Rick Dipietro, End Of An Era

   

The New York Islanders will place Rick Dipietro on waivers tomorrow with the intentions of buying out the remaining 8 years $4.5 million annual contract. The Islanders would pay Dipietro $1.5 million a year for the next 16 years, that's right, 16 damn years that guy will collect $1.5 million a year for doing nothing. His career as an Islander will be remembered for numerous injuries and many games missed, not to mention the punch in the face from Brent Johnson. Some may feel bad for the guy but not me, he sucks and he will be taken care of financially for the rest of his life and won't ever have to work again. I do wonder if he will ever work again, I can definitely see a team trying him out and maybe give him a shot on the roster. He has played in 319 games since being drafted first overall in the 2000 draft. He has a record of 130-136-36 with a GAA of 2.87 and .902 save percentage. I knew  this day was coming soon and this is a step in the right direction for the Islanders, they gave Dipietro so many chances to avoid this. Now the question is who will be the starter next season. That is a question that I think will soon be answered, until then, peace out Ricky and don't forget to stretch.

Capt Mark Streit Traded

The Stanley Cup starts tonight but the NY Islanders came out and traded the rights of Captain Mark Streit to the Philadelphia Flyers for Shane Harper and a 4th round pick. Streit didn't get the money and years he wanted with an extension so that pretty much would of lead him to try free agency. The Islanders were smart about it  tho by getting something for him when it appeared he would be leaving anyway. This pretty much means that John Tavares will be the next captain.

Shane Harper is a 24 year old right winger who played with the Adirondack Phantoms of the AHL last year and posted 10 points in 48 games. He has shown better stats in the ECHL scoring 36 goals in 63 games during the course of 2 seasons so we will see.

And for the Stanley Cup I got the Blackhawks in 7 games, it would be nice to see an original 6 series go the full 7 games.

The End Of The Year, Start Of An Era

It was a rainy day on Long Island last Saturday. Fans poured into the old Coliseum hoping for a big victory to force a game 7. There was a few high moments during the game with the Isles taking a few leads only to lose in overtime on a Brooks Orpik goal. Even tho the home team lost you wouldn't be able to tell that by the cheers for the Islanders during the traditional post game handshake. I was very upset about the defeat but I could see a much bigger picture, the Islanders were back, for the first time in a very long time they were competitive. People at the work place that pay no attention to hockey at all were asking about the Islanders, kids in schools were walking the halls with Islander jerseys something you don't see on Long Island. Something was happening that was getting people excited and that was the rebirth of a franchise that has had many, many, and many dark times the past 20 years.

There is a great core of players that the fans can look forward to see grow together. There are few holes to fill during the off-season. One concern is the goalie position as we saw Nabakov struggle at times in the postseason. With Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson I do not see them trading for a goalie and I cringe when I hear Roberto Luongo brought up, there is no way Garth Snow would move some prospects to take a chance on a goalie who has series struggles in the playoffs. I would like to see Nabakov resign and I think he will. He took the team far this season by giving them a chance to win every night, there is nothing else you can ask from your goalie. I do expect Rick Dipietro's Islander career over as he will be amnestied, I don't think anyone has missed him the past two months.

I like the situation when it comes to the Islander's defense. Andy Macdonald proved that he can play big minutes, Lubomir Visnovsky was a plus 12 during the 35 games he played during the season and restriced free-agent Travis Hamonic brings a strong physical presence and no doubt in my mind he will be back next year. Thomas Hickey and Brian Strait would make a good number 5 and 6 dman, with Matt Carkner also under contract for next year. I really don't want Mark Streit back next year, he wants too much money and will be 36. I would say if the price is right but I don't see that happening and might be better off trading for a dman or signing a younger guy for cheaper like Ian White or Ryan Whitney. You also have to remember the Islanders have younger prospects that maybe ready next year such as Griffin Reinhart, Calvin de Haan and even Matt Donovan.

The offense on the other hand really doesn't need much but teams are always looking to get better. The Islanders offense went toe to toe with a stack Pittsburgh Penguins team and need to continue the same thing next season. Hart Trophy finalist John Tavares has done a great job leading the team and he will be the next Captain of this team. Matt Moulson proved his career is no fluke as he continued to not only score goals again but get 29 assist in 47 games. Michael Grabner still has great speed and had a great rebound season after struggling the year before. We all saw Kyle Okposo play to his potential in the playoffs, if he plays like that during an 82 game season he can be dangerous and score over 30 goals easy. Matt Martin will continue to check everyone on the opposite team even if it means going onto the opponents bench and I also can't forget guys like Colin Mcdonald, David Ullstrom and Casey Cizikas who will still be around next year. The only guys unsigned are Josh Bailey who should return, Brad Boyes who may come back if the price is right but he can be replaced considering whoever replaces him will get to play with Tavares. Aucoin, Boulton and Joensuu are all up in the air and Marty Reasoner won't be back even if he wants to play for free, the Islander's couldn't trade him for a bag of pucks.

It is going to be an interesting offseason considering the run the team made this year and the time coming for the move to the Barclay Center I expect some names to consider playing for the Islanders. The team is a few pieces away from being a serious contender even though I think they had a legitimate chance of knocking off the Penguins and advancing to the next round. Garth Snow might even want to test the trade market and deal for a big name like a Thomas Vanek or even a top 1 or 2 dman. It would be really nice to see the team actually sign guys that will play and not overpay some bum who would only score 1 goal in 2 seasons (Marty Reasoner).

NY Islanders vs Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Matchup Preview

So the playoffs have started and today the NY Islanders are in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins. The Penguins are heavy favorites to win the whole thing so no analyst will pick the Pens to lose the first round. The Penguins have the highest odds at 7/2 to win it all and the Islanders are the lowest with odds of 40/1. Just to give everyone an idea on what that means, just last years Stanley Cup playoffs the Penguins were again the favorite to win it all only to lose in the first round to the Flyers and the 8th seed LA Kings were the ones to win it all, so there is a reason they play the actual games.

Islander fans like myself are not used to being in the playoffs with haven't played a playoff game in 5 years but with the play from John Tavares and the rest of the team in the month of April I can see most fans are ready and some even confident. With the presence of Sidney Crosby in Game 1 remaining a game time decision, I do however expect Crosby to be in the lineup sometime this series if not for Game 1.

The Islanders would need certain things to happen in order to win. First, this series will be a physical one and with the Penguins stacked roster the Islanders will have to be the more physical team in order to have a chance in winning the series. Second, they would need Nabakov to come up big in goal. Nabby has playoff experience which most of the team lacks with a total of 80 games played with a 40-39 record, 2.29 goals against and a save percentage of .914. And finally they would need to have a better special teams unit. The Islanders were tied for the 10th best power play percentage during the season at 19.1 percent compared to the Penguins who were second in the league at 24.7 percent. If the Islanders can stay out of the box that would be huge considering the Penguins power play could really wear down the Isles penalty kill unit and take them out of games early.

I really would like to see the Islanders give the Pens a run for there money, but it is still good to see the team maturing and getting this chance to gain playoff experience. I really don't pay attention to what most are saying about the series with not giving the Islanders any chance at all to win but then again we all saw what happened last year and whenever an 8th seed upsets a number 1 seed in the first round, that team gets a very high confidence level and if they build on it then they can be very scary to face in the following round.

A Night In Boston

Last night was the first hockey game in Boston since the tragedy at the Boston Marathon. The video above was taken by Jesse Spector whose a writer with SportingNews. It was an emotional night that started with that special moment. The game had a playoff feel to it considering there are only a few games remaining and the Buffalo Sabres are fighting from behind to get in the 8th spot. They showed that they can come from behind when they tied the game up with a goal from Cody Hodgson with 27 seconds left. The game went into a shootout in which Ryan Miller saved all 3 attempts from the Bruins. Fan favorite Drew Stafford scored on the 3rd attempt for the Sabres to win it and put Buffalo 2 pts behind the Rangers and Jets for the 8th spot. Given the Sabres have a game in hand on Winnipeg and 2 on the Rags, but as I always say, that is a few games in hand that the other team can lose, not to mention tho but they do play the Rags & Jets in the final games remaining. And yes considering that I mainly focus on Islanders hockey, the Sabres do have a game left vs the Islanders who currently have the 7th spot. That is the last game of the season so it has the potential to be a big one. For more on Sabres hockey and their run for the playoffs check out http://sabrespulse.blogspot.com

Boston... Check!!

Josh Bailey was a beast last night scoring 2 goals in a 2-1 win in Boston. Mark Streit also had assist on both goals. You also can't forget about Nabakov who stood on his head making 30 saves and just missed stopping the only Bruins goal as it hit his arm before sneaking into the net. It was a good road win to keep up with Ottawa who also won. Tomorrows game vs the Rangers is going to be huge so expect a very physical game with some good goaltending.

Also in a scary moment last night David Krecji tripped Travis Hamonic causing him to fall awkwardly looking like a hyperextended knee. Hamonic left the ice without putting any pressure on the knee that appeared injured. The Hammer did however returned after only missing a few minutes showing that hockey players are indeed the toughest athletes. I just wonder if Derrick Rose happened to see that last night, considering he still hasn't returned to the court after missing a whole year and counting.

With the win last night, the Isles have now beaten every team in the East except for Carolina who they play April 23rd, it's nice for hockey to still be relevant when your an Isles fan this time of year.

Voided Trade?

It felt like long ago that the Islanders traded for Lubomir Visnovsky, really just 10 months ago. It seemed that he didn't like the deal as he wanted to void the trade but now its 10 months later. The Islanders are tied with the Rags for the 8th spot, given their game in hand. But big news just announced is that Visnovsky has just resigned for 2 more years. This deal will soon bring the resigning of Mark Streit which I say will happen in the offseason, meaning 1 more year to see John Tavares as Captain of this team. It is great to see a first timer with the team wanna resign. Things are starting to look different for this team.