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.

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).

Dipietro A Winner!

Rick Dipietro played in consecutive games for the first time this season last night, that's if you consider him playing on Friday night vs the Whalers. Bridgeport coach Scott Pellerin said he pulled him after the 1st to send a message to the team because he didn't like the way they played in front of him. Last night didn't start to well either for DP by taking a penalty four minutes into the game, which was killed off tho. Things did get better and the Sound Tigers won the game 4-3 with Dipietro making 22 saves. It was good seeing him get the win with the way Friday's game turned out for him.

Today should be a fun game, especially for the kids. Spongebob and Patrick will be in the Coliseum for the game and I hope the Islanders can pull off a win and not disappoint the crowd. Most games this year at the Coliseum showed a decent presence of the opposition crowd in the stands. Even the past 2 games we heard loud chants for Tukka Rask and also Go Leafs from the visitors from Toronto. However I think today would be different against Ottawa.

And also the Chicago Blackhawks play the Red Wings today in Detroit. I really thought the Blackhawks would lose to Columbus, I saw that game as a let down game and it also was a back to back game for Chicago, they did barely escape with the win and needing overtime to do it. That game will be on NBC so the pressure is clearly on Chicago.