Lancaster, PA – Over two years have passed since Power Play Paradise’s last post and the world has changed dramatically. The NHL cancelled a good chunk of the season and had an alternate playoff system with more teams and what were known as a bubbles in a couple of Canadian locations that hosted all the franchises. The players were isolated from their families for multiple months to crown the 2019-2020 Stanley Cup Champions. The Tampa Bay Lightning raised Hockey’s Holy Grail, a year after their disappointing first round playoff ouster by a surprising Columbus Blue Jacket squad.
Since the playoffs were so delayed due to the pandemic, this has pushed back the following season. The NHL and NHLPA have recently announced that the 2021 NHL season will start on January 13th and have a 56-game shortened schedule. Covid related travel restrictions are still an issue so the NHL has been devising a plan for a temporary divisional realignment. The most recently leaked report is seen in the graphic at the top of this post. This scenario places all the Canadian teams into one division. Most of the Metropolitan Division remains except for Carolina and Columbus, replaced by Boston and Buffalo. Those two teams would join a collection of teams from both the Central and Atlantic Division teams, not based in Canada. Colorado, Minnesota and St. Louis joins the American based Pacific Division teams to complete the West Division.
Though not a perfect situation for all the teams, tough decisions needed to be made. Winnipeg finds itself not close to any of the other Canadian teams, stuck in the middle of the Great White North, while the other teams in the eastern and western regions have closer clusters of franchises. There’s still a question if the Canadian teams will even be allowed to play in their hometowns, depending on local provincial laws. Which makes this whole Canadian Division idea pointless if they all have to play their home games in the U.S. We’ll see what transpires with that situation.
St. Louis and Minnesota both which come from the Central Division, will need to travel more than the rest of the Western Division teams. That’s because the Florida based teams and Carolina were combined with other Central Division squads. Like I said, not perfect. It’s 2020. We’ve become accustomed to “not perfect”. Minnesota seems to be open to the idea. The East Division seems to have a massive advantage, due to all the teams being rather close to one another. That has been an issue for years with those teams in that part of the country.
The playoff format will be different as well. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs. They will play within the division for the first two rounds. The regular season Division Champion will face the fourth place team and the second and third place teams will play each other. Then the winners of those series will play for the Final Four spot to represent their division in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. The remaining four teams will seed by best record with the top two playoff Division Champs getting home-ice advantage. This year’s late rounds will be different for a couple of reasons. First, this format guarantees that a Canadian based team will make the semifinal round. Second, the Stanley Cup Final could have two teams that are usually in the same conference or division rivals battling for Lord Stanley’s Cup.
After everything that has happened this past year, we are lucky to have hockey. There have also been rumblings of more outdoor games. We need to make the best of a bad situation. I’ve always been a fan of the outdoor games and hope to attend one someday. So let’s see what we can make happen. If you know me, I’m a New York Islanders fan. They actually got to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The first time since 1993. When it was still the Wales Conference Finals. I’m old enough to remember that great run. I started my hockey journey with the 1980 Miracle on Ice and stumbled into the beginning of the Dynasty. It’s been a pretty rough 27 years. I want to see if the team can take the next step under the leadership of Barry and Lou. Let’s drop that puck. Because we’re lucky enough to still able to watch this sport we all love. Game on.
Another year and another class enters the Hockey Hall of Fame. The headliner of this year’s class is three-time Stanley Cup Champion goaltender Martin Brodeur. Some hockey fans would consider Brodeur as the greatest goalie of all time. I am one of those fans. He has 691 wins as a goaltender. If you’re counting that’s the most in NHL history. He has 140 more wins than the second-winningest goalie of all time. You may have heard of that player too. Does Patrick Roy ring a bell? That means he’s just shy of 700 total wins when there has never been another goalie in NHL history to have won 500 games! We’ll have to see if anybody could ever approach the record or if it will be like Wayne Gretzky’s point total record. Just to remind you “The Great One” has more assists than anybody else has ever scored total points. That’s not even counting his 891 goals, which is also the all-time record. I got on a Gretzky tangent there. Back to business.
Courtesy of NHL.com
Martin Brodeur’s won those 3 Stanley Cups, the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year in 1994, the Vezina Trophy as best NHL goaltender 4 times, the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals surrendered 5 times, 2 Olympic Gold Medals, 2 World Hockey Championship Silver Medals, been named to the NHL All-Star team 3 times, the NHL Second All-Star Team 4 times, played in 9 NHL All-Star Games, and holds 28 regular season and postseason NHL records. So considering that lengthy resume, “Greatest Goalie of All-Time” may not be an exaggeration in this case. Martin Brodeur’s a first ballot Hall of Famer and it’s well deserved.
Courtesy Associated Press/File
There are other worthy inductees going into the Hall this year with “the Greatest Goalie of All-Time”. Martin St. Louis, the diminutive but lethal winger also entered the Hall on his first ballot. I’m good with his enshrinement. I was a little surprised it was on his first ballot, while there are others that have been waiting much longer and still have yet to “get the call”. His career accomplishments are worthy of being in the Hall. St. Louis scored 391 goals and tallied 1,033 total points during his stellar career. He won the Stanley Cup, the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP , the Art Ross Trophy for most total points and the Lester B. Pearson Award , as most outstanding player voted by the players, in the 2003-04 season. That was a very good year for St. Louis. He also has an Olympic Gold Medal, a World Cup of Hockey Championship, 2 World Hockey Championship Silver Medals, made the NHL All-Star team once, the NHL Second All-Star Team 4 times and was the epitome of class on the ice by winning the Lady Byng Trophy 3 times as the league’s most gentlemanly player.
Willie O’Ree Photo Copyright Hockey Hall of Fame & Museum, Jayna Hefford Photo Copyright Hockey Canada, Alexander Yakushev photo Copyright NHL Auctions
This brings us to the other three worthy inductees to this year class. Willie O’Ree was the first African-Canadian player in NHL history. He is hockey’s Jackie Robinson. He played only 59 games for the Boston Bruins, but had a long professional hockey career in the minor leagues. His real contributions came as an ambassador of the game. His programs all over North America expanded the hockey and gave opportunities for minority communities to play. Without these events many players would have not had their start and would not be where they are today. O’Ree’s contributions as a player and builder of the game shall leave a massive positive impact on the game for generations to come. This induction should have happened years ago.
I’ll be honest, I’m not very familiar with the other two inductees, but I’ve done some research, so here we go. Jayna Hefford is the all-time scorer in NWHL history as a member of the Brampton Thunder. Hefford had a remarkable international career winning 4 Olympic Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal for Team Canada since the 1998 Games. She has has won 7 Gold Medals and 5 Silver Medals at the IIHF Women’s Championships and played in three leagues. They were the Central Ontario Women’s Hockey League, Canadian Women’s Hockey League and National Women’s Hockey League. After recently retiring, she’s now serving as commissioner of the CWHL. Hefford is a pioneer for women’s hockey and has earned her spot in the Hall of Fame.
Alexander Yakushev had a 19 year career, playing for both the KHL and the Soviet Union where he earned 2 Olympic Gold Medals. He also played in the classic 1972 Summit Series where he led his team with 7 goals . His playing style was compared to Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. His playing career included being a member of the Soviet National Team, Moscow Spartak, the Soviet All-Stars, and the Kapfenberg EC in the Austrian League. He had coaching experience with the Moscow Spartak, the Soviet team and Ambrii-Piotta in the Swiss League. He also worked as a referee in international play for many years. The internet can be a great source of information provided you use credible sources. Now to the next announced “inductee”.
Just one minute…
May 29, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at a press conference before game one of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
If you noticed I started that last section with saying “the other three worthy inductees”. I did that on purpose. If you’ve followed this blog you know I am not a fan of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Early on I was convinced that he was a plant by the NBA to bring down the growing profile of hockey that was expanding in the early 1990s. How does he get inducted to something as sacred as the Hall of Fame with his myopic inability to take the league to the next level in the hearts and minds of sports fans? The NHL and hockey is still considered a niche sport by those who aren’t hardcore followers of the game. Hockey has everything it needs to be popular across all demographics, yet his efforts in many avenues have not advanced the game where it should be. I’ve given him credit where it’s due when it came to his expansion successes, the outdoor games and the institution of the 3 on 3 overtime. I will never forgive him for establishing one point for an overtime loss.
I’ve yelled endlessly about the Arizona and South Florida debacles. There have been two work stoppages during his tenure as commissioner. I’ve also been disgusted by his past favorable treatment of the New York Rangers because of their Manhattan address. He used the excuse that the NYC based team needs to be a marketing tool for the league to succeed. Then let them obtain that success by their performance as a franchise on and off the ice. They don’t need a “helping hand”. He’s always come across as an arrogant know-it-all that doesn’t care about the hardcore fans that live, breath and bleed hockey. He seems to be a lackey to the owners. What he should be is the leader, the guiding force and ambassador of a truly majestic and honorable game played by modern-day “Knights of the Round Table” in pursuit of the “Holy Grail”, the most sacred trophy on the planet, the Stanley Cup.
Instead he comes across as just some slick lawyer out to get a buck for his overlords. Meanwhile patronizing and ridiculing the fans while demanding they pay ever-increasing prices to follow the game they love. If you don’t believe me, watch any live NHL event, including the awarding of the Stanley Cup, and I guarantee you will hear the thunderous booing that always follows the announcement of his name. He may be the most hated chief executive of any sports league in history. I’m not alone in my disdain for this man. Now I realize he would have eventually been inducted, but I figured that would happen after he left the position. This induction is poorly timed and disrespectful to the Hall of Fame, the other inductees, the NHL, the sport of hockey and its fans that adore the great game.
Class of 2019?
Which brings us to next year’s class. There aren’t any slam dunk first-year eligible male nominees next year. When this happens players that have been overlooked because of bad timing, class size limitations or arguable careers find their way into a Hall that they should have been in the first place. Here are six deserving inductees for the Class of 2019.
Daniel Alfredsson
Daniel Alfredsson Photo Credit Joel Auerbach Getty Images North America
Daniel Alfredsson scored 444 goals and had 713 assists, totaling 1157 points in his NHL career. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year and made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 1996. He’s also won the King Clancy Trophy, the Mark Messier Award, one Olympic Gold and Silver medal, 2 Silver and bronze medals in the World Championships, made the NHL 2nd All-Star team once and played in the NHL All-Star Game 6 times. He was consistently one of the top players in the league and played 18 of his 19 seasons with the Ottawa Senators. His career numbers and accolades are numerous and his contributions off the ice to help the game of hockey are all deserving of being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019.
Jeremy Roenick
Jeremy Roenick’s career spanned 20 years, where he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. He totaled 1216 points by scoring 513 goals and 703 assists. Roenick scored 50 goals in a season twice, 40 goals twice and over 30 goals three times during his illustrious career. He earned 2 Silver Medals in representing the United States at the 1991 Canada Cup and 2002 Olympic Games. He played in 9 NHL All-Star games. Roenick put up over 100 points three years in a row and led the Chicago Blackhawks to the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals. That was the team’s first appearance in the Finals since 1973. He was one of the top players of his generation, won many games and played in 154 Stanley Cup Playoff games while accruing 122 points. He’s considered one of the greatest American born players of all time and now works for NBC as one of their main commentators for their NHL broadcasts. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. Roenick’s critics say his inability to win the Stanley Cup and lack of extensive individual awards should prevent his entrance to the Hall. He has been retired for 9 years and continues to be omitted in large part to high profile classes and personal issues some voters seem to have with his career. It’s time to right this wrong and induct Jeremy Roenick into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Don Cherry
Don Cherry Photo Copyright CBC
Don Cherry played in the AHL for nearly 20 years. He won 4 Calder Cups, the AHL’s top trophy and one Lester Patrick Cup in the WHL. He only played one NHL game in the playoffs in 1955 for the Boston Bruins. He coached the Boston Bruins and the Colorado Rockies and was known for his aggressive tactics as a coach . During his five year stint as Head Coach with the Bruins, the team finished 1st in the Adams Division four of those seasons and Boston made it to the Stanley Cup Finals two years in a row. His TV career with Hockey Night in Canada got off to a rocky start because he would openly root for teams while doing commentary for the games. The CBC then decided to create a special segment called “Coaches Corner” where Cherry would eventually be paired with longtime partner Ron MacLean. His controversial and blustery commentary and his outlandish suits have made Don Cherry a cultural staple on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. Don Cherry has been named one of Canada’s Top 10 Treasures and has also been a major proponent of the development of women’s and sledge hockey, using his celebrity to spread the game to two communities that have been largely ignored in the past. If they can induct Gary Bettman, Don Cherry needs to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. We all know he’ll wear a blinding suit and give one of the most over-the-top and entertaining induction speeches in Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony history.
Alexander Mogilny Photo Credit Getty Images/Doug Wilson Photo Credit NHL.com/Hayley Wickenheiser Photo Credit Mark Blich The Canadian Press
Alexander Mogilny, Doug Wilson & Hayley Wickenheiser
Alexander Mogilny had a stellar NHL career where he complied 1,032 total points by scoring 473 goals and 559 assists. In the 1992-1993 season “Alexander the Great”, scored 76 goals for the Buffalo Sabres. That lead the league and would have given him the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy if it had existed at the time. Mogilny played 17 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. He was brought up in the Soviet hockey system where he excelled on a super line with Hall of Famers Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure. Mogilny was the first Soviet hockey player to defect to the United States in 1989 to play with the Buffalo Sabres that selected him in the 1988 NHL Draft. Mogilny won the Stanley Cup in 2000 as a member of the New Jersey Devils. He also won an Olympic Gold Medal and World Championship representing the Soviet Union. He made the NHL Second All-Star Team twice in 1993 and 1996 and played in the NHL All-Star Game 6 times during his career. Alexander Mogilny also won the NHL’s Lady Byng Trophy during the 2002-03 season with the Maple Leafs. He has already been inducted into the Buffalo Sabres and Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. The man has been retired for 12 years and deserves to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for all his accolades and impact on the game of hockey.
Doug Wilson totaled 827 points in a 17 year NHL career by scoring 237 goals and 590 assists as a defenseman. He played 17 seasons mostly with the Chicago Blackhawks and was the first captain of the San Jose Sharks. He won the NHL’s Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 1982 and was a finalist 5 other times in his career. Wilson earned NHL 1st Team All-Star Team honors once and Second Team twice. He was a finalist for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP twice, won a Gold Medal for Team Canada in the 1984 “World/Canada Cup Series, is third all-time for goals scored (39) by a defenseman in a season (Bobby Orr & Paul Coffey), 12th all-time for most career goals (237) scored by a defenseman and is 15th on the all-time list of defensive scoring in NHL history. Doug Wilson and Gary Suter, who is 14th on this list, are the only two in the top 15 not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Doug Wilson is now working as the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks. He has been retired for 25 years and his induction has been long overdue.
Hayley Wickenheiser is considered one of the greatest women’s hockey players of all time. She debuted for the Canadian Women’s Hockey Team at just 15 years old and went on to play in 12 World Championships and won 7 gold medals. She played in five Olympic Games for Team Canada where she won 4 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. During those Olympics, Wickenheiser routinely earned top player awards for the tournaments. She was such a great athlete she also represented the “Great White North” at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics playing for the national softball team. In 2007 Wickenheiser won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s greatest female athlete and also played for Kirkkonummen Salamat in the second division of the Finnish Elite League. She became the first woman to ever score a goal in a professional men’s league. She went to college at the University of Calgary where she earned her Bachelor of Kiniesiology and played for their team, the Dinos, where she won the Broderick Trophy as the CIS Player of the Year and the school’s first ever CIS National title. Hayley Wickenheiser was bestowed with one of the greatest honors a Canadian citizen can attain by being appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011. Her induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is the only slam dunk certainty for the Class of 2019.
Wait ’til 2020
Patrik Elias Photo Credit Saed Hindash/Curtis Joseph Photo Credit NHL.com/Vincent Lecavalier Photo Credit Chris O’Meara AP/Sergei Zubov Photo Credit Victor Decolongon/Getty Images/ESPN
Left Wing Patrik Elias, goaltender Curtis Joseph, center Vincent Lecavalier and defenseman Sergei Zubov are all worthy of Hall of Fame consideration. That is not debatable. But taking other factors such as those already waiting before them, some of the star-studded classes just inducted, how recently this group stopped playing and none of them are slam dunk first-ballot Hall of Famers, they will need to wait their turns. There’s still many years of eligibility for all of these fine players. Their time will come. Just not in 2019. Once again all of this is just conjecture from one passionate hockey fan. One fan chipping away, one blog post at a time. Trying to do his part to and help make the hockey world a little bit better place by getting a conversation going about what some others may not be thinking about. Isn’t that how movements get started?
What do most people do in the middle of summer? Go to the beach? Barbecues? Vacations everywhere and anywhere? Well here at Power Play Paradise, we like to talk about hockey. The recurring story always seems to be about NHL expansion and realignment. So, here we go again. It seems that the NHL is ready to expand again after what was a successful first year for the Vegas Golden Knights. The league wants to go to 32 teams. The Central Division is the only division in the NHL with seven teams. So where do they plan on expanding? Kansas City? Wisconsin? Possibly Houston? No, that would make too much sense. The NHL wants to go to Seattle.
Seattle Metropolitans Logo: IMGUR.com Arizona Coyotes logo owned by Arizona Coyotes Florida Panthers logo owned by Florida Panthers
Now I’ve been a big supporter of an NHL team in Seattle for over 30 years. Personally, I’d just relocate the Arizona Coyotes to the Emerald City. But this is Gary Bettman’s NHL. A Seattle franchise would give the Pacific Division nine teams. Will they move Arizona to the Central Division? I don’t know. The Coyotes have been a joke of an NHL team, a weight around the neck of this league and the sport of hockey for far too long. I’ve been screaming from the rooftops to relocate that team and the Florida Panthers for years. Both have been massive failures on and off the ice. It’s time to move on.
So here’s my first revamped NHL realignment solution. This takes into account everything that has happened, proposes the relocations of Arizona and Florida and a Seattle expansion team. Below is a graphic I created to illustrate what I call NHL Realignment Plan ALPHA.
We all know Seattle is getting the next expansion team and will be placed in the Pacific Division. This first move will be “killing two birds with one stone”. Relocate the Arizona Coyotes to either Kansas City or Wisconsin. The franchise move will alleviate the surplus of Pacific Division teams and remedy the mistake of Arizona hockey made over two decades ago. I’ve gone over cases for both markets getting an NHL franchise in this blog. I think there should be a competition to see who gets the failed Arizona franchise. That team would be placed in the Central Division. Relocate the Florida Panthers to Quebec and finally bring back the Nordiques. There wouldn’t be any need for the Florida/Quebec team to change divisions. I would however re-name the Metropolitan Division to the Atlantic Division and what is now called the Atlantic Division would become the Northeast Division. The name change would be more representative geographically of the teams that would be within those divisions. I love the old school name divisions (Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe) but unfortunately I don’t see that happening. Then it’s just a matter of swapping Tampa’s and Columbus’ divisions and it would work out quite nicely.
Chris Young/Canadian Press
Now these ideas are simply ideas I came up with and they probably won’t be enacted. Gary Bettman and Bill Daly do what they like to do, regardless if it makes sense or not. Why else would the NHL own the Arizona Coyotes for four years because they couldn’t find an owner after the team went bankrupt? Which brings us to NHL Realignment Plan Beta. This second scenario still has a team being relocated. Unfortunately, the team is not Florida or Arizona. It would be the Carolina Hurricanes.
For the record I’m not in favor of this move. The Hartford Whalers moved down to Carolina in 1997. They won the Stanley Cup and made the Finals while in Raleigh. They’ve been far more successful than either the Coyotes or Panthers. In NHL Realignment Plan BETA, Seattle is the new expansion team and gets placed in the Pacific Division. The still existing Arizona Coyotes move to the Central Division from the Pacific. The Carolina Hurricanes relocate to Quebec and the Northeast Division. The Columbus Blue Jackets join Carolina in the division move. Tampa and Florida move to the new Atlantic Division. I could see the NHL possibly taking these steps if Carolina’s recent situation didn’t improve. You can see this scenario in the graphic below.
Both of these previous realignment scenarios entail four divisions that have eight teams within those divisions. There have been rumors that the NHL may want to do a league alignment like the NFL. This would mean there would be eight divisions and four teams within each of those divisions. I tried to imagine a scenario through the NHL’s perspective. In this league realignment, all the teams that are currently in the NHL still exist. Seattle is still the new expansion team. There would still be two conferences. This plan has four divisions in each conference. The team distribution would be based geographically and try to retain as many rivalries as possible. The playoffs would be reminiscent of when the NHL had 30 teams. The four division champions would get the first four playoff spots, then the four best remaining records in the conference would get playoff seeds five through eight. I didn’t give the divisions names. This is what I call NHL Realignment Plan GAMMA. I’m not a fan of this scenario because Florida and Arizona still exist and Quebec does not.
There are a few rivalry issues with this plan. Such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia being in different divisions. Nashville and Columbus swap conferences in this scenario. Columbus started in the Western Conference and was promised a spot in the east when realignment occurred a few years ago. They came over from the Central Division with Detroit at the time. The Red Wings made a massive concession decades ago to move into the Western Conference. The NHL would never place them back there. Columbus does not have the history of Detroit, so seniority would influence this decision. Hypothetically Nashville and Columbus could swap spots, but a truly all-southern division has been a goal for the NHL since the league had 30 teams. Detroit and Ottawa could swap divisions. I was trying to preserve the Toronto and Ottawa rivalry by organizing it this way. The NHL may prefer a division that includes four of the “Original Six” teams. These are all “what ifs”.
Quebec Nordiques logo owned by National Hockey League Kansas City Scouts logo owned by National Hockey League University of Wisconsin logo owned by University of Wisconsin Houston Aeros logo Trademark cancelled
I know some would say, “I’m hearing Houston rumors. Why don’t you have any Houston scenarios?” Because it’s my blog and Houston would be at the bottom of a list that includes Quebec, Kansas City and Wisconsin as more viable candidates for an NHL team. Let’s say the NHL has a miraculous epiphany. They decide to relocate the Arizona Coyotes to Kansas City or Wisconsin and move them to the Central Division. Then let’s say they relocate the Florida Panthers to Quebec. This still leaves the market that didn’t get the relocated Coyotes without an NHL franchise. That would need to be remedied before considering Houston.
This is part of the problem with those in power at the NHL. I get they want to expand the reach of the game to markets that aren’t traditionally “hockey friendly”. They’ve been very successful over the last few decades with Nashville, Tampa Bay, San Jose, Dallas, Anaheim and after one season, Las Vegas. I’m still not convinced with Sin City for the long term, but we’ll see.
With all that success in those non-traditional hockey markets, there have been failures. Atlanta floundered their second chance as an NHL city and were forced to moved to Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Jets were reborn. The original Winnipeg Jets were the team that moved to Arizona in 1996 and became the Phoenix Coyotes. Meanwhile, the “new Winnipeg Jets” are doing very well on the ice and at the box office.
Arizona and South Florida were mistakes. The NHL tried and gave both of these franchises every opportunity to succeed. They just haven’t worked out. Both are always among the bottom three in tickets sales and their records on the ice have been consistently abysmal. It’s time to correct those mistakes, learn from them and move on to other markets that deserve a shot at an NHL team. I know the fans of Quebec, Kansas City and Wisconsin can help bring hockey and the league to the next level. They just need that chance to prove themselves.
All of this is hypothetical and these are ideas just running around in my head. I love the game of hockey and the NHL. I’m just trying to do my part to get the discussion going about the future of this great game. A game I know can grow in popularity across the country, if the NHL plays their cards right. So I’ll keep plugging away doing my part. Even if that means, “my part”, is just writing one Power Play Paradise blog post at a time.
The darkness has ended and a new day has arrived. The dawning of a new era where true hockey men are now at the reins of the New York Islanders Hockey Club. Finally gone after a horrendous twelve year tenure, the greatest joke of an NHL GM in Garth Snow. Doug Weight, a good player in his time, was in over his head as Head Coach. The Islanders ownership finally hired thoroughly talented and competent leadership to lead this long suffering organization. They tapped Hall of Famer Lou Lamoriello and Stanley Cup winning coach, Barry Trotz to end the nearly thirty year circus that was this NHL team.
Courtesy Bruce Bennett Getty Images
Lou Lamoriello’s first challenge was the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas. For some reason, Garth Snow was there. The team, for some bizarre reason gave this undeserving buffoon a contract that was way too long and for too much money. My guess is that they don’t want to get rid of him and have him just collect a paycheck for nothing. They also probably wanted him to watch a real GM conduct a draft and make good decisions that would be a positive result for the team. Personally, I’d have him selling hot dogs or set up a dunk tank and have people shoot pucks at the target, for the pathetic job this guy did as GM.
Courtesy New York Islanders Hockey Club
In his first draft with the Islanders, Lou proved why he is in the Hall of Fame. The team had the 11th and 12th overall picks, due to the Travis Hamonic trade with the Calgary Flames a couple years ago. Right wing Oliver Wahlstrom from the Team USA Hockey Development Program was Lou’s first selection. Many experts felt that this kid fell into the Islanders’ lap. He has great goal scoring ability and there was some comparisons at the draft to Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. Then immediately following that selection, Lamoriello chose one of the top rated defensemen in this year’s draft. Lou picked Noah Dobson from the Acadie-Brathurst Titan in the QMJHL. Nearly all the rankings and mock drafts had Dobson going 5th or 6th overall. The fact he was still there at 12 shocked mostly everyone. Then in the second round the Isles continued to shore up their very weak defense by selecting another blueliner from the Team USA program with their choice of Bode Wilde. Wilde was projected to go somewhere in the middle to late first round. Once again another surprising development with Bode Wilde available with the 41st pick. The first couple rounds seemed to be very productive and they got great value for their first three picks.
Courtesy New York Islanders Hockey Club
Just two picks later the Islanders selected Russian forward Ruslan Iskhakov. He seems to have good speed, good hands and has had some high profile international experience. The Islanders then selected Czech goalie Jakub Skarek in the third round. The goalie rich nation has a way of producing NHL quality goaltending. We’ll see if Skarek will continue that proud tradition. He was considered one of the top goaltending prospects in this draft. Skarek just signed his entry level contract with the team. In the fourth the Islanders then selected a legacy player. Jacob Pivonka, son of former Washington Capitals star winger Michal Pivonka, was chosen 103rd overall. If he’s anything like his father, this will be a very solid and productive pick for this franchise.
Garth Snow photo credit Bruce Bennett/Getty Images Mike Milbury photo credit NBC Sports
Hopefully Garth Snow took notes. I’m not sure he’ll ever need them, because he may never get another job of importance again in the NHL due to his terrible performance with the Islanders. Maybe he could do commentary alongside that other hockey dunce, Mike Milbury. Funny that he never got another coaching or GM job after the debacle he created on Long Island. That’s nearly a quarter century between these two. A very painful and embarrassing time to be an Islander fan. The combination of Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz should make up for all that despair. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Logo owned by Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Golden Knights. Altered for commentary.
The nightmare scenario has occurred and the Vegas Golden Knights are a reality. Complete with arena, uniforms and players drafted last night in Sin City during the annual NHL Awards ceremony. If you follow this blog, I’ve been warning against allowing this travesty to happen for several years. Long before there was a T-Mobile Center or anybody ever heard the name Golden Knight. I was watching for the awards and I like watching drafts in general. Shaking my head at the thought of what will inevitably fail in the long run and hurt the NHL and this great game.
Below is a complete list of all the players acquired last night through straight selection or trades made with other teams, so Las Vegas wouldn’t select certain unprotected players from those teams.
Since last night defensemen David Schlemko has been traded to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2019 5th Round Draft Pick and Trevor Van Riemsdyk has been sent to the Carolina Hurricanes. Going by straight strategy, Vegas GM George McPhee stockpiled many draft picks over the next few years and acquired many defensemen they seem to want to deal away to form the core of this team. A very solid approach, even if it’s for a team based in a city that has no business having an NHL franchise. George McPhee has been around for quite a while and knows what he’s doing.
James Neal, Cody Eakin, David Perron and Jonathan Marchessault seem to have the highest offensive upside on this squad. The defense is solid with Jason Garrison, Brayden McNabb, and Luca Sbisa on the blue line. Goaltending is good with three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury and Calvin Pickard backing him up. The 2017-18 season will be difficult for this team and I can’t see them winning more than 23 or 24 games. Their AHL affiliate the Chicago Wolves should do well with some of these players skating for them. We’ll see what George McPhee can do with those draft picks, and what deals he can make with all those defensemen he collected.
Image from National Hockey League, Adidas and KSNV Las Vegas website.
The logo is fine but the color combination needs a lot of work for their uniforms. The red and gold is reminiscent of Team Germany. The colors on the sleeves are awkward as well. They will also be wearing white gloves. I give this “experiment” to have about 7 or 8 years of “success”, then things will start going downhill. I predict in twenty-five years Las Vegas will no longer have an NHL franchise or they will be in the same boat the Arizona Coyotes and Florida Panthers find themselves in today. The Arizona Coyotes are having arena problems due to a lack of support of a team in the desert that moved there 20 years ago, and ownership in turmoil. The Florida Panthers have yet again proven their incompetence with another playoff free season, tepid fan support, and the head scratching move of the expansion draft when the Golden Knights were able to get both very good forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith for not much of anything. This is just sad. I’ve been calling for the relocation of both of these franchises long before I even started this blog a few years ago. Quebec, Seattle, Kansas City, and Wisconsin all previously stated in this blog, being more viable options than Las Vegas, Arizona, and South Florida.
Photo by Tomas Del Coro
The league and its fans are in for a very real disappointment. But they can’t see past the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, the great new arena, and that fat $500 million check, that only this city could possibly sign. Substance, not flash. Something that not only applies for selecting expansion hockey teams but a good approach towards life in general.
The NHL’s deadline for applications for expansion teams has come and gone and we now have all the cities that will be up for
Chris Young/Canadian Press
review to become the 31st and 32nd teams within the National Hockey League.By the word “all” I of course mean TWO. You read that correctly. TWO cities have submitted expansion applications to join the NHL. Is this a joke? A major professional sports league, the highest level hockey league on planet Earth calls for expansion bids and TWO cities get in applications. That’s a very curious situation. Hmmmm. Maybe it had something to do with the $500 MILLION DOLLAR EXPANSION FEE. The NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors severely overestimated their brand and the reality of the world these days. What makes this worse is Las Vegas is of course one of the two cities. The other is Quebec City. The latter is news I am very happy about. Seattle, which has been a major target for the league didn’t even submit an application.
Once again the NHL continues to take a great game and league and continue to mismanage it. They have done some good things with the league over the last 25 years. Some of the expansion has worked. The play on the ice is good. The outdoor games have been a huge success. This was the time to learn from the last 25 years and really put this league in its rightful spot in the sports world. While I and other hockey fans like me love this game, many people just don’t get it. You might as well say you like to kick puppies or get the obligatory “ohhh they fight”. I rack that up to a bad job of the NHL in marketing the league and this great game. So since the NHL powers that be seem to not be up to the task in properly realigning the NHL in a way that makes sense and will best secure the league’s and the very game of hockey’s future, Power Play Paradise will have to do it for them.
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With expansion we first look at and applaud the NHL for their gambles on San Jose, Tampa, Anaheim, and Nashville. Carolina’s and Dallas’ relocation resulted in Stanley Cup championships for both franchises. Colorado moving out of Quebec back in 1995 has also reaped rewards for their team as well. Ottawa, Columbus, and Minnesota have also done well within their markets. The new Winnipeg, formerly failed Atlanta experiment, continues to sell out with a fan base that is thrilled to have NHL hockey back in the province of Manitoba. This leaves us with the two resounding failures of NHL franchises. The Florida Panthers and the Arizona Coyotes. Ticket sales are abysmal and the hockey has been largely lackluster. Dale Tallon, the GM of the Panthers is on the right track, but it doesn’t seem to be helping ticket sales in South Florida. Like with any good business after the last couple of decades, it is now time to move on from both cities. Desert hockey does not work and if you saw my last post about Las Vegas, you know my ardent opposition to an NHL franchise in Sin City.
Well if I’m so smart, then what should they do? I don’t claim to be a genius, but here’s a plan that I think will best work to market the NHL and the game itself, but still recognize the new nontraditional markets, respect rivalries, and geographic proximity. Before I start listing all the moves, please be patient, because I will explain how things will be hammered out to make it all make sense.
MASTER PLAN
First of all I would give expansion teams to Seattle and Quebec. That’s with a much lower expansion fee. You would place the new Seattle team in the Pacific Division. Quebec would be placed into the Atlantic Division. I would relocate the Arizona Coyotes to Wisconsin, probably Milwaukee, but Madison is something to be looked at as well. They would be moved into the Central Division. I would relocate the Florida Panthers to Kansas City and also into the Central Division. I would move the Colorado Avalanche to the Pacific Division, because they are in the Mountain Time Zone. I would then swap the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets divisions by putting Tampa in the Metropolitan Division and Columbus in the Atlantic Division. Now as you can see some of those statements are highlighted. They link up to past posts talking about the reasoning and the history of those cities. Below is a picture of this very alignment. It makes a whole lot more sense than what the NHL seems to be concocting.
What does this blog post accomplish in the grand scheme of things? Probably not much. But it is an outlet for this true hockey fan’s voice. Maybe it can get some people talking and maybe the right people will at least get the message. It’s very frustrating to see those who are entrusted with the NHL and the game of hockey, are seemingly misguided and have to continue to learn the hard way. We all want the same thing. For the NHL and the great game of hockey to be celebrated and appreciated for the grand spectacle that it is. Even if it’s just done by one lone blogger, one post at a time.
Created by artist Kevin McCain for the book Gift of the Phoenix by Donna Cook
It’s been over two years since my last post. Where have I been? What have I been doing? Well I started teaching Electronic Media at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. I’ve been a little busy plus I just started an MFA program in Communication Design so I can remain there. But now like the legendary Phoenix rising from the ashes, Power Play Paradise has returned. Just in time for NHL expansion and hopefully relocation. A big theme of this blog has centered around NHL expansion and realignment.The NHL has just stated it’s looking to expand the league to 32 teams. I believe two years ago Power Play Paradise made that prediction. Looking at the way they realigned the league with 4 divisions and the 30 teams, it seemed obvious that 2 more teams were on the horizon. But of course like always when dealing with Gary Bettman, there are very disturbing grumblings of a worst case scenario. Las Vegas, Nevada is the leading candidate for an expansion franchise. I heard those same things a couple years back and went into some detail about that being a horrible idea. Why? The fact that it’s main industries are gambling and tourism. How about the fact that it’s Las Vegas, Nevada which is in the middle of the desert. We all have seen how wonderfully Arizona NHL hockey has done. So well that Glendale, Arizona is trying to get out of its fifteen year agreement after only a couple of years. Great. Now we can relocate the team to Kansas City or Wisconsin. Both much more appropriate and deserving areas, than Las Vegas or Arizona.
From LA Times article April 10, 2015 written by Susan Stapleton (MGM Resorts International)
Do you want some more reasons? Okay. How about the fact that the Las Vegas population is very transient. Many come from all over and not many people who live there live there that long. How are you supposed to build a fan base that way? The fact that Las Vegas already has so much to do there and will people actually consistently go to NHL hockey right by casinos? How about this “great marketing strategy” Las Vegas plans to use to bring in fans? They are counting on people from other cities to watch their hometown teams in Vegas as part of the tourism experience. Being an Islander fan, expecting your team to make money by focusing on the other teams is always a losing proposition. Television market size. A factor always used in all sports when looking at league expansion. Currently Las Vegas is the number 41 TV market in the United States. Seattle is 14, Kansas City is 31, and Milwaukee(Wisconsin) is 35. So if you’re looking for potential television viewers, Las Vegas is behind all those other cities I feel should have an NHL franchise before Las Vegas. That would also make it the second smallest NHL television market in the United States. Buffalo is currently the smallest and they’re not going anywhere.
Proponents of this failure of an idea point to the the over 10,000 deposits of season tickets. My question is how many of those were corporate interests that would benefit from a new NHL franchise and how many were actual fans that would continue to come to games? Once the novelty wears off after a couple of years, what will numbers be then? Any expansion team will struggle on the ice. That generally doesn’t bring the fans through the turnstiles. To Las Vegas, this is just another stunt show. They don’t care about the NHL or the game of hockey. They care about the next show they can make money on and when it fizzles out they’ll be done with it. There needs to be some substance and real analysis of any decisions made about expansion.Don’t just go for the shiny neat little token. Not to mention it is Las Vegas and you always have to worry about the gambling aspect and its possible effect on NHL games.
Now even with all that reasoning I do actually believe Las Vegas has a role with the NHL and the expansion of hockey in this
Picture by Tim Shields
country. I know, what? It comes down to one very big truth about Vegas. You don’t marry Vegas. Ever visited there? It’s fun for a few days then you’re burnt out and ready to go home. It’s the epitome of a nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there. Don’t try to make Las Vegas what it is not. So what great role do I see Las Vegas playing? Everything but an NHL franchise. Make it the official playground for the NHL and hockey. Just don’t give them the NHL franchise. Give them an AHL franchise. Here’s an idea. Add one regular season game to the NHL season so there are now 83 games. Have 16 regular season neutral site games in Las Vegas, always Eastern versus Western Conference teams. They can host the NHL All-Star game, NHL Draft, preseason games, an outdoor NHL game, NHL Board of Governor’s and NHLPA meetings, charity all-star and alumni games, NHL fan conventions, NHL sponsored clinics and tournaments, NHL fantasy hockey drafts, continue having the awards show there, get USA Hockey to make it their headquarters for the men’s, women’s, and junior teams. They can practice there and have all their games there. Plus you can also have the single greatest ice show ever produced with some of the biggest figure skaters based there instead of running all over the world on some tour. The profits, the game of hockey, the NHL, and Las Vegas’ profile will be far more successful if you do all that, but not give the city the NHL franchise. A franchise that will fail and eventually relocate within a decade of opening, completely destroying hockey in that town, and making the league a laughingstock by trying to be the first major league to have a Las Vegas franchise.
Recent press reports say that the NHL is looking for a $500 million expansion fee and a $1 million application fee. So now
Mary Altaffer/Associated Press
you’ve priced out many cities across North America. One such city is Kansas City, Missouri.They are a city that should be towards the top for an NHL franchise. Lamar Hunt Jr. the Kansas City Chiefs and ECHL Missouri Mavericks owner has scoffed at the fee. He is an owner of an NFL team. The top league for marketing, money, and success. That should tell you something there when an NFL owner has a problem with that kind of expansion fee. There are roughly, only about a third of current NHL franchises even worth $500 million.Gary Bettman and the NHL are either completely delusional or intentionally stacking the deck so Las Vegas does get a franchise.
Many of these decisions seem to center around Gary Bettman. He’s had some successes and failures. Arizona, Atlanta, and South Florida have been resounding failures. I’m trying to avoid a fourth with Las Vegas. There is a way to resolve expansion, realignment, and relocation to make the NHL the most sensible and most marketable league it can be, while still bringing in great profits, but respect the history and expand the game to new markets. That solution will come in my next installment of Power Play Paradise. The Phoenix has risen and he’s not happy.
The New York Islanders have largely been an absolute torture to follow for a majority of the last twenty-five years. 1993, 2002, and 2013 being the exceptions. Since July 2006, Garth Snow, the retiring backup goalie, who swooped in on Neil Smith and plucked his GM job from him, after just over a one month tenure, has been engaged in a team rebuild through the draft. Because the Islanders have had less than stellar records, this usually results in pretty high selections in the NHL Draft. Charles Wang has also cash strapped Snow by requiring him to stay around the “SALARY FLOOR”.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Among the more creative ways of accomplishing this, by having long retired player Alexei Yashin’s and recently acquired non-playing goalie Tim Thomas’ contracts counting towards the floor without either of these gentlemen playing for the team. I guess some would refer to that as “creative accounting”. Others may refer to that as circumventing the salary floor. We could get into the laundry list of issues with the New York Islanders such as the Rick Dipietro selection and fifteen year contract. Countless bad draft picks. Seemingly never ending incompetence and negligence in an effort to maintain bargain basement policies.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
I don’t have a problem with building through the draft. A championship team is properly built that way. But once a team’s cupboard is as overflowing with young talent through a seven year effort (yes I said seven years), there has to come a time when a team needs to add those last few pieces to the championship puzzle. When a team such as the Islanders have as many prospects as they do, they can afford to give a few of those up and draft picks for established players. All of these great prospects will not be able to play for the team. There is a roster limit.
Bruce Fedyck, USA TODAY Sports
Let’s take a look at the moves the Islanders have made. Plus some moves they maybe should have made but didn’t. First on that list is trading away Mark Streit to Philadelphia for the since released Shane Harper(not shedding a tear about that one) and a 2014 4th round draft pick. I’m actually okay with this deal. Streit was going to become an unrestricted free agent. He got a four year $21 million contract from the Flyers. He has been a good player for this team and wore the “C” with pride and class. But he was 35 years old and seemed to be losing a step. I wouldn’t have been upset to see him here for a couple more years but four more seems to be a little too long. Plus for that much money, where he is at this stage in his career, I don’t think so. There are plenty of guys that will be up in that time period to play defense for this team. We got a 4th round pick for somebody we were going to lose anyway. I’ll take it.
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Now let’s address the “Nino Situation”. This is a little more in depth a predicament than simply trading your 2010 fifth overall pick for gritty forward Cal Clutterbuck. The fact Garth drafted him where he did has always been a problem for me. Where he was ranked and if you look back on that draft some of the other guys Garth didn’t choose, to select Nino Niederreiter, will always have me shaking my head. Shall I list some of these names? Jeff Skinner, Cam Fowler, Vladimir Tarasenko, Brett Connolly, Brendan Gallagher, and Alexander Burmistrov. That’s right now. Give it a few more years and we’ll take a look back again. Ugh. A word used after many an Islander draft.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP
I don’t have a problem with Cal Clutterbuck as a player. He’s a hard checking, aggresive, high energy guy the Islanders need. He was also John Tavares’ teammate in juniors. He’s only 25, so age isn’t an issue. He can also get you some points. He has some skill. So you may ask what’s the problem? The problem is that the team could have gotten Clutterbuck in another deal, that didn’t involve Nino Niederreiter. Nino and our first round pick is what LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi wanted for future NHL elite goaltender, Jonathan Bernier. Are you kidding me?! You don’t give up a guy you want to trade and your 1st round pick for a guy that would fit right into exactly what you are doing in this rebuild, for the next decade? Snow may be king of the dumpster divers, but his other GM functions have been sketchy at best. If you regularly read my blog I was ready to trade Nino, a defensive prospect, and their choice of Poulin, Nilsson, or Koskinen. Maybe even throw in the pick if they had to, but getting a 2nd rounder in return. Nino and the 15th overall pick could have brought in Bernier and you don’t pull the trigger on that? Then you trade that same guy for Cal Clutterbuck?! Sickening.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Scott Rovak – USA TODAY Sports
I wanted to re-sign Evgeni Nabokov to a two year contract as a super backup for Jonathan Bernier. That ship has sailed with Bernier in Toronto. I am not comfortable with Kevin Poulin as the backup. There is a reason they gave him a two way contract that allows the team to move him up and down with Bridgeport. I’d prefer a tandem with Nabokov and maybe looking into a trade for Jaroslav Halak in St. Louis. Try a 45-37 split with Halak and Nabokov. Garth should be inquiring on his availability and the price for his services.
The Travis Hamonic, 7-year, $27 million deal, is a wise investment and locks in a big part of this defense for a long time. It’s time to bring back restricted free agents Josh Bailey, Thomas Hickey, the recently traded for Cal Clutterbuck, and the recently KHL bound David Ullstrom. Obviously not to the size of the Hamonic deal, but all fair in years and compensation to each of their unique and valuable talents.
Bill Kostroun/Associated Press
This leaves us with the 2013 NHL Draft. I’ll admit when they first made the pick of Ryan Pulock I was upset they did not select Nikita Zadorov. I have learned more about Pulock, and his 100 mph slap shot, and I feel much better about him coming to the team. The rest of the draft, like for so many other teams, contains lots of question marks. A couple of goalies, an undersized offensive superstar, and the rest. We’ll see what happens.
Photo:Reuters.
Here we are post draft and free agent signing day and the Islanders are better in some ways, but may have not addressed enough needs to compete in the new NHL. Remember, realignment has the Islanders in a new eight team division with the Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Capitals, Penguins, Hurricanes and Blue Jackets. A very much improved Blue Jackets team. You also include Detroit in the Eastern Conference, the new playoff format, and a full 82 game season, I’m not sure if the Islanders can make it back to back playoff appearances. The simple truth is this team will continue their frugal salary floor ways until they move to Brooklyn. Hopefully with an arena change there will be an ownership change in the form of Mikhail Prokhorov. Then maybe, just maybe, these next twenty-five years will not be an era of torture but one of redemption.
By a vote of 4-3, the Glendale City Council agreed to the fifteen year lease that will keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona. I’m sure Bettman and Daly are thrilled. I’m sure the small handful of fans are thrilled. But is this in the best interest of the NHL, and hockey as a sport in North America? This also begs the question how does this affect realignment? The Seattle rumors were rampant the last few weeks, but any return of Seattle NHL hockey will need to be put on hold for a few years.
Well, if you have followed this blog you know my assertion that it’s inevitable that the Florida Panthers will move due to their lackluster results on and off the ice, the defection of Detroit and Columbus to the Eastern Conference, and a new 32 team NHL on the horizon. They are the odd team out. Seattle will get a new team. It’s a matter of when and not “if”. Quebec also seems to be ready for a return. So if you remember my “Realignment and You. Uh oh. Now What?” post, I included a Phoenix Coyotes realignment scenario. Here it is.
PERMANENT POST FLORIDA MOVE TO KANSAS CITY, PHOENIX COYOTES REMAIN, and EXPANSION.
Lemieux:NYR, NJD, WASH, NYI, PHI, CAR, TB, PIT
Orr:BUF, *QUE, MTL, TOR, OTT, CBJ, BOS, DET
Howe:NASH, MIN, WPG, STL, CHI, DAL, KC(Fla), COL
Gretzky:ANA, LA, SJ, VAN, EDM, CGY, PHX, *SEA
I’m not happy about the Phoenix Coyotes remaining in the NHL. But with this vote, it appears as if they will be around for the next fifteen years. As I was not thrilled with the realignment plan, I cannot do anything about it and wait for the next phase of their “grand design”. I can only hope when they are ready to expand to thirty-two teams, it resembles the plan above. I’m only trying to do my part, for whatever that may be worth. Please do the right thing. For everybody involved.
Brooks Orpik. Brooks Orpik was the man that scored the game winning goal in overtime to clinch Game 6 and the series win for the Pittsburgh Penguins against the upstart New York Islanders. With the “Dream Team” consisting of names like Crosby, Malkin, Iginla, Neal, Kunitz, Letang, Dupuis, journeyman tough guy Orpik eliminated the Islanders. Kind of ironic that a guy who was named after Herb Brooks, derailed a “mini-Miracle” in the making.
aol.sportingnews.com
If you read my last post, I mentioned that I was wondering if the Islanders were (a) ready to battle or (b) just happy to be there. I will admit after the Game One 5-0 drubbing, I thought they were in option b. I never saw the team I had watched the last month and a half of the season. Apparently and thankfully I was wrong. It turned out to just be a really bad case of the nerves. This Islander team did what I hoped, outside of actually winning the series of course. They made that statement that they were back. This is not the same old Islanders and this team is about to make some noise in this league for the next decade. They played their hearts out. They actually outplayed the Penguins in four of the six games. The Penguins know it too. This team has a lot to be proud of and I thank them for bringing some pride back to all Islander fans.
lighthousehockey.com
rantsports.com
With that said, where is the ownership’s head on this? Will they continue the same old salary floor circumventing strategies, or spend a little money to bring in the last few pieces to take the next step? The fans more than proved “if you build it, they will come”. They will also blow the roof off the Coliseum. The Islanders have some big decisions on what they will do for next season. First of their issues is goaltending.
Evgeni Nabokov has been a stabilizing force for the Islanders goaltending situation. He only came to the team because Garth Snow put in a waiver claim for him, when he tried to sign with the Detroit Red Wings after his short stint in the KHL. Nabokov realized Long Island wasn’t really the Siberia of the NHL that it was portrayed to be. I am thankful for what Evgeni Nabokov has brought to this team. But to take that next step, due to age concerns and his consistent career playoff performance, the Islanders need to find a new top goaltending option. I wouldn’t mind him as a backup, but I don’t think he or the team wants to explore that option. The in house options of Kevin Poulin, Mikko Koskinen, Anders Nilsson, and Rick Dipietro (ha!) are not viable options right now. Then who you might ask? There are two top possibilities that should be on the team’s radar. Los Angeles Kings backup, 24 year old Jonathan Bernier or 31 year old Phoenix Coyotes unrestricted free agent Mike Smith.
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Jonathan Bernier is one of the most talented backup goaltenders in the NHL. The only reason he is a backup is because Jonathan Quick is the starter. He was drafted by the Kings in 2006, 11th overall. This past season he had a sub 2.00 GAA and a plus .920 save percentage in fourteen games played. The Islanders would need to make a trade for him. If I could be so bold, may I suggest a possible trade scenario? Don’t worry, it’s not ridiculous. The trade requesting Nino Niederreiter, blue chip defensive prospect Scott Mayfield, and their 2013 1st round pick (15th overall) for Jonathan Bernier. The Islanders have stockpiled prospects over the last five years so, two prospects and a first round draft pick will not cripple this very young franchise. In return they get a top goaltending option who is only 24 years old. He is also a restricted free agent so the trade is a better option rather than giving up four or five first round draft picks. I’m sure something could be arranged that will allow the teams to follow the rules but still get this deal done.
I suggest upon completion of this trade signing Bernier to a seven year contract extension. His youth also fits right in with the rest of the team. To solidify goaltending I also suggest re-signing Evgeni Nabokov to a two year deal. Look at it realistically. Nabokov is 38 years old. Chances are outside of a team losing an established starter, he will be a backup wherever he lands. His best option backing up a top goalie on a top spending cup contender and maybe playing twenty to twenty-five games if he’s lucky. With the Islanders you could establish the first year, a 45 to 50 game work load for Bernier. Let Nabokov play the remaining 32-37 games. He would be a mentor to Bernier, still get a lot more games played than anywhere else in the NHL, and set up a possible post playing career with a selfless move like that.
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Mike Smith is an unrestricted free agent once the Stanley Cup Finals end. There are pluses for Mike Smith as an option. Well, he is an unrestricted free agent and it will only take money to bring him to the team without giving up any players in return. He is seven years older than Bernier. He has some big game experience and is accustomed to being the number one netminder. This could also work as a stop gap for the goalie prospects the Isles do have and allow them to develop fully. The team could talk shorter terms of years in any contract. He is a goalie and his last name is Smith. Minuses? Last year was a step back for the Coyotes and Smith personally. That’s a possible black mark against him. He is likely to be courted heavily by many other teams, such as the Philadelphia Flyers. Maybe the Islanders run will be taken lightly by possible free agents such as Smith. They may want to take a wait and see approach to make sure the team was not a one year wonder. The biggest black mark as always? Charles Wang is the owner and demands the team be run around the salary floor. Please don’t short change goaltending.
espn.com
When I was first starting this post I also had some dreams about making trades for Thomas Vanek and Bobby Ryan. Hey both guys are probably going to be traded, the Islanders have all that cap room, this little taste of success will push the team to spend a little more because they saw the huge reaction from the fans, and they have a cupboard overflowing with prospects. Then I read an article from Newsday‘s Arthur Staple, about how they plan on sticking to the prospects and not to expect any huge offseason moves. Reality check. This is the New York Islanders under Charles Wang. Salary Floor Circumvention City. Population: New York Islanders. Just a reminder, Alexei Yashin (retired), Tim Thomas (traded for his salary because they knew he wasn’t playing this year), and all time draft bust Rick Dipietro (now AHL goalie) all currently count against the salary floor.
Al Bello/Getty Images
This offseason is that critical point in time of what is the future for the New York Islanders. Even if the team is “staying the course”, they have to realize goaltending cannot be messed around with. Jonathan Bernier or Mike Smith are your two best options. Bring back unrestricted free agents Keith Aucoin and Evgeni Nabokov for two year deals. Brad Boyes played fine but everyone knew he was here for the year to give some of those prospects more time to season. Mark Streit is the captain and has been a good player for this team. It also seems to be his last few days with the team. Matt Donovan may finally be ready to make the jump to the NHL. John Tavares has arrived as an NHL superstar and the defacto captain of this team. Players like Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson, and Anders Lee, will be fighting for a roster spot when training camp starts. Don’t mess around with restricted free agents like Travis Hamonic, Josh Bailey, David Ullstrom, and Thomas Hickey. Get them signed and ready to go long before September. Building through the draft has given this team the future they have been waiting for. The future is now.
Power Play Paradise 