Smyth injured; Isles lose to Philly; Core of the Four today

In case you haven't seen it, last night Ryan Smyth of the Avalanche was stretchered out after being checked by the Kings' Jack Johnson. Smyth was hit into the boards right at the end of the bench area at the point where the side glass begins it's wrap-around into the defensive zone. His helmet went flying and Smyth looked to be out cold.

I just saw the replay on ESPN and true to form, you have to have a player almost die to get a highlight on Sportscenter. They literally showed Smyth scoring a goal--he has 2 in the game--and then showed the hit and stretcher job. If this was one of their precious NBA superstars or God forbid, a baseball player, ESPN would have covered it from the top of the hour until the end of the show.

The Avalanche reported after the game that Smyth was conscious and walking, but was sent to a hospital for further examination. He had been motionless on the ice for several minutes as trainers rushed out to attend to him. Smyth was trying to dump the puck around the Los Angeles goal when Johnson caught him and simply tried to impede Smyth from gaining the offensive zone. There was no penalty called on the play.

Smyth had just returned to the Colorado lineup after missing 18 games with an injured ankle.

The Islanders lost a stomach puncher yesterday to the Flyers. Yeah, it was one of those four-point games. DiPietro was not as sharp as he has been and the late goal that Mike Knuble "scored" that pinballed off of skates in the crease was just like getting kneed in the face if you were watching the game on TV or were live in the arena.

Today the Isles are celebrating the Core of the Four in a pregame ceremony this afternoon. Center Ice subscribers should be aware that because the ceremony is being done before the game that we may not see it because the listings have the start time of the game itself as 4PM when the pregame stuff is to begin at 3.

Game night: Avalanche; WJC Update

The NHL checked DiPietro's pads and it looks like he is not going to be suspended, according to many reports.

Tonight the boys are in Colorado to take on the Avalanche. As previously posted, the 'lanche will be without Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth.

Interesting bit on Chris Botta's blog regarding Smyth and the way he left the Islanders this past summer. You really should check it out and you can find it here: http://nyipointblank.blogspot.com/

Team Canada will be the four-time defending world junior champions next year when the WJC is held in in Ottawa. Forward Brad Marchand led the way with a goal and an assist and Matt Halischuk scored at 3:36 in overtime as Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in the gold medal game of the world junior hockey championship today in the Czech Republic.

Stomach Punch

With the Islanders, it's always one step up and two steps back.

The Islanders lost half their team over the past few hours. The one that hurts the most is the loss of Ryan Smyth. Smyth signed a five-year contract reportedly worth $31.25 million with the Colorado Avalanche. Garth Snow has offered Smyth a reported $32.5 million over five years.

So why did Smyth reject the Islanders? Well, it obviously wasn't about money. It may have been his desire to return to the Western Conference and let's face it--Colorado is a lot closer to Banff, Alberta than Long Island is.

Either way, this is a serious stomach punch for all Islanders fans. If you'll pardon me, I need to throw up in my own mouth right now. This is seriously depressing news in light of the fact that the Rangers found a way to sign both Scott Gomez and Chris Drury.

The team's only signing of the day was a three-year deal worth $3 million with tough Atlanta forward Jonathan Sim.

Jason Blake was lost as well. He went to Toronto in a five-year $20 million dollar deal. We here wish Jason well. He has so earned the right to be paid like the star he has worked so hard to become.

A couple of real head-scratching deals for former Islanders. Tom Poti lands in Washington on a four-year $14 million dollar deal. Viktor Kozlov got $5 million for two years from the Caps as well. The Caps are trying to stir up some interest in the nation's capital and seem to have overpaid for the two of them in my opinion. Kozlov scored 25 goals for the Isles but his career is speckled with maddening indifference regarding his own inherent skill.

The Florida Panthers gave rental winger Richard Zednik $3.25 million over two years as well.

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.

Ready for Crazy Times?

The free agent spending frenzy will begin at 12:01AM this Saturday night/Saturday morning. Are we ready?

I've got a great family trip planned for Sunday but I still have a buddy standing at the ready to give me any big news. I'm not much of a cell phone user, but open season on NHL free agents may be the best reason to have a cell phone aside from auto emergencies.

I know we all are crossing out fingers that the Isles can work something out with Ryan Smyth. From what I've been able to read, the team is really making a great effort to bring him back. And I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with Newsday's Greg Logan on his point about the trade for Smyth at the deadline. Some people grouse about the fact that the Isles may have given up too much for someone who may end up being a late-season rental but after being an Islander fan for 3/4 of my life, I think it was a great statement that showed that the Islanders are committed to winning...or at least making an honest effort to do so.

I always get a weird kick out of hearing some people who complain about trading away really young players for established superstars in the NHL. I mean, the NHL draft is probably the most inexact science there is. Back in the day when the league was drafting guys who were 20 years old, it was a bit different. There's so much that changes for anyone in the two years it takes to go from 18 to 20. At 18, some of these players are like Al Bundy--at their peak--and that's where they are going to plateau. By the time you're 20, you have a good couple of years of personal, mental, and physical development to go with your experience. Saying that, we don't know what is going to happen with Ryan O'Marra and Robert Nilsson and whomever the Oilers picked in this past draft. The kids are super-young and think about it--are you the same person now that you were when you were 18? Did you have a ton of pressure on you that early in life? If so, how did you react? All I know is that I would hate hate hate to have been typecast (for lack of a better word) at the age of eighteen. Maybe it's time we lay off these kids a little bit.

Somebody asked me about Scott Gomez yesterday. Would he be a good fit on the Island? Well, sure. I think he'd be a very good player for the Islanders. A lot of the so-called experts think Gomez is fixing to have some kind of offensive outburst once he's freed from the Devils patient game plan. I've always thought he was a creative player who looks like he is having a great time on the ice. That sort of attitude can be infectious.

One red flag: Gomez has already won some Cups. Why is that a red flag? Well, after years of (perhaps) feeling offensively stunted in the New Jersey system of play and payroll, if I am Scott Gomez, I am looking to get paid. Does Gomer sell himself to the highest bidder regardless of playoff opportunity? Is he in it just for the money now that he has had some of the glory? Does that make him selfish? All questions that I would need to be able to answer for myself before I make any kind of offer to Gomez if I am Garth Snow; or any free agent for that matter. This is not to disparage the career of Scott Gomez either. It would just be a concern if I were the GM.

One guy I hope we stay away from is Paul Kariya. I just don't know that he has been the same since he got crushed by Gary Suter of the Flames a few years ago. Kariya was great in the 2002 Olympics for Canada but that was five years ago. I am sure everyone figured that he may end up back with the Ducks now that he has decided to leave the Nashville circus behind. If his good buddy Teemu Selanne retires, GM Brian Burke may have a good solution in Kariya. The champs have a lot of gritty youngsters on the roster who can do the dirty work so that a guy like Kariya can hang around the circles and score some goals.

Besides, we all know that Gomez is going to the Rangers and that Kariya will end up on the Maple Leafs anyway!

Greg Logan also reported that Tom Poti is going to test the waters. Can't blame him one bit after that contract the Flyers game Kimmo Timonen. Timonen is reportedly the second highest-paid player in the NHL right now. Wrap your head around that one for a minute. Kimmo Timonen, a guy even the most hearty of hockey fans probably couldn't pick out of a police lineup, is just behind the mulletless Jagr in pay as it stands right now. Guys like Tom Poti owe it to themselves to look around and see if they can get some of that six-million dollar pie. It would be pointless for the Islanders to overpay for a guy like Tom Poti--who I became a big fan of, by the way. But you need to proceed in a careful, calculated manner in free agency. Sure, you can go all Crazy Eddie like the Flyers--where the prices are INSAAANE!--or you can try to build a contending team without the potential salary headaches in the room from players who aren't pulling the rope with the rest of the guys. The Isles just got rid of that guy. No need to make another mistake.

I'd make some predictions but I am notoriously bad at this sort of thing and besides, I don't want to jinx anything. We'll see what happens Sunday and on Monday we'll have some sort of recap and/or update from the weekend on Monday. Hold onto your seats and cross your fingers.

Off-season Question #1:

Ryan Smyth? Jason Blake? Or, both? (WAIT--is that THREE questions?)

If anyone reading this has access to the flux capacitor, can you let me know? I'd like to go into the future to about August and find out how this all shakes down because waiting for it to happen is going to give me piles.

Both guys are unrestricted free agents for the first time in their careers. That means that for the first time, Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth have leverage. Think about that for a minute. It's got to be an honor to play in the NHL--there is no doubt about that. But for the first time maybe in their lives each man gets a chance to decide for himself where he wants to play his hockey. It has to be a staggering revelation for all hockey players. Most of these players have been drafted into situations out of their hands since they were teenagers. Now, they have a choice. And exploring that choice has to be daunting.

Jason Blake has been an Islander for six years. He was stolen from the Los Angeles Kings for a fifth-round pick. His career has done nothing but blossom on Long Island as his playing time increased. He's a competitive son of a gun who gutted through the playoffs with a bad arm after that from-behind hit by Teppo Numminen.

Ryan Smyth is Captain Canada. He played all of 24 games for the Islanders--and many of those with an injured knee! He has been the de-facto Captain of the team since he arrived. Some fans and some in the league think that the Islanders gave up a lot for him. I argue that Robert Nilsson; Ryan O'Marra; and a first-rounder were not enough for the guy if he gets resigned by the team. Neither of those players has what Smyth brings to the table. He's a leader through and through. He plays a gritty, tough game and gets his nose dirty. He sticks up for his boys and scores quite a bit. But he also offers those intangibles that separate him from other players with a similar skill set. He's heart-and-soul. The fact that his good buddy Mike Sillinger is on the team is a strong selling point. But, on the other hand, being a free agent like he is now is a rare opportunity to actually pick the city and situation that suits him and his family. The Islanders are a family-friendly organization. Smyth has said that he has been treated well. What's not to like?

The fact that Smyth played on an injured knee when he was entering free agency says so freaking much about how much he cares. How can you let a guy like him walk? The onus is on Ted Nolan and Garth Snow to make it known to Smyth and his family just how important he can be to the revitalization of the Islanders. And Smyth comes across as one of those guys who gets it. I expect Ryan sees the bigger picture in these kinds of situations. Because of that, for some reason, I think he understands that the team is desperate to field a winner. The contract of Rick DiPietro shows that the organization is committed to win. Now the Islanders brass just has to convince Ryan Smyth that he can be a big part of that.

When Michael Peca was traded to the Isles, he said that he wanted to be part of turning the franchise around. We now know that Peca was really all talk. What we have seen from Ryan Smyth is that he can walk the walk as well. Call me crazy, but I really, really he think that the Islanders are going to be able to keep him. At least, I am hoping so--very much hoping so.

Jason Blake has been characterized as a me-first player at times in his career. He's also shown an ability to piss off the players on his own team at times--let's remember that Roman Hamrlik once went headhunting on Blake during warm-ups a few years ago. Ted Nolan recently said that Jason has learned to be more of a leader and a better teammate. Blake also said in Newsday that you see guys who leave good situations for more money, "but are they really happy?"

Reading between the lines, Blakie wants to stay. I don't know if the Isles will be able to finagle it or not, but if you assign priority to players this off-season, Smyth is the first choice. I'd say that
signing Trent Hunter to something a little more long-term may be Job #2; since he is restricted. Perhaps Blake slides down to being #3. For a fifth-round draft pick who couldn't play on terrible Kings teams, being #3 ain't bad at all.

I would just hate hate hate to see a player like Jason Blake go for the money and get into a situation like Mark Parrish has been in since going home to Minnesota. Granted, Parrish isn't exactly the skater Blake is but Parrish has had to deal with a bit of the Golden Boy Goes Home-kind of thing where expectations are higher than reality may be.

Mike Sillinger!

2 huge points today in a game they needed to win in Philadelphia. Mad ups to Viktor Kozlov, who was using his big frame to create space today. Also, great hustle by Andy Hilbert. He scored the game-winner on a kamikaze run to the net on a feed from Marc Andre Bergeron.

We nned to mention that the Islanders' pro scouts have just done an excellent job this season. Think about the guys they brought in this year like Hilbert; Sean Hill; Kozlov; and even Tom Poti. I seem to recall a quote by Kenny Morrow when the Isles signed Tom Poti saying that he plays the perimeter game that the team had been missing in a long time. Man, I love watching him play. Nothing fazes the guy and he is always supremely confident on the puck. Poti also makes the correct play more times than most. What a solid, solid player.

With Bergeron, I've said it before: what the heck were the Oilers thinking? I know that sometimes when you see a player day-in and day-out that sometimes you can focus on what a guy doesn't do well versus what he does do. Bergeron can scare you on the defensive end sometimes but man, I love watching him on the power play. And he has really added that dimension that the Isles haven't had on the PP in years: The Big Shot of Death that everyone needs to be aware of. What an awesome pickup by Garth Snow.

Which brings us to Mike Sillinger. Sillinger has been everything Michael Peca was supposed to be for the Islanders. For instance--as if anyone needs any more evidence to prove his value--the FSNY cameras picked up a great shot of Sillinger; Blakey; and Ryan Smyth drawing plays on the dasher because none of them were happy with their communication on the power play. The leader that he is, Sillinger brought the other guys to him and they hashed the thing out. Rather than sit and complain, Sillinger gets the guys together to go over where they all need to be. A freaking genius. He wins faceoffs and plays in every situation. Sillinger also is respected by all of the guys in the room and adds to the leadership that surrounds and props up Alexei Yashin. The man is worth his weight in gold. Seriously.

Panthers 8 Islanders 5

Ugly-ass game tonight in South Florida.

Mike Sillinger had two goals and two assists. Ryan Smyth had his best game as an Islander with two goals and a helper. And miraculously, both players were minus-2! But check this out:

Sean Hill: -4
Miro Satan: -5 and benched for most of the second period. Minus five!
Brendan Witt: -3
Viktor Kozlov: -2 and he only played just over 5 minutes!

You know the feeling you get when you have the flu and you don't know whether you're going to shit yourself or throw up? Well, I have that feeling right now. And I bet Mike Dunham does too. Dunham--who I don't think you can say is still rusty after Ricky played all those games in a row--played a game that he'd like to forget real, real soon. He was so bad that you have to wonder whether or not Teddy Nolan calls the bullpen and starts Wade Dubielewicz on Tuesday in Tampa. Panic move? Maybe it is. But maybe we need to panic right now.

Every time the Islanders scored, the Panthers came right back to answer. It was just a terrible display out there tonight in a game the team really needed. And to see Olli Jokinen go 2 and 3 for an amazing plus-6 is sickening. I wonder what Oleg Kvasha was doing tonight? Mark Parrish?

The Rangers put up a touchdown on the Bruins and their constipated-looking coach, Dave Lewis. Lewis is probably out of answers right now. So the Bruins seem to be falling off.

Montreal picked up two points tonight by taking the shootout from the Leafs and Darcy Tucker; who choked on it when he could have given the Leafs the shootout win. Still, as nice as it is to see failure on Tucker's part, it is as sad to see the Islanders failing to rally behind Dunham. We need Ricky back as soon as is possible--general body soreness or not.

Scott Morrison on the CBC Satellite Hotstove said that the rumor is that Ricky's is pretty concussed and had a nasty gash on his neck from the collision with Steve Begin. Let's hope we see a healed DiPietro on Thursday night.

Ryan Smyth on the Cover of Hockey News

The Smyth-Mattingly Correlation

A lot of people have asked me to put the deal for Ryan Smyth into a baseball perspective, so here goes.

The Oilers trading Ryan Smyth to the Islanders would have been like the Yankees trading Don Mattingly to the Dodgers.

Broken down scientifically, it goes like this:

To begin, look at it like this. The Yankees and Dodgers had championship history. So do the Islanders and Oilers.

Both men were links to an era just after their respective teams' glory days. Smyth came along in 1994 after the Oilers Cup years and after Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles. Mattingly came a few years after the 1977 and 1978 Bronx Zoo Yankees and after the 1981 strike season.

Both guys were essentially the faces of their franchises through tough, lean years with very little postseason success. Since Mattingly only made the playoffs in his last season, Smyth would be the winner in this race since the Oilers made the finals last year.

Since both came after the dynasty years, Smyth and Mattingly became the one home-grown player that the fans of each team could rally around. It was almost like saying, "As long as we have Donnie or Smitty, things are going to be okay" because they transcended the mediocrity of the franchises. They brought hope when the team was terrible in the way that fans could always wish for one or two players to surround the centerpiece and turn the fortunes around.

Mattingly is still loved by Yankee fans because of how he carried himself with such pride and assurance that made you root for him. Think about it -- even many of the most-hardened Red Sox fans would tell you that they liked and respected Mattingly for the way he went about is business -- especially during the years that Steinbrenner was clearly out of his nut and firing managers and secretaries left and right. In the all of the fracases, with his head held high, Donnie Baseball stood above all of the crap. Well, to Edmonton, Ryan Smyth always carried himself the same, noble way. Smyth is one of those people who "gets it"-- a humble, homegrown kid made good who did his best for the fans and his town hurt, sick, or healthy. Smyth also gets points from the Canadian fans and media for always answering the bell when his nation came calling for international duty; whether it was the World Championships; the World Cup; or, the Olympics. That is why he is referred to as Captain Canada. He is the personification of a proud Canadian boy. And somehow, Kevin Lowe did not want to reward the loyalty Smyth had shown the organization. That is why the trade has kicked the Oilers fan base between the legs much harder than when Chris Pronger let his wife lead him out of town. Ryan Smyth was Their Guy.

Now, according to Newsday, Smyth is on the Island. He arrived last night and was picked up in a limo and met by coach Ted Nolan. He'll practice this morning, have some press availability this noon, and will make his debut tonight as the team takes on St. Louis. We know he is going to be welcomed overwhelmingly. Just wait until he hears the appreciative fans chant his name. Then he will know that he is home. The good old Canadian boy from Alberta who married a girl from Saskatchewan will quickly learn that he is wanted and appreciated.