SB Nation User Blog: Dominik

Merry Christmas? '11th-hour' lease may give Wang revenue flexibility

Dominik — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:54:28 -0000

This is not an answer to the Lighthouse Project question, or to the arena facility and lease(?) ills that plague Charles Wang and the Islanders. But it is an interesting development as one administration prepares to exit Nassau County office:

Newsday reports (that'll be $5 please):

The Islanders and SMG, the Coliseum's manager, have agreed to a sublease that would hand control of the arena and its revenue to the team. Outgoing [Nassau] County Executive Thomas Suozzi approved it this week.

For outside hockey observers: Suozzi, a Democrat, is on his way out, but had made the Lighthouse Project a priority for the last year-plus of his term. He'll be replaced by Republican Edward Mangano. The Town of Hempstead supervisor you've heard so much about, Kate Murray, is also a Republican who has been less, um, "enthusiastic" about Charles Wang's Lighthouse plans. It's unclear how the administration change would alter this stalemate, but this is one final volley from Suozzi.

Meanwhile, the existing SMG lease, which lets SMG "keep the bulk of revenue from concession stands, parking, luxury boxes, and management rights to any facility built on the 70 acres around the Coliseum," has been a thorn in the franchise's side for nearly 30 years. Seriously: Half the management and ownership issues for the last three decades have been related to the limitations of -- and attempts to alter -- this lease.

Mangano naturally "slammed the sublease agreement Wednesday, calling it an '11th-hour move by a lame duck administration.'" But if it's a move Suozzi could have made (apparently) any time in his tenure, it would be not so much an 11th-hour move as a last resort after years of political football have put the franchise as close as it's ever been to the possibility of a move. (Note that the existing lease, and the new sub-lease, does not allow the team to move until its expiration in 2015, a year that is now within striking distance of the construction timeline for a new arena anywhere in Gary Bettman's continent.)

Does this move help alleviate that pressure and encourage the team to stay where it is? I've been through too many off-ice ups and downs as a fan to pretend to know what's around the corner. But this Suozzi move sure doesn't hurt. And if Wang and friends now have control of the arena revenues, you know my next wish: We get to buy more free agents now, right? ...Right? Come on, pretty please!

Resources: Newsday ($5!) | Point Blank | Forever1940 | Deep background: Let There be Light(house)

Post-game: Gordon sees irony; Roloson identifies with reporters

Dominik — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 16:28:13 -0000

Holiday post-game video filler here... Coach Scott Gordon: "A lot of irony in this game." As in: The Isles scored immediately after an "atrocious" powerplay, and Gordon was tickled to get the win on this night, when the Maple Leafs surge in the third "was probably our worst 5-on-5 period in this stretch of losses."

Funny game, this hockey:

Speaking of funny: After the jump, Roloson's post-game includes an amusing attempt to compare taking this win into a holiday break to reporters writing "that best article you ever wrote" and then having a couple weeks to relish it. I can only imagine the reporters' reactions: "Weeks?! Weeks?! I'm lucky to 'relish' a good piece for 10 minutes before my editor is on top of my ass again!"

Islanders 3, Maple Leafs 1: 90 seconds & Roloson seal home win

Dominik — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:40:03 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

You never know the day, nor the hour, nor the angle: But rest assured, Trent Hunter's laser release is gonna getchu.

Browse more photos »

I didn't see the good chunk of this game live -- just the part where Dwayne Roloson shut the door and saved the Islanders from squandering a good two periods via a rather apathetic third.

But that's what good goalies do for you. And everything before my tuning in for an apparent jinx attempt sounded good: Solid 5-on-5 play, outshooting the Leafs 14-8 before they let the Maple Leafs surge at the end of the second and continue that throughout the third.

Game Sum. | Event Sum. | Corsi | Recaps: nhl.com | Isles

Final - 12.23.2009	1	2	3	Total
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	0	1	1
New York Islanders	0	2	1	3

Complete Coverage >

The goals, 90 seconds apart: Holy cow, what a great bad-angle rifle shot by Trent Hunter. Quite pleasing also, the Blake Comeau drive -- yes, he drove to the inside! His CPU is a learning computer! -- to the Leafs net before setting up John Tavares for the easy tap-in. (Loved Francois Beauchemin gliding and allowing Tavares a free ride there. Ace.) And cheers to Comeau again, for doing the smart play on the empty-net goal: assuring either an easy empty-net or a Leafs penalty (culprit: Beauchemin again) that would equate to the same.

Tavares was curiously awarded the "first star" for that low-labor tap-in, the game-winner. But if you're into the Corsi (a plus-minus measure of shots directed at either net during a given player's shifts), then Tavares, Matt Moulson and Comeau had the raw end of their shifts, with some ugly negative figures. (Not that I'm going to let that get in the way of the greater importance of, you know, scoring goals.) For the game, only Jeff Finger/Luke Schenn and Andy Sutton/Jack Hillen figured as poorly. For the latter, I suspect part of that was due to their presence during the game's waning moments.

Nonetheless, small victory appreciated: The Isles bent, but didn't break. They kept a pedestrian team from blitzing them like the Leafs did in the previous two meetings. They kept the Leafs' best weapon -- a sluggish Phil Kessel -- off the scoresheet, minus-2, with just three shots on goal and another four blocked. For an up-and-down season, I will accept this as a small holiday gesture, oh yes I will.

Highlights and mega Roloson saves video posted after the jump. Have an awesome, safe hockey holiday.

Game Highlights

P.S. Trent Hunter, your release is made of gold, and I apologize -- again -- for ever doubting that it was the best on the team.

Islanders-Maple Leafs [game thread]

Dominik — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:48:13 -0000

Next Game

Toronto Maple Leafs (13-16-8, 12th/E) at New York Islanders (13-7-7, 13th/E)

7 p.m. EST | Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Coliseum | MSG+, radio

Leafy navel gazers: Pension Plan Puppets

Islanders Gameday: To the victor goes ... 12th place

posted by Dominik about 6 hours ago

9 comments | 0 recs

Complete Coverage >

All I want for Christmas is a second home win, a second home win, a second home win...

Mmmmm...egg nog! *crashes through kitchen*

Islanders Gameday: To the victor goes ... 12th place

Dominik — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:00:54 -0000

Third meeting with the Leafs already? [Insert standard "boy, the schedule maker must be drunk" rant here.]

Each time these teams have met this year, it seems Toronto's flora fixation has improved its meager standings lot in life. From the sub-Carolina bottom in November, to 14th-but-right-with-the-pack two weeks ago, to 12th place today -- a point above the Islanders. That's right: Tonight, TWELFTH PLACE is on the line!

Toronto Maple Leafs (13-16-8, 12th/E) at New York Islanders (13-7-7, 13th/E)

7 p.m. EST | Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Coliseum | MSG+, radio

Leafy navel gazers: Pension Plan Puppets

The fact that the Leafs are still this low after a recent 8-4 run is a testament to how truly awful their start was. The fact that this low is just five points out of the 8th spot in the East is a testament to how truly awful two-thirds of this conference is. While Carolina remains the standard-bearer, it seems this summer will produce bountiful lottery fruit for several of the East's patsies, which means the NHL's Eastern Hype Machine shall remain alive and well.

Will Toronto remain one of those patsies? Possibly. If they avoid it, they'll have Phil Kessel (in part) to thank -- which sort of captures the whole Kessel leap of faith in a nutshell: Buy him, and you may not suffer as badly the loss of those picks, plus in Toronto you always have the money to buy free agents and bury mistakes in the minors. Don't buy him, and those picks are likely to be all the more valuable, but then the Toronto zeitgeist has to find other targets to hype up and tear down. I mean, might Kessel's arrival spare Nazem Kadri the burden of unrealistic, accelerated expectations?

Pshh, let's not go that far. It's still Toronto.

Based on the morning skate (or lack thereof, outside of scratches/injuries), the lineup will be the same. Something has to give in this mid-December slump, but reinforcements are not on the way -- even if captain Doug Weight is hoping to charge back on a bum shoulder sometime soon.

(I must say, if this is the end for Weight, I've seen it all too many times with this league's soldiers: A respected, prolific veteran's body keeps failing him, but he keeps putting himself back together to win a few more for the team, mixing moments of reclaimed greatness with stretches of "he just doesn't have it anymore." Whether it's Mike Bossy or Brian Sutter or Wendel Clark (three favorites of mine), the end is bittersweet. In one sense, Bossy pulled it off best: Though it was heartbreaking, he ripped that bandage off decisively and didn't look back, leaving only a record that awes me to this day.)

But this slump: The Islanders survived the heaviest road schedule in the league for the first two months and looked forward to this December homecoming. But they've promptly gone 1-4 at home, the only victory an OT win over Boston that they hardly dominated. Overall they're 3-7 in December. Hey, if they screw up tonight and Saturday at the Garden, like last year they can still salvage points at the end against struggling Columbus and Philadelphia (oh, wait ... the Isles are the one team the Flyers can still beat these days. Do over.).

Special Teams. Still.

The Leafs PK hasn't necessarily tidied up (it's still a jaw-dropping 71.4%), but they've only given the opposition eight opportunities in their last four games. That's one way to avoid PP goals. Which is just as well, because the Islanders have scored once in their last 20 opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Leafs have converted one of their last 13 powerplay opportunities, so tonight is a good chance for them to improve that considering the Islanders PK (74.6% overall) has been bleeding at an unbelievable over-50% rate (10 of 19) over the last five games -- or nearly 50% (18 of 40) if you want to go back 11 games.

Beyond This Annoying Little Present Tense

Did I mention we're still in the dregs of a rebuild? Did I mention the blueline makes me cry?

Then distract yourself, won't you, with a look at two members of the future: Catch Matt Donovan and Jyri Niemi in this month's World Junior Championships, much of which will be televised on NHL Network in the States. Better yet, those two aren't even the most promising Islanders property in the tourney, as Travis "Just Get Him Here. Now." Hamonic and Calvin de Haan are also in the tourney for Team Must-Win-Or-All-National-Pride-Is-Lost (Team MWOANPIL for short.)

Something tells me those guys aren't your average Chris Campolis or Bruno Gervaiseses. Which means the future, somewhere down the line, just might entail wearing shades. [Edit: Bob reminds me not to forget the Russians, recent Sound Tiger d-man Anton Klementiev and international contract pawn Kiril Petrov.]

Tonight's Prediction: Both John Tavares and Kessel break their mini-droughts, leaving lots of tortured fans feeling warm and fuzzy and hopeful over the holidays. And isn't that what this season is about? No? Oh.

Enjoy the game tonight. I think I'm happy-houring or gift-wrapping or egg-nogging, so I don't know how much I'll catch live/in the game thread. To finish out the year in these parts, we'll continue with game previews/reports etc. and also finish up the All-Decade Team. So when family drives you nuts over the holidays and you just can't tolerate another piece of fruitcake, this place may provide some respite.

Islanders All-Decade Team: The Defensemen

Dominik — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:32:47 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sancya - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Radek Martinek: Spans most of the decade, displaying so much potential, so much injury.

Browse more photos »

Our fabrication of an Islandes All-Decade Team for the 2000s continues with the defensemen. For the all-decade goalie post and vote, go here.

For my money, three of the better Islanders defensemen made a hell of a trio at the beginning of the decade, while the fourth one only pulled on the NYI crest at the tail end of this span but is fast rising up the decade's points and games played list.

Points -- and points per game -- isn't really the ideal way to rank defensemen, but with the discussion of blueliner quality being so multi-faceted, it's the best shorthand we've got. Plus, while the first job of a defenseman is to help keep pucks out of the net, the ones who are truly elite bring offense to the table, too. As for the balance between one and the other -- we can call that "The Marc-Andre Bergeron Question" -- that's a debate that shall rage on 'till the end of time.

After the jump (which is after the poll, if you're on the main page), some stats for the blueliners who have tallied the most points and games played. You can only vote for one defenseman in this poll, but that software limitation may have an unintended benefit: We'll simply name the top two vote getters to our team.

Speaking of the many incomplete ways to judge defensemen, the plus/minus tally on this list features some real howlers (introducing Brendan Witt, Chris Campoli, Bruno Gervais and Eric Cairns: a collective minus-162 as Islanders!) -- and speaks to how plus/minus must always be considered in the context of the roster a player is on.

For example, Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson were each plus-10 for their Isles careers, playing for four different coaches in four seasons on teams that, total, gave up 54 more goals than they scored. Brendan Witt is minus-47 for his Islanders career, playing parts of four seasons for two coaches on teams that have given up 149 more goals than they scored (as of Dec. 21, 2009). Witt's total isn't just hurt by the fact he's not an offensive defenseman and he's not a fit for Scott Gordon's system -- it's also affected by the fact the Islanders squads he's been on have bled goals.

	Player	From	To	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	ESG	PPG	SHG	GWG	SOG	G/G	A/G	PTS/G
1	Roman Hamrlik	2001	2004	300	43	110	153	10	325	27	14	2	9	734	0.14	0.37	0.51
2	Kenny Jonsson	2001	2004	291	31	85	116	10	102	16	13	2	2	412	0.11	0.29	0.4
3	Adrian Aucoin	2002	2004	235	33	80	113	47	186	17	16	0	4	620	0.14	0.34	0.48
4	Radek Martinek	2002	2010	389	18	69	87	-5	237	16	1	1	4	439	0.05	0.18	0.22
5	Chris Campoli	2006	2009	228	20	63	83	-40	128	14	4	2	4	285	0.09	0.28	0.36
6	Mark Streit	2009	2010	111	20	54	74	4	92	7	12	1	1	227	0.18	0.49	0.67
7	Bruno Gervais	2006	2010	238	6	45	51	-43	113	5	1	0	1	240	0.03	0.19	0.21
8	Janne Niinimaa	2003	2006	136	11	33	44	3	140	6	5	0	2	131	0.08	0.24	0.32
9	Tom Poti	2007	2007	78	6	38	44	-1	74	0	6	0	1	134	0.08	0.49	0.56
10	Alexei Zhitnik	2006	2007	89	7	33	40	17	128	4	3	0	1	148	0.08	0.37	0.45
11	Marc-Andre Bergeron	2007	2008	69	15	24	39	-9	26	3	12	0	2	151	0.22	0.35	0.57
12	Brendan Witt	2007	2010	239	5	29	34	-47	317	5	0	0	0	205	0.02	0.12	0.14
13	Freddy Meyer	2007	2010	141	7	23	30	-19	80	7	0	0	3	123	0.05	0.16	0.21
14	Brent Sopel	2006	2006	57	2	25	27	-9	64	0	2	0	0	121	0.04	0.44	0.47
15	Sean Hill	2007	2007	81	1	24	25	6	110	1	0	0	0	88	0.01	0.3	0.31
16	Eric Cairns	2001	2004	251	7	17	24	-32	595	7	0	0	1	110	0.03	0.07	0.1
17	Andy Sutton	2008	2010	112	6	18	24	-1	162	6	0	0	1	106	0.05	0.16	0.21
18	Bryan Berard	2008	2008	54	5	17	22	-17	48	1	4	0	2	87	0.09	0.31	0.41
19	Garry Galley	2001	2001	56	6	14	20	-4	59	2	4	0	0	94	0.11	0.25	0.36
20	Dick Tarnstrom	2002	2002	62	3	16	19	-12	38	3	0	0	0	59	0.05	0.26	0.31

First let me tell you, for comedy's sake it was really hard to know where to cut this list off. A 56-player list doesn't look so hot on this page, so I encourage you to go to Hockey-Reference for the full list, where you'll find promising current Islander Jack Hillen just below the cutoff, along with Zdeno Chara, whose Islanders tenure just nipped into this decade.

Plus, you've got your Deron Quints, Brett Skinners, Mathieu Birons and the Great Alexander Karpovtsev. So you've got that goin' for ya ... which is nice.

As for who deserves your All-Decade vote? I'm not sure what criteria should push you over the edge. Longevity? Number of years in a uniform? Who was absolute best in an Isles uniform, regardless of time? Or simply who is the best defenseman you'd want in his prime (in which case Chara enters the debate)?

I'd probably have three different answers for each of those questions. While "longevity" and "Radek Martinek" rarely appear in the same sentence, he has ironically had the longest tenure both in years and in {shock!} games played; in some ways he aptly represents the decade. For lengthy stellar tenure, I'd give the nod to Kenny Jonsson -- though I can see a compelling argument for Hamrlik and Aucoin as well. I may be choosing Kenny over Roman strictly for likability reasons.

(Speaking of Aucoin, when I whine about the summer 2009 missed opportunity to upgrade the blueline, he's who I most have in mind. While you never know where a player is interested in heading, for my money if Aucoin was willing to go to the uncertain desert, he could have been talked into returning to the Island, allowing the Isles to twice buy low and potentially sell high on the guy. Just imagine the powerplay with him and Streit at the points.)

Anyway, for the final question of who is the best defenseman overall, despite his regression this year I'm still tempted to say Mark Streit. He's the highest points-per-game producer of the bunch, he's an undeniable two-way threat, and although he's only been with the team for a year and a half, he's got the sixth most blueline points on this list and has already logged 111 games. But again, I'm prone to a recency/likability bias.

I can't tell you how to vote. Favorite player? Representative of the decade as a whole? Best pure guy? It's your call. Write-ins, explanations, and remorse over what could have been are also encouraged in comments.

Poll

Who is your first pick for defense on the Islanders 2000s All-Decade Team?

"[Matt] Martin has done well. His game really translates nicely to the pros, no? And Mauldin's a...

Dominik — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:46:53 -0000

"[Matt] Martin has done well. His game really translates nicely to the pros, no? And Mauldin's a lot of fun to watch. Bentivoglio has done a great job turning it up from the past couple of years. "

>>Sound Tigers beat writer Mike Fornabaio talks about the most impressive players on the farm in his online chat at ConnPost.com today.

Lightning 4, Islanders 2: For Tavares & friends, it's a slump

Dominik — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:25:00 -0000

Good news: Hey, the Islanders powerplay actually produced a goal! Bad news: The penalty kill gave up two. The Islanders played well 5-on-5, with Dwayne Roloson and his post bailing them out two critical times in the first period. But their special teams let them down again. In addition to the Lightning's two PP goals, their third goal was scored before the Isles could regroup after killing off one at the end of the 2nd period.

The Isles were booed off the ice at the end, and with results like these that's no surprise.

Final - 12.21.2009	1	2	3	Total
Tampa Bay Lightning	0	2	2	4
New York Islanders	1	1	0	2

Complete Coverage >

When I said before the game that if the Lightning play up to their talent level, it's their game to lose, that's what I meant. Both on the powerplay goals and in their fantastic 5-on-5 in the first period, Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier moved the puck -- with Ryan Malone twice doing the trenchwork finishing -- at a level the Islanders cannot match. Despite the Isles outshooting the Bolts 38-28, that talent spelled the difference.

We can probably call this John Tavares' first official slump at the NHL level. It's now five games without a point and six without a goal -- his longest of the season in both categories. Tonight he only got one shot on goal, plus two more that were blocked. His line looked far less dangerous than the Frans Nielsen line, something reflected in the balance of shots directed at the net on their shifts.

Still -- and not that he will reach the same heights expected of Stamkos -- but looking at Stamkos tonight and all season long tells you what a difference a year can make for a 19-year-old in the NHL.

[Bit more plus highlights and Roloson's crazy goal-line saves video after the jump.]

I would say it could be time to reunite the Moulson/Tavares/Okposo line to get them going, but Okposo with Bailey and Nielsen actually had some nice chemistry tonight. Their best shift created the Islanders' second goal which, ironically, was scored by Nate Thompson (?!) because those forwards had kept the puck in the Lightning end long enough to live through a line change.

Rob Scrhemp continues to work hard, but without much result. It's not that he's creating things that his linemates aren't converting -- he's just not creating much danger at 5-on-5, period. And of course, he's part of a powerplay unit that isn't posing much of a threat now either.

Roloson, Acrobat

But for now, enjoy Roloson's insane acrobatics on the goal line, which kept this a game for much longer than it otherwise would have been:

And for the rest of the game highlights, including some nifty goals by both sides (NATE THOMPSON?! and a nifty Hillen-Bailey-Hunter connection), ~~we'll add them later, but whenever they're posted you can find them here~~, here you go:

This road is getting rough, and not looking any easier in the days ahead.

Islanders-Lightning [game thread]

Dominik — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:46:50 -0000

Next Game

Tampa Bay Lightning (12-14-9, t-11th) at New York Islanders (13-16-7, t-11th)
7 p.m. EST | Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Coliseum | MSG+2, radio
Benjamin Franklin wannabes: Raw Charge

Islanders Gameday: Lightning arrive, sans snow and Krajicek

posted by Dominik about 8 hours ago

Complete Coverage >

Hot head Steve Downie, previously day-to-day, is in the lineup for the Bolts.

Roloson vs. Smith. Hedman vs. Tavares (?). A recently good Lightning PK versus a recently bad Islanders PP.

You bring the thunder, I'll bring the lightning -- wait, no, that's not right ... How 'bout bring in da noise, bring in da funk?

As Sutton got to speak to the young Ranger fan, he became more and more attached and by the end of...

Dominik — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:35:00 -0000

As Sutton got to speak to the young Ranger fan, he became more and more attached and by the end of the [hospital] visit, Sutton had his new friend on his shoulders, parading him around the gym. He promised Brian that for a Christmas gift, he'd purchase him tickets to both home-and-home games earlier this week and following Thursday's contest at the Coliseum, Brian had the chance to come down to the dressing room and meet the players.

>>Great gesture from Andy Sutton, treating a kid to two Isles-Rangers games and even introducing him to his heroes (who are, sadly, Rangers).

Cheers to ogam5 for the heads-up.