We’re one month into the 2007-2008 season and we figured it’s time to take a look at how some of the ex-Islanders and their successors are faring. While we recognize it is way too early to make any concrete judgments based on the numbers, we were still curious to see the stats. We’ll be updating this information a few times during the course of the season.
The Old
Player G A Pts +/-
Jason Blake, TOR 2 11 13 3
Ryan Smyth, COL 5 4 9 2
Viktor Kozlov, WAS 2 5 7 0
Aaron Asham, NJ 3 2 5 0
The New
Player G A Pts +/-
Mike Comrie, NYI 5 6 11 -3
Bill Guerin, NYI 4 6 10 -2
Ruslan Fedotenko, NYI 3 5 8 -1
Josef Vasicek, NYI 3 1 4 -3
Boot camp is back in session here at IslandersArmy and we’re here to give you some 2008 Season Predictions. Murph will probably bounce back with his own take later on. For the time being, you’re stuck with me and my busted up, broken crystal ball.
Atlantic Division
1. Pittsburgh Penguins - Sid the Kid leads a potent offensive attack on a team that should only improve with another season’s experience under their belts. While the scoring should come fast and furious, the big key is likely to be netminder Marc-Andre Fluery. Fleury surprised a lot of people by going an awesome 40-16 with a 2.83 GAA last year. Can he do it again? Another big question is how will the young Pens handle the expectations?
2. New York Rangers - As usual, these guys are loaded. The arrival of Chris Drury and Scott Gomez will bring more energy and skill to an offense that should have tallied more goals than it did last year. Henrik Lundqvist should turn in another good year. Two questions that need answering - can Lundqvist play big for a full season and how long will it take Drury and Gomez to gel with new teamates and a new system? Also, why do the Rangers Suck so bad?
3. New Jersey Devils, aka the Brent Sutter All-Stars - I’m going to have a soft spot for these guys all season. Sutter was a very good Islander and by all indications is a great guy. I don’t plan on rooting against him much. The Devs lost a couple of big names, Gomez and Brian Rafalski, but will still win their share of games thanks to future Hall of Fame keeper Martin Brodeur. I actually predicted the Devils would go to the Finals last year on Brodeur’s back. Big surprise - I was wrong. That said, Brodeur is still one of the best and Jersey has a track record for changing its parts without derailing the team’s effectiveness. They’ll be around all year and by the time the postseason rolls out, a dangerous team if Brodeur is on one of his streaks.
4. New York Islanders - RIP Jason Blake, Ryan Smyth, Aaron Asham, Viktor Kozlov, Sean Hill, and Tom Poti. Thanks for playing. Oh, Alexei Yashin is also gone but damn if that ain’t a big, fat positive. Alexei, if you are reading this, it ain’t personal but you had to go. Actually, I know it is personal for a lot of Islander fans. A lot of money and expectations came with your signing a few years back, followed by a host of first-round exits. The divorce should have actually happened a couple of years ago. Better late then never. The Isles turn to Bill Guerin to be their new leader on offense. Bill plays hard, plays the game right, but is kind of old and has never really carried a big team on his own. He’s just not one of those guys. This season is really going to rest on the play of the $67-Million-Dollar-Man, my goalie and yours, Rick DiPietro. A big season and the Isles can grab that eighth spot and maybe make some noise. Fingers crossed.
5. Philadelphia Flyers - They shouldn’t be as awful as last season but they are still bad. Philly brought in a crop of new players and will hand the keys to the net to Martin Biron for a full season. They should be more competitive but don’t confuse them with the big Flyer teams from earlier this decade. Them, these guys ain’t.
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.
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.”
Going, going…
An update from Kuklas Korner says Smyth’s agent was just on Leafs Lunch (Toronto sportsradio show) and that Smyth will test the market.
Don Meehan, agent for Ryan Smyth was just on Leafs Lunch. A once in a lifetime opportunity for Smyth to see what his value is. The Islanders have made an offer, but Smyth wants to see what he is worth on the open market.
Also, cap numbers have been set, Ceiling is $50.3M and floor is $34M and maybe some change.
Disappointing, but not unexpected. I’m sure the Islanders offer is still on the table, but they are about to have lots of competition. Plus you have to figure if Smyth really wanted to stay on Long Island, he would have taken Wang’s best offer by now. I think Smyth may have just become the Islanders most expensive rental player in team history. Three first round picks for 18 regular season games and 5 playoff games.
Garth, before you leave the office tonight, make sure you have Briere and Drury agent’s phone numbers saved on your cell.
Which of these two men would you rather say “no” to?With less than 72 hours until Ryan Smyth and all the other NHL Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) hit the market, TSN is reporting the Islanders are preparing one last mega-deal to persuade Smyth to sign before the July 1st UFA market opens up.
There is a strong sense the Islanders are about to hit the 31-year-old with an offer he may not be able to refuse.
Speculation suggests the Isles are preparing an offer above $6-million per year over a 7 - 8 year term.
Since day one of the trade, the Islanders have said they were serious about keeping Smyth on Long Island. Considering all they gave up to get Smyth, it’s good to see the effort they are making to keep him here. Unfortunately the ultimate decision is not up to them, and even a blank check from Wang might not be good enough to keep Smyth here. At this point, I can’t imagine Smyth not at least testing the market to see what other offers are out there. I think there will be a good amount of news to report on next week.
A little bit of Isles news/rumors from Greg Logan’s On the Islanders Beat blog.
Negotiations between Islanders general manager Garth Snow and the agent for left wing Ryan Smyth should begin in another week or two, but it will rank as a major upset if the Isles sign Smyth before he has a chance to sample the NHL free-agent market on July 1.
That doesn’t mean the Islanders are out of the running for Smyth. Far from it. It just means they are likely to have a lot of competition.
Meehan’s answer seemed to suggest it’s unlikely Smyth will sign until he has heard all the offers. Unless he fell in love with the Islanders in his brief stay lasting 18 regular-season games and a first-round playoff loss, it would make business sense for Smyth to see what all his options are on July 1. Most likely, he could count on serious offers from upwards of a dozen teams.
But who knows? As much as Snow, coach Ted Nolan and owner Charles Wang want Smyth, maybe their offer still will be the best in the end. Since it doesn’t appear the Islanders are going to sign 40-goal scorer Jason Blake, Smyth is the main object of their desire. If it appears he’s going elsewhere, they likely would go hard after Buffalo center Chris Drury along with the rest of the NHL.
Smyth testing the market isn’t much of a surprise. Wang’s going to have to dig deep to keep him here. However if Drury is the backup plan, I’m all for that idea too!
Newsday Islanders’ beat writer Greg Logan wraps up 2006-07 in a long post on his “On The Islanders Beat” blog. It’s a long post covering Smyth, Blake, DP, Yashin and more. Check it out, a couple of excerpts are below.
RYAN SMYTH: You might have seen these comments previously on the Islanders’ web site, but I found it interesting when Smyth spoke about his contact with former greats Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier before leaving. In particular, Smyth recalled a passage from Wayne Gretzky’s book about the scene in the locker room area at Nassau Coliseum after the Isles swept Edmonton, 4-0, to win their last Stanley Cup in 1983.
“It’s pretty special, actually,” Smyth said. “I came from the west side, knowing all those Oilers, and now, getting to meet the other side. I still remember when Gretz wrote in his book the fact that, when he walked down this hall, they were on ice bags. They weren’t even celebrating when they beat [the Oilers]. They knew how hard it was to win and what it took to win. That’s the reflection you get when you see the other side of it and how they deal with everyday life. It’s a great opportunity to get to know them all.”
That history might be meaningless to many hockey free agents, but I think Smyth honestly appreciated it. Whether it’s enough to convince him to return, I don’t know. But Marc-Andre Bergeron, another former Oiler and a friend of Smyth’s seemed to like his experience on Long Island and to think Smyth did, too.
“It’s been great,” Bergeron said of his own time with the Isles. “Right from the get-go when I was traded here, I talked with Garth, and he made me feel really confident about coming down here. He made sure I was comfortable. The players and the staff made it easy to adjust. That’s the biggest part. They showed me confidence on the ice, and I took advantage…I’m closer to home [in Quebec]. I’ve got friends coming down here. I’m in New York, so, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Of course, Smyth’s heart is far away in Edmonton, where he grew up as a kid in Alberta rooting for the Oilers. But when I asked Bergeron how he thought Smyth liked the Island, he said: “I think he likes it. I know he likes it. So, it’s a matter of having a deal that will make him happy.”
JASON BLAKE: It would be surprising to me if Blake signs before July 1 when the free agent market opens. It’s in his best interest to see if there’s a team that will blow him away with a big-money offer. He is coming off a career season of 40 goals despite playing with a wide variety of linemates that went from Alexei Yashin to Viktor Kozlov to Randy Robitaille. He proved in the second half of the season that he wasn’t just a beneficiary of Yashin’s hot start. If anything, it might have been the other way around.
As much as the Islanders need Blake’s speed, he actually might fit in better elsewhere with a team that places more of a priority on speed. “Is there a better fit out there?” Blake asked. “I don’t know that. For me, I’ve been here for six years; I’ve made a home here, I’m comfortable here, I know everyone in the organization, I know Charles and Mike Milbury and now Garth’s the GM. We’ve done a lot to make it successful. Is there a better fit? I’ll never know that unless I do go somewhere else. I’ll be 34 at the start of next year, and I want to win. It’s not necessarily about money. It’s being happy, and I want to win. Hopefully, that’s here.”
Interestingly, Blake said he and Rick DiPietro both tried to sell Smyth on the advantages of Long Island.
FAQs: Q: What are the chances of 2006 No. 1 pick Kyle Okposo leaving the University of Minnesota after his freshman year to join the Isles?
A: “That decision could come by the summer,” Snow said. “It’s not a rush. We’re not putting any pressure on from the organizational side of things. It’s something Kyle and his family have to talk about. It’s a big change in lifestyle.”
Q: How much talent is left in the farm system after sending Robert Nilsson, Ryan O’Marra and this year’s No. 1 pick to Edmonton for Ryan Smyth and trading this year’s No. 2 pick to Washington for Richard Zednik?
A: In addition to Okposo, Snow mentioned several young players who played with the Isles and Bridgeport, including forwards Jeff Tambellini, Frans Nielsen and Blake Comeau and defensemen Chris Campoli and Bruno Gervais, who were a pair in the playoffs. He said the signing of University of New Hampshire star Trevor Smith, whom he likened to Trent Hunter but with better skating ability, was meant to offset the loss of Nilsson and O’Marra. Smith probably is a couple years away. Snow also mentioned that defenseman Dustin Kohn will be moving up from juniors, and he hopes to sign Sean Bergenheim, who spent last season playing in Sweden.
Q: When will defenseman Radek Martinek return from his fractured leg?
A: He is expected to be ready to go when training camp opens. Snow said Martinek will remain on Long Island during the offseason to undergo rehabilitation.
Q: How is Bergenheim’s knee injury that he suffered at the end of the season?
A: According to agent Marc Gandler, Bergenheim is perfectly healthy and will play with Finland in the world championships. As for signing with the Isles next season, Gandler said discussions haven’t begun, “but both sides are interested in getting a deal done.”
Q: Can Alexei Yashin restructure the remaining four years of his contract worth $26.45 million?
A: Restructuring a contract is NOT allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Q: What is the procedure for a buyout?
A: If the Islanders want to buy out a contract, they must do it by June 30 or wait another year. The player then receives an amount equal to two-thirds of his contract spread equally over twice the remaining years. In Yashin’s case, he would receive a total of $17.63 million in annual installments of just over $2.2 million paid in monthly checks for a total of eight years.
NewYorkIslanders.com has a two part interview with GM Snow looking back at the 2006-07 season and the coming off-season plans. Here’s an excerpt from part one.
Of course, the question on everyone’s mind is what are your plans for the many potential unrestricted free agents you could have on July 1, but especially Ryan Smyth and Jason Blake?
Snow: We want to bring back as many as possible. I don’t look at this offseason any differently than I did the trade deadline. We only want to add to it while subtracting as little as possible.
I’m not going to go into our plans for each individual player, but I understand that Ryan and Jason are special cases not only for us but to our fans, too. Ryan Smyth turned out to be everything we knew we traded for. He was one of our best players on the ice for just about every game and he brought so much more to the Islanders than just his play. Our players learned a lot from being around him day after day. Of course, we’re going to do everything we can so Ryan stays an Islander for a long time.
What can you say about Jason? He’ll be 34 when training camp opens but he just keeps getting better. His work ethic is phenomenal. We will continue to talk to Jason about ways to keep him an Islander.
How do you look back on the Ryan Smyth trade? It was the talk of the league for a while and you certainly received plenty of praise for it. But when the Islanders looked like they may not make the playoffs late, then all of a sudden criticism came your way.
Snow: That’s a trade I would make every day of the week with no regrets. With the new CBA we’re more of a “now” league than ever. If you have a good team and can add a Ryan Smyth to your roster, you do it. Plus, we still have some strong prospects led by Kyle Okposo – who was not even a consideration for that trade — and plenty of young players like Gervais, Campoli and Bergeron already up with us, so the cupboard is far from bare.
