Islanders Team Report--Yahoo! Sports

Inside Shots

General manager Garth Snow smiled and pointed to the gray hair atop his head.

Even though he has followed through with his plan to rebuild the Islanders nearly from scratch, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been a frustrating, and at times, painful process en route to the NHL’s worst record this season entering Wednesday’s visit to Washington.

“We came up with a plan to build through the draft, and we’re sticking to it. This season has been painful, but we think we’ll be better for it,” Snow told the New York Post. “This is an important time for our organization to take the next step, and I take that very seriously.”

Several young players—such as forwards Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Frans Nielsen—have shown marked improvement since the beginning of the season. And barring a late surge, the Isles should add to that with one of the top two players in the June entry draft.

Though that may be true if players such as Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey develop like the Isles hope they do, but it also largely depends on what Snow does.

“Whenever (fans) come up to me, whether it’s on the concourse during games or at practice, they say, ‘Stick to the plan,’” Snow said. “The team we have next year will be very similar to the one we have now. I expect a lot of players to develop.”

FLYERS 4, ISLANDERS 3 (SO): Two cities in two nights. Two playoff-bound opponents. Two Islander goalies. And two shutouts? It looked that way for two periods Saturday night as goalie Yann Danis carried a 2-0 shutout into the third one night after Joey MacDonald had blanked the Red Wings Friday in Detroit. But the Flyers scored three goals in barely three minutes early in the final session before earning the extra point in the shootout to win a fight-filled game.

Notes, Quotes

• D Brendan Witt has no goals in 58 appearances this season, but coach Scott Gordon rewarded the rugged defenseman by choosing Witt to be the Islanders’ first shooter in the skills competition in a 4-3 shootout loss Saturday to the Flyers.

“Why not?” Gordon said, when asked why he chose Witt to participate. “The last time we practiced the shootout, our defensemen were pretty successful and I told Witter we would use him.”

• C Doug Weight got into a rare fight Saturday and also earned an instigating minor and a misconduct penalty for scrapping with Darrol Powe in the first period.

“Our team has come a long way the last couple of months and is really coming together,” Weight said. “It’s not like I would do that in a playoff race, but once in a while you have to do that…Our team has been sticking up for each other and really coming together and those things are good to see.”

Quote To Note: “One of the things our team has shown here is that they’re going to stick up for each other. A good sign of that is coming together and supporting themselves in all situations.”—Coach Scott Gordon, after the Isles drew four fighting majors in a 4-3 shootout loss Saturday to Philadelphia.

Islanders Saturday

Busy day with a lot to do so this'll be short.

Incredible interview with Islanders owner Charles Wang from Newsday can be found here.

Brendan Witt got five games for his hit on Hagman Thursday night.

I've been really bad this year covering the Sound Tigers but you can read about their game last night in Philadelphia at the Connecticut Post. We had an interview with Tigers' beat writer Mike Fornabaio last May if you'd like to did through the archives...which are found at the left of these posts.

Sabres tonight and the national Versus game against Ryan Smyth and the Avalanche on Monday.

Isles in Minnesota; Okposo and Comrie may return

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Work has been crazy busy trying to get projects in under the wire. Thanks to those who wrote in wondering what has been going on.

I will try to get updates in through the Christmas and New Year's celebrations where I can. I am guessing that things'll be just as backed up both at work and with family visiting.

Thanks also to those who asked me about the place I work. It was recently announced that my employer was laying off some people (not great timing) but so far, I am safe.

Anyway, enough of that. We are here to talk about the Islanders and a seven-game winless streak.

The good news is that the Islanders' website is reporting that Mike Comrie should make his return tonight in Minnesota. Newsday and other places like Point Blank are also saying that Sillinger and Okposo are coming back better than expected from their respective injuries and could possible play either tonight against the Wild or tomorrow night in Nashville.

Do you realize that the Isles have not played either Minnesota or the Predators since 2006? Do you realize that we haven't missed those game a-tall? I mean, playing the Wild at this time of year is great for the red-and-green Christmas spirit but the Predators? Outside of Shea Weber and Dan Ellis, do you ever hear much about their players?

Anyway, the Islanders are riding a one-point December so far and man, has it been miserable. If you're reading this, I don't have to tell you. Of course, the "frequency" of my updates has been tempered by not only work, but my realization that the team could be out of the playoff picture already. And that just sucks.

What we need to face is that yes, we are the collective beaten-down dogs of a fanbase and yes, rebuilding takes time. Year one of the process--assuming ownership stays the course--is always the hardest, most painful, and depressing of the four-year plan.

Call me an optimist--I've been called worse--but we need to take pride in the development of the young kids, assuming they can make it back to the ice. Also, with Bill Guerin getting close to 400 career goals and Doug Weight now 3 points away from 1000 career points, we can take some satisfaction that these great players--and American hockey players at that--will be hitting some very serious career milestones in the sweaters with our favorite logo on it.

On the other side, hard to take those comments in Newsday from Brendan Witt this morning. What he said in the report by Greg Logan sounded to me like the frustrations of a proud man who is on a team that has not won in seven games--not to mention that he was a minus-five the other night. Some will say that Scott Gordon is trying to teach the old dog a new trick. Read into this what you will.

Regarding the team's style of play: "I don't think we play well defensively five-on-five, and it shows," Witt said. "We're leading the league with goals against . It almost looked like [the Capitals] were on a power play [with 40 shots]."

Gordon's system: "We're showing progress, but we haven't showed it very often for 60 minutes," Witt said. "Until he says something different, we have to play the way he wants us to play."

And this chestnut: "Personally, I think it's more of a risky type of game," Witt said. "There's a lot of odd-man rushes. But that's the way he wants us to play, and until he decides he wants to change that, we're going to play that way."

Yeesh. I am a big fan of Brendan Witt's but...wow...to say he isn't on point is being kind. Of course, he could also just be frustrated as hell. I know I am when I watch the games.

It's also not out of the question that any of the veterans playing well could be moved at the trade deadline. In fact, they probably should be if they're not able or willing to fit into Gordon's system or understand their roles in said system. Nothing surprises me any more with the Islanders so guys with value like Weight, Guerin, Witt, Sillinger, and Comrie are probably going to be traded for value (draft picks) come March 4. Witt is frustrated and Comrie did not show anything that says he can play the up-tempo style Gordon and Snow want to play. Sillinger also has had difficulty coming back from his surgery and found himself sidelined shortly after making his return with groin issues that are directly attributable to the forechecking style employed by Gordon.

Tonight the Isles are in Minnesota. Okposo is enjoying the comforts of home. Let's hope he's back in the lineup tonight, too.

Skates and Smarts: Brendan Witt

We never post videos, but this is really funny. - Mrs. NYIForLife.

Rangers. The Freaking Rangers.

Well, the DP drama continues. Is he hurt? Is he not hurt? Coach says yes. Team calls up Yann Danis to carry MacD's bags tonight. Botta vs. Logan in one of the stranger faceoffs in our time.

Let's face it: weird shit follows this team around like a bad girlfriend.

The Logan vs. Botta debate is nothing I am going to touch. You know why? Because I know nothing about it. When Linzi and I started this website, I knew for a fact that I was not going to cover pissing contests. My only "deal" (for lack of a better word) with either of the websites is that I am super-glad each exists so that we can get some straight-shooting and news about the team we all love. If there is a professional beef or whatever, out official position is that we hold out hands up. While we are linked from Greg's site--and we love the feedback we've gotten from the traffic funneled our way--we rarely post or make comments there. I've done it maybe twice on the Botta site and that was to get some clarification regarding Mark Parrish's PTO contract with Bridgeport from a guy who would know a heck of a lot better than me.

So, tonight we have the Rangers. No Ricky. No Brendan Witt (for how long?) and no Freddy Meyer (for what, exactly?). Brett Skinner has been called up to the main roster according to multiple sources. He's been enjoying one heck of a start in the American League after what was termed a good camp with the Isles. So we will see him in action tonight.

Ricky was, as you all know, pulled after the first period Saturday night against the Whalercanes. He had a couple of giveaways where he was trying to force the play with the long passes and man, that one he handed to Iron Hands Chad LaRose was a stomach punch. Sing along with me, because we all know the words: Rick needs to trust his defensemen and not try to do too much. Scott Gordon told Point Blank the same thing we've been hearing for years. FOR YEARS.

Joey MacDonald came in and played admirably for the remainder of the game. The Isles put up a team-record 60 shots on Cam Ward (by the way, Ward is pretty good) and even a PENALTY SHOT with seven-tenths of a second on the clock wasn't enough to pull the Isles through to tie Carolina.

Seriously, though, Dougie, right in the breadbasket?

Oh, and Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Jeff Tambellini haven't scored yet this year. Bergenheim has 2 and he plays like hi pants are on fire every shift he is out there. Nate Thompson took one for the team in a fight with Tim Gleason. The size difference was almost as funny as when Lou the sandwich girl told Chuck that their vast height differences intrigued her last season on "Chuck". Different kind of dance partners, I know, but Nate gave it a shot and it did fire the team up for a while.

Last, I know you all saw the hit on Brandon Sutter from the previously mentioned Doug Weight. Legal hit; Welcome to the NHL. The Carolina players knew it too because no one stepped in to start a fracas or anything with Weight as Doug looked over to see if the kid was okay. Doug is a classy dude and known throughout the league as a good guy and not a cheap guy. Big thumbs up to Chris Campoli, too, who was right there playing Sundance in case someone was going to come after his teammate, bad shoulder and all.

Brendan Witt Extended for 2 Years

The New York Islanders have signed alternate captain Brendan Witt to a two-year contract extension worth $6.0 million. That means the fan-favorite defenseman is under contract through the 2010-2011 season.

"Over the last two seasons, Brendan has been a warrior for us on the ice and a great leader off the ice," said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow. "We're thrilled to keep him in an Islanders uniform."

Added Witt: "My family and I are excited to stay on Long Island for the next three years. We love the community and our fans, and I couldn't be happier. I want to thank the Islanders organization and the fans for making Long Island our home."

In his two years with the Islanders, Witt has played in 140 games and has scored three goals with 18 assists for 21 points and a +6 plus/minus rating. More importantly, Witt has been a thorn in the side of some of the top NHL forwards as he is often assigned the role of shutting down the opponent's top lines.

Originally drafted by Washington in first round (11th overall) in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Witt has played a total of 12 seasons in the NHL. In 783 games with Washington, Nashville and the Islanders, Witt has scored a total of 23 goals with 84 assists for 107 points and 1,285 penalty minutes.

Witt was originally signed by the Islanders in July of 2006 to a three-year contract, which was set to expire after the 2008-09 season.

From www.newyorkislanders.com

Tonight it's the Canadiens

Greg Logan is reporting in his blog that Bruno Gervais is still suffering from concussion symptoms and that the team may shut him down for the year.

Brendan Witt skated this morning but is not expected to play.

Isles 4, Flyers 3

A six-pack of scary words for the Islanders and their fans: Brendan Witt; sprained knee; no return. Happened last night in the first period when Witt took a knee-to-knee hit with Scott Hartnell in the neutral zone. Witt was penalized for tripping on the play.

It took a season-high 47 shots for the Isles to beat our Atlantic Division rivals last night.

First Islander goal was scored by Trent Hunter, who also chipped in with two helpers. Slumping rental Ruslan Fedotenko also added a goal and an assist while Jeff Tambellini scored his first of the season last night (finally) and Sean Bergenheim scored one of those goals that only he can score (all-out hustle) for his sixth on the campaign.

Rick DiPietro earned his 21st win of the season, stopping 26 Flyer shots, to raise the team to 57 points. The compacted back end of the Eastern playoff table now finds the Islanders 6 points out of eighth place.

The Isles meet up with old friend Jason Blake in Toronto tomorrow night. Saturday they host the Thrashers at home. Game time is 7PM.

Hey--did you notice that the Senators and Hurricanes made an old school honest-to-goodness hockey trade this week? Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore took their rings to Ottawa and Patrick Eaves picked up Joe Corvo for a trip to Carolina. It's one of those "makes sense for both teams" deals! Ottawa needed secondary scoring and they get that with Stillman. Carolina needs a PP QB and Joe Corvo plays that kind of game. Win-win!

Does this mean more trades are coming? Is this the first domino to fall, as some are predicting? Will we see a bunch of exciting player movement that would be shocking enough to slew foot a Wookie? Is Peter Forsberg going to come back to the NHL and if he is, which team will he choose to play for?

My best guess is that the majority of teams that aren't near the cap (and would have theoretical room to add salary) are probably at their own internal spending thresholds. That's a fancy way of saying that I don't think any huge mind-boggling trades are going to come down between now and the trade deadline. A two-fer-two trade between Ottawa and Carolina isn't going to open a flood gate.

I guess that leaves our friends in the Canadian hockey media to speculate more and more about which players will make up Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. (Yes, they've started and yes, I have read all of the stories.)

One more thing to note. The AHL suspended Sound Tigers' forward Kip Brennan for 15 games this week after Brennan received a match penalty Saturday night for punching Portland's Geoff Peters from behind after Peters had laid out Pascal Morency with an elbow. Brennan's punch reportedly broke Peters' nose.

This is Brennan's second 15 game suspension in the AHL. In 2005, while with Chicago, Brennan was suspended for his part in a pre-game brawl.

Tambellini Recalled; Okposo Debuts; Isles win the Shootout

Well, I think some good news is coming from The Bridge...while we are getting a distress signal from the Islander blueline.

Tonight in Ottawa, Jeff Tambellini will join the team due to injuries to Miro Satan. Bad news on the defensive front. Brendan Witt will miss the game tonight with a sprained ankle suffered in Calgary. Luckily the Isles have some NHL-caliber players riding the pine on the blueline (I am thinking of Berard, Bergeron, and Meyer--all of whom spent time in and out of the lineup) so that our boys will have enough bodies going forward (no pun) so that the experience will be there in front of All-Star Rick DiPietro. Of course, none of those guys I mentioned is Brendan Witt so we hope he is a quick healer.

And by the way, it bears mentioning that this ankle must be a heap of trouble because Brendan Witt is a freaking warrior out there. I think that term gets overused a lot these days--especially with our men and women at 'real' war--but that is the only way you can properly characterize the kind of player that Brendan Witt is for the Islanders. How many times have we seen him block a shot or take a hit and think the guy is not even going to get up, let alone stay in the game? He's like John Wayne and Stone Cold rolled into one dude.

There's a very important MRI coming up for Brendan Witt and the Islanders. Let's hope that a sprain ends up being just a sprain.

Kyle Okposo is off and running. Last night in his home debut, Okposo had a goal and two assists in the Sound Tigers' 4-2 win over Springfield at the Arena at Harbor Yard. 5 points in two games. The Sound Tigers lost his debut game in Bingo on Friday but Kyle had two assists.

In his first game, Okposo was playing with AHL All-Star Jeff Tambellini. Tonight, as we said, Jeff meets the team in Ottawa.

Tambellini is scoring at a freakish pace in the American League. The guy has well over 4o points in like 34 games. The time is now for Jeff Tambellini. It's obvious that the AHL is not the league for him because he is too good. Tambellini has to prove to the coaching staff that he belongs with the Islanders and playing in the National Hockey League.

With all young players, it's tempting to want to throw them into the mix and see what you get. You also have to wonder about the other times he's had a chance to prove himself if whether or not he is just not getting a chance or if Tambellini is not taking advantage of his opportunities. Is it that the coaches aren't giving him a fair shake or is he doing something--or, more importantly, NOT doing something that he needs to do to succeed and get a regular shift for the team. With Miro out and the team still not lighting up the scoreboard, Tambellini has to seize this chance to make an impression. The Islanders still need a spark. He delivers that spark in the AHL all the time. Now he needs to decide to do it in the NHL.

All Over The Place

First, a Quick Giants Rant--It just dawned on me that the Giants are
playing the Bears this week. If Tom Coughlin kicks it to Devin Hester
even once he should be fired on the spot. I think I am close to
advocating blowing up the Giants Miami-style and starting over from
scratch. Just get a do-over. If there's one anything worse than being
a fan of a consistently-average team, I don't know what it is. I
suffered (and so did my friends, who showed patience listening to me,
sorry 'bout that) with some truly heinous Islanders team that were an
affront to professional sports but at the very least I could blame inept
management and coaching for the crappy teams. With the Giants, they are
always middle ground. They aren't exciting when they win and they
aren't exciting losing either. Since that Niners playoff debacle, the
Giants are a hard team to summon any emotion for. I never get too
excited or too bummed out watching them. The organization has to do
something to change the collective feeling of antipathy coming from the
fanbase.

Giants Rant, the Second--How ugly are those freaking sideline caps the
Giants wear? With that round white stripe in the middle, it looks like
a Kleenex dispenser.

WWE 24/7 Review--November was a good month. We all know I am not a huge
huge fan of the Monday Night Wars-era but the channel did give us one of
the best shows from the past, the April 21, 1997 edition of RAW. You
may know it as the one where Stone Cold went Stone Mental and attacked
Bret Hart in the ambulance after he had injured him earlier that night.
The show ended with Brian Pillman attacking his former WCW partner and
trying to break his ankle until HBK made the save.

Overall, a great show with the Bill Watts-esque storytelling playing out
through the whole show. WWE did something similar with Ric Flair's
retirement angle this past week on RAW and when they decide to get
behind something, they can really deliver. Let's see if they keep it up
until Wrestlemania, where it is speculated that the Nature Boy will
retire.

December's Hall of Famer is Jesse Ventura. Yawn.

Now, to the Islanders--Can I say it again? We need to get some goals.
Shawn Bates is expected to get some spot minutes tonight against the
Senators, but does that mean more goals? I am thinking that Bates will
instill a bit of life into the team because he is a popular player with
his teammates and with the fans who really busts his backside. Whether
this translates to the score sheet, we will have to see.

I know that the Islanders have DiPietro and Guerin on the All-Star
ballot, but don't we all have to make the case for Brendan Witt to be in
the game? Witt has been just great all season long blocking shots,
marking every team's top players, and playing big minutes. The entire
Islander defense corps has been off-the-charts so far. Radek Martinek
is playing some outstanding hockey with Witt as his partner. Andy
Sutton has found his niche on the team and knows his role well. He's
been blocking shots and clearing the crease all season long. Mad props
to the Islanders pro scouts who again came up with the right men for the
jobs this summer.

Saying that, Ricky absolutely has to make it to the All-Star game this
year. Witt deserves to go as well. And if Mike Comrie can rediscover
the game he had at the beginning of the season, he could be a candidate
too. My guess is that once he picks it back up, guys like Tank and The
Captain will be scoring more as well.

How come it is so hard to beat Ottawa? I could see the pressure for a
guy like Alexei Yashin playing against his old team with the vitriol
between player and fans and all but that should not affect the rest of
the team. Besides, Yashin is gone counting his rubles.

Hopefully tonight is the night that the PP gets fixed because we all
know what is happening tomorrow night: more Rangers.

Mail Responses

Well, I figured since we are all sitting around twiddling our thumbs and waiting for 12:01 tonight, I'd take the time to respond to some of those who were kind (?) enough to send me their opinions. Here we go:

To BLAKE55--No, I have not forgotten about Jason Blake. I like Jason Blake and I love the energy he brings to the ice. It's just that everything I have read said that he and his agent want a lot of money (I seem to recall 4-5m a year) and to me, that is too much to pay for a guy who is 34. I know he just had his best season as a pro and has been a mainstay on the Island through tough times. But that is just a lot of cash. My guess is that he goes to Toronto or Minnesota. Either way, he will always be an Islander and I bet he'd be the first to say that.


To GomesGrrl in NJ: Scott Gomez would be a great addition to whicher team he picks. I am thinking he goes West Coast since he is from Alaska and anywhere in the west is closer to Alaska than New Jersey.


To GoLefsGo: I TOTALLY brain-farted when I said the Leafs got Toskala from the Predators. Mea culpa. I must be as stupid as you said I am. One thing I know is that I can properly express myself in words and I also learned how to capitalize the first word of a sentence in school as well. I might not be genius but I am smart enough to know that JFJ is not one either. Why else are the Leafs trying to bring in a "hockey guy" to hold his hand? Isn't JFJ a hockey guy? Just wonderin'. Good luck Leafs.

To John in Halifax: GREAT to hear from the Maritimes! I hope to visit someday.

Chris Benoit may have been a troubled dude for sure; but I am hopeful that the docs doing the autopsy check his brain out. Too many chairshots and diving headbutts from the top rope can't be good for your mental health. I bet they find that he has the brain of a 80 year old guy with the onset of Alzheimer's. That would definitely increase the paranoia effects from painkillers and muscle relaxers.

Of course, anything is speculation at this point. We won't know much until the toxicology reports and autopsy results are made public.

One thing about the media speculation that sticks in my craw is the way that a lot of these so-called experts on TV obviosuly have no idea as to what they are talking about. The worst offender in this has to be Geraldo. Nancy Grace is no genius either.

Another thing: nobody thought that football made OJ do what he did. No one pinned football as the thing that made Rae Carruth do what he did. A lot of people think wrestling is to blame; which is ridiculous. You can probably pin a lot of stuff on the McMahon family but you can't pin a guy flipping out and killing his family on them. Wrestling itself is not to blame at all. Now the pressures of the game and the way in which these men and women put their bodies on the line could very well have contributed to his mental state. No denying that. But to toss a blanket on "wrestling" itself is disengenuous and a scary characterization.


To all that asked: My favorite Islander player of all-time is probably Mike Bossy or Denis Potvin. Gotta throw Steve Thomas in there too. Stumpy totally rocked in NHL 93 on the old Sega Genesis. I could score with that guy from anywhere in that game!


Pete in Long Island asked about Pierre Turgeon. Yeah, I was totally a fan of Turgeon's. I still hate Dale Hunter and what he did to derail the Isles in 1993. And yes, it's weird that one of my favorite current Islanders, Brendan Witt, wears #32 to honor Dale Hunter. But Witt rules and he is so fun to watch.


That's it for today. Keep the letters and comments coming. Well be back with more free agent fallout this weekend.