Islanders Have Hiller In Sights?

From the Boston Globe:

Surplus in Anaheim net

 On Thursday, Anaheim activated Viktor Fasth from his AHL conditioning stint. At the same time, the Ducks assigned Frederik Andersen to Norfolk. During his brief NHL audition, Andersen proved his AHL apprenticeship doesn’t have to be much longer. The 24-year-old went 6-1-0 with a 1.66 GAA and .943 save percentage while sharing the net with Jonas Hiller. Andersen won his first six career starts, the first goalie to turn the trick since Toronto’s Damian Rhodes posted six straight W’s between March 22, 1991, and Dec. 2, 1993. Andersen’s promotion, Fasth’s good health, and the career trajectory of puckstopping prospect John Gibson point to Anaheim acquiring assets for Hiller, who will reach UFA status at the end of the season. Possible landing spots for Hiller include the Islanders and Nashville.

My take: Take it for what it is, it could be the Isles and Nashville going for Hiller, however.....

USA TODAY: With Pekka Rinne sidelined indefinitely due to complications in his surgically repaired hip,  Kevin Allen believes the Nashville Predators need to shop for a new goaltender or risk falling out of playoff contention by the end of this month. He suggests they contact the Anaheim Ducks, who are deep in goalies this season.

It's already on record that the GM of the Preds will wait until Rinne's results come in from his MRI later this month to make a decision. So if the Isles truly want Hiller, it may not be until at the end of this month and the Isles also need to see the results from Evgeni Nabakov before making any kind of decision. Stick tap to Islandermania for the Boston Globe piece and Spector's Hockey for the USA Today article.

ICYMI Enthusiasm & Expectations

Let me start off by saying that these are my opinions and mine alone and do not reflect anyone at Isles Talk. That being said, with all due respect to my fellow & hopeful Islanders fans, please get off your very high pedestals and wishful thinking and come back down to reality to what are the New York Islanders.  Last year’s run at the playoffs is now a distant memory and unfortunately many had expected the Islanders to repeat what they did or move further along in the playoffs. It still may happen, but it’s time to break out the old cliche from last year that this team will once again “Drive you to drink.” Continue reading →

Will MacDonald Get Traded This Year?

Photo courtesy of Bleacherreport.com

I'm sure by now many Islanders fans read Elliot Friedmans 30 thoughts and what he said about the Islanders. What intrigues me however was his number 5 thought:

 5. By the way, a few teams are watching one of Snow's guys very closely: defenceman Andrew MacDonald. He's unrestricted after the season, and a greatly improved player.

My take: He's a tradable asset. He hasn't received a contract yet, neither did Matt Moulson. Could he fetch a first rounder? Not likely, but with prospects like Reinhart, Pulock, Mayfield progressing, he certainly wouldn't get a long term deal from the Islanders. Therefore I wouldn't be surprised if there was another "shake-up" for the Islanders, this time for the defense. Time and the standings will tell.

Islanders Looking For Defensive Help

From the Fourth Period.com

The Islanders will monitor Vanek's situation, and how he performs with center John Tavares, and likely offer him a large contract after the season concludes, but in the meantime, Snow appears to be focused on improving other areas of his team.

According to two league sources, the Isles are exploring the possibility of bolstering their blueline.With veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky on the shelf after suffering a concussion, the Islanders could up their efforts to find a temporary replacement on the backend, but one source told TFP the Isles aren't looking for a short-term fix.

The Islanders have roughly $11.5 million in available salary cap space.

My take: Snow is always looking for ways to improve this Islanders team. However, considering that the Islanders have given up less than three goals in only two contests, one would have to think that a move will be made sooner rather than later. With 2014's first round pick now gone from the Vanek trade, it could be a current player or a prospect that gets moved in any deal for a defenseman. Stay tuned.

Islanders Recap: Rangers 3 Islanders 2

This is starting to become a broken record at Isles Talk. The Islanders had a lead heading into the third period and lost both the lead and the game to their cross-town rivals the New York Rangers tonight at the Coliseum. Watching from the TV you can hear the excitement from both teams fans and it truly sounded nice to have a packed barn again. Having said that, it was the end result that keep Isles fans from celebrating louder. Continue reading →

The Bridge Report: The Good, Bad & Ugly

I wanted to let the Moulson-Vanek trade settle down a bit before I bring to you a new weekly segment here at Isles Talk. The title basically gives it a way but every week, Isles Talk will be doing a quick recap and assessment of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Since the Sound Tigers were formed over 10 years ago, I can honestly say that I have never seen this many drafted Islanders prospects on one team, ever. That’s a good sign. Their record (1-4-1, last in the Division & Conference) is a reflection of their youth but it’s a long season. Since this is the first write up of the year, let’s take a look at the players you should be concerned about. Continue reading →

Islanders Defense Is A Concern

The Islanders had an opportunity to improve their record, move up in the standings, and take some momentum into Tuesdays match up against the New York Rangers. After beating the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before, the Islanders returned home to face the lowly Philadelphia Flyers and lost. The term “consistently inconsistent” is in fact the theme that this team is currently going through.  Many fans are looking for some kind of change made. Some want Ryan Strome up, Brock Nelson playing everyday, Eric Boulton to be off the team, some have even said a coaching change is needed. Two problems I see with those suggestions. First, the Islanders are scoring goals and two, Capuano is not going anywhere, especially when the assistant coaches and General Manager are on the same page. So let’s take a look at the defense, a group that did not change much from last year. Continue reading →

Complete Win For The Islanders

I told you it was going to be a fun game to watch! I knew I was watching on a rerun last night so I purposely did not look at any of the scores until the game was finished. Other than Phoenix, this was probably the best
complete game the Islanders have had when the score was close. There wasn’t much to dissect in terms of what the Isles did wrong because there was definitely more  good to watch. Here are some pluses and minus from my thoughts of the 3-2 Islanders win over the Oilers. Continue reading →

A Rivalry Renewed Tonight

This was a game I was hoping to make tonight because there is a lot of history between these two teams. Back in the early 1980′s it was either the Islanders or the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Championships, one dynasty against a future dynasty. Both franchises would leave their marks in NHL history. For the Islanders you had Bossy, Trottier, Gillies, Potvin & Smith and for the Oilers it was Gretzky, Messier Kurri, Coffey & Fuhr. Now 30 years later, the NHL and it’s fans will be witnessing a possible rebirth of this once great rivalry.  The Islanders have Tavares, Grabner, Okposo and Hamonic while the Oilers counter with Hall, Neugent-Hopkins, Eberle & Schultz. Continue reading →
   

From Around The Isles Blogosphere

Photo Courtesy of NHL.com

Check out Dee Karl's piece from Hockey buzz here:

My Take: What Capuano was saying and what the players were more like a two-part story last night. Yes, as Capuano said, the Isles came to play than the other two previous games, but the players knew they let one slip away again. Bottom line: Need to finish games.

Buffalo Earns First Win Over Isles

Once again the Islanders had a 3-2 lead in the final minutes of the third period and lost the lead. To their defense, that last goal was lucky. Foligno turned around and put the puck on net and this time good things happen when you put the puck on net. Buffalo makes it 3-3 and end up beating the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout.

Why Brock Nelson Should Be Sent Down

With the news that Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck has been taken off the IR, and 2012 first round pick Griffin Reinhart sent back to juniors, coaches and management now have a difficult decision to make once Clutterbuck is ready to return to the ice. As of this writing, no one knows if Clutterbuck is skating well enough to play and if he is, no one is sure who will be starting against the defending Stanley Cup Champions Chicago Blackhawks. For the first time in a long time, depth is a good problem to have if you’re the New York Islanders. But if you’re the Islanders, you make the toughest choice and send Brock Nelson down to Bridgeport. Continue reading →

Islanders Must Learn From Their Mistakes

I know it’s early to the season, but I’m seeing a pattern that I saw last year, noticed it in one preseason game and in the first two games of this year. The Islanders cannot hold a lead. In the past, they’ve been so accustomed to being the underdog: coming back and winning hockey games that gave most fans heart attack each and every game. Fans would brush off the first goal by the opponent because they knew that it would wake up their team and the Islanders came back to get a victory.  That cannot happen anymore. Continue reading →

Isles Stumble To The Jackets

A couple of positives is that Nabokov has been solid and the defense continue to get on the score sheet. This time it was Visnovsky getting in on the offense. Tavares now has two points in two games, so I wouldn't worry folks, he'll be scoring soon enough. Okposo has been close as well. When the top players do start scoring, the flood gates will be open.

The one thing that bothers me is that I'm still not seeing a killer instinct to finish off a team when the Islanders have a lead. To me, that's learning on how to win hockey games. Columbus should not be that close to the Islanders crease with half a period to go in the game. The Islanders must focus on clearing the crease and getting the puck out of the zone over the next few days before Phoenix arrives on Tuesday. 

Isles Beat The Devils 4-3

Granted, this was not a pretty game but two points is two points and when you're not playing the Devils until around Christmas, this was a big win for the Isles.

Michael Grabner came out flying and he's showing to the rest of the NHL that John Tavares is not the only goal scorer on this team. From NHL.com

"[Our top line is] getting a lot of attention, and Johnnie is one of the best players in the game," Grabner said. "If they don't have an offensive night like they're supposed to, other guys have to step up. It's not always easy to score every game. I'm not going to score two goals every game. Sometimes your stuff doesn't work, so other guys have to step up. Fortunately our line could do that and I'm confident [the first line will] have a good game [Saturday]."

 Matt Donovan got his first point as an Islander. The defense needs to continue to be a factor on the offensive side and this was a good start.

In net, Nabokov looked like he was shaking some mental rust the first period, but by the end of the game, he was near perfect and shut down the Devils during the shootout.

The Islanders need to stop with dumb penalties, like the one Brock Nelson hooking penalty that eventually led to the Devils tying the game up at 3.

Next up, tonight against the Blue Jackets who are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Calgary Flames last night.  Same lineup for the Isles.

Will Reinhart Go Beyond Nine?

It's probably more likely than less likely that underage D Griffin Reinhart starts season with NYI but final decision still to be made.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) September 29, 2013

My take: As I had said here on IslesTalk, Reinhart is the wild card of the bunch. Donovan and Nelson have looked good so far that they may have already earned their spots, but Reinhart, as expected by most will probably get a nine game look. He's earned, there's no questioning that. However will the Islanders just send him down to juniors again (Like they should) or could they keep him as a 7th defenseman and groom him like the Devils Adam Larsson has been groomed. It's only now after a few years that Larsson is being called upon to step up. With the Islanders top 4 in place for the net two years, it's possible Reinhart good be groomed with no pressure this year in the NHL. Thoughts?

Don't forget to follow me @Netminder39

Pulock Signed

From New York Islanders.com

The New York Islanders announced today that Ryan Pulock has agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract.

Pulock, a native of Dauphin, Manitoba, scored 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) in 61 games last season with the Brandon Wheat Kings during his third Western Hockey League campaign. The 6’1, 213-pound defenseman served as team captain as an 18-year-old last season with the Wheat Kings.

In 2011-12, Pulock was named to the WHL East First All-Star Team after posting 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 71 games with Brandon.

He represented Canada at the 2012 Under-18 World Junior Championships, scoring two points (one goal, one assist) in six games to help the club earn a bronze medal.
The Islanders selected Pulock with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft.

My take: I'm excited to see how well he develops this year as I believe he could a top 4 defenseman for the Islanders in the future. A few fans love the idea of having Reinhart and Pulock together in a couple of years. For now, it's a good signing and it continues Garth Snows trend of signing his first round picks now before the season starts. Good luck to Ryan.

And Then There Were Five

So with a few preseason games in the books, the New York Islanders have a few more days to tinker with the system and experiment with players at different spots. The learning of the powerplay and penalty killing is crucial this time of year for everyone. But for me, I’m more concerned about which young player remains on the big club. As of this writing, there are five remaining: Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Griffin Reinhart, Johan Sundstrom and Matt Donovan. Let’s take a look at what there chances at making the big club.

Perception Before Prediction

I would like everyone to first watch what Dan Rosen of NHL.com had to say about the Islanders because he is spot on. I know a lot of fans are really excited about this upcoming year after what the Islanders did previously, making the playoffs for the first time in years and having an epic battle against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round before bowing out. It left a great positive feeling for the fans and now the fans want more. This is where I'm going to caution everyone: When you start doing your yearly predictions, please, please throw out last year! You heard me, toss it out! Why? Because you're perception may be wrong.

Allow me to explain: the definition of perception is this: "Perception (from the Latin perceptio, percipio) is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment." Translation: You're expecting what you saw last year. You're perceiving the Islanders to be better than an 8th place team because of what they did to Pitt. You're perceiving this team to go deeper in the playoffs because other teams really did not "improve" theirs as much. You get my point. Here are a few arguments why you need to get knocked off the high pedestal:

First, this is an 82 game schedule not 48. This season is longer, tougher and more stressful especially this being an Olympic year. It will take more than a good month and a half of winning hockey to make it to the playoffs.

Second, competition gets better with the addition of the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets. Until I see a full implosion from the Red Wings, they're in the playoffs. Why? Cause they've earned that right. As for the Blue Jackets, they're better then the Jets and that bothers me.

Third, anyone who is good at math (like me) who comes out and says that the Islanders were on pace for 94 points last year and says they should be between 95-100 this year should never go to Vegas and play those odds. There is no mention of the Islanders battling in the 28 Western Conference games this year and doing well, that's all perception because of how well they did in the East the year before. To add to that, during a normal 82 game schedule after 48 games are played maybe three teams can be considered "eliminated" from playoff contention.  

My advice to my fellow Islanders fans is this. Perceive this team as a "Bubble Team," a non top 6 team, just for this year. Do the Islanders have the players and talent to make a legit run this year? Yes, of course! BUT enjoy you're teams training camp, see what moves they and other teams make because there will be a lot of moves before the season starts, then you can make a better prediction as to where your team is headed. Enjoy training camp!

Season Preview: Forwards

Isles Talk has all the latest including my new article on the Islanders forwards for this upcoming year. Please take a look and give your feedback.

To be honest, I'm not sure where to place the Islanders in my preseason standings just yet. I know fans have a great perception of the team, but with perceptions come greater expectations. I'll be coming out with an article about what fans should do when trying to predict where the Isles will end up. Should be tomorrow or Sunday.

@Netminder39