Anyway, getting back to now, its easy to say the isles played well the past 2 games but its easy to see that a non physical team cant crash the net and move defensmen. nor can they hit enough people to detur the forecheck. These are things that have to change. Do i see another 0 for november??? god i hope not. but i havent seen anything yet that shows me we are going to be even a .500 team.
some things we can try........WHERES HALEY??? and give him serious minutes with the 2nd and 3rd lines. If we are convinced comeau is too soft, then trade him ASAP for a more physical top 6 foward. not a draft pick. we need nelp now. If we are convinced DP is healthy, then dump nabakov and give the no 1 back to montoya. Perhaps JURCINA also helps the physical game. And perhaps some of those 30/40 outside shots start finding the twine. Also maybe time to have someone like mike bossy work w GRABS to teach him some finish on all those breakaways.
ONE LAST GRIPE...what the hell was JOsh bailey supposed to be anyway??? and was he simple a cheap draft pick?? he wasnt an Offensive talent, He wasnt a physical two way foward, So what the hell was his upside, and is he really a disapointment or is this what he was though to be. And since hes not even a shadow of the "pat Flatley" type hes being projected as now, Time to do something. Cheaper and more effective penalty killers are out there. Hardly worth a top 10 pick.
This month will tell alot, just hope it doesnt tell us what last November told us.....
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