New York Islanders For Life!

Ryan Dixon
The Hockey News

The era of Mark Streit, swingman, is over. And the Swiss – get ready for it – defenseman couldn't be happier.

"I play 100 percent, full-time defenseman so I'm happy with that," said Streit, now 28 games into his New York Islanders career after joining them as a free agent last summer. "That's one of the big reasons I signed with the Islanders and obviously it was always my goal to play as a defenseman."

Last year, when Streit was among the top-scoring rearguards in the league with Montreal, people were quick to attach an asterisk beside his name because he wasn't exclusively a defenseman.

Streit always manned the point on the Canadiens' potent power play, but often took his regular shift as a forward on the third or fourth line.

"In Montreal I was kind of in and out; played on the power play as a defenseman, but other than that I was the joker a little bit - wherever they needed me, they put me," Streit said.

Streit parlayed a 62-point season and the fact he was a key member of the league's No. 1 power play last season into a five-year deal to play on Long Island for $4.1 million annually. Some thought it was a case of paying racehorse money to a one-trick pony who would find it much tougher to flourish now that he wasn't surrounded by such talented teammates.

That notion can be safely heaved out the window.

Through Tuesday night's action, Streit sat seventh in league scoring among defensemen, one spot ahead of Chicago's $57-million man Brian Campbell and further up the charts than the likes of Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Pronger.

Make no mistake; Streit's production is still rooted in the power play. In fact, his 14 man-advantage points is tops among all blueliners and accounts for 70 percent of his 20 total points. Streit has six goals this year and none of them have come at even strength (five on the power play, one shorthanded).

Yes, Streit is minus-6, but he also plays for a team that gives up the third-most goals per game and has produced the fewest 5-on-5 markers of any NHL team this season with just 35.

Look beyond the numbers and you'll see a guy who's working game in and game out to shed the 'specialist' label. And he's getting plenty of opportunities to do it, thanks to the fact he plays roughly 25 minutes a game, almost five minutes more than any other Islander.

"He's established that he is a defenseman," said Islanders coach Scott Gordon. "I think coming into the year there was a little bit of uncertainty, not from knowing (if he could do it), but just from the perception of him playing defense mostly on the power play and being the odd guy in and out of the lineup as a defenseman.

"What he's done now is he's been able to perform as a defenseman full time and not just be an offensive guy, but be a guy who can kill penalties and he's played, at times, against other teams' top lines. I think he really has shown he's more than just a power play specialist."

Labels: Mark Streit, New York Islanders, The Hockey News

This week The Hockey News released it's annual list of NHL Logo Rankings. At NYIForLife.com we decided to list our own thoughts and compare with The Hockey News. What do you think?

THN RANK.	LOGO	TEAM	Bill	Linzi
1		Chicago Blackhawks	2. No doubts here.	13. Traditional.
2		Detroit Red Wings	1. This classic is the winner.	5. Looks like it would make a great tattoo!.
3		Montreal Canadiens	6. The standard-bearer for winning in the NHL.	4. Classic timeless design. One of my favorites.
4		Boston Bruins	5. The spokes are great and the colors are too.	11. Not exciting, but classic logo.
5		St. Louis Blues	17. THN is crazy to rank this so highly.	12. Stylish, nice colors.
6		Philadelphia Flyers	8. The fans would revolt if this was changed.	23. Eh.... I didn't even notice it was a flying P with wings!
7		Minnesota Wild	11. Maybe it's me, but for the longest time I had no idea it was an animal's profile.	9. Cleverly designed and attractive logo. First time I've actually looked at it close up.
8		San Jose Sharks	13. Another big seller.	3. Every week is Shark Week!
9		Pittsburgh Penguins	12. Cartoony but not lame at all. I've always liked the penguin.	10. This Penguin looks pretty friendly. Oh, and I like Penguins! Who doesn't?
10		Toronto Maple Leafs	7. Classic logo.	6. Nothing wrong with this one. Perfect in any color.
11		New York Islanders	3 .I've been drawing this logo for 30 years. Love it.	1. Of course! I live with Mr. NYIForLife.com
12		Calgary Flames	4. This is one that can't be improved upon. Loved it the first time I saw it.	2. Classic and visually exciting.
13		Phoenix Coyotes	21. Bark at the moon!	20. Woooooooo.
14		Nashville Predators	25. Looks like Denis Leary's character from "Ice Age" to me.	25. This pre-historic relic belongs in a museum not on a hockey jersey.
15		Edmonton Oilers	18. If Gretz never wore this crest, everyone would rank it lower.	24. Needs updating... let's bring this one back from the 70s.
16		New York Rangers	9. Pretty standard but also legendary. About average for my biased tastes.	30. Ok, it's not that bad, but they are the Rangers.
17		Vancouver Canucks	27. I get the whale and I get the C, but together, not much else.	19. Something missing from this design.
18		Florida Panthers	26. Just completely horrible. Is it leaping at me or is it supposed to be 3-D?	29. This kitteh just wants to give you a hug.
19		Colorado Avalanche	16. This needs updating. I don't have any ideas, but it needs something.	16. Attractive. Nice and safe.
20		New Jersey Devils	10. Classic and understated.	7. Cute... kinda 70s. So it'll be in style this fall.
21		Atlanta Thrashers	15. Don't care if it is the state bird or not.	21. Angry little hockey bird gets a penalty for high sticking.....
22		Washington Capitals	14. A newer take on the classic Washington logo.	17. Nice solid logo. Points for including a hockey stick in the logo.
23		Dallas Stars	19. Pretty standard fare here.	18. Like THN says "It’s a big star and it says ‘Stars.’"
24		Columbus Blue Jackets	28. Better than it was, but still nothing that would inspire me to buy a jersey.	8. Nice, but it looks like it belongs in the AHL.
25		Los Angeles Kings	29. Just plain ugly. Stupid and ugly.	28. Bleah. Reminds me of Prince John from the Disney classic Robin Hood.
26		Ottawa Senators	22. Love the color scheme but not this creepy brushy-helmeted dude.	15. Not a huge fan of this logo, but it looks good on the jerseys.
27		Tampa Bay Lightning	20. Nothing to it, really. Boring.	27. Sponsored by the Weather Channel?
28		Buffalo Sabres	24. Couldn't they just call a do-over and go back to the old Perrault-era crest?	14. Looks fresh.
29		Carolina Hurricanes	23. Still looks like a dish soap logo to me.	26. Looks like a washing powder logo. Get's your whites really white!
30		Anaheim Ducks	30. The old logo was crap and the purple was atrocious, but this isn't much better.	22. I agree with THN, this looks like a font. Much easier on the eyes than their last logo though.