Bailey Trade Bait?

From Newsday:

After a strong finish to 2012-13, Bailey signed a five-year, $16.5 million contract that seemed to be a reward for playing well on the two-year, $2.1 million bridge deal he signed just minutes before the start of the 2011-12 training camp.

Instead, this long-term deal has seemed more of a burden. Islanders GM Garth Snow fielded some mild interest in Bailey before the March 5 trade deadline but chose not to sell low on the 24-year-old, who has the fourth-most games played among players in his 2008 draft year.

That may change this summer if there's interest.

My Take: Unless the Islanders get a decent deal or they can sign Vanek, the Isles may give Bailey some more time to prove he can contribute more to this team. One thing is clear, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow will improve this club during the offseason and Bailey's name will probably be in the mix to any kind of trade rumors.

Why Hiller Could Be Off The Market For Isles

If there was ever a position the Islanders needed to and continue to improve on it’s goaltending. Among them being sought out is Anaheim Mighty Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller. Continue reading...

Amac Goes To Philly

From every media you can find:

Andrew MacDonald is a flyer.

The Isles get a 2014 3rd round pick and a 2015 2nd round pick.

More to come as Vanek should be next. He's been scratched for tonight's game against the NHL Jets.

Where Do The Islanders Go From Here

I tweeted something to the affect of “It doesn’t get any worse than that” referring of course to a goal that no one saw and it was awarded to the Colorado Avalanche after they had just beat the New York Islanders by a final of 5-3. Thomas Vanek threw his stick in the direction of the puck, so it’s awarded to the opposing team. No one realized it until later on that the final score had changed. That was quite possibly the lowest point for the Islanders this year. Now what? What do fans look forward to for the rest of this season? Continue Reading....

Vanek To LA Talk Intensifies

Hearing trade talks between the Kings and Islanders have intensified. Also told NYI want to move Vanek by tmrw's roster freeze. Match?
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 6, 2014

Furthering @TheFourthPeriod latest on Kings/Isles intensified talks, could be reason we haven't seen Gagner deal close
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) February 6, 2014

My Take: As of now, Vanek is playing tonight so is he being moved tonight? Not likely. I feel tomorrow will come and go with nothing going on. It really does depend on which team wants to pull the trigger and when. Most general managers would like to wait until after the Olympics because there is that fear of players with big trade potential like Vanek could get injured during the Olympics, which is why the Islanders would like to move Vanek now. The money situation doesn't really matter because they are just above the cap floor anyways. Also read that Grabner is also available and could help the Kings. Stay tuned.

Interest In Vanek & MacDonald Heating Up!

From Bob McKenzie of TSN

The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins are amongst those teams that would be interested in getting a scoring winger, a rental at the deadline. Pittsburgh has some cap issues, but Vanek's exactly what the doctor's ordered for a lot of contending teams.

My take: I'll look into who's available from the Kings in a bit, but if Pittsburgh really wants to trade again (last time the Isles did, the Pens won the Cup: Hello Bill Geurin) I would hope Simon Despres is in the mix and of course another first rounder. The Isles may want to trade Vanek before Friday so they don't have his contract throughout the duration of the Olympics. More to come.

Also from McKenzie is that there are teams very interested in Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald. I have read on multiple occasions that the St. Louis Blues were interested in A-mac, but at this point, with his very reasonable $500,000+ contract, I don't expect him to be traded until the trade deadline in March.

Don't forget to follow me @Netminder39

Let The Vanek Rumors Begin

Will Tavares be enough to convince Vanek to stay?

From now until Thomas Vanek is either signed or traded, you can expect to see his name in the rumor mill almost everyday. Enjoy!

So Now It's Ryan Strome's Turn

The Islanders have recalled Ryan Strome from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. It’s been posted by many that he will join the team in Phoenix tomorrow. Many believe he might get his chance to start against the Coyotes. Continue Reading

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 →