NYI Point Blank

www.islanderspointblank.com is now live!

2008-09-25T02:05:00.001-04:00

This is the place to go for now on. Thanks...CB

About islanderspointblank.com, opening Thursday morning

2008-09-22T09:42:00.004-04:00

The re-launch of Point Blank is this Thursday, September 25. Please remember to set your dials to http://www.islanderspointblank.com/. If everything falls into place, there should be plenty of reading material on the new site by the time you wake up in the morning. The old site, the one you’re reading now, will self-destruct a few days later.

I’m real excited about the new Word Press blog, designed by a Long Island company called Generations Beyond. There has been the expected (and even understandable) cynicism toward the notion of my new space being a truly independent blog. I thought a long time about how I would fight it. Then I realized the only way is to work my ass off, dig hard, get creative, be honest and let everyone decide for themselves.

Islanderspointblank.com starts Thursday with, among other posts, a fairly comprehensive review of the Islanders roster at the NHL level. I have implemented a player rating system, state whether the coaching change is a plus or minus for each player and have an Eastern Conference pro scout provide his view of the defensemen and a Western Conference assistant coach analyze the Islanders’ forwards.

In those three days when the Islanders are wrapping up in Canada and I’m closing out some business on Long Island, there could be as many as 15 updates. When the Islanders start back at Iceworks a week from today, I’ll be there waiting for them.

Point Blank will cover the Islanders season as a beat, but from a different perspective. Greg Logan of Newsday will do what he does and continue to do it well. I hope the Daily News, Post and Times are also around more regularly and you'll have my old pals from the NYI Blog Box. Point Blank will do it a bit differently. For example, if the Islanders have an early regular season road game, Newsday and newyorkislanders.com will have comprehensive reports on the game. Point Blank may instead decide to blog all day from Bridgeport on the development of Joensuu and company. While we will be all over major stories like Kyle Okposo’s rookie season and Rick DiPietro’s health, there will be plenty of times when we won’t do the mainstream.

There will be a regular item called Checklist, where you help write the story with me. The first list: How This Season Will Be Judged. There will be an NHL notes column, like all the newspapers used to have in the old days. There will be Features, such as an in-depth look at what led to the selection of one of the Islanders’ second round picks this summer and a story about a member of the Islanders hockey staff who had his car blown up (not with him in it). There will be Experiences, first-person accounts of some notorious or wonderful events in team history. Most of all there will be breaking news, scoops and plenty of opinions.

Oh yeah, and we’re working out details with a Long Island establishment for the first Point Blank Night: TV coverage of an Islanders road game, wine-tasting, appetizers, a special guest, plenty of hockey talk. I hope to see you there, probably November 6.

Thank you to everyone for the kind words about the news of the re-jiggered blog and even to passionate critics like the Rangers blogger Scotty Hockey for trying to keep me honest on its independence. I’m confident there will be plenty you’ll like about the new blog and some you might think really stinks. (Hey, sometimes you have to experiment). But it will never be boring, will never go very long without updates and, hopefully above all else, will be a lot of fun.

Thank you also to the many fans and bloggers offering to be part of Point Blank. At the opening, I will have to go it alone. Soon after, I will be add one experienced blogger as a guest editor so I can work on another project (there is a possibility of a small broadcast gig) and so my family doesn't leave me - at least this season. I’m also looking at a videographer so we can maybe add some post-game interviews to the site. Not to sound like Mike Francesa, but please give me some time to put it all together.

Maybe against my better judgment, the Comments area of the new blog will be wide-open from the start. I will only moderate if it turns profane or unwieldy. Please let me know right from the start if Point Blank is working for you. I can’t wait to get started.

Thanks again, everybody…CB

Details on the "new" Point Blank, debuting September 25

2008-09-15T16:38:00.003-04:00

I want to thank everyone for supporting this blog over the last year, and for making this new venture possible. This does not happen without your readership and all the kind words since my departure from the team in May.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We're gonna have some fun. I'll (hopefully) break some stories, write until it hurts and try not to embarrass myself too often.

I have lots of plans for how you can get involved. Spread the word, please. And as a reminder, I'm on Facebook. Look forward to seeing you there and around the rink...CB

Here's the official word:

“Islanders Point Blank” Blog Debuts on September 25th
Independent site by former team VP Chris Botta to provide 24/7 coverage for hockey fans

Plainview, NY, September 15, 2008 – Providing fans alternative and independent coverage of their team, the New York Islanders will be a primary sponsor of a new blog with round-the-clock commentary of the Islanders and the NHL. “Islanders Point Blank” will launch on Thursday, September 25 and will be run by managing editor Chris Botta, the team’s former longtime Media Relations Vice President. Botta’s opinion pieces, breaking news reports, rumors, rankings and feature stories on Islanders Point Blank will not be subject to approval by team management.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for the fans to receive in-depth, nearly around the clock coverage of the team,” said Islanders President Chris Dey. “Chris Botta will provide the fans with a perspective and insight that they've never had before. Hopefully this develops similar arrangements with other highly qualified journalists throughout the league."

In addition to his 20-year career in the Islanders’ front office which ended last spring, Botta was a color commentator on radio broadcasts in the mid-’90s, co-authored (with Stan Fischler) the book “Pride & Passion” on the team’s first 25 years and has been a freelance contributor to publications including Sports Illustrated and The Hockey News. In his final season with the Islanders he created the NYI Blog Box, of which Richard Deitsch of SI.com wrote, “I predict Botta will be proved a visionary when it comes to the relationship between professional sports teams and bloggers.”

“The goal of Point Blank is to provide constant coverage and honest analysis of the Islanders from an original perspective,” said Botta. “Having worked for the team for so long, I have a lengthy list of contacts around the NHL and I have so many stories to share. I hope to inform and entertain hockey fans, and there will be plenty of opportunities for them to get involved on the blog.”

Islanders Point Blank (www.islanderspointblank.com) will debut on Thursday, September 25.

The final word on Sugden

2008-09-15T13:19:00.004-04:00

Today, Brandon Sugden is like all the other players attending NHL training camps as tryouts this week.

Even for the most optimistic Sugden supporters, he has to be considered a longshot to make the team.

He has to prove that he's not just in decent shape after playing in a low-rent "Slap Shot" league in Quebec the last two years - he has to prove, at age 30 and two years out of real pro hockey, that he is better conditioned than everyone in Islanders camp.

Sugden has to prove his skating is good enough to keep up with the rest of the fourth-liners on the Islanders. No one - not Sugden, not anyone - knows right now if he can do that. All we have to go on is his play with the Syracuse Crunch two years ago.

Reason to drive to Moncton: many teams have bans on fighting in scrimmages during training camp. But if you're Garth Snow and Scott Gordon, don't you need to see who's the best battler out of Sugden, Mitch Fritz and Joel Rechlicz? Roll the cameras, Islanders TV! Ah, think of all the hits on You Tube.

If Sugden makes the team, expect it to be as the 23rd man on the roster. Maybe he plays a game a week until his effectiveness can be judged. Thirteen forwards are already making the Islanders: the 11 on one-way contracts, plus Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau.

And if Sugden doesn't make the team, he'll have plenty of two-way offers from NHL franchises - probably from some of the teams that initially blocked him.

Either way, it should be a fun subplot to what is usually a drama-less first week of camp. Sept. 29, two weeks from today, is the team's first camp session back on the Island. Chances of Sugden making it that far? I'd say 50/50. As he told me last week, "Nobody's going to hand me anything. I know I have to earn it."

OMG, Sugden's coming to camp

2008-09-13T21:27:00.002-04:00

At 9:15 pm I listened to a voicemail message on my cell that I probably will never forget. It was Brandon Sugden, shaking and ecstatic.

"Hey Chris. I just got a call from Bill Daly. He talked to the other four teams. They're giving me the green light. Mr. Daly is clearing me. I'm coming to Islanders training camp. I hoped to get you on the phone, but for now - thank you. I'm heading back to the rink tonight for some more skating."

The dream of Brandon Sugden and his dad lives on.

Bill Daly calls Sugden

2008-09-13T10:57:00.002-04:00

The groundswell of support for Brandon Sugden has made an impact. NHL No. 2 Bill Daly called Sugden yesterday, told him he was aware of his story and that he'd contact the teams blocking him from attending Islanders camp. Read more about it from Joe Warmington in today's Toronto Sun.

Daly did not make any promises and did not share his opinion on what he thinks should happen. But by having the grace to get involved and at least listen to Sugden, Daly is proving why he deserves to be the next commissioner in the NHL. Of course, Daly doesn't call Sugden without the green light from Gary Bettman, so the current commissioner deserves credit here, too.

Fans and bloggers (led by Lindsay Kramer in Syracuse) spread the word about Sugden, but let's face it: it's not big news in the NHL until it reaches Toronto. For that we have to acknowledge Darren Dreger of TSN and Leafs Lunch, who's become the Peter Gammons and Peter King of hockey in Canada.

Still not sure where this is headed. Still don't have reason to be overly optimistic for the enforcer. But this is a start. The plane leaves Long Island for Moncton on Friday.

Exclusive: Sugden dream-blocker revealed

2008-09-11T17:25:00.004-04:00

Point Blank has learned the identity of one of the four teams blocking enforcer Brandon Sugden from attending Islanders training camp next week. As you might expect, it is the Islanders' biggest rival - the New York Rangers.

Makes perfect sense. Why would a team step aside graciously and allow the un-retirement of a player to join your rival? Especially when the player has the ability to land repeated blows to your players' heads.

I'm not taking sides on this case. My view is only that the league office should listen to Sugden's saga. But it's probably safe to say this: if Glen Sather and three other GMs cared enough to stop the enforcer from coming back to the NHL, Brandon Sugden must be one tough SOB.

He's also willing to put his money where his heart is. When I spoke with Sugden Tuesday night, he made a promise that he will donate 1/3 of any money he makes from playing in the NHL this season to charity. He would like it to go to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Ontario, where his father receives treatment for cancer.

The NHL must listen to Brandon Sugden's story

2008-09-10T00:16:00.008-04:00

I just got off the phone with Brandon Sugden and have reached a conclusion. It’s time for the commissioner’s office of the National Hockey League to review the case of his attempt to attend Islanders training camp next week as a tryout.

If you don’t know the Sugden saga, here’s a good rundown from The Hockey News. To attend the Islanders’ camp, Sugden needed to be cleared by all 30 NHL teams because he had officially “retired” from pro hockey in 2006. League rules state that if you retire, you must sit out one year before you can be reinstated. The rule makes sense because you could have guys retiring all over the place the moment they don’t like their current fates.

But the Sugden case has its exceptions, and its merits. If you haven’t caught him on You Tube, Sugden is a fighter – one of the best on-ice pugilists of the last decade. He played four seasons with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL but became disheartened when the NHL came out of the lockout looking to cleanse the enforcers out of the league. He left “pro hockey” to sign a deal with the St. Jean Chiefs of the LNAH, a Quebec-based league where every team has a half-dozen players with at least 200 penalty minutes a season. For more money than he was making with the Crunch, Sugden flew in for games on Fridays and Saturdays with St. Jean and worked all week in his family’s label-manufacturing business in Toronto.

Then everything changed when the Ducks of Brian Burke won the Stanley Cup, and suddenly most teams were looking for enforcers. Sugden’s dream of playing in the NHL was alive again.

The Islanders extended an invite. The team has what they believe is an up-and-coming enforcer in 21-year old Joel Rechlicz and a tough guy in Mitch Fritz, like Sugden a journeyman AHL pugilist. But most everyone in the game will tell you Sugden – when in shape – may be the most effective player in pro hockey with his gloves off. One longtime AHL executive describes him thusly: “a trained fighter, unlike anyone you’ve ever seen. Knockout power in both hands. No doubt in my mind his skating is good enough to play fourth-line shifts in the NHL. He’d be a friggin’ cult hero on the Islanders.”

There is so much more to the Sugden story, which really is about him and not at all about the Islanders. His dad – whom I can tell from one conversation with Sugden is his life – has cancer and maybe not a long time to live. In between doctor’s visits, Mr. Sugden supervises his kid’s boxing workouts in the morning – Dad was a boxer, the first Canadian to spar with Muhammad Ali – and studies his weight training sessions to make sure Brandon isn’t taking any shortcuts.

But as touching as Sugden’s attempts to have his father see him play in the NHL may be, it cannot be the main part of his case with the NHL office and the four teams that blocked him. (Attempts to discover which three teams voted “NO” and which one abstained so he could plead his case have failed). With time running out, if I’m Sugden I get my agent and every power broker I’ve ever made friends with and approach the National Hockey League to personally tell my story. Like tomorrow.

And if I’m Sugden, I speak with Bill Daly and anyone else who’ll listen the same way he spoke with me tonight.

“Look, I made many mistakes when I was a kid,” the 30-year old Sugden said. “I was a rebellious idiot and got banned from a league. But I worked hard to turn my life around, which might not have happened if I hadn’t met my wife. I have been off drugs and alcohol for seven years. I have been a good person, a good example, for a long time. When I was in Syracuse I used to speak in packed auditoriums in front of more than 500 people about the wrong way and the right way to live. I did everything on my own time and I was proud when I was named Man of the Year for the Crunch.

“This is killing me. I want this chance – for me, for my dad, for a lot of reasons. I can only hope I get the chance to plead my case.”

Sugden told me tonight that he has received a few AHL offers over the last week, but he is determined to win his personal battle and is keeping his commitment to the Islanders because they were the first team to reach out and offer the invitation to camp. Only if he loses his appeal will he consider other AHL deals, which likely wouldn’t come from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers since they already have Rechlicz and Fritz under contract.

One last story about Sugden and his family. In 2003, he was looking for an AHL deal and he and his father put together a fight tape – now legend in some circles. Every team in the American League got one except for the Syracuse Crunch. A GM from another team called the Crunch and said, “Have you seen this Sugden tape? It’s unreal. I’ve already got enough fighters, but you guys must be interested.” But for some reason the tape never made it to the Syracuse offices.

When Crunch management contacted Sugden, they asked why they never got the tape. Brandon and his dad said they never in a million years would have been so classless to pitch for a job in Syracuse. On July 29, 2003, Trevor Ettinger – an enforcer prospect who played for the Crunch – committed suicide. Syracuse management thought so much of Sugden’s integrity that they brought him in for a tryout, told him they would have a zero-tolerance attitude toward any BS and gave the man a chance.

Whether the National Hockey League will is uncertain, whether they should is open for debate. I hope the league will at least listen to his story.

Giambino signals start of hockey; I’m on Facebook; Newsday news; My newest venture nears; Sundin?

2008-08-31T23:57:00.004-04:00

Hockey season started on Wednesday night. Yankee Stadium, Yanks and Red Sox tied at 2 and Dustin Pedroia perfectly executes a hit-and-run. The Bosox have runners on first and third. The Yankees’ season - the last time they missed the playoffs was 1993, the last year the Islanders won a playoff series – is on life support.

Jason Giambi decides this is a good time to start yukking it up at first base with Pedroia. They chat, a few giggles, while Giambi is holding a supposed member of the archrivals on first. Really now: give me a frickin’ break. Could you ever see this happening in hockey? Tie game, third period, a March showdown in front of a crazed Coliseum crowd, Comrie and Gomez sharing a laugh before a faceoff.

I know baseball is a different game, but is it too much to ask the players to care as much as the fans? The Red Sox took the lead that inning. Later on, Pedroia hit a grand slam to pretty much end the Yankees’ season. Didn’t stay with the game long enough to see if Giambi patted his little pal Pedroia on the butt as he circled the bases.

Are you ready for some hockey?

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Point Blank has learned from impeccable sources deep inside Newsday headquarters in Melville that plans are being made to increase coverage of the Islanders, Rangers and the NHL in the newspaper and on newsday.com. We assume this is simply because the powerbrokers at Newsday have come to appreciate the popularity of ice hockey on Long Island, but we have not been able to confirm the reasons for the change in policy. Doesn’t matter. We’ll take it.

****

Mats Sundin? Unlikely, but smart to make the call for a whole bunch of reasons. He’s still a great player that will only cost the Islanders cash, and they are currently more than $15 million under the salary camp. They could find a roster spot for him and his 22 minutes as the No. 1 center would not crush the development of any stud center prospect.

Mats also loves him some fine dining and culture and lists the Islanders as his favorite team growing up. Anders Kallur has not responded to my request for comment on whether he has been courting Sundin (that’ll stir it up!). As an added bonus, nothing wrong with some sincere, heated competition to sign him, right? Worst that could happen is Sundin signs with the Rangers for less, and that’s not really a big deal at this point. As far as I can tell, the Islanders have not made any firm offers and Mats’ people haven’t told the Islanders they’re wasting their time.

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I am now on Facebook. That’s a line I’d never thought I’d write. But I am, so please join me.

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Please stay tuned to this space and elsewhere in the next two weeks for news on my latest venture. I hope you will be as pleased as I am and will help me spread the word. Thanks for hanging in with me over a very different kind of off-season…CB

No Joshin': Bailey could be signed before camp

2008-08-26T09:42:00.003-04:00

After finding a way to stay in the press for most of the summer, the Islanders should have little in the way of hard news before the team leaves for training camp in Moncton on Sept. 19. But there could be one last major item on Garth Snow’s agenda.

It would make sense on a lot of levels for the GM to close a deal with first round pick Josh Bailey prior to the opening of camp. Draft picks do not apply to the same rule as our children. In the NHL, your draft picks are not all loved equally. Signing Bailey before he hits the ice in Moncton would send a message, especially to Bailey himself.

There’s a lot riding on Bailey, whom the team feels even better about after the kid spent a long time on and off the ice on Long Island post-draft. To a lot of eyes, the Islanders moved a few mountains (and grabbed a few extra picks) in taking the skilled two-way center with exceptional leadership qualities (darn, can’t get that PR stuff outta my head!) It’s only natural they would attempt to show the same respect towards Bailey as other teams have lavished on their recent prized first picks. Tampa Bay has signed Steven Stamkos, LA Drew Doughty. Continuing in neat order, Atlanta is ready to speak with No. 3 pick Zack Bogosian.

Of course, the Islanders do not have to wait for all of the first eight picks to sign before they ink their boy. For a deal with Bailey, the salary cap does most of the work. It mostly comes down to bonuses. There is also no downside to the gesture of committing early to their prized prospect. If he does not make the team – I don’t think you can rule that out with 100% certainty, at least for October – the three-year contract simply begins when Bailey becomes a regular pro.

The Islanders have done this before with first rounders. Don’t be surprised to hear about a Bailey deal sometime between Labor Day and the start of training camp.

Sports Illustrated assumes Hartley, Maurice and Crawford didn't care they were passed up. I say you've gotta be frickin' kidding me.

2008-08-21T20:10:00.007-04:00

Jim Kelley is a Hall of Fame hockey writer and person who recently made the sort of lazy move that used to give me chest pains when I was on the PR side. In a recent column on SI.com, the former Buffalo News reporter wrote the following sentence on the Islanders:

"It's the kind of place where experienced coaches like Joel Quennvelle, John Tortotella, Bob Hartley, Maurice, Marc Crawford and a slew of other seasoned but currently unemployed coaches don't necessarily object to being passed over."

The laziness has nothing to do with the typos/spelling errors on two big-name NHL coaches. The bigger problem is, does Kelley really know that all of these coaches ho-hummed not getting the Islanders job? Did he ask them? Did he think about checking with them – at least off-the-record – before telling a big audience on Sports Illustrated’s website that they’d rather be unemployed than work for the Islanders?

I really doubt it. The line reads like the kind of throw-away journalism a hockey writer might post from the beach on August 14th. That’s too bad because, beyond the Islanders’ image, Jim may have inadvertently made some respected coaches in need of work look like reckless idiots.

What we do know is that Quenneville gracefully declined an invitation to interview. Tortorella, being paid over a mill by Tampa Bay this year not to coach, came in for a lengthy interview but both parties knew this wasn’t the time or the team.

But what about Bob Hartley? Is Jim Kelley certain he “didn’t necessarily object to being passed over.” How about Paul Maurice? Are we really to believe it was no big whoop to Maurice he didn’t get the gig? You really think Marc Crawford is not the least bit concerned about getting another shot at a head coaching job in the NHL?

Here’s a challenge to my friend Mr. Kelley. The cell numbers of all the coaches he named can be easily obtained by a veteran writer of his stature. Call up Tortorella, Hartley, Maurice and Crawford. Give them the chance (on-the-record only) to share their thoughts on the Islanders’ hiring process. Perhaps they will confirm that they didn’t give much of a hoot about not getting the job.

It’s late August. There aren’t a lot of hockey stories right now. Jim Kelley’s one of the classier men in the business. I have a feeling he’d make a real good column out of his findings.

Point Blank on Yahoo's "Puck Daddy"

2008-08-14T16:08:00.004-04:00

Today I had the privilege of contributing to Puck Daddy, the outstanding hockey blog on Yahoo run by Greg Wyshynski. P Daddy is running a special in August on the theme "5 ways I'd change the NHL." I snuck in 7.

I also couldn't resist replying in the Comments area after a poster said the fisherman jersey must have been my downfall (that downfall took more than ten years!) and another said DiPietro's annual 4.5 will lead to the next work stoppage.

Check it out here. Thanks.

CB

McCabe and Parrish can't be in The Plan

2008-08-14T09:58:00.007-04:00

Since I’m on fulltime parental duty the next 5 days, my usual weekend post has been moved up. Plenty to rant about.

For starters, I’m willing to put my decent hot streak of forecasts on the line. I’ve always wondered what it’s like for Peter Gammons to say Manny isn’t being traded, and then learn six minutes later Manny’s LA-bound. Always wondered what it’s like to be Sal Paolantonio all over the Favre thing and say, “It’s not even close. This could take days,” and then have Jay Glazer on Fox report 20 minutes later that Brett’s a Jet.

So here goes. I accept all risk and embarrassment.

No frickin’ way Bryan McCabe is going to be acquired by the Islanders this year.

I could qualify it and add that Bryan isn’t coming here unless the Islanders get a very high draft pick along with McCabe in return for a defenseman's salary the Islanders are happy to lose, but that would be weak.

So I’ll say it again: no frickin’ way McCabe is coming to the Islanders. For Bryan’s sake, I really hope he gets out of TO and finds happiness with a team that will appreciate his guts and dedication. It’s too bad the timing just isn’t right for a return to the Islanders. Maybe another day.

Making even less sense are the rumors on the net that our recently bought-out pal Mark Parrish could be on his way to the Islanders.

Who doesn’t love Parrish? This is a guy who can say something moronic like, “If the fans just want to boo, they can stay home” and have everyone get over it a few days later because he’s like the kid next door everyone wants to hang with. The morning after his brain cramp I told him, “Parry, cancel your plans tonight. Your penalty is signing autographs at the Team Store for an hour.” Mark replied, “I’ll stay there and sign for as long as people want to yell at me. I deserve it.”

But back to the rumor mill. How can any hockey website with pride really think Parrish is coming to Long Island? Is anyone at these sites paying even a little attention?

For richer and poorer, the Islanders are committed to this rebuild (I can use that word because I don’t work there anymore. The GM has to use words like “re-tooling,” – as if that’s any different).

The Islanders have 13 forwards virtually locked in to make the team out of training camp. Only two of them – Kyle Okposo and Blake Comeau – are on two-way contracts. Garth Snow gave one-way deals to Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen because he believes they are NHL players. Tambellini would have to clear waivers – he wouldn’t – and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if Frans didn’t get a one-way deal, he could have ended up in some unpronounceable European city with a lucrative, tax-free deal and the Islanders may have never seen him again.

The other 9 forwards: Bergenheim, Comrie, Guerin, Hilbert, Hunter, Park, Sillinger, Sim, Weight.

If we take it case-by-case, is Mark Parrish at age 32 still a better player than some of the above? Maybe, but it just doesn’t matter. Sign Parrish and you're telling Okposo and Comeau you don't really like them as much as everyone thought you did. Sign Parrish and you're essentially exposing your stated vision to build around youth as a fraud.

Grabbing a popular former player just because he’s available and he might be able to score 25 goals again is just not how you do it if you are truly committed to a plan.

I called around on McCabe. I didn’t bother on Parrish. If Snow blinks and picks up Parry, the Plan takes its first detour and then there would be never be any reason to believe the Islanders are true to their vision. As much as it would be nice having Mark around again, I just don’t see it happening. It can’t happen.

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For his performance at the press conference and a sometimes shaky phoner with Mike Francesa on WFAN, I'd give new coach Scott Gordon a solid B. He was understandably a bit nervous and, as he said, not used to coverage from his Providence days. What did come through in his interviews were his integrity, good nature and a confidence that his way is the right way. You had to like that.

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Hard to tell when I'll be back at this again, but I check the Comments daily and good questions are always inspirational. Keep them coming, and continued thanks for all the hits the last few weeks.

Two References for Commissioner Gordon

2008-08-13T00:49:00.007-04:00

When Scott Gordon’s hiring was official, I immediately called two American Hockey League head coaches not named Jack Capuano. I gave both of them every opportunity to anonymously bitch about the hiring – to wonder why Gordon is getting the chance in the NHL they haven’t, to point out that his Providence Bruins won 55 games last season because they had the most talent in the league by far. They didn’t take the bait.

“I don’t know why Scott wasn’t in the mix for the other (NHL) jobs this summer. Anyone who follows the ‘A’ will tell you he’s been the best coach in our league and deserved a shot.”

I asked the other coach if the P-Bruins were the most skilled team in the American League last season. “Not even close. Definitely not top-5 and maybe not even top-10. Don’t get me wrong, they have some players, but Scott got more out of them than anyone could have expected.”

Gushing stories on AHL coaches, like the lovely one on Gordon from the Providence Journal last season, are no big whoop. You can find stories boasting about the work ethic of coaching prospects all over the internet. There’s nothing like references from the coaches on the other bench.

“His teams were the most prepared in the league, the best-conditioned and the hardest-working,” said one of the AHL coaches. “With his focus on defense, he took a pretty good team to 55 wins. Scott showed me that I still have more to learn.”

****

Scott Gordon and Paul Maurice were hands-down the best available candidates for this job. My concerns for Gordon all have to do with his lack of NHL experience, which is why I gave a slight edge to Maurice. The Islanders have young people in the top jobs – Garth Snow in the GM’s chair, Ryan Jankowski running the draft. Nothing wrong with that, but I thought the franchise could use someone that might still be young, but has been there and done that.

Also, while we talk a lot about the Islanders’ youth movement, let’s not lose sight of the fact this is a team with plenty of veterans who define grizzled – Bill Guerin, Mike Sillinger, Doug Weight, Brendan Witt, Richard Park. Sometimes first-year NHL coaches lean on motivational tricks that may have worked in the AHL, but are met with shrugs (or worse) in the big leagues. I’ve seen the backlash; it’s ugly. Gordon really needs to resist the temptation to go there.

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Forgive me as I do my impersonation of ESPN and The Post and share a few things I wrote in the last month, followed by some reaction.

July 6: “The Islanders have two options: work through the issues and commit completely to Ted Nolan, or shake hands and say goodbye. More than themselves or even their fan base, they owe that to Ted.”

To say the Islanders are better off for it would be an understatement. Unlike his last break from the game, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ted gets another shot at the NHL in the next 12 months. I hope so.

July 20: “In my view, the man best suited for the opportunity is Paul Maurice. I’m aware Maurice may not be the most exhilarating choice, but the Islanders do not need exhilarating. They've done that.”

A few last thoughts on Maurice, my first choice, leading to some derisive feedback because of his career won-lost record and lack of hysterical arm-waving behind the bench.

Amazing to me that his Toronto experience is so over-analyzed. Hmm, let’s see: what do we now know about his franchise player at the Leafs. Oh yeah, that he waffles like a Green Bay quarterback on whether or not to play hockey for ten million dollars a year. Geez, can’t believe Maurice couldn’t make that work!

But the final word is on Maurice’s integrity. A few days ago, a hockey scribe got Maurice on his cell phone. The coach made it clear he wanted to respect the process but would talk in detail when it was over. Maurice did say one thing, however. “I’ve seen some stories from people making it sound like this is a job anyone with experience would not want. This is a big opportunity. There are plenty of reasons to go after that job.”

July 27: “To this former PR flak, an August 12 press conference looks good: Yankees in Minnesota, Mets in Washington, Favre’s destination already known. I would think a new Islanders coach would fill most of Newsday’s backpage the following day – big-name hire or not.”

Okay, so technically the press conference is tomorrow, but the Islanders did announce the decision on August 12. Kill me for recommending Maurice all you want, but do I get any credit for at least getting the date right more than two weeks ago?

Maurice or Gordon would be wonderful

2008-08-10T15:20:00.008-04:00

Since the beginning of the hiring process – actually, to be completely honest: way before then – I have felt Paul Maurice was the perfect coach for this Islanders era. His NHL experience, his teaching ability and his communication skills with young and old hockey players, team staff, the media and the fans make Paul an ideal pick. After Maurice maintained his dignity through two ludicrous seasons in Toronto, I believed the Islanders would be extremely fortunate to have this good man and exceptional talent available just when they needed someone like him.

This opinion has not changed.

I don’t know the identity of the next Islanders coach. All of us now know the finalists – Maurice, Bob Hartley and Scott Gordon. The biggest story of this search is no longer the man named coach, but the man making the selection. Know this, Islanders fans - this will be 100% Garth Snow’s choice as head coach. That’s because this is now 100% Garth Snow’s roster and coaching staff.

In my view, he cannot go wrong with two of his finalists. Scott Gordon brings to the table many of Maurice’s best attributes. What he lacks in NHL experience – if he gets the gig, there will be a significant learning curve in dealing with everyone from Brendan Witt and Mike Comrie to bloggers at games and fans at Open Houses – Gordon does have one major advantage: a practiced dedication to defense. Associates of Gordon say he is obsessive about a defense-first attitude in his teams. With Rick DiPietro and a better-than-billed top 7 on D, Gordon’s commitment to goals-against makes him a very worthy candidate for the Islanders’ job.

Gordon’s history of getting the most out of his lineups with stingy-dirty team defense means Islanders scouts probably won’t have to bother looking at kids likely to go in the first five picks of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. On the other hand, the prospects Ryan Jankowski and Co. have already drafted would continue a proper education when they arrive on Long Island.

Oh yeah, and Gordon – an ex-goalie who loves his goalies – would also be DiPietro’s best chance for an annual GAA in the very low 2s and nomination for the Vezina.

One feels like a major hump saying that a head coach who’s won a Stanley Cup is not the right man, but that’s the way I honestly feel about Bob Hartley and this job. Hartley is a very good coach whose rep has taken some ridiculously unfair hits from his Atlanta experience, including a shameful cheapshot from a Calgary columnist without a clue or hint of dignity. It is simply that, knowing what I think I know about the kind of coach needed in this market, with this team and in these times, Hartley is not a fit.

If Hartley does not get the job, I would advise he spend one season as a top consultant and roving instructor with an NHL team – why not with his friend Snow at the Islanders? – and wait for the inevitable opening when a talented team needs a firmer hand that comes equipped with a Cup ring.

And if Hartley does become head coach, Garth rarely listened to me before so I wouldn’t expect him to start now. It would only cement the notion that this is Snow’s decision, Snow’s team.

What Makes Torts Tick

2008-08-02T11:17:00.006-04:00

Gerard Gallant and Marc Crawford will be on Long Island early this week, wrapping up the first round of interviews. I’m told the process will move along very quickly during the second and final round. My read: there could be just two finalists, with a clear-cut No. 1 whose job it is to lose followed by a backup candidate the Islanders would be just as happy to be their coach.

While Gallant is likely not a frontrunner heading into his meeting with Garth Snow, he without a doubt deserves the opportunity to make his case for the job. Gerard is a good hockey man who was a true professional under some very trying circumstances as an assistant coach last season. I’ve seen some message-board material that pins the Islanders’ power play woes last season squarely on Gallant and therefore this should eliminate him from contention. Respectfully, this should be labeled in the category of fiction.

I believe Crawford is a major longshot. He’s a fascinating case because it wasn’t too long ago that he was considered hands-down the brightest and most exciting coaching prospect in the game. Crawford may have made a mistake jumping right back into the LA job just as Dean Lombardi was retooling the Kings roster. A year away to re-invent himself might do him some good.

John Tortorella could be faced with a similar career decision should he be a finalist for the Islanders job. Unlike candidates such as Paul Maurice, Bob Hartley, Mike Sullivan and Scott Gordon, a contract negotiation with Tortorella would likely be a more layered process. Like Crawford was years ago, Tortorella is a star and his earning power may never be stronger.

****

I wrote the following two weeks ago as I listed what the Islanders should be looking for in their next head coach:

“Someone who won’t be thinking about where his next NHL job is going to be. Someone who won’t view the Islanders as if they’re a mid-major like Vanderbilt on the way to Tennessee.”

The candidate I was specifically thinking of was Joel Quenneville. Coach Q has always been considered one of the classiest men in the game. I’m glad he had the class to withdraw his name from consideration before he went down a road that would not have benefitted him or the Islanders.

****

A John Tortorella story: It’s the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Lightning fire a shot before their first round series with the Islanders even begins. Lightning management has boxed the Islanders out of their chosen hotel in Tampa Bay for games 1 and 2. Sniping on both sides in the media begins, and when the Islanders – a big underdog – earn a split in the two games it looks like the series is going to be a nasty one.

When the Lightning arrive on Long Island, they learn that payback is a bitch. Among other things, it’s about 110 degrees in the visiting team locker room at the Coliseum. They also find their room not stocked with many of the usual amenities.

I’m in the Coliseum hallway talking to my PR colleague with the Lightning. A very sweaty John Tortorella approaches. “This (crap) has to stop,” the Tampa Bay head coach says. “Any chance Mike Milbury is around? Can you see if he’ll talk to me so we can settle this like gentlemen”?

I go to Mike’s office and tell him Tortorella comes in peace and wants a truce. The Islanders GM is impressed. “Walk him down here.”

Tortorella pleads, “This is getting stupid, Mike. You’re a coach at heart, like me. C’mon, for everyone’s sake let’s put this behind us and act like pros.” Tortorella apologizes for any nonsense that went down in Tampa Bay.

Milbury apologizes as well, the two shake hands and within minutes the Lightning room is cooled. When I see Mike later he says, “That was impressive. He’s going to be a great coach in this league.”

It would be a stretch to call Tortorella’s move genius, just because his Lightning won the next three games to clinch the series and went on to win the Stanley Cup. But I was blown away by the coach’s take-charge attitude. Most coaches in this game would never march into the office of an opposing GM. Time will tell if he and the Islanders are a fit. What I do know is the next team that gets him will be very fortunate.

****

Over the last two years the Islanders have invited veteran free agents to training camp, Richard Park the biggest success story. There will always be invitations to junior players the Islanders scouts would like to get another look at. But with the team's commitment to youth, one would have to assume that in September you will not see older invitees as Park, Mike Dunham and Bryan Berard were.

****

What there will be at camp is a new coach, some intriguing prospects to monitor and very little competition for jobs. The seven defensemen, all signed to one-way contracts, are virtually set in stone.

The biggest story of the opening of camp will be the status of Rick DiPietro, Bill Guerin and Mike Sillinger, who are all coming off major surgeries. Logan will be all over it.

By the way, maybe someone smarter than me (are you there, Eric Hornick of MSG?) can look this up. In the modern era of the NHL, what is the closest to the start of training camp that a team hired its head coach? Have to believe the Islanders may be approaching a record.

****

Islander fans: two things need to happen for these pathetic blogs by non-hockey writers ripping the Islanders on Newsday.com to go away.

One, the Islanders have to stick to their plan and take a step forward over the next 12 months. This doesn’t necessarily mean sneaking into the eighth spot, but the team playing hard, prospects coming along and management making smart moves consistent with their vision.

Two, fans have to resist the urge to pelt Newsday with letters to the editor, phone calls to Melville and dozens of posts in the Comments area.

Just sayin’, but if I’m a sports blogger and my Comments section has been running dry lately, here’s what I would do: write a few paragraphs on the fisherman logo and the Luongo trade and Neil Smith and – presto – wait for the call of congratulations from my boss for all the hits my blog just got.

Up next: Sullivan, Gordon, Crawford, Quenneville

2008-07-27T20:18:00.004-04:00

With three of the more established coaches having completed their first round of interviews, it’s time for a pair of lower-profile candidates to make their first impressions. Former Boston Bruins head coach Mike Sullivan will interview for the Islanders head coach position on Monday and current Providence Bruins coach Scott Gordon will meet with Garth Snow on Wednesday.

John Tortorella had a long session on Long Island today, on the heels of detailed interviews by Snow of Paul Maurice and Bob Hartley. While Sullivan and Gordon are not as well-known as the first week’s trio, this is a wide-open race. Also expected to interview later this week are Marc Crawford and Gerard Gallant. The Islanders and Joel Quenneville should have a date locked up in the next few days. Larry Brooks had a sweet piece today on why Bryan Trottier should be strongly considered, but Bryan is not a candidate at this time and instead will remain in his role as executive director of player development.

My sense is that a week from tomorrow, two or three finalists will be lined up for a second and final round of meetings. You could have a final decision as early as Thursday, August 7, but the process could extend into the following week. To this former PR flak, an August 12 press conference looks good: Yankees in Minnesota, Mets in Washington, Favre’s destination already known. I would think a new Islanders coach would fill most of Newsday’s backpage the following day – big-name hire or not.

****

For those fans who still don’t believe their favorite sports teams listen to them, I present the latest evidence: Johan Santana pitched – and was encouraged by his manager to pitch – a complete game this afternoon. The Mets’ bullpen was worn out from last night, yes, but if you don’t think the media and fan outcry for Santana to go the distance didn’t result in him going out for the ninth inning today, you’re not giving yourself enough credit.

****

While no one's ready to brand it The Hockey Newsday, there are signs that Long Island's newspaper is starting to understand again that the NHL is loved by a lot of people in our fair region.

Or it could have something to do with the owners of the New York Rangers purchasing the newspaper.

Either way, no one's complaining. It's like when ESPN became partners with the Arena Football League and all of a sudden Dragons highlights started popping up on "Sportscenter." You don't ask questions.

The watershed moment of Newsday's recent uptick of hockey coverage wasn't the draft or even Greg Logan, Katie Strang and Steve Zipay staffing the Islanders' and Rangers' unofficial-not-mandatory-but-you-better-get-your-ass-to summer prospect camps. No, it was when Zip found his way to the Rangers' practice facility in Greenburgh to write a story on Marc Staal for Thursday's paper.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like Zipay lives in Logan or Alan Hahn country, off exit 60-something on the L.I.E. Still, the idea of Long Island's newspaper having room for a hockey story on July 24...well, it just makes the heart sing.

If it takes the Dolans buying Newsday for the quantity of hockey coverage to be returned to major league status, so be it. And as for any concerns that only space for the Rangers will increase, or that the Blueshirts will be the dominant team over the Islanders in the paper, I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Everyone figures to benefit, especially the fans of both teams.

Now if we can only get Logan to be a maniacal blogger.

****

I have a different reaction than those who think the mix of Rick DiPietro and John Tortorella would be a disaster - albeit a wickedly entertaining disaster. I think the biggest reason Torts came to Long Island today with sincere interest in this gig is that, for all the Islanders may lack in the present, he knows in DiPietro he'd be starting with a first-level goaltender who's tough enough to play big in big games and tough enough to take his Parcellsian psyche jobs.

DiPietro and Tortorella know each other and like each other. There is mutual respect. I still wouldn't put my money on Tortorella getting the job - and I remain unsold that he's the best man for it - but it sure as hell is fun just thinking about the possibilities.

The search is on

2008-07-20T11:37:00.009-04:00

John Tortorella. Joel Quenneville.

It may be late July, but it’s not like there aren’t plenty of excellent head coaching candidates available.

Bob Hartley. Paul Maurice. Gerard Gallant.

Some have a connection to Garth Snow, most don’t.

Marc Crawford. Greg Gilbert.

There are candidates with Cups as coaches, one with Cups as an Islanders player.

Scott Gordon. Mike Sullivan.

And then there are the candidates who haven’t been rumored yet. Of course, as usual Greg Logan is all over it.

All of the above have or will be invited to Long Island for interviews to become the next head coach of the Islanders. While some details still need to be worked out, it looks like most, if not all of them are coming in – and there could still be one or two more.

****

These would be my requirements:

A teacher. (They will all say they teach. Some of them will be full of it).

A man who is eminently trustworthy and a team player.

A coach who just wants to coach.

Someone who won’t be thinking about where his next NHL job is going to be. Someone who won’t view the Islanders as if they’re a mid-major like Vanderbilt on the way to Tennessee.

A strong communicator with the fans via the press – accommodating, accessible and articulate without being a phoney media kiss-ass.

A man who will commit to Long Island – not just mouth BS about how much he loves it here.

(RANT ALERT: I mean, really, what’s not to love and why wouldn’t they love it? These guys usually have cash, the security of a contract, a beautiful home and a long summer vacation to hang at the beach, fish or golf at Bethpage and Shinnecock. I get ill when fans go ga-ga when an Islanders player or coach says they love Long Island. We all love Long Island. Imagine how much more you and I would love it if we made the average NHL salary and had the summer off).

****

You have to dial up John Tortorella. He may be the best head coach available. My hunch, however, is that Tortorella knows his next move is a big one. He has the luxury of taking his time. Like Pat Riley and Bill Parcells, Tortorella will likely wait for the right job for him, and I would be surprised if it’s the Islanders of 2008-09. If I’m wrong, would it be a blast and make the Islanders that much more entertaining and intriguing? Oh yeah.

****

Although the Islanders have changed coaches a few times this decade, this will be their first thorough coaching search since the summer of 2001. One morning seven years ago I was surfing the net and reading about the Bruins leaving their assistant coach Peter Laviolette at the altar, instead hiring Robbie Ftorek. I look up from my laptop and there’s Mike Milbury in my office with a well-dressed young man. “Chris, have you met Peter Laviolette”? I knew then that Pete would beat out the finalists at that time, Bryan Murray and Ted Nolan.

This search will be fascinating, shaking up what’s usually a quiet time around the league. Not only is the list of candidates impressive and filled with plenty of big names, but it could be revealing for another reason.

You could have up to a dozen men interviewing for the Islanders head coach position. With the exception of Gerard Gallant, all of them are outsiders. This means a lot of people may learn about Garth’s management style and the inner workings of the Islanders front office. This means – in this rumor and innuendo-filled business, more catty than the cattiest of workplaces, where stories end up in newspapers and on the web – you’ll probably hear a lot in the aftermath from the guys who didn’t get the job. Off-the-record and spineless, of course.

There will be plenty of notes in Sunday columns like this: “One of the candidates who didn’t get the Islanders job says…”

Naturally, a lot of it will be horse-hockey. But it is something Garth and the Islanders should keep in mind. Until you get to 2 or 3 finalists, I would keep it close to the vest. Everything said in that room in the next two weeks has the potential to get out.

****

In my view, the leader by a nose before the process begins is Bob Hartley. He has a solid relationship with Garth Snow. More importantly, I’ve heard from several fairly-impeccable sources that he really wants the job, likes what the Islanders are doing and is 100% committed to signing up for the program.

In my view, the man best suited for the opportunity is Paul Maurice. I’m aware Maurice may not be the most exhilarating choice, but the Islanders do not need exhilarating. They've done that. They do not need a big name or a showman. They just need the best coach for them.

Maurice may not have the best track record of the candidates, but I believe he brings the best of everything this challenge requires (see above). Coaches tend to not last long, but you have to go into the process looking for your Ruff or Trotz. And of all the candidates, Maurice is the one I can see thriving on Long Island for ten years, working well with Garth - and Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and the rest - for ten years.

This endorsement was NOT paid for by the People for Paul Maurice. I don’t even know any of Paul's people.

****

Who is doing the hiring? Garth Snow.

Will Charles Wang meet the 2 or 3 finalists? You bet your ass.

And if I were the sole owner of a hockey team – whether it was a cash cow or bleeding between 20 and 30 mill a year while politicians act like politicians – know this.

I would want to meet the top candidates, too.

Keeping my pledge to those so kind to ask that I pop in from time to time, I will unload my thoughts once or week or so until (hopefully) I know what I’m doing in September. When I initially decided to end this on July 7, I thought it would be a quiet time. Silly me.

My brief final entry

2008-07-07T17:28:00.006-04:00

Hi. Let’s wrap this up the way I came in. Me rambling, shooting from the hip, borderline incoherent…

Going out on a limb: every scribe will have the Islanders in the 10-15 range in their ’08-09 Eastern Conference predictions, somewhere among Atlanta, Florida and Toronto. And, of course, the Islanders will be very much alive in the playoff hunt in March.

One of the wild things about UFA week: by Day 3, teams are giving $3.5 million deals to players that weren’t even on the boards in the GM’s office – you know, the one with their “vision” – on Day 1. There’s a reason those boards are dry-erase.

Newsday had an impressive feature Sunday with a reporter on the front lines as Nassau police are on DWI patrol. Yet in the NHL there are still plenty of people who have a major problem with imbedding a reporter in that all-important pregame meeting for a regular season tilt.

*

It’s on the Islanders to continue to bring along Sean Bergenheim. He may only max out somewhere between a third and second liner, but I’m confident he can be a very effective player on a very good team. Let it be the Islanders.

Former Islanders who the mere mention of their names brings a smile: Bob Bassen and Steve Konroyd – the first two players to make me feel comfortable around the team, Trots, Kelly Hrudey, Jeff Hackett, Dennis Vaske, everyone on the ’92-93 team, Kaspar, Flats. That gutless puke Travis Green – a real good kid who became a real good man, smiling Mariusz Czerkawski – such a sweet man, he tried to hook me up in a Montreal bar. The “Sarge” Sergei Nemchinov, Roberto Luongo, Zdeno Chara – who once when visiting the office saw the staff doing a season ticketholder mailing and pulled up a chair and stuffed envelopes, Kenny Jonsson, Scatch, Mark Parrish and Jason Blake – the most impressively self-made player I ever saw. Wacky/driven as all hell but I love that guy.

One of the things I’ve missed is waking up Sunday morning, logging on to the New York Post and saying my prayer of hope that the Islanders are not roasted in Slap Shots by Larry Brooks. Funny thing about Larry: people take shots at him, but everybody reads him. Slap Shots is one of the few must-reads we have in the game. Brooks covered the dynastic Islanders, was an executive with the Devils and is the biggest hockey voice in New York, but has yet to be acknowledged by the Writers Association for the Ferguson Award at the Hockey Hall of Fame. I would hope this doesn't mean the honor is not about skill, impact and passion for the game but rather about something petty.

Has Snow tried to talk his friend Kenny Jonsson into coming back to Long Island? Garth was a goalie and knows how great KJ is, so of course he has...a few times. Kenny is most likely finishing his career in Sweden.

To my friends in the NY mainstream media resisting the horrible notion of ever joining this century and blogging, I urge you to re-consider. Look at some of the great work out there by Rich Hammond on the Kings, Mike Russo on the Wild, Sam Weinman's often loopy stuff on the Rangers and George Richards on the Panthers. Now, I assume these gents don’t put in all this work for free, but it would be nice to see more coverage circa the year 2008 from the local writers. Don’t worry: just because you blog doesn’t mean you will lose your Mainstream Media association card!

Yes, the Islanders need to win, and win big, to bring the fans back in huge numbers 41 regular season games a year. It would help tremendously, however, if the franchise is able to solve the dilemma of ho-hum corporate support on Long Island. Senior VP Chris Dey appears to be on a mission to boost local business support with the Islanders Business Club and other initiatives. This season should be a good test to see if the corporate market stands up before the Lighthouse comes to town.

As I said on XM, the reason why the Rangers still might work next season is because of their base of youngsters – Dubinsky, Dawes, Callahan, Prucha (I’ll take him if Tom doesn’t want to play him), Girardi, Staal. Like the Islanders’ kids, none of them (except perhaps Staal) are sure-fire A-listers. But they bring something every night. Better than that, they are a great watch. No reason why the Islanders can’t match that soon.

The expectations for Kyle Okposo make me queasy for such a great kid like KO. Without a doubt, he’s a player who could play a big part on a championship team. But some of the excitement seems a little over-juiced. Keep the bar at a fair level for the kid – maybe 25-35-60 in two or three years. Kyle had 9 goals in 35 games with Bridgeport, 2 goals in 9 games with the Islanders. Enjoy the kid. He’s going to be fun to watch develop.

*

So there is no misunderstanding, my puzzlement over the installation of a defensive system only after the Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention is this: with the team shorthanded throughout the second half, why didn’t they start thinking about minimizing scoring chances-against when the Islanders were still in the playoff race?

There was no surprise in Uniondale when the Penguins signed Ruslan Fedotenko. Pitt expressed interest in Tank before they went in another direction right before the deadline.

In the Comments section, I got a question about who the real Rick DiPietro is. On the ice, I’ll leave it to an NHL goalie coach who says Rick is easily one of the three most talented goaltenders in the game and he will have his moment when the D in front of him is top-10 NHL. Okay, I’ll make one suggestion on the ice. When the Islanders are on the PK, allow Rick to get in the opponent’s heads by playing the puck. When they’re not, tell him to just stop it. Off the ice, sure we averaged one moment a season when we cursed each other’s name. But when it was all over for me in May, Rick sent me a text after he got out of surgery that was as classy as any of the notes I received. SOB still has me rooting for him.

To answer the question from the Comments on the Ted post: no, I’m not aware of Garth Snow getting a contract extension. If he did, I'd like to think he'd buy me more than just Chipotle when we worked together.

As for the Q about what it was like to walk past Dale Hunter in the Coliseum hallway after he mugged Pierre Turgeon, this is what went through my mind: “I’d like to sucker-punch him, but Hatcher would probably kill me.” And “Man, that jackass looks just like Robin Williams.”

I was flooded with emails yesterday asking why I brought up the lack of resolution on the Ted Nolan issue. That’s easy. The Islanders have not won a playoff series since the spring I got married. That was in nineteen hundred ninety-three. I saw something that bothered me and could lead to those 15 years becoming 20 if it’s not rectified one way or the other.

It wasn’t like I unloaded insider secrets, went all Scott McClellan on my old team. There wasn’t a thing I wrote that wasn’t already public info, that wasn’t already covered by Greg Logan and that Greg will continue to be all over. It’s remarkable to me that some 24/7 fans thought I outed stuff everyone didn’t already know. It really does seem like the Islanders had an intriguing draft, signed Streit and Weight and – just like that – for some, all was forgotten. I don’t think so.

The private stuff I have kept to myself. To those of you who have read this blog going back to its inception when I was a team official: did you really expect me to go out just thanking a bunch of people? Maybe I’m stopping the blog a few days too late.

*

Well, actually I would like to thank some people. I’ve spent the last four glorious weeks in Major League Baseball as a PR consultant around the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, with a few more weeks to go. Call it Dream Job 2. A big thank you to my teammates Dan Queen, Sarah Leer, Sylvia Alvarez, fellow insultant Josh Rosenfeld (legendary former PR man of the Magic-Worthy-Kareem Lakers), Matt Monagan and our skipper, Matt Bourne. It has been a riot, a thrill and a privilege to be a part of it, and I cannot thank them enough.

Thank you to all the Point Blank readers. My “limited engagement” ends today. I’m not going on that family trip, but the next few weeks will have me working 18 hours a day on the many incredible All-Star events (unfortunately, I do not have a block of Bon Jovi tickets). Especially for all the class they have shown me, I owe MLB my best.

So many of you have been kind enough to ask me to keep this blog alive. A few suggested I keep it, even if it means just dropping a line once or twice a month. Thank you for the recommendation. I just might do that.

Either way, the Comments area remains open. I’ll be reading and will try to address whatever and whenever I can.

See you around.

Code Ted

2008-07-06T01:39:00.004-04:00

The draft is over. UFA work is also done, proving the Islanders might finally be serious about building from within (maybe they were just waiting for me to leave).

That’s it until the opening of camp, right?

It shouldn’t be.

Somehow lost in the shuffle – maybe everyone is just living in denial – is the matter of the Islanders and their head coach, Ted Nolan. When we last left off, the season ended miserably, fingers were being pointed in all directions, and the whole thing got so awkward that at my last Islanders Open House in April, these were the only questions on every fan’s mind:

Why are the Islanders letting Ted enter the final season of his contract without an extension?

Is Ted on board with the team’s plan to build around young players?

Do Ted and Garth like each other?

I’m sorry, but has anything changed with this subject in the last two months? Seems in the haze of Bailey and Petrov, Streit and Weight, everyone forgot about it. That is, until it came up in an interview I did on Friday night on XM Radio. I touched on the break in trust between Ted and the Islanders, and I will expound on it here.

If the Islanders are truly committed to getting it right, then they have one more big decision to make this summer.

Is Ted Nolan their coach for the long haul? Is Ted the Islanders’ Barry Trotz, their Lindy Ruff – the man who will stay positive and consistent in his approach to developing the kids every stumble and step of the way? Do they feel they can count on Ted like – gasp – the Rangers rely on Tom Renney?

*

Right now, there isn’t much of a relationship between Ted and Islanders management. Despite Ted’s success as a coach in junior, I don’t believe the Islanders are confident he really buys into the youth movement.

The other tall hurdle is the immense damage from last season. From March 1 on, when the ship was sinking, awkward moments came daily. You didn't have to be the PR director of the team to see the stains.

There was Ted’s repeated use of the phrase, “You work with what you got,” referring to his own lineup. I saw an Islanders interim head coach named Bill Stewart say that once and he hasn’t sniffed the National Hockey League since. I was amazed Ted said it, and was equally amazed he got away with it.

There was Ted ignoring policy and telling Greg Logan he was entering the last year of his contract and there were no discussions about an extension.

There was the weekend I was visiting family over Easter and got a slew of calls with the same exasperated message: “Ted just said he’s playing Joey Mac because Garth told him to.” The coach could have said, “Garth and I talked about it and decided we wanted to see what Joey’s got.” But he went out of his way not to be diplomatic. Why? And what kind of message does that send to Joey McDonald?

There were damaging lapses in relationships with key players. There was a real stunner no one seemed to pick up on: after the Islanders struggled for weeks and were eliminated from the postseason, only then did the team implement a defensive system to minimize scoring chances. An act of defiance? I hope not. It may have cost the Islanders the first overall pick.

After each Open House this offseason, I’ve heard from too many Islanders fans who approached the always-accessible Ted with questions about his team, only to have their jaws drop when Ted gave some version of “Depends on what they decide to do,” “It’s up to them” and worse.

They, they, they. Not we. Shame on everyone.

The Islanders were the only team willing to give Ted another shot in the NHL. They were proud of it, and Ted would go out of his way in his first season to show his appreciation. Why did it come to this between Ted Nolan and the Islanders?

*

Ted Nolan is not 100% at fault here. Not even close. For the breakdown to get to this point, there is plenty of blame to go around.

I don’t care about the committee rules. If the GM thinks at least one of the four coaches should be a former defenseman to mentor Campoli, Gervais and the kids - those are my thoughts, I should make clear - the GM should insist on it. When Garth is asked by “Mike and the Mad Dog” if Ted starting Dubielewicz raised an eyebrow, he needs to resist his inner New England wise-ass and not say, “One eyebrow or two”? If you’re going to talk about how you’re a committee, you need to act like a team. I also don’t want to make this about Ted’s handling of Jeff Tambellini. That’s an insult to both of them. If Jeff can play in this league, he’ll prove it on his own.

Beyond all the garbage, there is the essential issue of whether the Islanders believe Ted wants to coach this team in a rebuild, is the best man to coach this team and is a coach Garth Snow can see himself working with side-by-side for the next decade. Darcy Regier has it with Ruff, David Poile with Trotz. Garth will be the GM of this team for at least ten years. He needs to have a coach he trusts implicitly. Long Island could use a mainstay behind the home team bench.

The Islanders have two options: work through the issues and commit completely to Ted Nolan, or shake hands and say goodbye. More than themselves or even their fan base, they owe that to Ted.

A lot to give up for Brian Campbell for two months and now Boyle

2008-07-04T11:15:00.005-04:00

Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that Dan Boyle is going to be traded to San Jose for Matt Carle, a first round pick, a prospect and a future draft pick. If that is the case - the Gammons-like Dreger usually nails this crap - then...

1. It proves why Chicago was smart for digging deep to sign Brian Campbell as a UFA

2. The Islanders were wise not to break up the plan and pay the price in personnel to get Boyle

The Islanders really like Boyle. They did more than kick tires, they pursued a deal. But - before it got to whether Boyle would have approved a trade to LI - it's obvious the Islanders weren't willing to go too far in the deal with Tampa Bay.

Besides Carle, the big piece is the first round pick. Even the president of the Islanders Booster Club would concede it's more likely the Islanders' first round pick will come before San Jose's.

Seems to me any trade talks between Doug Wilson and Garth Snow died right there.

The Islanders need to hold on to their first round picks for at least the next year or two. Last thing they need is a Tom Kurvers/Toronto situation. That's when the Maple Leafs traded a future No. 1 to New Jersey for Kurvball and everyone in TO had heart problems as the Leafs blew and it almost ended up being the first overall pick - Ontario kid named Eric Lindros.

My hunch is if Snow was ever going to include his first round pick as part of a deal, it would have to be top-10 protected.

Boyle would have been an incredible add for the Islanders for the right price. Lining it up with what the Sharks paid, the Islanders would have had to give up their 2009 first-rounder, Chris Campoli (maybe not Carle, but close and also a better contract), a kid like Robin Figren and a fourth.

Pass. The Islanders are simply not yet in a position to make a deal like that.

Comments back on; bring on the final Qs

2008-07-04T00:47:00.004-04:00

Just when things got interesting, I had to shut down the Comments for a while because a real wacky one made its way through.

With only a few days left before I take a break and decide what I'm going to do next, I welcome your feedback, critiques and questions.

I'll have a few more things to say between now and Monday.

MEDIA ALERT: XM Radio's "Power Play" at 5:25 pm

2008-07-03T15:21:00.003-04:00

Presumably because they couldn't track down Milbury, Olczyk, Jonesey or Jaffe on 4th of July weekend, the good folks at XM Radio have invited me to go on "Power Play" at 5:25 pm today.

I'll be speaking with Mike Ross and Mick Kern about the NYI. Finally, my dream chance to carve Garth up.

I'm telling you, this could be dangerous. It's one thing to try and be the semi-under-control former Islanders "executive" while writing this blog, but radio? We'll see.

Can you curse on XM?

Gettin' Iggy with it: a (CT) Post Exclusive

2008-07-03T09:22:00.007-04:00

This is one of those wacky things that happen at the Islanders. It happened a few times when I was there, and I find it a source of minor amusement now.

Apparently, the team has signed a former San Jose prospect named Mike Iggulden. My hunch is the Islanders wanted yesterday to be about Doug Weight, which is classy and understandable, and figured they'd save the announcement of Iggy's addition for another day.

The problem with this, however, is once a contract is filed with the NHL or NHLPA, the player's name starts popping up on league and union websites. Resourceful folk, like the beautiful maniacs on Islandermania, find this stuff and start talking about whether Iggulden is going to play for the big club or the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

That's okay. Nothing wrong with the die-hards digging hard and coming up with a scoop.

But this is where it gets kinda topsy-turvy. The Islanders have not announced the Iggulden signing. The Sound Tigers have not announced the Iggulden signing. But there it is, in the Connnecticut Post, Bridgeport staff openly discussing, um, the Iggulden signing. You do have to give credit to Sound Tigers beat writer Mike Fornabaio, who I know from painfully first-hand experience out-works just about every hockey reporter on the planet. Still, this is a little bizarro.

Is it a big deal? I guess probably not. But I will say this: there is something to be said for organeyezational discipline, of which I admittedly am no master.

As of this morning, no Iggy story on the Islanders website. No story on the Sound Tigers website. No announcement for Logan, who lives for this stuff, and the rest of the media, who, alas, do not.

One thing's for sure. If this sort of thing happened on Lou Lamoriello's watch, he'd freak.

The Weight is over

2008-07-02T17:40:00.007-04:00

I thought it might go past the July 4 weekend, but the Islanders got the deal done a few minutes ago. Point Blank has learned that the Islanders have signed veteran center Doug Weight to a one-year deal.

As I wrote 48 hours ago, this is a no-lose deal for the Islanders. Early on, Weight will not be taking away anyone's icetime. Should one of the kids earn it down the line, that's what I would call a good problem to have.

Doug's arrival on the Island is a welcome one. He is a class act, and you can never have enough of them in your room. Especially class acts who can still skate.

In Weight and Mark Streit, I'd say the Islanders have had two solid days to start UFA week. They are a better team than they were before noon on Tuesday, and they haven't done anything to screw up the plan and hinder the development of their prospects.

What a drag

2008-07-02T11:01:00.003-04:00

Jim Kelley has a must-read column on Sportsnet that looks at yesterday and wonders what happened to the battle for "cost certainty" and the hilarious "drag on salaries" that cost the NHL and its fans a year of hockey.

Although I don't agree with many of Jim's player evaluations - Wade Redden may have some issues, but he's a better defenseman simply falling out of bed than Brooks Orpik - his point is strong.

Remember the talk during the lockout of a $40 mill max cap? Now that's just the floor.

The revenue generation in other sports is at a level where the NBA, NFL and MLB can look you in the eye and say semi-sincerely that their fans won't pay the price for player salary escalation.

The NHL is my favorite league, but you know who's ultimately paying the cost for Manic Tuesday. Can't wait to see what Hainsey and Orpik get today.

Let's sleep on it

2008-07-01T23:13:00.004-04:00

How about two former agents-turned GMs – Mike Gillis in Vancouver and Brian Lawton in Tampa Bay – giving money away like it’s not theirs? Oh yeah, it’s not. If in the next two years the Canucks and Lightning meet in a Cup Final, Mark Gandler will get a GM job.

I really don’t want to go after the Jeff Finger signing. But I will say that if you took the career stat boxes of Finger and Mark Streit and put them side-by-side, you’d think the Islanders made the deal of the decade.

I would have loved to have been there when JD got the news that Vancouver signed 24-year old grinder Dave Backes to a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet. Gotta give Gillis credit: he’s going into the job not worrying about making friends. Good for him. Financially, not great for hockey. PR-wise, it’s priceless. Can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next.

Ok, one more thing on the Finger signing. Here’s what happens when a deal like this goes down: in Toronto, the pro scouts are patting themselves on the back for unearthing an underappreciated gem. In Colorado, they’re sitting around saying, “We love Fings, but are you frickin’ kiddin’ me? Ah, never mind. Good for him. SOB’s buying the Molsons when we play there.”

In my new consulting gig, I announced some news today. I can’t wait to see whose paragraph is bigger in the city tabloids – the thing I released or the Streit signing. Results tomorrow.

Sorry for the tease before. Have to believe there won’t be another announcement tonight out of Uniondale. I’m told, in the immortal words of Don Maloney – doing a nice job in Phoenix, by the way – the Islanders have nothing imminent. Besides, Garth has to know if he’s going to sign somebody who can make an impact, there’s no sense making a formal announcement after Newsday goes to press. Right?

Goodnight.

Garth is still working

2008-07-01T22:15:00.003-04:00

I have an observation I'd like to share. It comes from years of hanging out on the perimeter of the GM's office at the Coliseum during the first week of July.

I'm not saying the Islanders will announce another signing tonight, but I can tell you this:

When the team signs a player to a five-year, $20-million contract and Garth doesn't even have two minutes to do an interview with Islanders-owned ITV, sending out chief pro scout Kenny Morrow instead, it only means one thing.

At 10:15 pm, the store is still very much open.

I refuse to use a silly Streit play-on-words for a headline

2008-07-01T21:14:00.007-04:00

Nothing wrong with tempering expectations, as Garth Snow did this weekend. The Islanders needed offense, power play help, a veteran defenseman and some flash and got all of that in one package called Mark Streit.

Let’s get all the quibbling out now: too much money, blah blah, blah…too many years, wah, wah, wah…he’s coming off one big year and he’s no Kenny Morrow in his own end, yadda, yadda, yadda...

This is unrestricted free agency in the National Hockey League on July 1. You see a player you want, a player who fits your team and fills a need, you simply go out and blow everyone else away with your best offer.

That’s what the Islanders did with Streit and this is what happened with every single signing that happened today. The teams that are waiting until tomorrow are going to find that the prices haven’t come down. Wait ‘til August if you want to go bargain-hunting. Richard Park aside, you usually get what you pay for.

I doubt Streit felt it necessary to tour the facilities on Hempstead Turnpike before agreeing to terms and saying, “I am an Islander.” I suspect Garth told him, "We really want you, we're prepared to do everything to get you, you'll play 25 minutes a game and we'll be counting on you."

My friends at the Montreal Canadiens love Mark Streit. They’re proud of the player he’s become the last few years. They knew he would be gone and are wishing him well. Across the board, you will hear raves about his integrity and, most crucially, his ability.

(Inevitable bitchy column out of Montreal about the Islanders over-paying for a one-dimensional guy from Switzerland in 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3...)

I wrote yesterday that there were plenty of reasons for the Islanders to step up the plan and go after a Brian Campbell. Streit is not Campbell - despite the obvious stat comparison, let's be clear about that - but he's a terrific addition. As a bonus, he's a fun player to watch.

The Islanders work is not done with Streit. You don't just sign a player and stand by and watch him. I don’t care that Streit’s 30, accomplished and seasoned. Now it’s on the Islanders to put him in position to succeed. Now it’s on Ted Nolan and the coaches to get the best out of him. No one wants to hear that he got 60 points last season “because he played in that fast and wide-open Montreal system.” Nonsense.

You went after Mark Streit for his talent and his 60 points. Make it work.

Weight for it...

2008-06-30T22:15:00.002-04:00

Should the Islanders sign Doug Weight to a one-year deal this week or next, there will be an audible groan out of large districts within Islanders Country.

(Cripes, I sound like Stan Fischler with that one. Let me try again).

The Islanders are going to sign Doug Weight sometime in the next two weeks and the initial reaction will likely be unfavorable. People will point to Doug’s 37 years and 1,137 regular season NHL games and rightfully declare the last thing the Islanders’ youth movement needed was a smallish center near the end of his career. There will be plenty of jokes worthy of the Catskills: “This is a good signing…in 1998”!

For one year at a fair price, signing Doug Weight is a smart move.

There’s no way around it. The Islanders need centers. They have Mike Comrie, who needs someone to be his co-No. 2 . They have Mike Sillinger, coming off major hip surgery at age 37. Richard Park can play center, but seems to have found a niche with the Islanders as a wing. They have prospect Frans Nielsen, who can be an outstanding NHLer with the proper development and patient coaching. There’s Ben Walter for depth and not much else for now.

Why move a terrific young player like Blake Comeau to center if you don’t have to?

In 2005-06, Weight was instrumental in leading the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup. The year after he was 16-43-59 with St. Louis (would you not sign up for that right now?). Last year he bounced from the Blues to the Ducks and never got on track.

It would be completely unfair to say he is done just because he’s 37.

There aren’t many great options for the Islanders at center in the UFA market that opens tomorrow. Doug Weight will play hard, lead, teach, settle down the power play, get at least 40 points and represent the Islanders well.

The case for Campbell

2008-06-30T17:03:00.002-04:00

So Garth has set the tone for UFA week, telling Greg Logan in yesterday’s Newsday that he doesn’t expect the Islanders to be “major” players.

Okay.

If “major” means signing Marian Hossa, Sean Avery, Wade Redden – not sure I’d throw 20-30 million at Wade – and Olaf Kolzig, I agree. I don’t expect the Islanders to sign a combo like Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, whose blockbuster additions led the Rangers to…well, the same second round they reached the season before without them.

But still, hear me out.

The Islanders are flush with pride over the haul they brought in with their shifty shenanigans in last weekend’s draft. The team website has certainly pounded us with enough stories that translate as, “See…Kevin Allen, E.J. Hradek, the I.S.S. and some guys on satellite radio say we did great, so there”!

I mostly kid. Although their ’08 draftees may not be blue-chippers in the Crosby category, the Islanders have good reason to believe they have stockpiled plenty of top-6 forward, second D-pair skill.

Add to the ’08 bonanza the take from ’06 – including 25/35 thumper Kyle Okposo and heart-and-soul speedster Robin Figren – plus maybe a surprise or two from their abbreviated ’07 draft, and I ask you this:

If these kids are truly as good as advertised, how many more drafts are needed to get to Stage 2 of The Plan?

Look, you can’t go into a season thinking you’re going to suck and be rewarded for your “patience” with a first or second overall pick to take John Tavares (next summer’s Stamkos) or Victor Hedman (billed as a 6-foot-6 Nik Lidstrom). The National Hockey League doesn’t work this way. A year ago, who had the Lightning in their Stamkos pool?

The Islanders cannot count on being there. There is enough of a sample size over the last two years: with Rick DiPietro, Brendan Witt, Richard Park and the rest of the gritty-gutties, the Islanders compete. They will not blow chunks out of the gate. Around Christmas, someone will call them the Little Team That Could. Look at last season. Look how jammed Garrett Timms’ trainer’s room had to get before the team finally tapped out in mid-March.

No team, especially the Islanders, should even be thinking about Tavares and Hedman until Trade Deadline 2009 at the earliest.

Should the Islanders purchase a pair of frontline forwards and a pair of top defensemen this week? No, I’m not advocating hiring a bunch of mercenaries.

However, it wouldn’t be a setback to the plan if they looked into acquiring a big-time defenseman. It would be a step forward.

Just asking: having Brian Campbell play 28 minutes a game for the next six years would take ice away from which hotshot Islanders D prospect exactly?

Signing UFAs is more compatible with building from within than you might think. When you sign a UFA, it only costs you a lot of cash. The team that acquires Dan Boyle from Tampa Bay this month will have to pony up prospects and picks.

In DiPietro, you have a player every goalie coach in the league drools over. Rick has not had a top-20 defenseman in front of him since Kenny Jonsson went home more than four years ago. My admiration for Brendan Witt – entering the last year of his deal – Martinek, Gervais and Campoli is well-documented on this blog. But it would not be a bad idea to put at least one all-star dman in front of DiPietro. Soon.

Brian Campbell is just 29 years old. It's nice the Islanders have had a couple of good drafts. The Plan could use some momentum.

Calling Ron Hainsey

2008-06-30T09:14:00.002-04:00

I’ve got a real problem with Ron Hainsey, the solid UFA defenseman from the Columbus Blue Jackets who will get a lot of phone calls on Tuesday.

What’s his nickname?

In hockey, Richard Park becomes Parksy, Trent Hunter is Hunts, Brendan Witt, naturally, is Witter.

What the heck do you do with Hainsey?

Hainz? Nah.

Hainser? Weak.

Hainsey-sy? Don’t think so.

I guess there are bigger problems for a team to have. Ron is a good player who is about to cash in spectacularly. After struggling as a first-round pick in Montreal – he went 12 picks after his pal Rick DiPietro in 2000 – he found his game under Ken Hitchcock in Columbus. He will deserve every cent he gets this week because many teams could use a fully developed 24-minute man entering the prime of his career.

Did I mention Hainsey happens to be buds with Rick DiPietro, who could use a mobile 6-foot-3 dman in the Islanders’ end? Sources tell Point Blank Page Six that Rick attended Hainsey’s recent wedding. It's not exactly the Lightning hiring Mr. Malone and then signing Mr. Malone's boy, but it's something.

Ron is only 27 years old, so his signing wouldn’t foul up the franchise’s plan to build around youth.

He could stay with Columbus, but I suspect Hainsey’s agent will get big offers from more than a dozen teams, including the Islanders. At whatever the going rate is for Ron Hainseys – figure on Scott Hannan money – six years would get it done. It’s simply a matter of how far the Islanders will go.

With John-Michael Liles staying in Colorado, the alternative on D for the Islanders is probably not signing anyone at all. You can make a case for that, too, I guess. Depends on how patient you think you can be.

How to sign an Unrestricted Free Agent

2008-06-29T22:14:00.005-04:00

If you do not understand how the Ryan Malone signing gets done so quickly and at that number, allow me to shed some light on how the magic works. The most effective NHL general managers will get their guys on July 1 by following this routine:

1. On Monday, demand that your IT staff installs a private fax machine in your office.

2. Before you leave the office late Monday night, finalize your list of the free agents you really want. If there are any players you are only kinda-sorta interested in, eliminate them from your list and never think about them again.

3. One second after the opening of the UFA Megsatore on Tuesday, take what you would like to offer the agent of your desired free agent, add 50% more cash and one year to the term.

4. Fax your offer to the agent. Since the fax is in your office, you don’t have to worry about the disapproving look from your assistant, the look of shame from your chief pro scout.

5. After the agent stops laughing and tells you he already has offers that blow yours away, ask agent, “What will it take to close the deal and for you to not shop my offer”?

6. So he knows you mean business, take agent’s proposal and add 10%. Don’t think twice. Fax offer.

7. Host media conference call right away before anyone changes their minds. Talk about how this was the player you wanted all along. Smile as your new player tells the media your team was his first choice.

8. Take shower. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

The Sean Avery Checklist

2008-06-29T18:20:00.007-04:00

Will Sean Avery sign with the team that gives him the most money?

Check.

Would Avery prefer to be in or near a major American city?

Check.

Would he really prefer to be a short limo ride away from the fashion-show runways?

Check.

Does he have a recent history of making his team better?

Check.

Could he be a lightning rod for a team without a storyline?

Check.

Is he the rare NHL player that stirs emotions and shocks hearts - one way or the other?

Check.

Is Avery the extremely rare NHL player who could move tickets and merchandise?

Check.

Could he actually move newspaper editors to say, "You know, we should probably go cover that Gong Show"?

Check.

Does it look like Sean Avery, only 28 years old, is going to be available to sign with any of the 30 NHL teams starting Tuesday and it won't cost them a player or a draft pick?

Check.

Do I think the Islanders are going to sign Sean Avery?

Probably not.

Do I think they should at least "drop a few lines in the water."

Yep.

Just another Manic Tuesday

2008-06-27T11:15:00.008-04:00

The highly underrated Scott Burnside of espn.com has a breakdown of the top unrestricted free agents available on July 1. No one is disputing these are good hockey players. You can also be sure of the following:

* The UFAs will go to the team that gives them the best contract. Or they will go to the team that gives them the second-best offer, a smidge under the best offer spread out over several years, and they will say it wasn’t about the money.

* Their signings will be universally hailed by the fans of the team signing them.

* At least one of those players’ families will go through the unfortunate experience of having some sad people say or write that he went to a new city because his wife insisted on it.

* In a matter of hours, the wonderful Brian Rolston will go from a versatile, invaluable second-line player with high character and a cannon of a shot – he will hear from at least 20 teams – to, “OMFG, did you see how much Rolston got? He ain’t that good.”

* A grand total of zero of these free agents will have the best season of their NHL careers.

* They will not be one of the three most essential players on the team that wins the Stanley Cup in 2009.

* At most, only one of them will be part of a team that makes a Conference Final.

* One of them will say they signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs because they love that “hockey really matters here.”

* By November, that player will realize Toronto is in Canada and that hockey really matters there.

*At least once during the season, the former free agents will privately question whether they should have left their old team.

* At least once during the season, the GMs that sign them will privately question what they were thinking about on that hot July day when they gave this player 30% more than they planned on.

* Ultimately, that GM will chalk up the decision to caving to pressure from media and fans. And maybe his coach.

* The new teams of the free agents will be slotted into UFA “Winners” and “Losers” across the information superhighway and in mainstream newspaper columns on Sunday, July 6. A year later, we will look back at those columns and they will all seem funny.

The deal with Bryan McCabe

2008-06-26T15:22:00.003-04:00

Bryan McCabe will play for the Islanders again at some point before he hangs up his skates, of that I'm sure. However, unless the Maple Leafs buy him out, I’m fairly certain it’s not going to be this year.

As much as the Toronto media can be badasses, I find it charming how they often take one for the Maple Leafs. The rumors of McCabe coming to Long Island, all generated out of the province of Ontario, often read like come-ons. (“C’mon Islanders, how can you not do McCabe for two picks and a prospect”?)

What is it they do not understand? He has a no-move clause and there may be two teams (at most) that he may be okay going to. McCabe earned the right to tell the Leafs to stick it when the Maple Leafs gave it to him as part of a contract negotiation when they really wanted him to play for their team.

Why would the Islanders do the Leafs a favor, and also give up something of value? There is no reason for the Islanders to take on Caber’s wicked contract unless the Leafs include a major sweetener. For example, the deal would have to look this:

Islanders get: Bryan McCabe, first round pick in 2009
Maple Leafs get: 7th round pick in 2011

I’m not really exaggerating what the Islanders would need to give up.

Of course, since Cliff Fletcher already paid a dear price to move from 7 to 5 and take Luke Schenn in the first round, he has very few chips to offer (that didn’t last long!). Although I thought the Islanders should have stayed at 5 and taken Nik-Fil-A, Garth Snow did get a good return. In fact, I dislike Fletcher’s decision far more than Garth’s. One thing Cliff has going for him: if Schenn can just stand upright, the TO press will hail him as the next Larry Robinson.

Despite the no-move, I believe McCabe would come to the Island with a huge Irish grin on his face. His wife’s family is here and he loves the Island. I always say Long Island is one of the greatest places in the world to live. It is the greatest place in the world to live if you’ve got a lot of dough.

Only slightly off-topic: my list of celebrities I’ve run into at Laguardia: Art Garfunkel, Ray Davies, Bryan McCabe (7x).

Bryan’s been a target at times in Toronto because the Leafs gave him a big contract and he’s not as smooth as Borje Salming. He’s also taken some shots on the Island because of the “Can Opener” stuff from the ’02 playoffs.

But I hope at some point he gets to represent the Islanders again. Time will tell if the Leafs have the guts to buy him out, because if they do Bryan could be an Islander sooner.

Bryan McCabe can play on my team anytime.

Start dreading the News

2008-06-25T17:17:00.003-04:00

I have something to confess. I hope you’re sitting down. This isn’t easy for me.

Now that I’m out of hockey in an official capacity, I’ve done something I’m ashamed of. I have no one to blame but myself.

Since I’ve started spending time in Manhattan, there have been a few days when I…I…oh man, this is hard.

I’ve dropped two quarters into the slot and…god, I hope my mom doesn’t read this.

I have purchased the New York Daily News.

(I wish I could say I feel better now).

I’ve confessed my sins to my friend Peter Botte, the man assigned by the Weekly News to the Islanders the last few years as a sabbatical after doing hard time on the Yankees beat. Before that, he covered the Islanders daily and entertainingly for the Post. Pete seemed to understand my setback.

I coughed up Fitty Cent for the News today. I used to be aghast at what wasn’t in it – you know, hockey coverage, especially of the Islanders and the Devils. I read the News today, oh boy, and…well, let me give it to you straight.

The New York Daily News has not just one, but two sports columnists at Wimbledon.

(That’s a tennis tournament in England).

I love tennis. Play it, poorly. Watch it, the Majors regularly. If I wasn’t too busy whining for better hockey coverage, I would work pro bono to shine a brighter light on the great game of tennis. I'd do everything I could to bring the Australian Open TV ratings up to at least Stanley Cup Final level. I would pay to work for Ana Ivanovic, her being French Open champion and all.

I think it’s wonderful that both Filip Bondy and Mike Lupica are writing columns from the fortnight. Just consider this, hockey fans.

Whether Fil and Mike are staying one week or two, the budget for this boondoggle far exceeds the travel expense for the New York Daily News to cover the New York Islanders.

I mean to cover the Islanders…for the last decade.

Jaffe called it

2008-06-22T22:03:00.004-04:00

Thanks to a commenter on Islandermania, I was reminded of an ITV clip where Billy Jaffe did seem to go out of his way a few times to mention the Islanders might trade down. My man Jaff is a very smart guy, but knowledge like this usually does not come out of thin air.

I'm thinking maybe Garth did try to get the word out. I guess it wasn't enough, buddy! Still, it was a noble try.

As another poster on the official fan message board wrote, the signs were there and we chose not to pay attention to them.

Figures to be another couple of interesting weeks in the Country. Enjoy it.

This is gonna take a while

2008-06-22T16:15:00.004-04:00

Hockey is the one major team sport that is not played with balls. Yet, more than any sports league – including the NFL – the NHL is the one where the team that best combines skill and balls usually wins the championship.

The Islanders knew before Friday night what the polls on their official fan message board said. The Islanders are well aware how many season ticketholders they have, and what a breakout star could mean to the franchise. They knew that drafting Nikita Filatov – whether he’s actually amazing or not doesn’t matter for a while - would give them an opportunity to sell hope.

And yet they passed on Filatov and Luke Schenn and others and moved from 5 to 7 to 9. Instead of one player they got Josh Bailey on Friday, 2 highly-rated prospects on Saturday and a 2nd and 4th round pick in next year’s draft.

I got home from the city Friday around midnight and my laptop was exploding like the plant from “Little Shop of Horrors.”

What the Islanders did Friday night…well, it took pucks.

*

No question, what the Islanders did is not what I was hoping for. My wish was for Filatov and Schenn to still be there at 5 and for the question to be posed to scouting director Ryan Jankowski: in 12 years from now, who will we be more proud to have as a lifetime Islander – Luke Schenn or Nikita Filatov?

Know this, friends: by their actions Friday night, the Islanders are saying it is their opinion that Filatov is not going to be a perennial 40-goal, ticket-selling star and that Schenn is not going to be an all-world shutdown dman. If they liked them, if they really liked them, be assured the Islanders would have drafted one of them.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Islanders’ decision to pass. Jankowski and his staff – take my word for it, they work hard and they work smart - blanketed both players with scouting coverage and deep inside analysis. Their jobs are to get this right, message board and hilariously fraudulent “expert” opinion in the press be damned.

But make no mistake: by virtue of management’s eye-opening plan on Friday night, Ryan Jankowski joins the list of the 3 or 4 most important people in the Islanders organization.

By all accounts Bailey is a wonderful young man, someone the Islanders will be proud to have wear their sweater. This is a good thing for my pal Janks because he will be linked with Josh Bailey for years to come.

*

As for Kirill Petrov, since the Islanders had more picks than any team in the league, it was absolutely worth taking a shot. I know a team that had Petrov ranked as the top European skater. I guess they were waiting until the fourth round to select him. I hope the North American kids they took in the second and third were worth it.

Reminds me of the time I was at the draft table and the Islanders had a late-developing 23-year old European in their back pocket. I was told he was a fourth defenseman who would play a decade in the NHL. It gets to the 5th round and I say to our guy, “If he’s that good, what the heck are you waiting for”? The Islanders waited until the 8th round and the 228th overall pick to draft Radek Martinek.

*

Spare me the analysis of how teams did on Saturday, based on “value picks” in the later rounds. C’mon people, tell me about the expert who said, “Wow, the Islanders got a 20-minute defenseman in Campoli in the 7th – what a move”! and also said the Red Wings won the draft when they got Datsyuk late.

As for these proclamations how Teams X and Y were this year’s winners, please stop. Yeah right, that kid the Islanders drafted in the 2nd or the Blue Jackets drafted in the 4th or Boston got in the 6th must really be a slam dunk stud. I mean, so what if Jim Nill of Detroit, David Conte of the Devils, the Sharks staff, the rest of the supposed draft masters and, uh, 29 other teams passed on those kids 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 times? Don’t get me wrong. I love the coverage, love people talking about hockey. But let’s not take it seriously.

I mean, with all the wall-to-wall coverage of baseball in America, how come we rarely see such hysterical analysis of the winners and losers of the MLB Draft?

*

I spoke with both Garth Snow and Ryan Jankowski late Saturday afternoon. Garth was very happy about the return on his trades and very proud of his scouts. Ryan, whose dad was also a scout and knows all the ups and downs, was confident his staff made the Islanders’ depth chart look a whole lot better.

My take is what you saw this weekend is rooted in the team’s draft of 2006. After the Islanders picked Kyle Okposo in the first round, they made several deals to add selections in later rounds. The result was the team’s best draft of the decade. The team seems confident they were even more efficient this weekend. This is crucial – not because of any criticism the Islanders may get from the media and the fans, but because the roster really needs it. I cannot overstate that enough.

*

Since we won’t know about the development of these prospects for a while, the Islanders or any other team cannot be praised or ripped for their draft.

The Islanders did make one mistake, however. The team should have utilized the media – external and internal - to set the table.

A hockey staff doesn’t just show up in the draft city and sees what happens. We have to assume the Islanders were considering for a while the concept of moving down and adding picks. Instead of going the “best available player” route, Garth could have done interviews with the team site, ITV and Newsday where he clearly got some version of the following message across:

“Our team is building from within, and to be frank, we are very thin in many areas. If it turns out we just use our picks, great. But if we have the chance to come back with even more talented young players, I have to look at it because it’s a necessity.”

If Garth had got the word out that he was considering bringing home several potentially very good players instead of one potentially great one, he would not have hurt his trade leverage on the draft floor. And the result would not have been a back-page headline that said, “Say It Ain’t Snow: Islanders Trade Down.” More importantly, he would have set a fair level of expectations for his team’s fans. Instead of booing the team’s decision to not draft an 18-year old Russian no one has seen play a game, the reaction might have been, “Son of a gun, he said he might do this…wow, he got 2 picks just to go from 5 to 7?...holy geezus, now we got 4 extra picks to go to 9…Josh Bailey – I love Josh Bailey! He’s the center to play with Okposo”!

Manage the media. Let them help you. They usually have no problem with that. Just be honest with them.

You have to understand that fans on hockey websites every day in June are the die-hardest of the die-hards. The fans that give up their Friday night in June to watch television coverage of a hockey draft on the scoreboard of an outdated arena are…well, there aren’t enough ways to say thank you to fans like that.

You don’t have to let the fans tell you who to pick, but it’s not a bad idea to make them feel like they are a little bit clued in.

Now that everyone has had the chance to see the fruit – some of the high-risk/high-reward second and third round picks – the irony is that if the Islanders had a Draft Party on Day 2, most of the fans would have gone home happy.

*

Friday was a real busy day and night for me at the new gig. The Islanders turned the first round upside down. I got a bunch of texts from friends saying some variation of “WTF”, “It’s chaos” and “You’re lucky you’re not there anymore.” Nah…

I missed it.

Feeling a draft

2008-06-18T22:20:00.006-04:00

If you grab the highlights of the Islanders making their first round picks from the mid-90s through Kyle Okposo, you can actually see the hair-less circle on the top of my head grow larger with each draft. No, despite too many years picking in the stressful top ten, I do not blame the Islanders for what became of my hairline.

Life-after-NYI has been kind and joyful so far. The soul-sucking train ride to the city takes a while to get used to, but overall I have to say it’s been a lovely six weeks. I thought I would ache by now for a visit to Islanders Country, but surprisingly I haven’t. That could be because I hear from my friends at the Islanders regularly. It could also be the result of taking on an exciting, temporary challenge elsewhere in pro sports. It’s also easier to say when there are still more than a hundred days before the next game at the old barn on Hempstead.

But to be sure, the first day I’ll truly miss the Islanders job comes Friday when the NHL Draft begins. As much as I took a shot in my Hockey News column at the absurdity of the entire league flying to one city just for the crapshoot of selecting 18-year olds, for people who do what I did it’s kind of like a weekend family reunion. You get to see a lot of people you enjoy being around. You talk. You eat. You drink. And then, mercifully, you get to leave before it all becomes too much.

Of course, the U.S. sports media has made it easier on me by, ya know, paying very little attention to the NHL Draft. Hockey has seen more than a few potential superstars enter the league since the lockout. Stamkos is a freakin’ stud, Filatov may be special and you could have up to five future Norris nominees in this year’s lot. Yet, other than a one-paragraph plug for the VERSUS coverage, Sports Illustrated’s got zip on the draft in the issue that came out today. SI, needless to say, is not alone.

I don’t think I’m ready to watch the draft on TV. I’ll miss hanging out with Mario Saraceno too much. I’ll miss watching my friend Ryan Jankowski develop as one of the best young minds in the game. I’ll miss Andy Kallur’s infectious optimism. I’ll miss watching Garth grab the first building block to truly call his own. I’ll even miss the buzz from putting those Velcro nameplates on the backs of the jerseys, like I did for Luongo and Brewer, DiPietro and Connolly, Bergenheim and Kudroc. Yes, the Kristian Kudroc.

I’ll probably stay in the city after work on Friday night. I’ll eat. I’ll drink. But I’d be lying if I said my mind and part of my heart will not be elsewhere.

If any of my friends could text me and let me know whether the Islanders picked Filatov, Schenn or Pietrangelo, I’d appreciate it.

Terry Simpson, Todd McLellan and the route from juniors to the NHL

2008-06-16T22:03:00.003-04:00

I was in the Islanders job just a little over a year when on Dec. 7, 1988 team PR director Greg Bouris walked into my office and closed the door.

"Looks like Terry's out and Al's in," Greg told me.

Honestly, it took me a bit to register what the heck he was talking about. I had worked with Islanders coach Terry Simpson for 12 months and the only time he wasn't being anonymous, he was being grumpy. Terry was such a mad scientist, stuck in his charts and video and working hard at being boring and trying to pretend he wasn't really on Long Island, he never even tried to learn my name or anyone else's.

Then again, the Al part of the equation had me fooled. "Al who"? I asked Greg, today Donald Fehr's PR guy at the almighty MLBPA.

"You know," he said, "the guy with the glasses who won four Stanley Cups here a few years ago."

I thought of Terry Simpson this week with the news of Todd McLellan getting the Sharks job, and not just because Todd was drafted by the Islanders in the fifth round in 1986 and played 5 games for Terry on the Island in '87-88. The Simpson experiment with the Islanders makes me wonder if McLellan is in a much better position to succeed in the NHL than Terry Simpson, or this year's junior hockey sensation turned NHL head coach, Peter DeBoer of the Panthers.

This story by WHL broadcaster Regan Bartel has some terrific insight into McLellan's determination to improve at just about every level of his life, including a battle of the personal bulge he waged as a junior coach. Just as impressive, Todd took his coaching career one step at a time - Canadian juniors, AHL head coach (a championship with Houston), NHL assistant coach (a Cup with the Red Wings). He may not have NHL head coaching experience, but McLellan has answered every question up until now.

Peter DeBoer comes directly to South Florida of the NHL after 13 years as a highly successful coach in the Ontario Hockey League. Terry Simpson came directly to Long Island of the NHL after 11 years as a highly successful coach in the Western Hockey League.

We've heard Peter is a genius. We've heard he can motivate, teach and scheme like crazy. Perhaps he's a perfect fit with the talented but still very young Panthers, because right now all we know for sure is that DeBoer is an amazing coach of teenagers. I hope it works out. Some of those kids on Florida seem a little bratty, but they could be a blast to watch if Peter helps them get their act together.

DeBoer has two advantages on Simpson. Terry coached a team that still had Mike Bossy, Bryan Tottier and Denis Potvin on it. He also replaced Al Arbour. DeBoer doesn't have that problem, and that's a good problem not to have.

The Mark of Lack-of-Finesse

2008-06-15T12:28:00.007-04:00

Mark Gandler is a rather original and entertaining fellow. He is the agent for Alexei Yashin and Sean Bergenheim and others, but he wasn't all business when we'd speak. He has other interests besides hockey and he certainly has a unique view on some things. Mark always returned calls immediately and always spoke his mind. He's a reporter's dream.

But Mark sometimes doesn't do his clients any favors, as today's story in Newsday about the possibility of Yash coming back illustrates. In his public comments about teams, his players and negotiations, Mark tends to have the touch of Quentin Tarantino and the subtle voice of James Hetfield. He can be as tone-deaf as the kid at the back of a chorus scene in a junior high production of "Fiddler on the Roof."

Assuming there have been more-than-courtesy discussions between the Islanders and Gandler about Yash - an assumption we should hold judgment on until someone from the Islanders speaks to it - if I'm Mark Gandler, I consider not saying anything at all. And if I'm going to talk to a reporter, I would have gone with this:

"Yash loved his time on Long Island, enjoyed being part of the community and his relationship with the fans. His only regret was how it ended. After a year back home in Russia, he really wants to return to the Islanders. Yash told me he is willing to do anything to contribute to get them back into the playoffs and challenging for the Stanley Cup."

Instead, in his comments to Greg Logan of Newsday, Mark took a swing at the team and made it about - my God, of all things - cash.

"We've had discussions. But it's been very slow because I told them in the beginning how much I wanted. They're obviously not happy about that. But clearly, they missed him. They didn't have a first line last season."

Later on in the article, oops, he did it again.

"My premise is that he should get what his market value is ...Now, there is a new year and a new market, and if they want him, this is the price."

And then, as if Islanders fans had not been bloodied with more bullets than Sonny Corleone took at the tollbooth, Mark fired off another round:

"First, it's up to Ted whether he wants him or not, and second, it's up to Charles and Garth whether they want to pay him what we think he should get paid."

These comments do not help my friend and former colleague Alexei Yashin. However, if my friends and former colleagues at the Islanders needed an immediate market survey of their fan base, I have a feeling this will help them tremendously.

****

Someone can always argue that there was a method to Mark's madness with his quotes. You can definitely win the debate that Mark is infinitely wiser than me. It's only fair that I point out Mark Gandler has made more money - perhaps on Yash alone - than I may make in my lifetime.

But what's not up for debate is that Newsday - specifically, an editor at the sports desk last night - screwed up. The front page of the sports section has a box at the top that reads: "ROUND 2? Isles say they've talked to Yashin about coming back."

Geez, can somebody at the sports desk please take 5 minutes to read the frickin' article? There is not a single comment from an Islanders person in it. Logan even writes that he couldn't reach Garth Snow. This is unfair to the Islanders. More so, this is really unfair to the arteries of any Islander fans who hoped for a quiet Sunday morning.

(I will hold my opinion on Yash coming back until it actually happens. If it happens).

Sportswriters like Greg are quick to accurately point out that they do not write the headlines, editors do. This proves what we've also known for a long time: some editors don't even read the articles.

Insecurity

2008-06-14T10:24:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when you haven't won in a while. You start to over-compensate by going out of your way to talk about how a player or coach really wanted to be with your team.

The latest to expose himself was Florida GM-coach-turned-GM (when he's a much better coach), Jacques Martin. Jacques said the following to Panthers beat writer George Richards on the hiring of hotshot junior coach Peter DeBoer:

"He was wanted by several organizations and picked ours,'' Martin said, as reported in George's outstanding Panthers collection of short stories, On Frozen Blog. "He likes our people, likes our roster. I was able to come to final agreement with him around noon. It's great for our franchise. Ottawa, LA and other teams were pursuing him. This speaks highly for us.''

Actually, no. It speaks poorly of your franchise that you even had to bring it up. It is downright horrendous that you brought the Kings and Senators into the discussion, implying Craig Hartsburg (Ottawa) and TBD (LA) are second choices. It is - what's the word? - lame-ass.

When I was with the Islanders, I authored a few press releases like this, quoting Mike-Neil-Garth saying something like, "[Gritty but slowish 5th defenseman] really wanted to be here," or "[hit-or-miss college free agent forward who is really kinda tiny but so is Martin St. Louis)] had plenty of options and chose the NYI."

For the record, these claims were always true. We never fibbed or were so desperate to name-drop the other teams our new players could have signed with.

Still, the practice is pretty weak. Just because the Islanders GM told me we may have out-bid or out-charmed a player for his services doesn't mean I had to include it in the release. Consider me the guilty one. No doubt there were times when even this PR guy was feeling insecure about his team, just as Jacques Martin may be about his Cats.

If he hasn't already, the GM can expect calls from Bryan Murray and Dean Lombardi. My advice to Jacques: il suffit de présenter des excuses et aller de l'avant.

Will the Islanders go to Nik Fil-A?

2008-06-10T19:52:00.004-04:00

First things first: Nikita Filatov is not Alexander Ovechkin. Just because Nik’s Russian, wicked-skilled and the top-ranked European in the 2008 NHL Draft, everyone needs to take a breath, give the kid a break and not make that leap.

With that out of the way, there’s still reason for hockey fans to be pumped. At a time when so many supremely skilled young forwards are entering the league, Filatov’s gifts give him the potential to one day be mentioned in the same sentence as every under-23 offensive sensation not named Crosby and Ovechkin.

No, I didn’t forget to include Evgeni Malkin.

I’ve heard enough from scouts across the league that I’ve known for years and respect greatly. To a man, here’s what they say about Filatov:

· With proper development and the expected filling out of his thin-pretzel frame, the Russian can score 35 goals by his third NHL season. And then take off from there.

· While his energy and passion are not at the Ovechkinian level – really, whose are? – the kid’s love for the game comes through in his play.

· Right now, he couldn’t check anyone in the NHL, but his desire to learn will result in Filatov becoming an adequate player in his own end.

· Off the ice, he’s a delightful kid. The NHL teams that met with Nikita and his parents were impressed and felt comfortable that the kid wants to have a long career playing hockey in North America.

Very few teams seem to have question marks about Filatov. Usually by now you could have found some rock-head NHL scout with Western League-lust who would have whispered something awful like “He’s a dog.” Like the guy who told me after the Islanders drafted Ziggy Palffy in the second round, “A little early to be drafting a Czech, don’t ya think”?

(Yes, I know Ziggy is from Slovakia. The scout was stupid and ignorant).

But I haven’t heard of anyone dogging Filatov. He is almost unanimously considered a top-8 selection. My estimate is that at least two-thirds of the league will tell you Filatov is easily the second-best forward available, behind Steven Stamkos.

So now the question is, will Nikita Filatov still be on the board when the New York Islanders draft at No. 5?

There’s a good chance. Tampa Bay will take Stamkos at No. 1. While I’m told LA likes Filatov, I have a hard time picturing GM Dean Lombardi pass on Drew Doughty at No. 2. With the left shot D Thomas Hickey and righty Doughty, the Kings could be set for a while. Everyone drools over the dmen at the top – Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Zack Bogosian, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers – but deep down just about everyone sees Doughty as the surest of the sure things.

Atlanta has the third pick and knows they have yet to develop a stud defenseman since they entered the league. That ends on June 20, when Don Waddell selects the second-best defenseman. My money is on Don’s scouts recommending Bogosian.

By the way, I don’t think you’ll see any trades leading to movement between picks 2 and 5. There’s so much talent available, I’m not sure any of the GMs have the nads to give up their position.

Which leaves only St. Louis standing in the way of the Islanders having the option of taking Filatov. What I think I know about the Blues’ hockey ops staff tells me they would love to have Pietrangelo, Myers or Schenn become the Chris Pronger to Erik Johnson’s Scott Niedermayer. What we know about the Blues' goal to get back on the map makes you wonder: could they really pass on a potential breakout star in Filatov? Could they really pass on this?

For the Islanders and their fans – and most hockey observers on Friday night, June 20 – this is where the drama is.

Which, of course, leads to the final question:

If Filatov is there at No. 5, will the Islanders take him?

I wouldn’t know even if I still worked there, but consider this: DiPietro...Okposo...Filatov.

That’s a franchise building from within that could suddenly get a whole lot more exciting.

Why NHL players - at least Eastern Conference players - can't complain about the schedule

2008-06-09T22:36:00.008-04:00

It remains true that, as a whole, hockey players are among the most accommodating in all of sports. I know full well if I should end up in another game, the boys of the NHL will likely have spoiled me.

For years, I've watched on TV as my PR colleagues at some of the other pro teams try to stop their athletes for post-game interviews and get run over, as if they weren't even there. At the Islanders the last few years, I only had that trouble with one kid - and he usually apologized or made up for it some other way.

That said, I'm not sure the gap between the otherworldly likability of NHL players - "hockey guys are by far the coolest, best guys in sports!" - and other pro athletes is as big as it once was.

For anyone in the NHL who has ever mitched and boaned about how the schedule takes away from their personal lives, let's take a look at the recent itinerary of the New York Mets, shall we?

After having the day off on Monday, May 19 - on the heels of playing games 10 straight days (all in New York, at least!) - the Mets had this schedule:

May 20 (day/night doubleheader)-21-22: in Atlanta

May 23-24-25: in Colorado

May 26-27-28: vs. Florida at Shea (note the lack of day off with the flight from Colorado to NY)

May 29-30-31: vs. Los Angeles

Sunday night, June 1: vs. Los Angeles (for ESPN)

Monday, June 2: in San Francisco (yes, you read that correctly - Sunday night game in New York, flight across the USA and game in San Fran less than 24 hours later).

June 3-4: in San Francisco

June 5-6-7: in San Diego

That's 21 games in 20 days, folks, and it gets even better.

Tonight, after flying 6 hours after the Padres game yesterday, would be the one night off before the Mets play another 9 games in 9 days - the last 3 in Los Angeles before a day off and continuation of another road trip. It would be the only night besides June 26 when David Wright and the boys could stay at home.

However, God bless them, it's not.

Here's the press release:

FLUSHING -- The New York Mets today announced that Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church, Carlos Delgado, Aaron Heilman, John Maine, Jose Reyes, Johan Santana, Brian Schneider, Scott Schoeneweis, Billy Wagner, David Wright, and Mets Hall of Famer Tom Seaver have confirmed their participation in the Mets Foundation's "Teammates in the Community" fundraiser Monday night, June 9 at Richards in Greenwich, Conn.

Incredible stuff.

Am I saying anyone should feel sorry for a pro athlete's schedule? Of course not.

For my old colleagues in PR, marketing and community relations, I simply recommend clipping and saving this just in case a hockey player - as one once told me - tells you he doesn't even have time to go to the bank.

****

In a related subject, an NHL higher-up told me earlier this season that the difference between the travel schedules of the Eastern (easy) and Western (insane) conferences is "practically scandalous."

Just for a goof, estimate how many miles the Detroit Red Wings had flown this season compared to their rival in the Final, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

When you're done adding it up, you'll realize the Red Wings winning four Stanley Cups in 11 years is an even more remarkable accomplishment.

****

Why I'm Still Rooting - Trottier and Bossy

After a long stretch away from the Islanders for their own separate reasons, Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy returned to the Islanders in recent years for all the right reasons.

Understand this: neither Bossy (corporate development) and Trottier (player development) have mail-it-in, candy-ass jobs. I saw with my own eyes that they work hard and with a ton of pride.

Nothing would be better than to see the Islanders back on top, and Trottier and Bossy there to share in the exhilaration.

****

I know. It seems like I haven't talked much pure hockey lately. I promise to down the stretch. It appears I will be working in another sport for the next while, but I look forward to blogging about this great game whenever I can. I'm not a Mets fan, but seeing their game and charity schedule inspired me to understand that you can always make time.

The NYI knew Erin Andrews before she became a singular sensation

2008-06-08T14:44:00.006-04:00

What’s a sports blog without an entry about Erin Andrews? Every self-disrespecting sports blog has one. Consider this my sad attempt to bring readers to a blog by linking to pictures and video of Erin.

For those of you without ESPN, Ms. Andrews is a sideline sports reporter who over the last four years has innocently developed a following of Taxi Driveresque proportions.

My Islanders career missed out on the Stanley Cup, but I was witness to plenty. I was there when Al Arbour came back for game 1,500. I walked by Dale Hunter in the locker room hallway after he mugged Pierre Turgeon. I saw Ferraro and Kaspar outplay Lemieux and Jagr in ‘93. I took newly-drafted Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe to the Empire State Building. I saw Dubie morph into Georges Vezina for a miraculous week.

And I was there for the early days of the Erin Andrews era at ABC/ESPN.

The scene is the first round of the 2004 playoffs, the Islanders against the heavily-favored Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders are in Tampa for the first two games. The usual Lightning media are at our practice the day before Game One, with one exception.

A pretty good-lookin’, exceptionally graceful young woman by the name of Erin is asking to speak with the Islanders PR person. Having been deliriously-happily married for more than a decade at this point, 'tis only a tawdry rumor that I paid Eric Cairns and Eric Godard to lock my PR associate in the men’s room.

The mysterious reporter introduces herself. Her name is Erin Andrews and she’s been assigned by ABC/ESPN to do some sideline hits during the Islanders-Lightning series. She explains that she had just done a few years with a regional sports network, but her contract was not renewed. Or she resigned. I don’t remember. I do recall she seemed a bit down in the dumps about it. I also remember thinking that whomever the doof is that let her go at that network, he or she should start thinking about what they want to do in their next career.

It is what it is, and Erin had/has it.

Before, during and after the Islanders practice, I shared with Erin a few storylines for her sideline reports. Before and after Islanders practice, I never had so many Islanders players seem concerned with how I was doing.

“Hey CB, everything OK? Need me for anything? If you do, you know I’m always there for ya”!

“Hey, do you or your friend want a cup of coffee from the locker room”? (Because, after all, veteran NHL defensemen are always offering to make coffee for their PR guys).

“Hey Botts, how are the twins? And YOUR WIFE, how’s SHE doin’”?

I always wondered what it was like to be really attractive and have people stop, stare and make fools of themselves in your presence. By standing close to Erin Andrews, I found out. It reminded me of the “Seinfeld” episode when Jerry is dating the gorgeous blonde and she gets him out of a speeding ticket. In Erin’s presence that day, I could have easily hit up the guys for 10 grand each for the Aidan Botta Scholarship Fund.

Early in my time with the Islanders, I devised with a colleague the “Plus-3” equation of pro sports. What this means is that if a female executive, staffer or reporter is a solid 7 in real life, in the sports industry she is a 10. In this still predominantly male business, there remain countless men – some are my best friends! - who tend to act like they’ve never seen a woman before.

The “Plus-3” is sexist, shameful and embarrassing for me to admit more than 15 years later. It would be even worse if my co-author wasn’t a close woman-friend and colleague in the business who experienced daily the awkwardness of having people stop, stare and make fools of themselves in her presence.

I guess this makes Erin Andrews a 12 or 13, depending on how high you set your bar at perfection.

Erin’s work for ESPN on the Islanders-Tampa Bay series was solid, so naturally she was outta hockey in no time and on to College Football Saturday Night, then college hoops and Major League Baseball. There are times during the football season when I flip between ESPN and ESPN2 and could swear she’s doing games in Gainesville and Knoxville at the same time.

When I met her in 2004, I had no idea Erin would become a phenomenon - “America’s Sexiest Sportscaster” according to the scholars at Playboy. But her success does not surprise me. As a reporter and as a person, Erin Andrews is the real deal.

David J. Neal sets the record straight

2008-06-07T00:31:00.002-04:00

Two weeks ago, I told a story about Mike Milbury - against all odds - having trouble seeing an interrogator at a press conference. Read the story here.

I was happy to hear from the writer, David J. Neal, whom I haven't seen in years. David had a few important corrections to my story. Here's his email:

The Milbury story is a funny one except for a few facts:

1. I'm not Rastafarian.

2. The dashiki suit, which was black and glittering gold, was African and pretty darn cumbersome. Getting to the pockets was a bitch so I haven't worn it often since buying it in Dallas during the 2000 Stanley Cup Final.

3. Milbury scanned the room, but I wasn't hidden by the glare of the lights - what also struck everyone was funny was he had mananged to miss the one black guy in a loud African suit who was also sitting in the front row.

But, yes, it was funny. Mr. Mike definitely increased all of our workloads at a few drafts.

DJN

Q: on the Islanders' "unique management structure"

2008-06-04T00:39:00.006-04:00

Mike Carey asks: Chris, now that you have some separation, tell us what you REALLY think of the Isles management structure. Meaning, this whole "decision by committee" concept (Wang, Snow, Nolan...whoever else now has an equal voice). Do you think it's working or can work?

My take on the management structure – the “hockey committee” – is that frankly, and respectfully, it is really no big whoop.

I thought this way when it was first announced two summers ago when Neil Smith, Ted, Pat LaFontaine, Bryan Trottier and Co. were hired. And I feel the same way now. The committee is simply an avenue for all of the franchise’s leaders to communicate with one another. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be anyway?

When Garth replaced Neil, we discussed what his response should be when asked about this supposedly innovative structure. It didn’t take long to formulate his position.

Using our rivals as an example, if the Rangers are thinking about signing a Chris Drury or Scott Gomez, how do you think it’s done?

Of course, the GM has his say – the ultimate say from the hockey staff perspective.

The head coach provides input – after all, if he is not the kind of player the coach likes, the coach is not going to play him and you've wasted a lot of dough.

You rely on other lead voices – pro scouts, perhaps the head amateur scout who might know a lot about the player’s development.

And then finally, the owner – because he’s the one writing the rather sizeable check. If you think $50 million deals are being offered in the NHL without owners demanding deep detail before they give the green light, well…it just ain’t happenin’.

You better believe that’s how the Rangers do it. There are some rare examples – Lou Lamoriello’s autonomy is legendary, although the current Devils owner, Jeffrey Vanderbeek is much more involved than the late John McMullen was – but you can be sure that’s how it’s done by at least 25 of the NHL’s 30 franchises.

So, in my opinion, the Islanders’ management structure is perfectly fine. I suspect that one day it will be heralded to a ridiculous degree. Like the career-term deal to Rick DiPietro, it’s interesting how other NHL teams have followed suit by talking about their “new management structure" - having co-GMs (Dallas), adding senior voices (St. Louis), possibly hiring the head coach before the GM (Toronto).

Perhaps if the Islanders did anything wrong when putting together the “hockey committee,” it was in the announcing of the news itself. I'm a big believer in sometimes just implementing an idea and letting the tale be told over time instead of calling immediate attention to it. I remember Neil Smith getting creamed by “Mike & The Mad Dog” about the structure on the day he was hired, and it seemed to me we made it way too easy for people who didn’t know what they were talking about to poke holes in it, to make fun of it.

It's a fact of life, folks. When you’re coming off a season when you don’t qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s often best to keep things low-key. When you’re winning, you can do whatever you want and you’ll look like a genius. Think about the perception of the Boston Celtics under Danny Ainge a year ago. Think about the perception of the New York Giants about eight weeks before they won the Super Bowl.

The Dallas Stars fired the very bright Doug Armstrong during last season, replacing him with co-GMs Brett Hull and Les Jackson. Without making a roster move, the Stars proceeded to go weeks without losing. Man, even before they traded for Brad Richards and made the conference final, that co-GM thing was brilliant!

Two years later, the hockey committee is a strong idea but really no big whoop. When the Islanders surprised the critics by making the playoffs with a miracle run in the last week of '06-07, the new management structure never came up, did it?

Substitute “hockey committee” or “unique management structure” with what it really is:

Just a bunch of your leaders communicating on a regular basis.

Ultimately, the “hockey committees” or “unique management structures” that are popping up in NHL cities near you will succeed or fail based on competence and successful communication.

That, and – oh yeah – on whether your team wins hockey games.

I'm in the media now: column runs in The Hockey News

2008-06-01T22:22:00.005-04:00

During the third day of my retirement, I wrote a column about a few things the NHL could do better and I sent it to The Hockey News. Next thing I know, Bruce Bennett is taking a headshot of me when we're in Philly for Game 4 because THN wanted to run the article.

I guess I'm not media-relatin' for now. I'm in the media. Such a proud moment for me.

Seriously, having a full-page column in The Hockey News is a cool thing. It's in the current issue on the Stanley Cup Final. Lidstrom and Crosby are on the cover, which also features a tease for my story. It says, "Not Enough Hate in the NHL."

That refers to one of my suggestions, that the game could use some more bad blood.

I write: "Is there a rule that everyone in this violently beautiful game has to act like gentlemen all the time? Face it: the objective is to win the Stanley Cup and make the most money. There may be revenue sharing, but there doesn’t have to be spit sharing. Players are competitors, not colleagues. If you want to skip the handshake line, or just one hand, go for it. And if you really can’t stomach someone on the other team, please alert the media the day before the game."

Please pick up this issue (at newsstands now!) or through zinio.com and let me know what you think. Also send letters to the editor either praising my work or blasting the heck out of it. Editors like that. Maybe I'll get to do another one and take my wife out for a second dinner.

The photo THN ran with the column is of Sean Avery. Funny how things work out, eh?

The headline the editors wrote is "I Got Voted Off The Island," which is strange because, as I say in the opening paragraph, I resigned.

Oh man, now I don't even sound like a blogger but a traditional sports reporter whining about my editors. This life change has me so screwed up.

Camden Yards 16 years later: Time for Nassau to get off its rear

2008-05-30T14:36:00.005-04:00

On Tuesday night, I attended the scoping meeting on the Lighthouse Project at the Town of Hempstead Hall. The next day, I was in Baltimore at the invitation of my brother to watch Andy, Joba and Mariano shut down the Orioles.

Looking out my window at the Hyatt over the Inner Harbor, a 5-minute walk from Oriole Park, I couldn't help but think of the contrast between what Baltimore accomplished and Nassau County has not. Sixteen years later, Baltimore remains the shining example of what a smart-use sports facility can do for a region. Sixteen years and countless new stadia later, Camden Yards is still the best ballpark to visit.

While this 12-scenes-in-7-minutes Flip video is unedited, shaky and amateurish, hopefully it also makes a point. Keep those questions and comments coming.

CB

Rick Reilly on Islanders fan Miriam from Forest Hills

2008-05-29T22:23:00.004-04:00

islesblogger was kind enough to ask:

In a career that has taken you through extraordinary highs and even shown you the lowest of lows, how could you even begin to narrow down your experiences and pick a single favorite?

You're right, islesblogger. I cannot. Before I close shop in July, I'll list of some of my favorite moments. For now, I'll start with one - the night Miriam Stone came to her first Islanders game.

Rick Reilly wrote a column about it for the 2002 year-end issue of Sports Illustrated. I was in Baltimore yesterday for Yankees-Orioles and ran into a friend who said the Miriam column made Reilly's anthology, "Hate Mail From Cheerleaders," out in bookstores now. (As if Rick needed the plug). I have several copies of the magazine, but had to run to the Barnes & Noble to pick up the book. At the end of the story, Reilly has a nice postscript about how blunt Miriam is.

This is a good opportunity to mention that none of this would have happened if not for the participation of WFAN host Joe Benigno (a Rangers fan!) and his producer at the time, Ray Martel. Appropriately, Martel later on married an Islanders fan.

Read Rick Reilly's column on Islanders fan Miriam from Forest Hills here.

Double Minor: should John Tonelli's number be retired?

2008-05-27T17:02:00.004-04:00

If I can somehow figure out how to use The Flip video camera in the scant few hours since picking one up at Best Buy today, then there may be hope for all of us.

Here is my double minor's worth of thoughts on John Tonelli and his place in Islanders history. Forgive the shoddy cinematography, lame set design and face for radio. When it comes to technology, for me this is an accomplishment.

Q: on the NYI Hall of Fame

2008-05-27T11:04:00.007-04:00

mtrico writes:

Where did the Islanders come up with the idea for the Islanders Hall of Fame? A few years ago, I sent you an email attaching a scan of an article I found in the paper where one of Bob Bourne's sons (not sure if it was Justin) said that his dad was more than a role player on the Stanley Cup teams, and that he was disappointed that he was often refferred to as such. In the email I suggested that Bourne and others like Tonelli should be inducted into an Islanders hall of fame. Did that email ever get to you? Also, will Tonelli be the next inductee? He sure deserves it. Talk about underrated guys, he is at the top of the list.

Good luck with the job search!
p.s. I check more than once a day for new posts, so please keep posting.

Thanks, mtrico. Your email definitely did play a role in the creation of the Islanders Hall of Fame. Jeffrey Bourne also sent a letter to me about his resentment of his dad being referred to as a "role player." That's what we do in sports - we categorize without thinking. Bossy and Trottier are all-stars, so everyone else must be a role player. That's not right, but Justin's letter was. I was moved by a son sticking up for his dad so eloquently.

As several teams do, there was an unofficial policy that only Hockey Hall of Famers would have their numbers retired by the Islanders. There was one exception made: Bob Nystrom, for (then) 25 years of service to the team and the community. When you win four straight championships, you could make the case every man who played on all four teams deserves a night. That said, the line was drawn at Hall of Famers.

The Islanders were looking for a way to honor so many of the men worthy of a spotlight, and the Islanders Hall of Fame was created. A list of rather obvious candidates to be the first inductees was drawn up – John Tonelli, Butch Goring, Ed Westfall, Bourne, Stefan Persson, a few others. Two men were contacted. One, for understandable personal reasons, politely declined for the time being. It was decided Bob Bourne would have his own night. Bob’s only request was that the event be held before a game on Thanksgiving weekend so both of his sons could attend. Justin Bourne is now a forward in the Islanders’ system.

In the Zamboni corner moments before the start of the ceremony, I put my arm around Jeff Bourne and told him his letter was a big reason why we were there. One of the gifts Bob received from the franchise was a hockey sled for Jeff, who was born with spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down. His attitude on and off the ice makes Jeffrey Bourne a lot more than a role player. He is an inspiration.

****

(I will share my thoughts on Mr. Tonelli in a later post).

Take me out of the ballgame

2008-05-24T11:05:00.008-04:00

Larry Brooks, now writing columns on the Yankees when in the good ol' days of the early 2000s he might have been at the Stanley Cup Final, today in the Post has an update on the potential of an NHL game at Yankee Stadium.

Larry's article is fact-filled and unbiased.

So is the following:

The New York Islanders, and only the New York Islanders, started the process of looking into the possibility of having a hockey game at Yankee Stadium. This process started more than a year before the first word was ever written about it in the press. It began before there were plans for the Penguins and Sabres to play an outdoor game in Buffalo.

The initial reaction of everyone else in the National Hockey League? A roaring, bordering on snickering, chorus of Aerosmith's "Dream On." Their issue wasn't about the Islanders being part of the game. It was naysayers - the ones who didn't put in the effort to dream big and then try to make it happen - tsk-tsking, "The Yankees will never allow a hockey game at Yankee Stadium."

Meetings between the Islanders and Yankees went deep enough that an all-hands-on-deck session with several executives from each team met at Yankee Stadium. This meeting, held a little more than two years ago, was hosted by Yankees COO Lonn Trost, quoted in today's article in the Post.

I was at the meeting. I was blown away by Trost's sincerity and the commitment of the Yankees staff to see the hockey game become a reality. As a lifelong Yankees fan, I walked into it wondering if real progress could be made. I walked out of it three hours later saying to myself, "Holy crap, we're gonna play a frickin' hockey game at the cathedral in the Bronx."

It was always understood the Rangers would be part of the game.

And still, the reaction of everyone else in the game? It wasn't, "Hey, slow down. The Islanders don't have the right to move this process along." It was more along the lines of, "C'mon boys, stop it. You're killin' us. Ain't gonna happen."

I could take this a lot farther, but that will have to do for now. Probably took it too far already. In time I'd imagine the rest will come out elsewhere.

Bottom line: if anyone really believes Bruins-Rangers over Islanders-Rangers is a significant ratings difference-maker, I can't help you there. But anyone with an ounce of fairness and decency in their soul knows the New York Islanders should be part of any NHL event at Yankee Stadium.

Attention, All PR Candidates: Take my job, please

2008-05-23T01:11:00.005-04:00

If you are interested in applying to the Islanders for the vacant PR position left by my departure, let me be clear: I wholeheartedly recommend that you apply.

There are a limited number of PR jobs in team sports. When one opens up, you have to go for it.

If you get the opportunity to work for the New York Islanders, you’ll work alongside several remarkable people. Just as important, the team is owned by someone as committed to the region as anyone I know.

If you are a friend of mine, I especially recommend you immediately send a letter and resume. I’ve been delicately – oh-so-delicately – approached about this by a number of people. Why all the sensitivity? Why the concern for my reaction of a friend or colleague applying for the job?

I do not work there anymore. I left on good terms. I’ve made it really clear I’m still rooting for the team, even more so for my dear former co-workers.

For those of you who don’t give a hoot about this subject, please forgive my rant. It’s just that I’m amazed by some of the BS calls I’ve received in the last week or so:

“Do you think it’s something I should go for”? (YES! WHY THE HECK NOT?)

“Do you think I’m what they’re looking for”? (HOW THE HECK WOULD I KNOW? NEWS FLASH: I DON’T WORK THERE ANYMORE!)

“Would it be weird if I applied, or a waste of my time”? (I SIMPLY JUST DO NOT KNOW HOW TO ANSWER THAT ONE, AND – TO BE FRANK – I’VE GOT OTHER STUFF TO FOCUS ON NOW)

I know I’m probably coming off as a major weenie, but from the beginning I really tried to be the opposite. I wasn’t gone from the Islanders a day when I spread the word to everyone in the business that they should absolutely jump on the opportunity if they felt it was right for them.

I should state that I don’t know exactly what the Islanders’ plans are for my old position. I’ve heard some rumblings about a friend in the organeyezation doing triple-duty and sliding over to direct my former staff, but that has not been made official as far as I can tell.

So, friends in PR, what are you waiting for?

You have my blessing.

There’s no need to tip-toe around the subject when you call me.

And, if you get the gig, please leave the 4 comps in the name of Chris, Aidan, Luke and Cole Botta.

Q: On continued fan relations

2008-05-22T10:49:00.004-04:00

Nick asks:

Do you think the Islanders will continue with their open policy towards fans, like the Blog Box?

I would not expect that to change and, in fact, I think the team will only expand their fan initiatives. As it is, the Islanders are one of the most accessible teams in all of pro sports. Having a strong grasp on what most of the other teams do, I would put the Islanders easily in the top 20.

I saw that ESPN Fan Poll where they rank all 122 teams in a variety of subjects - Ted Nolan came in No. 5, the fan experience at the only-gloriously-decrepid-when they're-winning Coliseum finished close to last. I was amazed the Islanders were somewhere in the 70s for accessibility to players and management. I don't think I have to go into all the events and initiatives the team has for fans. Let's just say the ranking was absurd.

NYI Blog Box will likely be taken to the next level. I'm proud of what we started last year, but now the key is "What's next"? Corey and I discussed some ideas at the end of last season. I'm confident it will only grow bigger and better.

I guarantee the team's relationship with Islandermania as the official message board will continue to develop in bolder ways. Toward the end of my tenure there, I know some members of management met with at least one other major message board. The franchise always has time for its fans. Of course, the challenge continues to win new ones.

So to answer your question Nick, yes.

3 questions: Coliseum project, lowest moment(s), questionable moves

2008-05-20T17:38:00.007-04:00

“Mn” has a quartet of questions, three I’ll address now, one at a later date. I answer them within his post, one-by-one. Please feel free to keep the questions coming. I still have so many to get to, but it’s been fun and I don’t think I’ve gotten myself in trouble yet. Yet.

Chris,

You've been through a lot with the Isles. It's a shame after all the bad years you won't be with them if they ever turn it around.

I was there for the ride in 1993. Had a blast in ’01-02 from the 11-1-1 start through the classic first round with the Leafs. Sure I wish we’d won more, but I’ll be just as happy watching it with my kids in the stands – especially with so many good friends still with and on the team.

Couple of Questions:
1. What are the odds of the Lighthouse Project making it through the approval process, and if it doesn't what happens to our team?

The Coliseum project has been approved by Nassau County, which some people never thought would happen. It’s now in the zoning process with the Town of Hempstead. I won’t lie to you: there were times when I’d wonder if the pols would ever wake up and make a deal. But now I feel it’s as close as ever to becoming a reality.

In one of my final weeks on the job, I saw something that really opened my eyes. I was visiting my pal Paul Lancey, whose staff is overseeing PR and other areas for the project, and he took me to the executive meeting room at Rexcorp Plaza. There is a large window with a perfect view of all of that asphalt surrounding the Coliseum. It’s really something to see.

Here’s something Charles Wang never gets credit for, and should. He has never – not once – played the card of even casually threatening to move if the project doesn’t get done. I’m sure he’s had some advisors (cough, cough) through the years telling him it’s the quickest way to mount pressure for a deal, but Charles has steadfastly refused. This makes him a far better man than me, because I’m pretty sure if I was in his position I’d have lost my cool by now and been on the front page of Newsday.

The project will get done, and it will get done soon – or else. What “or else” is, I do not know and don’t even want to think about it. But respect Charles Wang for remaining a gentleman throughout. As a reminder, he bought/saved the Islanders eight years ago and a shovel is still not in the ground.

2. What was the lowest moment in all of your years with the team - SpanoGate? HoistGate? Trading of Ziggy? Fisherman jersey? Kirk Muller?

Yes/oh my God/you wouldn’t believe it.
Definitely; hope to never spend that much time in court again.
Uggh, and almost to the New York Rangers.
Don’t remind me; I’m personally disgusted with myself for that one.
You betcha.

3. What was the worst personnel move that an Isles GM made during your tenure? Bertuzzi/McCabe trade? Jokinen/Luongo trade? Turgeon/Malakov trade? Trade for Yashin? Drafting of Michael Rupp? Drafting of Nilsson over Parise? Letting Healy go after the 1993 playoffs?

I won’t get into this too much, because I’m bound to tick off fans either way (“What do you mean? How can you not say __________ was the worst move ever”!) I will share just two thoughts.

The decision I didn’t understand on any level? The drafting of Michael Rupp. Not because he didn’t have some size and ability, but because everyone said at best Michael was going to be a 5-year project, and this was in the day of the mammoth entry-level, 3-year deals when you were forced to decide on prospects quickly.

The move that made my knees buckle? That would be when I was strolling the streets of Calgary, Friday night, 10:15 pm local time and the sun was still out. I got the call we were trading Roberto Luongo and drafting Ricky. The only thing that’s equally incredible is Roberto was drafted 11 years ago and has been on only one playoff team in the NHL.

Next question: scary interview subjects

2008-05-20T01:16:00.005-04:00

7th Woman asks:

In all your years experience, which player would make you worry the most every time they were interviewed by the media?

There were a few.

John Vanbiesbrouck: We had John during the infamous 2000-01 season, when the team finished 30th. Beezer is a good man and great quote, but he'd scare the heck out of me from time to time. The most notorious moment was when he led Post reporter Barry Baum into the locker room and roasted him in front of the rest of the Islanders players for a story John said was untrue. Trouble is, Vanbiesbrouck didn't include me in the meeting - or tell me he was having it, or even tell me he was pissed about Baum's article - so I looked like a stiff. We played the Senators that day and the Ottawa writers, a bit shy to take on the veteran goalie, ripped the PR guy in their newspapers instead. I learned my lesson and vowed it would never happen again.

Michael Peca: Not complaining about Pecs. I think he enjoyed keeping me on edge, is all. The press loved him. He once admitted to me in his Pecaresque way that he loved the media just as much. What I liked about Mike is that, on the really bad losses, he always came up big in the post-game scrum - just as Billy Guerin did last year. Peca spoke from the heart and did not pull any punches. That's what caused me agita once in a while.

Any head coach reporting injuries: If I had one more crack at the gig, I'd push for the NFL-style of reporting injuries. Basically, you hand out a daily, full-disclosure list of the injured players, their ailments and their status. This is not to pick on Ted, Peter Laviolette or anyone else. Fact is, NHL coaches have enough on their minds without having to keep every trainer's update straight. An official daily report would take the onus off them and eliminate the annual miscommunications that eventually lead to Logan killing us on his blog.

Kirk Muller: From the day he was acquired until the day he was traded, Kirk never once told the truth - to the team, to the media, to me.

On a lighter note, speaking of interesting interviewees, let me end with a Mike Milbury story. One year we're at the draft and Mike is led to the grand podium because, as you know, he usually was a story at the draft. The questions are coming at him from all corners of a packed press conference area.

One question comes and Mike cannot see his interrogator. He scans the room, squints his eyes into the bright lights and sees the reporter with the question. Turns out it's David J. Neal, at the time the Panthers' beat writer for the Miami Herald. This is the part where I should tell you that David is Rastafarian.

So Milbury finally locates David, who emerges through the glare of the lights with a raised hand and a sheepish grin on his face. Milbury senses what everyone in the cramped room is feeling - that somehow he couldn't locate the one reporter in the press conference who was black and dressed head to toe in full Rasta splendor.

Mike smiles and says, "Geez, David, how the hell did I miss ya"?

Selena Roberts misses her connection

2008-05-18T21:47:00.005-04:00

Selena Roberts is a brilliant sports columnist, formerly of The New York Times and currently on the back page of Sports Illustrated. Like a lot of extraordinary writers before her, she recently went on television and made the mistake of acting like a fraudulent talking head instead of a brilliant sports columnist.

On the “Costas Now” town hall on the future of media, showing all this month on all 139 versions of HBO, Roberts bemoaned the lack of real media access to athletes these days. She cited how she has to go through layers of people – PR flaks, agents, team management – to interview a professional athlete. Roberts shared her frustration of working on a piece on Lebron James and not being able to get anywhere near him. In the end, Roberts emailed her questions to Lebron’s camp, James recorded his answers on tape and those answers were transcribed back in an email to Roberts.

Selena Roberts talked about wanting “to have a connection with the athlete,” about truly getting to know the athlete and “what’s inside him” before writing her story. Oh, for the good old days of having a beer with Mickey Mantle and not having to deal with all those silly bloggers.

It all sounded lovely on the SI writer’s part…except, of course, that it was all a load of made-for-TV crap. This is what happens when even a singular talent agrees to go on HBO and tell Bob Costas exactly what she thinks Bob Costas wants her to say.

In her five years as a columnist at The New York Times, Selena wrote one article on the New York Islanders.

Game 1 of the first round of the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Islanders at Lightning. Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns has a nightmarish pair of shifts, with two giveaways leading to two goals and a Tampa Bay win. To be clear, Eric had a horrible game at the worst possible time. To be fair, there isn’t a defenseman in the history of the game that hasn’t had one just like it.

For the record, Selena Roberts was not at the game. In the aftermath – her column ran two days later - she did not contact anyone at the Islanders to request Cairns or his head coach on the phone. She did not travel to Tampa Bay for Game 2. You could say Eric Cairns is not Lebron James, but that really wouldn’t be the point, would it? Cairns would have spoken with Roberts on the phone for as long as she would have needed him. I would not have written, or emailed, the answers for him. That’s not how we do it in hockey.

Without speaking to anyone, Roberts decided to use Eric Cairns as Exhibit 1-A for her theory that “the playoffs prove that the embrace of goons is borne of historic habit, not necessity.” Read the whole thing here.

Roberts wrote that Cairns’ performance in the game was “a singular example of goon liability, of enforcer irrelevance, of a sport's cultural ambivalence.”

And yet, Roberts never took the time to meet Cairns, to “have a connection” with him, to see “what’s inside him.” Ever.

Too bad. If nothing else, she would have made a connection with a real unique, loyal and kind person. She would have gotten inside the head of a gentleman who battled from the lowest of the minor leagues to play defense for both the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers.

Selena Roberts didn’t even try to get to know Eric Cairns, despite the fancy garbage she spewed on HBO for Bob Costas.

Next question: on the press coverage

2008-05-18T14:20:00.003-04:00

The next round of questions comes from Bill from the blog NYI Fan Central.

Would the Isles be willing or allowed to pay the Times, SI Advance, Westchester Journal, Newark Star Ledger, Post, News to assign a full time professional beatwriter and let him travel with the club and provide a daily blog?

There is not a legitimate daily newspaper around that would take money from a sports team or anyone for coverage (insert joke here). At the Islanders, we let it be known to all four major NY dailies that their beat writer could travel on the team charter, free of charge. If any of the papers had a moral issue flying for free on the team plane, they could pay the team an agreed-upon rate. Since the team plane leaves after the road games, the money saved on the extra night of lodging would be significant. Newsday did it with Alan Hahn for one season (paying per flight leg) before ending the practice. For the other three papers, it still wasn't enough for regular coverage.

Besides, let's say a newspaper did take money for coverage, impartial or otherwise. What would that say about the New York Islanders?

Given the Newsday-Cablevision merger and what it's meant in the past for Islander coverage with Cablevision taking games off television or hiding them on Metro, Fsn-2, Msg+2 it's fair to say the coverage is going to drop ever further in Newsday, do you agree?

I've been asked this a lot lately. My answer is that I would be shocked if the Newsday coverage of the NYI comes down when Cablevision takes over. There's even a solid chance it would be enhanced. My reasons why, sorry, will have to be for some other day.

Would you be willing to write for the Isles in Newsday if offered, given Pat Calabria went from Newsday to the Isles?

Absolutely, but I'm not waiting by the phone. Greg Logan has that job locked up and does a superb job with the space he is given in the paper and on the web. I imagine most sports editors would be hesitant, knowing my close relationship with the team for 20 years. I think it would be a great challenge for me, and I'd like to think I could break a few stories and bring some different perspectives.

It's like the question I've gotten from friends and hockey fans whether I would ever work for the Rangers. Right now, I'll work for anyone who treats me well and has a good position available. I never thought I'd know what it feels like to be an unrestricted free agent.

Tell me why Greg Logan should be praised for being outblogged in the Isles only paper or going overboard to create issues while barely praising the team.

Greg is a beat reporter, not a columnist. He rarely is given the opportunity to praise or beat up the team. The only time he does is when he blogs. Greg has a different approach to the blog. Greg is a traditional reporter, but he's not a traditional blogger who posts 3 times a day. My hunch is he feels his daily coverage prevents that. Instead, Greg's blogs tend to be opuses - long "think pieces" on what's up with the team. Yes, I understand Steve Zipay blogs more often on his Rangers blog for Newsday and Katie Strang has done a lot lately on the Islanders blog while Logan is away. I'm not defending Greg on this, just trying to explain that his style is different than the others. Quality over quantity.

Understand this about Greg Logan. No one fights harder to get Islanders coverage into Newsday. No one battles more to make sure road trips are covered - think it's a slam dunk at the LI newspaper? Think again. When the Islanders "deliver" - Smyth trade, playoffs, big signings, I'm sure the upcoming 5th overall pick - Logan pushes for maximum coverage.

Count on it. When the day comes that Logan is off the beat, you'll notice. And you won't be happy.

Questions pour in...the first one's on Garth

2008-05-16T13:19:00.006-04:00

Thanks for all the questions. Good to know you're still reading. Please feel free to continue to post your questions in the Comments area. The first one comes from NYIBC and is about GM Garth Snow.

Chris,

In my 20 years of being strictly an Islander fan (I was one of those morons who rooted for ALL the teams in my early hockey watching years), the one constant with going to games, and getting to know people that worked for the organization, was you.

You have always been one of professionalism, honesty, and one that I respected so much. I just needed to get that statement out first.

As far as questions go... We had Garth Snow at our Booster Club meeting last night, and I can tell you that he is a great presence in front of a crowd, which I know you are aware of. I know that he is a smart man, and is doing the best he can for this organization. I am not making this question a negative, but with his 'still new in the job' air about him, what does he have to do, in order to not have a repeat of last year, where it seemed that guys with contracts that were ending basically just up and left, with little or no dialogue (at least according to this person).

Once again, Chris, best of luck, in whatever you do. I know that you will succeed! Look forward to seeing you as a fan!

Thanks for the nice words, NYIBC. I'm looking forward to going to a game and seeing everyone, too.

As for Garth, this might not sound like much but it's really a lot: he has to continue to assert himself as a leader.

By this I mean that my friend Garth has to have the courage to devise his plan, stick by it and fight to make sure no one - no one - runs any interference to cause him to deviate from the plan. In the wild world of sports, this is often more easily said than done.

First off, the notion that there weren't any discussions with the free agents who left last season? Positively false. There were negotiations with Blake, Smyth, Kozlov and Poti. Some ended earlier than others, some went to the last minute.

I don't think you could compare what will happen this July to last July. The Islanders were a playoff team in '06-07. Signings were made to advance that group, even with the departures. Some of the deals worked out OK, some not. In the cases of veterans like Guerin, Comrie and the injured Jon Sim, I would recommend reserving judgment until next season.

I agree with Garth's contention - reiterated at the event on Wednesday (I watched the ITV clips) - that the team has to go young. My personal belief is that for the New York Islanders on Long Island in a soon-to-be transformed arena property, the best way - possibly the only way - to build a true contender is through the draft and college and junior free agent signings. With Charles as the owner and the Coliseum project advancing, if you successfully draft, the kids will quickly learn to love the franchise and Long Island and you know the team will sign them long-term. The Islanders have shown a willingness to do that, in one case in landmark fashion.

Of course, at the proper time, you sprinkle in wise free agent signings. The kids can't do it alone.

Garth is going to be fine. Actually, he's going to be more than that. While I was at the game in Philadelphia last night, loving every second of the skill and passion on the ice, the sheer delirium in the stands, I thought a lot about how if the Islanders really stay patient, this could be them in a few years. Naturally, I'm biased, but I feel strongly Garth is the person to get it done.

Any questions?

2008-05-14T12:03:00.004-04:00

As I get ready for the first leg of my 2008 Farewell Tour in Philadelphia, where it all began for me as an intern during the days of Propp, Kerr, Zezel, Poulin, Marsh, McCrimmon, Howe and Hexy, I thought I'd let you take over the blog.

GOT ANY QUESTIONS? Bring 'em on.

I'll leave that challenge open-ended. Queries can be on any subject. Can't guarantee I'll be able to answer every one. Definitely will not betray serious confidences of friends for a lifetime, but don't let that scare you. It's only hockey.

Let's see what you got. If nothing else, it will give me a good read on how many people are still logging on to this thing.

Please put all questions in the Comments area below. All of my responses will be on the blog over time. Thanks.

CB

My tennis gig; Open House on Wednesday; Joanne Holewa

2008-05-13T22:30:00.004-04:00

So I'm sitting outside by the tennis courts at the RVC Rec center around 4:00 today, that legal pad-of-dreams in hand while soaking in the sun. It was another good day - a writing assignment from a top hockey publication, extraordinary lunch with an Islanders connection, an invite to visit Philadelphia for Game 4, a nice nod from Sports Illustrated and more calls and emails with a generosity of spirit that eventually will lead me to uncontrollable sobbing.

It's that kind of perfect day. I'm feeling inspired, and tanned and trimmer than I really am. Then that daily dose of reality hits as a lovely older couple, dressed like Evert and Connors, approaches.

"Excuse me, sir, do we sign up for the tennis with you"?

****

I hope if you're still logging on to this blog occasionally, live in the area and have a spare hour or two, that you attend the second Open House the Islanders are hosting at the Coliseum. The team's website story has the rundown of events.

The Islanders providing at least a monthly peak behind-the-scenes at the Coliseum is a good thing, especially in a town - make that a country - where hockey is spoken only when your team is still playing. Like a home game, the energy from the crowd is what makes events like this work, so please support your team and my old friends and check it out.

****

Why I'm Still Rooting, Part 3 - Joanne Holewa

Joanne has been the deputy to every Islanders GM - Bill Torrey, Don Maloney, Mike Milbury, Neil Smith and Garth. This not only qualifies Joanne for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but also for sainthood.

She's got at least a couple of Stanley Cup rings and you could make the case that's plenty for any human being in one lifetime. But not Joanne. She deserves one more. At least.

When it came to learning how to perform with grace under pressure, Joanne Holewa was my teacher.

The Podcast that wasn't

2008-05-12T23:38:00.005-04:00

Very observant readers of this blog pointed out on message boards that the timing of my resignation was odd because just a little while earlier I had discussed the idea of doing an audio podcast with my staff.

Can't I just say I was dedicated to coming up with new stuff until the very end?

Maybe my bud/PR coordinator Corey Witt will keep the dream alive. It was Corey who did so much of the engineering legwork after I researched podcasts and thought it might be cool to do sort of an old-fashioned radio show right from our offices at the Coliseum.

As late as the day before my departure, I sent an email to Corey, JLock and Adam Baruch with some final assignments for our first podcast.

We had already completed four segments. On Friday, I recorded a Q & A with Garth Snow that I felt was something unique. Garth came into my office, where Corey set up a table in the middle with his laptop and a microphone. I asked Garth to just chat with me in a relaxed style, like our regular conversations every day. He did, and I'm proud of the end result. Among many highlights, Garth mentioned that he was trying to sign Swedish goalie Stefan Ridderwall, another one of the Islanders' solid picks in the 2006 draft. He said he'd love to get Ridderwall to Bridgeport as soon as possible. There was more, but...

Another "highlight" was JLock talking about the season finale at MSG, where he was verbally harrassed and pummelled with popcorn in the press box by those wild-and-crazy blue-seaters. Adam did an excellent segment on Robin Figren, proving he was a year off his internship with the San Antonio Spurs by pronouncing Regina, Sask. not to rhyme with...you know. Corey had a fun take on the weeks ahead in Islanders Country, throwing in birthdays, team events and even a comedy show at whatever they call the Westbury Music Fair these days.

It was fun putting the podcast together and taking the time to learn something new with the guys. After a few shows, I would have hoped it would be fun and informative for the listeners, too.

Maybe the podcast-that-wasn't will make the Smithsonian someday. Okay, maybe not.

****

Why I'm Still Rooting, Part 2 - Ryan Jankowski

The 2006 Draft for the Islanders added Okposo, Joensuu, Figren, Marcinko, Ridderwall and probably a few other genuine prospects. The director of amateur scouting for the Islanders in 2006 was Ryan Jankowski, and Ryan will be running the draft next month.

Jankowski is whip-smart and one of the hardest-working scouts in the game. Most scouts are never home. RJ is never home. If the Islanders stick to their plan of primarily building from within - and I pray (while having every reason to believe) they will - Jankowski becomes one of the most important people in the team directory.

And, for me, one of the easiest to root for.

A surprise call at home

2008-05-11T22:45:00.014-04:00

It was around 8:30 am last Monday that I wasn't feeling All Islanders. (I'm at about 80-90% right now and certain I'll get back to 100%, but just need a little time). I drove home and immediately went into Between-Jobs Cliche mode.

I told my wife, whom I think still doesn't believe me.

I went to the Rockville Centre library and drew up my plans for the next 20 years on a legal pad, all the while staying far away from that depressing area where they have the books about careers, how to build a resume and all that New Age crap.

I had my car inspected at the shop, running into a neighbor there who is also between jobs in the real world of banking.

I met my boy Tim Beach at Chili's at 2, then broke the news to Garth at the Coliseum at 3:30 and my staff an hour later. I then called as many of my close colleagues at the NYI as possible. Later that night, when it dawned on me Greg Logan might have something in Newsday, I called my mom and brother. Sources tell me my mom called my brother the next day for some sort of assurance I hadn't lost my mind. Nick tried his best to soothe her, I'm sure.

Tuesday was the Best. Day. Ever. A buddy of mine put it perfectly: "Man, you lived the dream - you got to watch your own funeral and hear people say great stuff about you."

That said, by the time I got home, I really just wanted to relax with my family and not think about it anymore. It had been an emotional 36 hours.

8:00 pm came and it was time for one of life's pleasures - sitting 5-on-a-bed with my wife and Luke, Cole and Aidan watching American Idol. Luke gives everyone a 10 out of 10 even if they stink. He's such a sweetheart, it never gets old. Syesha is singing "Proud Mary" - and looking spectacular, I might add - and suddenly...

The phone at the house rings. It has to be a frickin' telemarketer. Catherine, knowing I might lose it, takes the call.

"Chris, it's ___ (I'm protecting the name). He says he's an Islander fan, you've met him before and he just wants to wish you well."

I was in complete shock.

"Hey there. I uh...uh...how did you get my home number"?

"You're listed."

I gathered myself and realized this is just a really nice person, and obviously an incredible Islanders fan, and I better stop acting like a doof.

He and I talked for a bit. I told him what I've told everyone: I really can't wait to sit in the Coli stands for a night and just watch a game with the Blackberry off.

A cynic could say that maybe the call is proof that I might have over-stayed my welcome at the NYI. I prefer to take it as just a real neat gesture.

****

It's just the darndest thing about ESPN: every time they have post-game press conference coverage, it's for one of the leagues they're partners with! Tonight, while superstar Sidney Crosby was at the podium after the Pens' Game 2 win in the Eastern Conference Final, I clicked over to ESPNews, which had a very detailed analysis of the NCAA women's college softball tournament. I'm going to save myself and y'all the time and go out on a limb and just declare it fact that those softball games are on ESPN.

****

Why I'm Still Rooting, Part 1 - Bruno Gervais

I was there the day Bruno was drafted and the day Milbury went out of his way to present him with his first pro contract because it was the kid's birthday. It says everything that I really don't need to tell any Islanders fan that Bruno's one of the best people around.

A few weeks before the Islanders surprised me by acknowledging my 20th anniversary in a pre-game ceremony, my wife - saying it was for Aidan's school project - asked me for my 3 favorite current Islanders. I said Ricky, Chris Campoli and Bruno. After all, Bruno has read at my kids' school (and about 100 other schools on Long Island). When Cole had his heart thing last April, Bruno called him more than a few times during the playoff hunt.

When Bruno skated over to the Zamboni corner with the Rolex, it all started to make sense. It was perfect.

To: Islandermania Re: My resignation

2008-05-09T21:57:00.010-04:00

I don't know if I'll ever get into much detail about what led to my resignation on Monday, or whether it's important, or whether anyone cares.

But on Tuesday night I accepted an invitation from the moderators of Islandermania, the team's "official" fan message board, to attempt to set the record straight. As you will see, I didn't really do that, but took the opportunity to get a few things off my chest. For those of you not on Imania, here goes:

Letter to Islandermania: posted Tuesday, May 6 at 6:30 pm

Let me begin by stating for the record that I NEVER over-hyped an Islanders prospect, not even Justin Mapletoft.

I’m flattered that my thread on Islandermania is almost as long as the Joel Rechlicz discussion. More than that, the volume of kind words has been overwhelming. I’m going to print out the thread not just to keep for a personal pick-me-up, but to show to my wife. (“See, I’m really not so bad.”)

R.J. suggested I send a note and clear some stuff up. It was a good idea. To be a Long Island kid and get to work for the New York Islanders for 20 years, I’d have to be some special kind of jackass to leave with anything except good feelings.

To answer some of the questions and theories mentioned here and elsewhere…

Chris Dey is one of the kindest gentlemen I have met in this business. We had a major heart-to-heart recently and we decided together that it was best for me to find a second chapter to my career and for the Islanders to find someone else to give this gig a shot. It really was no deeper than that. The franchise, as it always has been, was first-class to me and my family.

On the surface it is so cheap and easy to take shots at Chris, as I have seen a bit here and a few places. Fact is, Chris is a great talent and - better still - a solid man and father. He deserves better than that. Please.

Some other questions…

Do I have another job lined up? I do not. First I have to decide what I want to do. I read on Imania that it’s a virtual slam dunk that after 20 years here my earning power has increased significantly. Very cool.

What will I miss the most in the office? Working with my staff. Working with game ops and events honcho Tim Beach, the best colleague any of us could ever ask for. Working with Garth Snow.

What am I going to do with my blog? Legally, I suppose I have to take down the Islanders logo. Other than that, I don’t know. THAT could be dangerous.

Charles Wang? Real simple. This message board is called Hamilton Blackberrymania if Charles isn’t the owner. It has been a privilege.

Who’s replacing me? I don’t know, but I’m sure it will be someone who “gets it.” Keep in mind that when it comes to Imania, it was Corey Witt who came to me and said, “I know this might sound crazy, but…” Blog Box doesn’t happen without Chris and Charles giving an enlightened thumbs-up. I’m proud of many things we accomplished, but I don’t have all the answers.

What would I do if I was granted one last act with the NYI? Although it’s very important for the franchise to keep moving forward in areas of marketing and communications, I would once and for all restore the jerseys the Islanders wore when they won four Stanley Cups. It wouldn’t be a step back, but rather simply the right thing to do.

I look forward to sitting in the stands with my three boys and enjoying a game. If you see me next season, I really hope you’ll stop by and say hello to a fellow Islanders fan. Don’t forget to let me know when the next tailgate is. Thanks for everything, Imaniacs.

CB

And then on the fifth day, the rain came

2008-05-09T11:43:00.005-04:00

After four days of emails, calls, blogs that made me sound far better than I am, and beautiful Long Island weather I can get oh-so-used to, I'm back at the Dell and ready to figure out what the heck I'm gonna do next.

I've decided to keep this blog alive a little longer. My revised goals for it are at left. Reasons for stopping it on July 7?

1. Taking it through the NHL draft and first week of free agency sounds about right.

2. I'm leaving on a trip - no, not one of those drinking and cultural jaunts where I'm gonna "find myself" - in mid-July.

3. Blogging on this particular subject beyond two months might be too time-consuming, get in the way of, you know, finding another job and, frankly, more than a little bit pathetic.

My hunch is that my posts will be shorter than the essay-type stuff I did during my final season with the Islanders. There will be some views on the Islanders and hockey, but it also might be a place to self-indulgently discuss my search and anything else that happens over the next two months.

Oh my Lord, I've become a real blogger.

It will be PG-13 at worst and may disappoint anyone looking for me to sling mud. I could have some constructive criticism, but I don't plan on airing any laundry or gripes. Of the latter, I do not have any.

Please use the comments section to publicly or privately make points, ask questions and offer career advice or, of course, careers.

Thank you for reading.

Philadelphia Soul

2008-05-04T22:12:00.002-04:00

Most people around the NHL are stunned that the Flyers got past Montreal in five games and are in the Conference Final. But I doubt any Islanders fans who were at the Coliseum on March 29 are surprised by Philadelphia's postseason run.

The display of tenacity the Flyers put on that night against the Islanders was remarkable. To recap, the Flyers had an emotional win the night before. They came to the Coliseum exhausted but in need of two points. Philadelphia started the game tight and the Islanders played like they had nothing to lose.

On top of that, Wade Dubielewicz was amazing in perhaps his best game as an Islander.

Nothing was going Philly's way. The Islanders went up 2-0 before the Flyers tied it in the second. Frans Nielsen scored to make it 3-2 midway through the third period, but Mike Richards willed a goal with 4:22 left to send the game into overtime. Daniel Briere beat Dubie for the shootout win.

I saw the Flyers coming off the ice and into the locker room. They didn't make much noise, no whooping and hollering. They looked like a team that had just taken care of business.

In the days after that Saturday night game, I raved about Philadelphia's performance to everyone I knew. This was one of the reasons I loved hockey. You just didn't see games won in other sports on sheer heart like the Flyers did. Final shots on goal: Islanders 30, Philadelphia 54.

No, I didn't come away from that game thinking the Flyers were going to win a Stanley Cup, but their success so far hasn't stunned me or anyone else watching closely - and with admiration - on March 29 at the Coliseum. Sure, the Flyers added talent when GM Paul Holmgren turned over the team starting around the 2007 trade deadline, but it's their work ethic that's made them a model franchise this year.

Nothing But Compliments

2008-04-29T23:38:00.003-04:00

People in hockey often spend too much time moaning about what's wrong with the game. You just don't see that in other sports. I mean, there's plenty to rip on with MLB (endless at-bats, endless games), the NBA (all comes down to the last five minutes of the 4th quarter) and the NFL (love those commercial breaks). But people in those sports leave it alone. There is crying in hockey, and it's about time it stopped.

Tonight I come to praise NBC. Larry Brooks calls it the Nothing But Crosby network, but really now, can you blame the peacock? Sid deserves and warrants all the exposure he gets. He's also the best kid around. Have you seen those shots where the game is about to start, everyone on the ice is looking at him and he's by the bench being interviewed live by Pierre McGuire? I'd like to see that brat Jason Kidd do that (oh I forgot, his Mavericks are done).

I've watched a lot of the NBC weekend coverage of the playoffs. Their work has been outstanding. Mike Emrick remains one of the best play-by-play men in any sport. Ed Olczyk is really close to being a really good color commentator. By the time he gets there, the bet here is that Eddie will be back behind an NHL bench.

Pierre McGuire has made something good out of what could have just been a gimmick with his spot between the benches. He acts as a second analyst and provides a great feel for what's going on at ice level. Now if Pierre would stop saying "Edzo" every time he talks to Olczyk, we'd be happy.

If I were the NBC executive producer, I'd give McGuire off between periods and get a straight man to work with studio analyst/entertainer/stirrer-upper Mike Milbury. Give Mike credit: he didn't tip-toe into the TV gig, thinking about setting himself up for another hockey job. He's worked hard at it and has people talking. No wonder TSN has kidnapped Mike in Toronto for four days a week during the playoffs.

The camera angles, the direction, the sound, the storytelling, the graphics, everything has been sharp about the NBC broadcasts. When they've had a great game, as they did Sunday with Game 2 at the Igloo, they have captured it.

I still believe the NHL needs to find a way, any way, to get some games on ESPN. Still, NBC has announced that they have re-upped with the NHL, and that is very good news for hockey fans.

The Rangers effect

2008-04-26T18:59:00.007-04:00

While I try to get over how that poor Irish girl with the sick tattoo got booted off A.I. for singing my cherished "Jesus Christ Superstar," let's tackle another issue for the day.

The subject has come up in the last week: if the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup, would that be good or bad for the New York Islanders?

Many people - several of them even really intelligent - have for generations promoted the theory that the Rangers winning the Cup would be good for hockey, the NHL, the United States of America and all of mankind.

Let me first say this about Larry Brooks of the New York Post. If the other 29 NHL teams each had reporter/columnists on their beat as dedicated to their craft and as wickedly entertaining as Larry, now THAT would be good for hockey.

But it's always been something I think Larry is way off on. Other than the theory being another glorious illustration of New York arrogance, I see nothing - TV ratings, print coverage, merchandise sales, growth of the game - to prove it.

Of course, we don't have historical evidence because the one time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in the last 68 years, our league - oh yeah, I remember now - had a marathon work stoppage.

That's just my opinion on the Rangers' effect on the league. As for the Rangers winning the Cup having any positive effect on the New York Islanders, let me tell you about my drive home from the Coliseum last night.

I had one errand to run: pick up a birthday present for my brother Nick, the Rangers fan. I was thinking maybe something tennis or golf-related, so I went to Modells.

I'm on Sunrise Highway in Freeport, Long Island. What do I see the moment I walk in Modells?

You got it: New York Rangers T-shirts - Avery, Lundqvist, Gomez (oh, that's just gotta kill Devils fans), Drury, Jagr, even Callahan! Then there's my favorite: all the "I'm a Ranger" stuff. (Geez, I wonder where they got that from?).

So I repeat: we're in just the second round. Modells in the heart of Long Island - and let me make clear here that I do not blame our good friends at Modells - has Rangers merchandise front and center.

The Rangers winning the Stanley Cup good for the Islanders? I don't think so.

For the record, Nick's getting some golf stuff - plus a Lundqvist T-shirt (don't tell Ricky).

On the plus side, while the Rangers and Penguins are battling Sunday afternoon, my brother won't be able to watch it. We'll be at the Milleridge Inn celebrating his birthday.

Who is Tyler Myers?

2008-04-24T19:49:00.010-04:00

It's that dangerous time of the year, when people like me - who have not even seen Steven Stamkos take a single shift, live or on TV - think they know which prospect their team should take with their early first round pick.

I really thought I had it nailed, folks. I did my homework (actually, I read The Hockey News and caught some vid of Bob McKenzie). I started to add it all up - who LA would take, then Atlanta. To me, there was no doubt it was coming down to any one of three kids and the Islanders would be in great shape no matter how it turned out.

I became an expert on Luke Schenn. Not for any particular reason, mind you. I wouldn't know Luke Schenn if he ran me over in Roosevelt Field. I stay away from Ryan Jankowski and the scouts on the subject of the draft because I simply do not want to know. When it comes to the draft and PR people, knowledge is not power - it's death.

But Schenn intrigued me. Maybe it was because all we ever heard about was the big 2 Dmen - Pietrangelo and Doughty. Then it became the Big 3 when Zack Bogosian was added to the mix. Funny thing: TSN's McKenzie started talking up the kid they call "Bogo" and - BAM - now he's No. 2 on the Central Scouting list.

Schenn kinda slipped in. Doesn't have any offensive numbers, no highlight-reel clips on You Tube. All I knew about Schenn was that he had the same first name as one of my sons, was a shutdown defenseman, was physically and emotionally mature beyond his years and perhaps as ready as any draftee to play in the NHL immediately.

I started thinking Luke Schenn was the Kenny Jonsson of Kelowna, with some Brendan Witt-nasty to boot.

This morning, we learned that - yup - the Central Scouting Service doesn't even think Luke Schenn is the best draft-eligible defenseman on his own team!!!

This morning, draft experts like myself were introduced to Luke's teammate on the Rockets, the 6-foot-7 raw beast of a boy named Tyler Myers. The CSS has Stamkos 1, Bogo 2, Doughty 3, Myers 4, Schenn 5 and poor Pietrangelo - as if the mono wasn't enough! - slipped to 6.

Seems us draftniks have got some more work to do.

Chico loses it

2008-04-19T22:52:00.006-04:00

On two different occasions, moments after the Rangers put away the Devils at The Rock last night, Glenn "Chico" Resch got upset, venting that so many Rangers fans celebrating at the Devils' home rink was tough to take.

Chico was frustrated, angry, bitter.

Man, it was beautiful stuff.

There was something so decent, so human about the way Chico just completely lost his composure. Is his performance going to win him an Emmy? Never. Were the purists tsk-tsking at him last night? You bet.

I don't care. I loved it.

What was even cooler was how you could sense Chico trying to stop himself mid-thought. It's also possible his producer was in his ear asking him to re-consider a potential meltdown.

Chico is part-Islander, part-Devil. Lou Lamoriello and that organization have been very good to him. Chico is so loyal, he never considered skipping a Devils broadcast two years ago so he could attend the celebration of the Islanders' 1980 Cup team. (He recorded a joyous opening video instead). When you consider all the Islanders and Devils blood in him, no wonder it boiled as Jagr saluted the Rangers fans as he headed off the ice last night.

Chic's freak was a bit reminiscent of Billy Jaffe's anguished cry of "No! Noooo..." when the Devils scored in the final seconds of regulation against the Islanders in the last regular season game of '06-07. Maybe not textbook, but memorable.

They teach you everywhere from Syracuse to Missouri to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting to the dearly departed Marty Glickman's legendary tutoring sessions to be a pro, not a cheerleader.

But every once in a while something happens that makes all the formal training go away. For a moment, you show you're a person with a heartbeat.

Come to think of it, Billy Jaffe just won the Emmy for his work on the Islanders last season.

Chico: even though it pains you to have renegade fans in the home team building, I'll still leave a pair for your family when the Devils play the NVMC.

Just promise me one thing: don't change.

Is Sean Avery good for hockey?

2008-04-16T12:51:00.002-04:00

Of course he is.

The clips of Avery's windshield-wiping have been shown everywhere countless times, even in places where they don't do much hockey - like CBS-2 in NY.

There were two days between Games 3 and 4 of the Rangers-Devils series. As it is, even with the Devils making it 2-1, the series is still not even close to being the talk of the town. (Oh goodie: the Yankees are playing the Red Sox...again). Because of Avery's antics, they were talking hockey the other day on the Michael Kay Show. And Michael Kay was hosting!

Consider the insane quantity and inane quality of coverage Terrell Owens gets. Now ask yourself again: is Sean Avery good for hockey?

Fact is, the NHL could use more of him.

The next question is, would you want Sean Avery on your team?

To that one, I don't think you can answer with an unequivocal yes.

Avery turned out to be a godsend for the Rangers, who needed an injection of something, anything when they got him from LA for a box of pucks. To be fair to Kings GM Dean Lombardi, that was Avery's value by then. Give credit to the Rangers for having the guts, and to Tom Renney for agreeing to take him on.

MSG was the perfect place for him. Avery's act probably wouldn't play in Columbus and he seems to need the bright lights to stay interested (besides the Garden press machine, Sean is known to have his own personal PR firm). In Brendan Shanahan, a teammate in Detroit, the Rangers had a respected veteran to glare at him when necessary.

It was a marriage made in hockey heaven. Whether it eventually turns out to be the equivalent of making a deal with the devil, we shall see. Even if it does, the Rangers made a heckuva deal.

The question will be posed to Garth Snow at tonight's Town Hall: do the Islanders have a need for an agitator, their Sean Avery?

It's a fair question, although Avery is one-of-a-kind. Face facts: Sean Avery is a big reason why the Rangers clinched a playoff berth in game 80. After an ineffective playoff last spring against Buffalo, he's been one of his team's MVPs so far in the Devils series.

And he's given the series some jam that the league, and New York, really needed.

Islanders PR podcast, anyone? Anyone?

2008-04-14T23:49:00.004-04:00

So I have what may turn out to be a lousy idea. I'm thinking of doing a podcast and asked my staff of tech-savvy youngsters to look into it.

Basic premise is the staff talking Islanders for the hardcore fan. It would not be slick. It couldn't be with me and this crew.

We'd preview the week, including the team's practice and travel schedule. We'd attempt to do an interview that wasn't run-of-the-mill ("Seriously Garth - who the heck are you taking with the fifth pick"?!) I'm sure there'd be some goofy stuff, too.

To clarify, this will be an audio podcast. To paraphrase Howie Rose, this face was made for audio podcasting.

While we try to figure it out on our end - like how to work in some music in the opening and not sound like idiots throughout - I welcome all feedback.

Please use the comments section for any ideas, suggestions, tips, offers to volunteer to be our engineer and producer (okay, I'll throw in some tickets). When you send your comments, let me know if you want to keep it confidential or if it's okay to publish.

Thanks.

CB

Wednesday at center stage

2008-04-11T10:30:00.003-04:00

I really hope those of you in the area can make it out to the Open House/Town Hall event on Wednesday at the Coliseum. Full details are on the team site, but doors open at 6:30 and around 7:45 we'll begin the "formal" presentation.

I'm part of the planning group for the presentation and I can tell you it will be the real deal. The scoreboard will be lowered to serve as a back-drop, like we've done in the past at some Budweiser (Entry) Draft parties. Steve Mears is going to host and a pair of stirring videos will be shown.

Senior VP Chris Dey will open up with a brief discussion of why the Islanders are wasting no time taking their message to the fans. Say what you will, but you can't say the organization is going into hibernation until the playoffs are over.

Looks like Garth Snow will speak after Chris. While it would be foolish for any GM to get completely specific about his plans - "hey, tell Columbus I'm taking ________ with the 5th pick" - a sneak peak Garth showed me of his outline revealed a ton of transparency.

If you love the Islanders, a free event where the locker room is wide open - but better still, so are the plans of the coach and GM - is a pretty good thing, don't you think? Maybe new Knicks Prez Donnie Walsh will do the same.

Ted will speak after Garth. Over the weekend I hope to catch up with the coach and see what he has planned for Wednesday. Ted usually speaks very off-the-cuff and never disappoints.

When Garth and Ted are done with their opening remarks, Mears will hit them with several of the questions sent by fans via newyorkislanders.com. I'm sure some fans think this will be a softball session, but they underestimate us. Garth might not be Obama at speech-giving, but if you've ever run into him you know he can be as direct and chirpy as the guys in "The Departed."

Steve from Clifton, NJ asks Ted: "As a coach known to favor a veteran lineup, do you see yourself more open to giving the younger guys bigger roles next season"?

Ryan from East Moriches wants to know how Garth "plans to address the lack of offense, which was a huge problem."

Others want to know if Garth wants to acquire "a legit heavyweight" and when is he going to sign Bergenheim long-term.

Honest, Garth: I didn't write those questions.

EXCLUSIVE: It's Official!

2008-04-10T10:19:00.007-04:00

We now have the check, so they can't ever take it away from us. Hummergate is over.

Just a few minutes ago, three very kind men from GMC/Hummer brought a check for $25,000 to the Coliseum, where it was heartily accepted by Chris Dey, Garth Snow and Chris Campoli on behalf of the New York Islanders Children's Foundation.

Because I know there were still plenty of doubters out there, here's a picture of the check. Don't know if you can make it out, but it says we got it for "Islanders winning the Hummer Metro Ice Challenge." Not the co-winners. Don't tell that to the Rangers.

We'll never understand how it got botched on Sunday afternoon, although I should make clear it wasn't good guy Sam Rosen's fault. Sam just said what somebody told him to.

All's well that ends well.

Judgment Day

2008-04-08T21:24:00.002-04:00

I'm not at will to release any official news of the Hummer Metro Ice Challenge.

In unrelated news, I'm told a pair of MSG execs and a representative from Hummer are coming to the Coliseum on Thursday morning. And they're bringing one of those over-sized checks with them.

I still haven't figured out how to cram one of those into the canister at the bank drive-thru.

5-hole

2008-04-07T20:42:00.003-04:00

Damn.

Would have been nice. If the Islanders won the lottery tonight, we weren't going to finesse it. Bossy was going to make it clear Stamkos was our choice.

Only thing that stinks is that our conference really didn't need another potential superstar, did it?

On the other hand, I'll take the fifth. Statistically, there was a greater chance of the NYI moving back a slot to the sixth pick than winning the first selection. That would have been annoying.

I like Garth's view of the Okposo draft choice: "Hey, I played on that team. We worked hard for that draft pick"!

I believe the top 4 will look like this. Forgive me if I'm not breaking much of a scoop here:

1. Stamkos to Tampa Bay

2. Doughty or Filatov to LA [keep in mind, LA reached back for the young dman Hickey last summer and, like a lot of teams, could use a game-breaker]

3. Doughty (if not taken by LA) or Pietrangelo to Atlanta

4. Filatov (if not taken by LA), Pietrangelo (if not taken by Atl) or Bogosian to St. Louis [the Blues already have their franchise dman in Erik Johnson]

That would seem to leave one of Filatov, Pietrangelo or Bogosian (soaring up Bob McKenzie's chart in recent weeks), plus Luke Schenn, Colin Wilson, Cody Hodgson and plenty more.

In other words, I'd say we're going to be just fine.

Doing the Right Thing

2008-04-07T13:30:00.005-04:00

The latest on the Hummer Metro Challenge appears to be that everyone has come to their senses. I'm optimistic there will be a fair resolution for all parties.

The way I see it, no one at the start of the season agreed to any tiebreakers - appropriate ones or absurd ones. The Islanders and Rangers tied. As a result, there is only one fair resolution. MSG Network has a playoff preview show tonight, so I would expect an announcement by then.

Prior to next season, the Islanders, Rangers and Devils can agree on tiebreaking procedures and all can be right with the world.

Thank you to the fans who brought this to the attention of the media, including WFAN and XM Radio. Thanks also to the countless number of fans who suggested ways to make up for the lost funds, some even offering to put up their own money. Beautiful stuff. Assuming the Hummer issue gets rectified, may I humbly suggest The Smile Train or Rexcorp Islanders Inspire?

This just in from Sam Rosen: Yes indeed, Dewey has defeated Truman.

Metro Ice Capades (or someone owes the Children's Foundation at least 25 grand)

2008-04-06T18:53:00.003-04:00

If you're like me, you probably fell off the couch when Sam Rosen announced after the Rangers' loss today to the Devils that the Blueshirts had won the Hummer Metro Ice Challenge and would receive $50,000 for their charity.

The Islanders, by virtue of their shootout win in the Garden on Friday night, had a one-point lead in the Challenge going into today's game. When the Rangers only got a point in New Jersey today, I had assumed the Challenge was a tie and perhaps 25 K each would go to the Islanders' and Rangers' charities.

Then Sam made his most stunning announcement since the one last year when he said the NYI were eliminated from qualifying for the playoffs.

(This paragraph serves as my official statement that, of course, I would much rather be blogging about the Islanders going into the playoffs than this. But it is what it is. And what it is, I think, is a scam).

You would think there might be two logical tie-breakers - if there was a need to break the tie:

1. wins within the Challenge (Islanders win)
2. Islanders-Rangers head-to-head (Islanders win)

After Sam's stunner - I mean, there wasn't even an explanation! - I called Al Trautwig in the studio. Al was suitably sympathetic but didn't have an answer for me. He said, "Are you officially protesting"? My response was as profane as it was affirmative.

I called an "impeccable source" at the Garden next. He/she told me there was a rumor that it was decided recently that if the Rangers and Islanders ended the Challenge in a tie, the title would go to the Rangers because they had the better regular season record.

Now if you can tell me what Rangers victories against teams outside of the, uh, Metro area have to do with this, I'll give you $50,000.

This is about right and wrong. This is about not laying down. This is about $50,000, or at least $25,000, for the New York Islanders Children's Foundation.

This, my friends, is not over.

No pressure, Boss

2008-04-03T16:22:00.004-04:00

The latest on Monday's Draft Lottery show is the general managers will not be in Toronto, but each franchise in the top 5 spots will be represented by a signature player. For example, expect to see someone like Al MacInnis repping the Blues, Luc Robitaille the LA Kings, Dave Andreychuk the Lightning.

As for the Islanders, if they get the 4 or 5 hole, looks like Mike Bossy will be asked to score one more big goal.

Bossy may be a silver fox now, but his youthful enthusiasm for the game and the Islanders remains. When asked to go for the NYI, he didn't even bother to check his schedule.

"I'm there," he said.

The Kraft Draft Lottery Super-Spectacular Variety Hour

2008-04-03T00:03:00.004-04:00

I called home this afternoon to see if my family had any plans for next Monday. Turns out I may have to go to Toronto.

As announced today, the NHL is going to take its Draft Lottery show and make it a bigger deal with a slick TV presentation by TSN and also carried by VERSUS and the NHL Network. TSN is asking the GMs from each of the top (or is it bottom?) 5 seeds in the lottery to come to their Toronto studio for the show.

Time will tell if the Islanders "clinch" the 4th or 5th spot. They could also end up 6th before lottery time. The top 5 seeds have a chance at the number one selection in the draft in June.

(This could be the part where I get all PR-ish and say Steve Stamkos is not necessarily the prize, but rest assured any team that gets the No. 1 pick will take him. That said, the teams picking 2 to at least 7 are going to go home with wonderful young players).

For the Draft Lottery big-budget spectacular, I have a feeling the big guns at the League de National Hockey are going to make a push to "convince" the teams to cooperate and send their GMs to Toronto.

I understand the league's stance: this is a big night for the game. I can also see the LA Kings' stance: if Dean Lombardi flies all the way to Toronto, only to lose the top pick, boy would that stink.

On behalf of Garth, I have asked TSN for first-class airfare, a hotel suite, dinner at Harbor 60 and a written apology for any of the network's shots at our team.

That's not too much to ask for complete cooperation, eh?

As I told my wife Catherine, I should know our plans by Friday.

Reality Check - Take 2

2008-03-31T09:41:00.002-04:00

The flame-throwing has already begun at my post yesterday about the effect of injuries on the Islanders' season.

My thesis was not a commentary on the woes of the power play or the struggle to score goals.

Please allow me to take another shot at it.

My position was simply this:

With the knowledge that Ted Nolan gets as much out of his players as any coach in the league...

If Sim, Sillinger, Campoli, Witt, Sutton, Gervais and Martinek had not gone down for significant blocks of games, do you really not think the Islanders would be in the playoff hunt this week?

Reality Check

2008-03-30T16:22:00.003-04:00

Garth Snow and Ted Nolan are never going to use injuries as an excuse. But, you see, I don't have that problem. I never played the game, and I'm not the GM, coach or a player on the Islanders.

Garth is going to do the right thing with this team, of that I have no doubt. The early first round pick in this exemplary draft will add another cornerstone player the franchise needs. Rick DiPietro is clearly one. Kyle Okposo could be another.

But let's not forget what happened this season. The Islanders' injury list was an underrated story this season. You know darn well if some other teams lost as many top-4 defensemen or important forwards, we'd probably never hear the end of it. The other reason you didn't hear much about the Islanders' injuries? Garth and Ted refused to let it be an issue.

I'm not going to single out every injury, nor will we put a lot of emphasis on the shutdown of players when the Islanders fell out of playoff contention. But know this: when the season ends on Friday, the Islanders will have more than 400 man-games lost to injury.

Top two-way veteran center Mike Sillinger missed 30 games.

Jon Sim, signed to agitate and score 20 goals, missed 80.

Chris Campoli, the team's top puck-lugger on the blueline, missed 36.

Andy Sutton - 24.

Brendan Witt - 23.

Bruno Gervais - who may return this week - 19.

Radek Martinek - 13.

Here's an exercise: take another NHL team and assign an equal amount of games-missed to their top 5 defensemen. How do you think they'd do?

When does hockey become a story in New York?

2008-03-26T09:40:00.003-04:00

I come here today after a week on the road NOT to complain about the lack of coverage of the New York Islanders.

Instead, I'm wondering what's going on with the coverage of the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils.

The Islanders are out of the playoff hunt, and the pain is excruciating. When I walked out of the old barn on the night of the Core of the Four game - the night Craig Anderson became Ken Dryden - it hurt worse than any loss in years.

But back to our metro area rivals. Someone please tell me: when exactly is the rest of the local media going to decide "Okay, now it's time to start talking hockey"?

Do the Rangers have to win a playoff round? Do Brent's boys have to make it to the Stanley Cup Final?

I mean, it really wasn't that long ago when a Rangers weeknight game in February got the backpage of the Post and/or the Daily News. It wasn't that long ago when the New York Times would pick up the story of Marty and the Devils, you know, at least a couple of months before they raised the Cup.

What is going on here?

Are we (meaning Those In Hockey) still paying the price for the lockout? Or is that just some sort of lame excuse baseball-obsessed sports editors use?

Are we paying the price for not being on ESPN? If that's the case, shame on the editors and producers for allowing Bristol, Connecticut to dictate what's important in sports and what isn't. (This just in: the Times has assigned Dave Caldwell to the "Dancing with the Stars" beat).

I'd sure like to think I missed it, but when was the last time WFAN or 1050 ESPN had a hockey guest on one of their shows? Remember when "Mike and the Mad Dog" used to have Bill Clement on regularly? Forgive me for being nostalgic for the days of the early 2000s.

Over the last couple of months, I've read a few of these hot business books that talk about stuff like "The New Marketing" and "The New Rules of PR" and how blogging can help your business. The message of most of these books is how businesses should take their story straight to the customer and not worry about cutting out the middle - advertising outlets and the traditional media. Countless businesses have had incredible success this way. No one in sports has tried it yet.

To be clear, I'm not advocating the Islanders go this route:

Greg Logan: "Hey Chris, I hear you emailed an Islanders Insider to your database late last night that you signed that hotshot dman out of college"?

CB: "Uh...yep."

Greg: "Is that something you were ever gonna share with me and the rest of the press"?

CB: "Uh...I don't know how to break this to you, Greg. But I think you should sign up for the Islanders Insider and Islanders TV. Or read about it in the NYI Blox Box. Or check out Islandermania."

No really, I'm not advocating this at all. The traditional media is still vital to us. But the lack of any sustained buzz about the two area teams going to the dance makes you wonder.

It almost makes anyone like me who cares about hockey want to root for the Rangers and Devils in the playoffs. Almost.

Hipsteria

2008-03-19T11:50:00.003-04:00

In the last hour we released the official statement about Rick DiPietro having surgery on his right hip today in Vail, Colorado. Rick will be under the care of Dr. Marc Philippon, the world-reknowned hip specialist at the Steadman Hawkins clinic who repaired Rick's left hip after the playoffs last spring. Marc has also performed successful surgeries on everyone from Mario Lemieux to Greg Norman. In recent times, Garth Snow and Mike Sillinger have seen Dr. Philippon in Vail.

By getting it done today, Rick will have more than enough time to be fully ready for camp in September. It won't be a case where he will start skating in September. To the contrary, he should be able to begin working out on and off the ice well before then.

I completely understand the concern about this incredibly conditioned 26-year old athlete having surgeries on each of his hips at the end of the last two seasons. The positive side is, well, he's an incredibly conditioned 26-year old athlete.

Make no mistake: because of the landmark 15-year contact, Rick's health will always be under the microscope. Understood. This is also because he is the Islanders' franchise player.

Greg Logan has a blog today insisting that the Islanders create a goalie rotation where the backup plays at last 20-25 games each season so Rick is not over-worked. Again, totally understood. I'd be a fool to even try to counter that argument today.

What I can say is that there is no reason for over-reaction. The Islanders and their No. 1 goaltender are doing the right thing today, and I have a strong feeling DiPietro will have an even better season in '08-09.

To hype, or not to hype

2008-03-17T11:18:00.005-04:00

Thinking aloud, what would you do with the Kyle Okposo issue if you were me and the rest of the PR/Marketing staff?

The facts: Kyle's a terrific kid and he's going to be an excellent player. He doesn't turn 20 until next month. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, selected after and before some young players already on the road to great careers.

More facts: the Islanders are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. With injuries to nearly half their regulars, it's time to see what some of the prospects can do. Kyle is at the top of that chart.

Logan in Newsday was right - this is the biggest debut for an Islanders-drafted player since DiPietro.

So again: what do you do? How do you draw the line between the perception of over-hyping a 19-year old and serving your die-hard fans with information?

We can agree to disagree, but I'll tell you what we did. Yesterday morning, Newyorkislanders.com posted the press release plus a story on Bridgeport coach Jack Capuano discussing Kyle's development in measured, not hyperventilating tones. Our partners at Islanders TV had one segment of King and Mears treating it as a news item, another featuring Ted Nolan's thoughts on the recall. Again, Ted didn't act like he was selling anything. In fact, the coach said he hadn't seen the kid play since prospect camp last summer.

Today will be round two. Jason Lockhart will have a story on the website on KO's first practice as an Islander. Kyle will likely do a phone interview this afternoon for the hockey fans who can never get enough on XM Radio. I'm certain ITV will have a bunch of first-class goodies, the kind of stuff you just don't see major professional sports franchises bring so directly to their fans.

To my mind, this is providing information on a positive story, not hype.

I guess the true test will come at gametime. If the Islanders really want to sell Kyle, I would imagine you will see a spotlight introduction, maybe even drop the kid from the scoreboard for the opening faceoff. You will see the "I'm Kyle Okposo and I'm an Islander" treatment, like last year when Ryan Smyth made his grand entrance.

But I wouldn't hold my breath. We know what Kyle is. We know where our team currently stands. I suspect anyone coming out to see Kyle Okposo make his NHL debut as an Islander tomorrow will not be disappointed in the kid's play. For the 10-15 minutes he'll likely be on the ice, Kyle will act like he belongs.

No really, this is the final word on the Prongerstomp

2008-03-15T22:41:00.002-04:00

So the suspension for Chris Pronger is 8 games.

Here's my final thought on it, I swear. I just want to know this:

The next time a repeat offender - a "recidivist" - stomps on an opponent with his skate, does he get 8 games?

Or does he get 30 games?

I'll see you on Tuesday night for a game that will have a little extra.

"It's a mystery"

2008-03-14T23:02:00.004-04:00

This was Islanders captain Bill Guerin after practice today in Montreal on the original decision that Chris Pronger would not be suspended for stomping on Ryan Kesler:

"I don't know the reason. It's a mystery. I'm just wondering if there is something personal against Chris Simon - because it was the same action."

Good to see that just because Simon is no longer Guerin's teammate on the Islanders doesn't mean the captain doesn't have his back.

As most of you know, Pronger waved his right to an in-person hearing and instead will do a conference call with the league judge-and-jury on Saturday. By contrast, Simon flew to Toronto for a face-to-face hearing that lasted less than 30 minutes. I hope he at least got some quality air miles out of it.

I'm still having trouble grasping the original argument about the league not having sufficient video evidence, but I've already said too much.

For more, as the great songwriter Joe Jackson once sang, you can read it in the Sunday papers.

Pronger story may not be over

2008-03-14T00:25:00.002-04:00

There is some buzz late tonight that "better" footage of the Pronger stomp on Kesler has surfaced and the league may re-visit the case.

I didn't write about this subject because I have any axes to grind with Chris Pronger or the Anaheim Ducks. My bewilderment was strictly related to 30 games for Chris Simon, 0 for this.

Let's hope justice is served and I have to offer one gigantic apology on Friday.

On the Islanders front, gotta believe we'll see Kyle O for the home game against the Leafs on Tuesday, don't you think?

Good night.

Maybe it is the name on the back of the sweater

2008-03-13T20:36:00.007-04:00

There are some things in hockey I will never understand. Like when the defenseman has the puck at the point with two of his forwards standing in front of the goalie, and the dman wraps the puck around the boards and behind the goal so the forwards have to scramble after it. Quality scoring chance in the dumpster. I didn't play organized ice hockey, so my failure to understand the obsession with moving the puck behind the goal is a personal problem I will always have to deal with.

And now I have another, more serious problem. Chris Simon is a friend of mine. I don't believe I'm an enabler; I understand, as he does, that Simon has done some bad, at times extremely dangerous, always inexcusable things. It is equally amazing, fascinating and fortunate that none of Si's victims ever missed playing time as a result of his crimes.

The night Simon stomped on Ruutu, our twins had their seventh birthday at the Islanders game. As the Islanders came off the ice after warmup, they all reached over and gave my boys a high-5. Chris Simon went the extra mile: he stopped, took off his glove, shook their hands and wished them happy birthday. When you consider what happened about 90 minutes later, the photo is all the more poignant.

I'm going to step out just a bit here and share something that Chris said to me a few times. In all honesty, when he volunteered his thoughts I was torn between being sympathetic and concerned that Chris had lost his way. Basically, Chris felt that on judgment day he was treated differently than other players. I never let the conversation get to the subject of why.

Last night all-world defenseman Chris Pronger stomped on Ryan Kesler of the Canucks.

Watch the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7kRKus2FRQ

Chris Simon got 30 games.

Chris Pronger got 0 games.

I do not know what else to say.

Field of Dreams

2008-03-13T11:57:00.005-04:00

The phone is ringing off the hook with demands for a response from the Islanders about appearing to be on the outside looking in if there is going to be an NHL game at Yankee Stadium. With respect, I submit that it does not make sense to respond right now because nothing is official.

There are a few things I can share. The New York Islanders, and only the New York Islanders, began discussions with the New York Yankees about an outdoor game at the old Ballyard in the Bronx more than two years ago. These conversations were high-level, make no mistake. They eventually grew deep enough that I had the privilege of taking part in one of the meetings, an all-hands-on-deck gathering with staff members from both the Islanders and Yanks representing areas from PR and advertising to ticket sales and operations. I vividly remember one of the Yankees' top field operations guys saying, "You want to have a hockey game here? I don't think the stadium could survive it."

Soon after, our new friends at the Yankees made it clear they were still very open to hosting an NHL game at the stadium - it would just have to be after the last baseball game was played.

(I should probably point out here that when these meetings were being held, everyone that should have been kept in the loop was. I'm also not aware of any time in the process when the Islanders were told to slow down or to stop pursuing this project).

Being realists - and fully appreciating the Rangers' standing as an Original Six franchise and No. 1 Market Franchise - we always understood that the game would be Islanders-Rangers. There is no better rivalry in hockey, or among New York teams.

Islanders-Rangers at Yankee Stadium would be incredible for hockey. And make no mistake, it would be phenomenal, invaluable for our franchise. I believe this has been made clear to all of the right people.

Until an official decision is made, we will continue to work on it and hope for the best.

New York Times Magazine on The Smile Train

2008-03-08T15:03:00.005-05:00

In tomorrow's New York Times Magazine, "Freakonomics" authors Stephen J. Dubner and Steven J. Levitt report on how and why The Smile Train was created. As regular readers of this blog know, I have picked The Smile Train, which provides free cleft surgery for children, as a sort of unofficial charity of NYI Point Blank.

The story by Dubner and Levitt is a good indication why this charitable organization blows me away with its generosity, diligence and commitment. Did I mention 100% of all donations to The Smile Train goes to the program, 0% to administration fees and who-knows-what else?

As I state in the top left corner of my blog, please consider being a part of it. Let The Smile Train know you heard about them from me and I'll personally let you know how grateful I am.

Read the Times Magazine piece here today:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/magazine/09WWLN-freakonomics-t.html?ref=magazine

Goaliegate

2008-03-08T12:25:00.006-05:00

The Sunday NHL columns hit mailboxes and computer screens in less than 24 hours. I predict at least a half-dozen hockey scribes, and probably more, will have their take on Ted's decision to start Dubie over DP on Thursday night.

For the record, I'll have no problem with any columnist offering their opinion. After all, gutsy and controversial decisions are what makes the world of sports go 'round. Major League Baseball thrives on this; it was kind of neat to give "Mike & the Mad Dog" something to talk about when they did almost five hours of Islanders hockey on Thursday.

What I will find shakey are any reports citing "sources" on the subject. What is there to source? From beginning to end, the Islanders were completely transparent on the subject. Even if you weren't one of the few with a press pass and notebook in our hallway on Thursday, you could have heard the head coach, the starting goalie for the night, the backup goalie, the GM, the team captain and even the team's owner share their thoughts over 50,000 clear-channel watts on WFAN.

There is nothing to second-guess. There was nothing to hide. Garth Snow suggested to his close friend and former goalmate DP that he take a day to heal from the mourning of his grandmother. Toward the end of his career as a goaltender, Garth lost his dad and a brother. He is also close to Rick's family. The GM gave advice both from the mind and from the heart.

Dubie started and won on Tuesday. True to his word - "there's a great chance Dubie will start on Thursday" - Ted went back with Wade for the rematch at the Coliseum. The Islanders lost, but it wasn't their goaltending that let them down.

Tonight in Philadelphia, with two full practices and two morning skates under his belt, DiPietro gets the start against the Flyers. Ted has implied Rick will likely start the rest of the way. End of story.

Yeah, right.

My Core memory

2008-03-03T17:51:00.002-05:00

Of all the incredible and indelible memories of the Cup run, by far my favorite moment was when the Islanders came back late to win the decisive Game 5 against Pittsburgh at the Coliseum in 1982.

It's my favorite because it's the most personal. My lone sibling, my older brother Nick, was and still is a dedicated fan of the New York Rangers. It clearly was killing him that the team from Long Island I adopted at age 7 in 1972 had so much success, so quickly. Nick dealt with the first two Stanley Cups with a decent amount of dignity, but let's face it - I'm sure he couldn't wait until the shenanigans of Bossy, Trottier, Smith, Potvin and the boys mercifully ended.

That's the way it looked on April 13, 1982 when the Penguins took a stunning 3-1 lead late in the third period of Game Five of the Patrick Division semifinals. The series was tied at 2 games each and this was back in the day when first round series were best-of-five.

My brother and I watched the game on TV that night, and as the minutes counted down - way too quickly for me...9 minutes left, 8 minutes left, 7...I was dying. Nick was surprisingly quiet for a while, but I guess he just couldn't hold it any more. Lying on the couch, he turned around and said to me, "Hey, sorry about this little brother. It's been a great run. It couldn't last forever."

Nice thought, but the Hallmark Hall of Fame moment ended there. As Nick turned away from me he couldn't suppress a huge grin and started to chuckle. Think Jack Nicholson as the Joker. I wasn't laughing.

Seconds later, Mike McEwen (an unheralded dynasty member who we need to get to the Coliseum someday soon) scored at 14:33. Then my guy John Tonelli scored three minutes later to send it into overtime.

When JT scored again at 6:19 of overtime to win the series, it was heaven. For starters, my favorite player had done it again. (Ever notice how JT's mug is in the frame when they show just about every big goal during the dynasty?)

Of course, the dynasty was still alive, although we weren't calling it a dynasty yet. But think about it: without the heroics of McEwen, Tonelli, Bobby Nystrom and their cohorts in 1982, March 2, 2008 isn't possible. "The Core of the Two" just doesn't sound right.

Best of all, brother Nicky was silenced. His agony would continue for another two years, until the magnificent, unparalleled run of 19 straight playoff series victories finally ended in the Cup Final against Edmonton in 1984.

It's funny. Now that we're in our 40s and have children of our own, maturity shows some sign of creeping in for me and Nick. He's been with me at a few functions over the years where the Islanders legends are present. He seems a bit weirded out that I don't just actually know Bossy and Trottier and Denis and JT, but I even sometimes speak complete sentences to them.

But the coolest part of all is, when he meets them, you can tell Nick has the ultimate respect for the heroes of the Islanders dynasty, what they accomplished and the class they displayed through it all. If you think about it, there may be no greater compliment to the Core of the Four.

Tank job

2008-02-27T16:00:00.007-05:00

At least two reports out of Philadelphia today more than suggest the Islanders discussed Ruslan Fedotenko with the Flyers. They make it sound like a fact of life. For example, Chuck Gormley of the Camden Courier-Post had this:

"(Holmgren) went fishing for Islanders forward Ruslan Fedotenko, but passed on the bait it would take to get him, a first-round pick.

There's a few things wrong with this, none of it the fault of Chuck or the other Flyers reporters. They're just passing along information given to them.

But it is more than a bit distasteful that one organization would appear to be leaking information about another team's player, especially since the player - in this case, Tank - was not moved.

I want to say that there's no way Flyers GM Paul Holmgren would go there. I've known Paul for a while, going back to my days as a Flyers intern, and he has way too much class for that. Garth Snow and Holmgren are friends and worked well on two trades last year: Zhitnik for the Fantastic IVth and a third, York for Robitaille and a fifth.

Of course, I cannot confirm whether there were substantial discussions of a deal at all. I wasn't in the room. I will say I kind of doubt it.

The subject is important to me because there has been some disappointment on the Islandermania message board over Snow allegedly "asking for too much" from the Flyers, "overvaluing the player" and "not getting a second-round pick" for the potential UFA.

I don't know. Let's just say it's a deal that could have been made. Here are the current standings:

Flyers: 69 points
Islanders: 67 points

I'm curious: as Islander fans, would you be okay with trading a top-9 forward - playing his best hockey of the season - to a rival team three hours away that you're battling neck-and-neck with for a playoff berth? For a second round pick?

What would that say about your team? What would that say to your team?

As someone who has spent some time in Philadelphia, I can tell you if the Flyers traded...oh let's say Mike Knuble...to the NYI for a second round pick while fighting us for the Stanley Cup playoffs, there would be blood.

Drip...drip...drip

2008-02-25T17:56:00.004-05:00

Four years ago, the Islanders had a deal in place at the deadline to send Chris Osgood to St. Louis for Justin Papineau and a third round pick. I heard about the trade not from Mike Milbury but from Canadian broadcaster (and former Islanders goalie) Glenn Healy.

I went to Mike and told him about the report from Heals. Mike said the deal was just about done and I should get ready to announce it soon.

A few minutes later, Glenn called me and said his latest info was the deal was now Osgood and a third round pick for Papineau and a second round pick. I said I didn't think so, but would check with Milbury.

Me: Mike, did you tweak the deal? Healy's saying it's now Ozzy and a third for Papineau and a second.
MM: How the (heck) would he know that? We just changed the deal two minutes ago!

This is my way of telling you that, although the staff at NEWYORKISLANDERS.COM prides itself on giving Islanders fans the news first, trade deadline day is the one day a year I just cannot guarantee it.

The battle between TSN and Sportsnet, along with the Canadian websites and newspapers, to get the scoop first cannot be compared to anything, anything in sports in the United States. Not even the obsessive coverage of the Yankees. (BTW, did we get Santana yet?)

I remember my buddy Joe Micheletti being asked to sit in for Sportsnet's deadline coverage because the Islanders happened to be in Toronto that day. I don't think Joe knew what hit him. At one point he called me: "Chris, this is nuts. Ya got anything for me...please?"

I'll share with you my advice to Mike and now Garth. If we make a deal and prefer that our respected departed player hears the news from the Islanders and not through the media, once the trade is agreed to in principle the GM should call the player. If he waits for the deal to be 100% official and blessed by the NHL, chances are the player will find out from the press. That's what happened to Brendan Witt after a decade in Washington, and I truly believe it was through no fault of the Capitals.

On trade deadline day, the NHL is leakier than a six-month old boy.

Rock on

2008-02-23T22:11:00.004-05:00

Besides, you know, the game and the result, I'll remember today's trip to the Islanders-Devils game for a long time.

I decided to bring my three boys with me and take in the complete game experience as a fan. The joy started at the Rockville Centre train station when I spotted at least a dozen fans with Islanders jerseys getting on the 10:12 am to New York. My sons - 9-year old Aidan and 7-year olds Luke and Cole - actually seemed a bit disappointed. When I told them we were going to an Islanders road game in New Jersey, I think they thought we were going on the chartered aircraft and they'd be the only NYI fans lucky enough to see the game.

When we got to Penn Station around 11:00 am, it seemed like there were more Islanders fans walking over to NJ Transit than there usually are at Islanders-Rangers games at the Garden. When you consider that each year there are more and more Islanders fans filling seats at MSG, this is saying a lot. The 15-minute ride from Penn Station NYC to Penn Station Newark was crammed, noisy and wonderful.

The Rock, if you haven't checked it out yet, is priceless. Sure, there are always a few things you could knit-pick, but my biggest compliment is that it truly feels like the home of the New Jersey Devils. Everywhere you walk on the concourse, anywhere you sit in the stands, you know you're in the Devils' barn. Good for them, and congratulations to Lou Lamoriello, Mr. Vanderbeek and the entire staff for pulling it off.

(We really gotta get ourselves one of those, don't ya think? www.lighthouseli.com)

Until the third period, the kids and I had a blast. We were in the same row with two of the moderators from Islandermania. I think they couldn't believe I didn't have better seats. Aidan sat next to a Devils fan who seemed to enjoy going back and forth with him:

Devils Fan: Marty's better than Ricky.
Aidan: Is not.
DF: Is too.
Aidan: Marty stinks.
DF: Marty has three Stanley Cups.
Aidan: I'm 9. I don't care. DP's better now.

We were one section over from 116 loud and proud members of the New York Islanders Booster Club who made the journey. From beginning to end, they gave their hearts to the NYI. I can tell you for a fact the guys on the ice heard them and appreciated it.

A Devils fan nearby started the whistle-thing that in the Garden leads to the chant of "Potvin sucks." But today it led to a boisterous "Rangers suck." My boys were touched that Islanders and Devils fans could be brought together in harmony for the greater good.

Despite the packed house, we never had to wait any of the 16 times we went to the men's room. Nor did we ever wait more than a minute to get Aidan's Nathans hot dog, Cole's pizza, Luke's chicken fingers, my BBQ and their Carvel. Between today and my kids' visits to the Coliseum press box (free snacks, private john), my kids still have no clue what it's really like to take in a hockey game as a fan at an old barn.

The train back from Newark was a fire hazard and unpleasant, but I'm sure if the Islanders had won (and my wife wasn't away the last seven days visiting her father) I wouldn't have been so whiny. I perked up when I saw three of the Blog Boxers at NYC Penn Station and they were so pumped about the trade deadline on Tuesday. Later on, the conductor on our train invited me and the boys to sit in his private compartment. He's been a huge Islanders fan for years and it turns out I used to give him my tickets from time to time when he was a teenager. Even when he told me he's now 30 years old, it didn't depress me. It was that kind of soul-stirring day.

I know every team thinks they have the best fans in the league, but in the case of the Islanders, it's true.

Hey Greg, have a seat

2008-02-17T22:10:00.005-05:00

I touched on this in a guest column in the Sports Business Journal coming out of the lockout. There was a lot of chatter about what the NHL needed to do to increase coverage. The biggest idea was for hockey personnel to be as accesible as possible to the press. Like, for instance, have reporters imbedded in the GM's office during the trade deadline.

Lots of people, not just media and PR people, have ideas on this. An old friend suggested at a business breakfast at the beginning of the season that if our press meal was more like brunch at the Four Seasons, the Islanders would be all over the newspapers. I quote: "the way to get to the sportswriters is through their stomachs"!

Let's say that were true, which it isn't. Here's the problem: Greg Logan, Pete Botte, Dan Martin (doing what he can - and we appreciate it - for the Post), Dave Caldwell, who's done some strong feature work in the Times...they don't decide how much space they get to cover the Islanders. All four of these reporters are good people, hard workers and proud professionals. I have no doubt if they had their way, they would be writing more than they are. Even Logan - look at some of his Tolstoy-ian blog entries!

It's the sports editors in charge. And often it's the people above them. Take my word for it: the editors don't give a hoot what we serve in the Coliseum press box.

More than that, it never factors into their equation how accessible teams and leagues are to their reporters. As I wrote in the Sports Business Journal, there isn't a league more restrictive with its access than the National Football League. Ted and DP are available seven days a week, Cough Coughlin and Eli - 3 set days a week. And no sports league gets more coverage than the NFL.

The reason why I'm on this subject - again - is because if any of my colleagues in the NHL are trying to track down a columnist or TV reporter to pitch a hockey story, try Florida. EVERYONE is at spring training for baseball, especially in New York. The local TV affiliates, Channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11, often have two or more broadcasters in FLA. "With the Yankees in Tampa, I'm Len Berman. Let's throw it to Bruce Beck with the Mets in Port St. Lucie, and then we'll throw it to that other guy stalking Tom Glavine at Braves camp."

(BTW, Bruce Beck is one of the nicest guys anywhere. Besides being a classy broadcaster, he sends me and Corey a tin of Hershey's pretzels every holiday season. And it's not like Bruce is at our games a lot!)

Okay, let me try to finally get to the point. In hockey, if Logan needs one of my guys anywhere at any time, we do everything we can to make it happen. If Caldwell is doing a Timesian think-piece on face-washing, he can get Brendan Witt on cell. That does not mean our coverage is going to be bigger and better.

In Newsday today, Wally Matthews wrote about a media regulation the Yankees have:

"(There is) a silly Yankees rule prohibiting the media from sitting in a clubhouse chair, even if the player it belongs to is nowhere to be found, or if the player in the neighboring locker invites you to sit while you talk. It is a way of discouraging intimacy, of making sure no one gets too comfortable, interviewer or interviewee, of guaranteeing player-media interplay is kept as brief and inhospitable as possible."

Imagine how much coverage they'd get if they let the reporters sit down.

I think of Chris Simon inviting Logan to sit with him in the adjacent locker stall in Philly earlier this season. I think of Billy Guerin treating even the harshest critics with class in every interview. I think of Ricky responding to Corey's request to stop for an interview with the Post after the pre-season brawl against the Rangers: "If Larry Brooks needs me for anything, I'm there." I think of Brendan Witt and Mike Sillinger sitting at their lockers after brutal losses this season, sending the message to the media, "We stunk, we know it and we're here to face the music."

Nope, for the NHL and the NYI, accessibility is not the answer.

I better get back to working on my filet mignon, lobster and eggs for Monday's matinee.

On injuries, and the announcement of them

2008-02-13T21:06:00.003-05:00

After a meeting at the Plainview office this morning, I got word that Garth would like me to get over to Iceworks for practice as soon as possible. I already knew about Chris Simon, but figured maybe it was related to that. Nope. Maybe it was news on Brendan Witt. No. (Should have an update Thursday). As usual, it was what I least expected.

Turns out the league was looking into the matter of us not properly disclosing an injury. When I heard this, I was shocked. I didn't even know what player the league could have been talking about. Garth said it had something to do with Bruno Gervais.

Now, I love Bruno. I always say it: if I had a daughter, she could marry him. Incredible kid. Real good young defenseman who's going to get even better. But what possibly could be controversial about Bruno Gervais? Was it THAT slow a day at the NHL office? (Just kidding).

I spoke with the league and cleared up the misunderstanding. The league thought we "refused to disclose" Gervais' injury on Tuesday. What went wrong is they only saw a report from yesterday morning and didn't know that we officially announced what was ailing Bruno around 6:00 pm, an hour before faceoff.

It's important I share with the fans what I told the league today. More than anyone, you are owed an explanation of how, when and why we announce injuries.

I completely agree with the NHL's recent move to strictly enforce the proper dissemination of injuries and prognoses. The whole "upper body" and "lower body" thing was getting silly - and this is from the organization that brought you last year's classic, "general body soreness." (!)

That said, I will always believe that the media is owed a detailed injury report on a player only when that player MISSES A GAME. Let me explain.

We all know about the guts these players have. Hockey players play hurt all the time. Let's say Freddy Meyer was kept out of practice today, but we knew he was determined to play in Thursday's game in Toronto. Does it make any sense at all to tell reporters - and by extension, the fans, yes, but also the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS - what's ailing Freddy? Why would we put a bulls-eye on a wrist, his back or his shoulder?

Why give the Leafs even the slightest competitive advantage?

More than that, why put Freddy unnecessarily in harm's way?

I'm using Freddy as an example. He's not hurt and is playing tomorrow. As some of you know, he did gut out a big chunk of the second half of last season with a finger as twisted as an Auntie Anne's pretzel.

Bruno is injured. Heading into yesterday's game, Ted Nolan told reporters he would be a "game-time decision." At 5:00 pm yesterday, when I realized Bruno wasn't at the rink, I informed Garth it was time to go public with an injury announcement. Our trainer Garrett Timms confirmed it was a strained oblique and by 6:00 pm, everyone reporting on the game had an accurate update. Bruno is day-to-day.

As Keith Olbermann used to say, aren't we all?