I might be late coming to the party on this but I figured some of you folks might have missed it, too. A Dec. 20 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune says Islander GM Garth Snow convinced top prospect Kyle Okposo to sign with the team by telling him his coach at the University of Minnesota, Don Lucia, wasn’t doing a good job.
“Quite frankly, we weren’t happy with the program there,” Snow told the paper. “They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that.”
“(Okposo) just wasn’t getting better — bottom line. And to me, that’s the frustrating part. We entrusted the coach there to turn him into a better hockey player, and it wasn’t happening.”
The Islanders on Dec. 28 signed Okposo to a three-year deal that could be worth as much as $2.55 million, depending on certain bonus provisions, according to published reports.
In response to Snow’s charges, Lucia told the Start Tribune “I believe our staff does an excellent job of developing our players on and off the ice.
Thanks to Paul Harris’s column at USA Today for pointing out the Star Tribune story.
Just posted to NewYorkIslanders.com is the team’s 2007-08 Opening Day lineup. Noticeably absent is training camp invitee Bryan Berard who looked really good during the pre-season. There are two hurdles to Berard joining the Isles - 1) someone has to be bumped off the roster to make room for Berard, and 2) the Isles and Berard need to work out a contract. The bigger problem is hurdle #1 because Gervais and Campoli (the most likely candidates to get bumped) would have to clear NHL waivers before the Isles could assign them to Bridgeport. The Isles have plenty of cap space, so hurdle #2 isn’t that big of a deal. Hopefully the team is trying to figure out a solution to hurdle #1, while they work with Berard on a contract.
Also of note is Jeff Tambellini headed to Bridgeport again.
GOALTENDERS (2)
34 Wade Dubielewicz
39 Rick DiPietro
DEFENSEMEN (8)
2 Aaron Johnson
8 Bruno Gervais
14 Chris Campoli
24 Radek Martinek
25 Andy Sutton
32 Brendan Witt
44 Freddy Meyer
47 Marc-Andre Bergeron
FORWARDS (13)
7 Trent Hunter
10 Richard Park
11 Andy Hilbert
12 Chris Simon (eligible to return Oct. 13)
13 Bill Guerin
16 Jon Sim
18 Mike Sillinger
20 Sean Bergenheim
26 Ruslan Fedotenko
27 Darryl Bootland
63 Josef Vasicek
81 Miroslav Satan
89 Mike Comrie
17 Shawn Bates (injured)
[Update] Islanders beat writer Greg Logan from Newsday provides this update on his blog. According to Logan, Gervais can be sent down without having to clear waivers.
Free agent defenseman Bryan Berard remains unsigned, but that might change later today. It’s possible GM Garth Snow might be trying to trade Meyer to make room for the possible signing of Berard. It’s also still possible Gervais could be sent down to Bridgeport. Among the forwards, Jeff Tambellini was sent back to Bridgeport after failing to make the second scoring line.
Woah! Slow down Garth, I can’t keep up. The Islanders have announced the signing of Mike Comrie fomerly with the Ottawa Senators, to a one year deal for $3.375 million.
On the heels of adding four-time NHL Star-Bill Guerin, the Islanders have signed center MIKE COMRIE to a one-year contract. The 26-year old Comrie had 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points in 65 games last season with Phoenix and Ottawa. In the Senators’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in June, the Edmonton native had four goals and two assists in 20 games.
Year/Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM
2000-01 EDM 41 8 14 22 6 14
2001-02 EDM 82 33 27 60 16 45
2002-03 EDM 69 20 31 51 -18 90
2003-04 PHI 21 4 5 9 2 12
2003-04 PHO 28 8 7 15 -8 16
2005-06 PHO 80 30 30 60 2 55
2006-07 PHO 24 7 13 20 1 20
2006-07 OTT 41 13 12 25 -1 24
Career 386 123 139 262 0 276
While Guerin is going to get all the headlines, James Mirtle reports the Islanders signed two other players today.
The New York Islanders have finally started to fill out their roster, signing Bill Guerin and netminder Joey MacDonald today.
Guerin, who has averaged 54 points per year the past four seasons, somehow finagled a two-year, $9-million deal and will be 37 later this year. This is his fifth team since leaving Edmonton in 2001.
MacDonald’s a nice option as a backup as he played well in Boston last season.
UPDATE It looks like mammoth defenceman Matthew Spiller has signed with the team as well, although that’s pending some sort of official announcement.
Breaking news, hot off the presses at TSN.ca.
The New York Islanders today signed veteran forward Bill Guerin to a two-year contract worth $4.5 million a year.
Guerin played in 77 games with the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks in 2006-07, recording 36 goals and 56 points with 66 penalty minutes.
Guerin signed a one-year contract with St. Louis last summer and was traded to the Sharks at the trade deadline for a first round draft pick in 2007, Ville Nieminen and Jay Barriball.
Guerin was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, fifth overall, in the 1989 entry draft. The 36-year-old has played in more than 1,000 NHL games during his 15-year career with New Jersey, Edmonton, Boston, Dallas and St. Louis, recording 364 goals and 719 points.
Year/Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM
1991-92 NJ 5 0 1 1 1 9
1992-93 NJ 65 14 20 34 14 63
1993-94 NJ 81 25 19 44 14 101
1994-95 NJ 48 12 13 25 6 72
1995-96 NJ 80 23 30 53 7 116
1996-97 NJ 82 29 18 47 -2 95
1997-98 NJ 19 5 5 10 0 13
1997-98 EDM 40 13 16 29 1 80
1998-99 EDM 80 30 34 64 7 133
1999-00 EDM 70 24 22 46 4 123
2000-01 EDM 21 12 10 22 11 18
2000-01 BOS 64 28 35 63 -4 122
2001-02 BOS 78 41 25 66 -1 91
2002-03 DAL 64 25 25 50 5 113
2003-04 DAL 82 34 35 69 14 109
2005-06 DAL 70 13 27 40 0 115
2006-07 SJ 16 8 1 9 2 14
2006-07 STL 61 28 19 47 8 52
Career 1026 364 355 719 87 1439
After just 48 hours of UFA signings saw the Islanders lose four players, sign just one 3rd-liner, and watched our division rivals add some of the biggest names on the UFA market, all is NOT well in Uniondale. From the NY Islanders Country message board, to the IslanderFans.com message board, and even Islanders Army’s own comment section, the reaction from fans has not been positive. People are calling the Islanders’ offices to complain, others are canceling season tickets, and others are calling Snow and Wang unprintable names.
Since yesterday’s “Patience” press release did little to soothe the masses, today the Islanders brought out the big guns…The Boss!
We believed that Garth made the right moves and that Ted got everything he could out of the players sitting in front of him on the bench and when he couldn’t, well, those guys didn’t play or received significantly less ice time. We believed that Garth and Ted had a plan for the future and weren’t going to waiver from that plan.
Since July 1st the plan hasn’t changed. We want players that want to play on Long Island and who will show what we all think Long Island deserves. A team that goes out every night with the right attitude, grit, character and dedication, to themselves, their teammates and fans. We tried to sign 2 of those players who fit exactly that mold. Unfortunately those 2 players chose to play out West instead of here. Whatever their reasons were, it does not matter anymore. What matters is that Garth and Ted are sticking to their guns and will not change their course of thinking.
Will it work to calm down fans? Probably not. But hey, we’re suckers for any Bossy-related news.
The Ryan Smyth era is over in Long Island. Unlike in Edmonton, there was no press conference and no tearful goodbye from Smyth this time. Instead it is us, loyal Islanders fans who are left crying over prospects and draft picks we traded away for Smyth, and our other UFA’s we neglected to sign because we thought we could sign Smyth.
Snow and Wang bet the house on #94 but the wheel came up double-zeros. Jim Baumbach at Newsday.com sums it up nicely.
You can give the Islanders credit for acting boldly and aggressively at the trade deadline. They traded for the best player available in the hopes of (a) a long playoff run, and/or (b) convincing Ryan Smyth to sign a long-term contract.
But if you’re going to put the future of your franchise on the line for such a move, you need to be certain that one of those things is going to happen. Of course neither did, putting yet another forgettable chapter in the Islanders history books.
Do you hear that sound in the distance? I think that’s laughter coming from Alexei Yashin’s Old Westbury estate.
The Islanders decision-makers must have woken up this morning in serious damage-control mode. The player they so desperately wanted to build around – Smyth – spurned them, big-time. He was en route to Denver this morning, around the same time the Islanders were probably scratching their heads.
So the Islanders have nothing to show for the two prospects, Robert Nilsson and Ryan O’Marra, and the 2007 first-round selection that they sent to Edmonton for Smyth. That’s a steep price to pay for what proved to be a rental player.
Of couse, there was an actual press conference yesterday, except it was in Colorado, where everyone was all smiles. Smyth even put on a good show and said all the right things about the Islanders organization when asked…without crying.
Question: Ryan, the sacrifices the Islanders made to get you, did you feel any duty or loyalty to them based on the chances they took to acquire you?
Smyth: That’s a great question because what they gave up at the trade deadline to acquire me. Right from the get-go, they treated us with a great deal of respect. They gave us every opportunity to want to come back there. I have a great deal of respect for that organization. I think for what went on at the start of the year, with Garth Snow taking over and Teddy Nolan head coach, they just treated us well. Yeah, it played a little bit of a role. They were right there to the bitter end. We were back-and-forth with a few different teams and obviously Colorado. I hope nothing but the best for them. They have a bright future of young players in their organization. I really do thank them for what they did.
Don’t feel so bad buddy, at least you got 2 prospects and a draft pick out of the deal.
This is it. The last time I mention Ryan Smyth until he returns to the Coliseum in an Avalanche jersey and we boo him every time he touches the puck.
Newsday’s Greg Logan has an article in the paper today and a couple of blog posts on yesterday’s UFA action.
Most interesting is the $$$ (isn’t it always?). Smyth signed in Colorado for less than the Islanders offered and meanwhile the Islanders lowballed every other UFA we had and lost out on them.
Ryan Smyth, who generated so much excitement when Islanders general manager Garth Snow acquired him from Edmonton at the trade deadline, spurned their five-year offer worth $32.5 million. Instead, Smyth agreed to a five-year deal for $31.25 million with Colorado that would return him to the Western Conference.
Coming off a career-best 40-goal season, Blake signed a five-year deal worth $20 million with Toronto that actually exceeded his asking price with the Islanders by $2 million. Snow is believed to have offered three years for $10 million.
After topping the Islanders in ice time and assists, Poti was offered a three-year deal by the Islanders for close to $10 million, but Washington stepped up with a four-year deal worth $14 million.
Kozlov also enjoyed a career-best 25-goal season with the Islanders, but he was offered only a modest raise over his previous one-year deal for $865,000. The Caps went to $5 million for two years. Florida gave Zednik $3.25 million for two years.
I just got back from the Hockey Long Island Men’s League D1 Championship. The Long Island Hex are your 2007 Spring Champions!! Woo!
While I was gone, it seems half the Islanders roster made a break for the door…
No major news to report yet, but NewYorkIslanders.com lets us know that GM Garth Snow and Pro Scouting Director Ken Morrow punched in nice and early to work this morning.
Negotiations with Smyth continue; Snow preparing offers for both top-tier and depth free agents
By 7:00 this morning, Islanders general manager Garth Snow and pro scouting director Ken Morrow were holed up in Snow’s office at the Coliseum, completely prepared for the opening of the free agency market at noon. Also inside the Coliseum is head coach Ted Nolan, while all of Snow’s pro scouts are just a phone call away.
“We’re ready,” said Snow. “We’re ready for every scenario, anything that comes up. We have our depth chart, our list of priorities. No matter what transpires in the first 24 hours or even in the course of the next few weeks, we’re very confident we’ll put the pieces together for a team our fans are going to love.”
The Islanders’ wish list is deep: at least two top-six forwards, a top-four defenseman and depth for both the Islanders and the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. “It’s a big list, no doubt,” said Morrow. “But that will be the case with more than half the teams in the NHL every summer. With the new CBA and earlier free agency, there’s always going to be a lot of roster turnover. The key is to make smart decisions and be patient when it’s necessary. I’m excited about it.”
