Letters! We get letters! (Well, a few anyway.)

It's been a long time since I did the old mailbag, so why not now?
Here's a bushel basket of replies from the home office in West Hartford,
CT (via Middletown, CT) & thanks to everyone who has written in or left
comments. As always, I can be reached at nyiforlife (at) yahoo.com.

BLAKE55--Yes, it's true Jason is having a tough season in Toronto and
yes, I bet every morning he wakes up that he wishes he was back with the
Islanders and away from the Toronto media circus. Simply put, however,
the lack of scoring by our boys may not have been appreciably better if
Blake had remained an Islander. He year-to-date stats translate to a
projected 14 goal season. At what he is making, I'm sorry, but that is
a bust after potting 40 last season.

Viktor Kozlov is projecting to a seven goal season. He's really
lighting it up in Washington with 4 goals so far this year, eh? Did
that in one game vs. the Rangers last year. His Caps teammate, Tom
Poti, was a minus-1 player and had 44 points for the Islanders. This
season he's projected at minus-sixteen and 24 points. Maybe that is why
he was booed by Ranger fans when he played at MSG.

What does this all mean? Well, it means that Ted Nolan is a pretty damn
good coach who knows how to get what he can out of his players. But if
you take the numbers as they are and add them to the NYI roster, you can
see that the new teams these players are on are simply not getting what
they paid for. I mean, Kozlov is projecting Andy Hilbert numbers at
four times Hilbert's salary. Doesn't add up.


Philly--I still think Forsberg ends up with the Flyers or Colorado if he
comes back. Last thing I read was that he dropped out of a tournament
in December when his feet weren't yet comfortable in his skates. He has
since had another procedure and is going to be going to camp with Team
Sweden very soon. If he thinks he is fit and can withstand the rigors
of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he will find many suitors in the NHL.
Sixteen of them, perhaps.


Shazbot--Thanks for the kind words about the wrestling reviews. I will
try to get more of the WWE 24/7 programming reviews up on the site when
I can. I like to use the site more for my hockey writing than anything
else because that's how I roll.

I feel that it is hard to compare the Bret Hart book to the Chris
Jericho book because of the different tone each takes. Jericho's is
more like Mick Foley's writing in that both guys are funny and are using
the humor to help them describe what it was like to realize their
dreams. Bret's book is serious as heck throughout. Sure, there are
passages where you can almost see that sideways smirk of his but most of
it is laid out in a no-nonsense kind of way. (Search this site for my
review, keyword Bret Hart.)

Saying that, both are worth reading. If I were to read them again, I'd
reach for the Hart book first.

And no, I haven't seen the Best of RAW DVD yet. All I know is that
Stone Cold whacking Vince with the bed pan simply has to be on there.


Ron--Glad you asked about the NHL Network. I would suggest calling your
cable operator as soon as you can. I know that it is available to
Comcast digital subscribers but I am not sure if it is on some kind of
programming tier or not. You didn't hear it from me but I would also
recommend making many DVDs for summer viewing. That's my advice.


Lastly, I want to recommend John Buccigross' interview with the dean of
NHL TV, John Shannon. You can find it at the link above.

Also, a big ol' uppercase THANK YOU to John for asking about the audio
of the NHL game presentations. They really, really need to work on
that. The FSN crew is guilty of not miking the crowds in a way that is
not indicative of the genuine crowd reaction at the games. Watch
anything on the NHL Network from the 1980s and you can hear the passion
and excitement in the building. We need to get that juice back on TV.

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.

End of first period: Islanders 1 Devils 0

Gotta love the Center Ice package. We get the Devils announcers and not the regular Islanders crew. You know, for the biggest game all season you want to habe the announcers of the team that is already in the playoffs.

First impressions: I forgot how much Steve "Decidedly Not Doc" Cangialosi looks like Deuce Bigelow. He used to give me piles whenever I would watch Metrostars games. Now he is stinking up the hockey game.

Chico Resch is the man. He always has reminded me of that favorite uncle of yours that is a bit absent minded but always well meaning. He is always pleasant and excited. But that toupee...

Chico did have a great line when Tom Poti whiffed on a bouncing puck. He said something approxomating "Poti thought that he had half a net (to shoot at) but he had none of the puck." It was funnier that it reads, I swear.

I wonder if the people in Toronto are up-in-arms with Scott Clemmensen in net and not Marty Brodeur. Remember: just because Marty is sitting it out that it doesn't mean that the Devils aren't going to win. I have to admit to a perverse thrill knowing that the Toronto media is now devising their own conspiracy theories as I type this.

The Isles came out with great jump. That had to be expected with their backs against the wall. The Islanders goal was scored by Barnacle Boy himself, Richard Park. Another great effort by Park.

See you after the second...