SBNation.com User Blog: ilopan

Damned if they do, damned if they don't?

ilopan — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:23:26 -0000

I beg the community's pardon in advance for a fanpost which will be a bit light on the content side, though perhaps that is appropriate given a schedule light on games and how that is going to color perceptions of the Isles outside of the island.

The thought which occurs to me is that the shortened season is going to color popular perception of the Islanders' performance no matter how well they do. You can picture two scenarios:

"Of course they did badly, they never even win this many games in a full season!"
"Of course they did well, they didn't have enough time to screw up!"

Now, maybe it's not worth getting upset over, but occasionally one needs to rail against their fellow fan/the hockey media. It makes the loss of a large portion of what could have been a good "progress" season all the more galling when you realize the Islanders probably won't even get the benefit of "oh hey, they're becoming legit now, aren't they?"

The thought which occurs to me is that the shortened season is going to color popular perception of the Islanders' performance no matter how well they do. You can picture two scenarios:

"Of course they did badly, they never even win this many games in a full season!"
"Of course they did well, they didn't have enough time to screw up!"

Michael Grabner: Trent Hunter 2.0? And if so, what then?

ilopan — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:00:49 -0000

There have been a few "This roster is hurting without Grabner" lines in the past few posts, so now seems like an opportunity to explore a possibility that has occurred to me at different times as the season wears on.

Is Michael Grabner the second coming of Trent Hunter? Their histories and many of their individual attributes are different, but the broad strokes of their narratives seem to mirror each other: The eye-opening rookie campaign leading the Islanders in goals scored, signing a long-term contract, then a "regression" to ho-hum secondary scoring and getting a lot of defensive assignments. The comparison relies on oversimplifying things, but it may not be that much of a stretch.

More than a few people have commented this season to the effect that Grabner's dial seems to not be going up to 11 like it did last spring, and some have speculated whether it's a sophomore slump, a nagging injury, or just the "real" player we actually got vs. one aberrant scoring streak . The easy response here is that it's all a knee-jerk reaction to the quirks of short-term probability and the man will come around again in '12/'13 even if he doesn't quite reach the heights of his first season on the Island. But what if he doesn't?

If you're the Isles organization, do you maintain his status in TEH CORE, hope his scoring picks up again and be glad you can count on him for steady PK work etc. in the meantime? Or do you bet that what you got this season is what you'll continue to get and take a different gamble?

One slow season (although 15 or so goals isn't anything to sneeze at) isn't enough to completely bury the memory of 34 goals scored and a few dozen more opportunities just barely missed. Do you try to find a trade partner who is willing to bank on Grabner returning to glory in order to get a more proven asset? For example do you try to find that stud D-man by waving the possibility of 30 goals in front of someone? It seems that there are prospects in the system who could provide similar point production and defensive responsibility (for cheaper, even, which is an issue for the Islanders), if you don't truly believe that Grabner will rebound.

I'm not implying that Grabner is a "bust", or that a move actually needs to be made. But there is a need to address during the summer in terms of shoring up the defense, and if there was a move to be made that could get us a good return and possibly not bite the Islanders in the ass too hard, this seems like it.

Food for thought. Commence flogging me for my blasphemy now.

Stranger Safety Awareness Day

ilopan — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:16:39 -0000

Stranger Safety Awareness Day

Matt Moulstache will play the role of the untrustworthy stranger

But seriously, this is a pretty great thing, my friend's family experienced a terrible tragedy years ago and if any of you have kids you might want to bring them down to learn about stranger safety (and have a little fun on the Coliseum ice, to boot!)

Stranger - you're doin' everything right.

ilopan — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:25:38 -0000

Stranger - you're doin' everything right.

Come home Freddy Meyer, we miss you.

ilopan — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:41:55 -0000

Come home Freddy Meyer, we miss you.

Islanders Goaltending Battles: In Defense of Cerberus

ilopan — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:51:32 -0000

or; Are Three-Headed Monsters really all that bad?

I'm going to assume for the sake of discussion that the Islanders are heading into this 2011-2012 season with a three-man goalie rotation consisting of Nabokov, Montoya and DiPietro. The reality could be quite different, but the assumption allows me to put forth a very speculative take on what the benefits of a three-man goalie rotation could be for the Isles.

or; Are Three-Headed Monsters really all that bad?

What do all three of these men have in common?

They all have something to prove. DiPietro needs to prove he can stay healthy and play at a level which is higher than "pretty bad, actually." Nabokov needs to shake off a poor previous showing in the KHL, a fair share of rust and the lingering stink from his snub last season. Montoya needs a chance to show that he's really an NHL-caliber netminder and that his successes last season weren't a fluky hot streak.

How does a three-man rotation help the team?

What I hope for personally (even if it's a bit ruthless) is that we'll see some Athletic Darwinism and the competition between three men for what are nominally two roster spots will cull the weak sooner rather than later. Maybe the fire will forge a clear leader and the other two will only squabble over the backup spot. Or maybe the pressure will break somebody (or even more than one somebody) early and the team can proceed with a decent starter and whoever proves to be ~~the lesser of two evils~~ most fit for the crease.

Entertain the thought of the following scenarios for a moment:

We can rebuild them, we have the technology - DiPietro and Nabokov both experience a rebirth and provide steady, if unspectacular, goaltending. Montoya doesn't quite live up to expectations but winds up bumping a pretender out of the Sound Tigers' own three-headed monster. The Isles can win as long as the forward corps is lighting the lamp.
No Russian - Montoya and DiPietro answer the Call of Duty and Nabokov departs the Island, vindicating all those folks who said we didn't need him anyway. DiPietro is an expensive backup but we've got to reach that cap floor somehow, right? Turns out Montoya is the Real Deal and he steals some games for his squad. In a world without Lundqvist, the Rangers would have been alright with El Cubano.
Hip checks out - DiPietro breaks (in an unfortunately literal fashion) under the strain and starts a new chorus of "When are we getting rid of this albatross, anyway?" from the armchair GMs. Nabokov and Montoya are solid enough that even the organization starts having a hard time sticking by poor Ricky.
Goalpocalypse Now - Montoya flounders, Nabokov isn't able to return to form and DiPietro's skeleton disintegrates during warm-ups. Poulin packs his Tiger Balm for his trip to the Island and Garth Snow takes his suspiciously-large pads out of storage. The beleaguered Sound Tigers do the best they can with the scraps.

My money is currently on the third possibility. As much as I would love to see Rick succeed, it seems like a longer shot with every passing year. Nabokov might just be hungry enough to turn in a good season and I'm inclined to believe that Montoya is at least good enough to be a steady 1A kind of guy if not a no-question starter.

This position poses so many questions for this team that I think we're actually much better served by the glut and I'm excited, if somewhat terrified, of where the chips may fall. So what say you, Lighthouse residents? Are all these options a blessing, or should the team just ~~trade Josh Bailey for Dwayne Roloson~~ resign itself to another shaky year in goal?

Something I think you'll all appreciate

ilopan — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:12:56 -0000

Something I think you'll all appreciate

Given our occasional debates on the merits of intangibles vs. hard numbers etc., I thought today's XKCD was worth sharing with the LHH regulars. Cheers!

The Fate of the Fourth Line, or; To Z, or not to Z

ilopan — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:19:13 -0000

The Islanders' season has ended and already some spirited/contentious navel-gazing (is such a thing possible?) has begun, and in that spirit I'd like to stir the pot and see how everyone feels.

I assume (regardless of the ramifications for 'u' and 'me') several things going in:

The first and second lines will survive intact going into next season. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Nino makes the roster out of training camp. Without really dogging it in training camp, it's inconceivable that Nino doesn't make the roster. He didn't look out of place during his 9 games this October and it seems like he's got nothing left to learn in juniors. He's big, he's skilled, and he can probably get up to NHL speed before too long.
Konopka isn't getting resigned. As much as he's a fan favorite, I think Isles' management doesn't care for him all that much and is going to dump a few of the "goons" as a PR move. Zeke and Gillies aren't long for the team.
Martin and Haley are going to be on the starting roster next season unless someone has a stellar camp and they dog it.

The way I see it, lines 1-3 are as follows:

PA - Tavares - Moulson

Grabner - Frans - Okposo

Comeau - Bailey - Nino (Okay, this one's not set in stone but it seems like it would work for breaking in the newb without causing too much trouble. Comeau and Bailey's defensive natures could compensate for any, uh, youthful excesses on Nino's part.)

I'm going to go ahead and assume that Martin and Haley will make up two parts of a nice crash-boom-bang fourth line. I also think that these two have shown some offensive flair, along with some nice stickhandling and skating. There are a handful of options to finish the line with:

A Finn named Jesse - started to show signs of life this season, but still pretty unconvincing. Could maybe be a nice call-up guy if one of the regulars gets injured or suspended for frowning.
Hunter - Not sure I like this at all, really. He would make a pretty good mentor for two younger guys, but I don't think he's got the wheels to keep up with Mike and Matt at all, especially coming back from injury. I could see Isles' management taking their chances with waiving this guy - if worse comes to worst, he gets claimed, the team only has to pay half his salary and nobody has really missed him all that much this season anyway. (Be honest: How many times have you said "Boy this game would have gone better with Hunts around"?)
Colliton - Okay, so this one is my fantasy, but you could do worse than a pretty defensively responsible player who happens to be Bridgeport's all-time leading scorer. His capacity for assists combined with Martin and Haley's ability to make room could make for some good fourth-line scoring opportunities.
The Rahk - Rhett would benefit from having two bruisers out there with him and he slots in nicely (Martin is listed as a LW, Haley as a C, Rhett's a RW). Maybe this could make for a defensively shaky line?

In my wildest dreams I see the Islanders rolling four lines who are all scoring threats and I think the pieces are there if some hard decisions are made and ice time is doled out to the lines who are the most effective on a given night.

Sound off, Lighthaüsen - What do you think is the fate of the fourth line? Did I use too much fancy formatting? Let me have it in the comments.

The Islanders' season has ended and already some spirited/contentious navel-gazing (is such a thing possible?) has begun, and in that spirit I'd like to stir the pot and see how everyone feels.

I assume (regardless of the ramifications for 'u' and 'me') several things going in:

The first and second lines will survive intact going into next season. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Nino makes the roster out of training camp. Without really dogging it in training camp, it's inconceivable that Nino doesn't make the roster. He didn't look out of place during his 9 games this October and it seems like he's got nothing left to learn in juniors. He's big, he's skilled, and he can probably get up to NHL speed before too long.
Konopka isn't getting resigned. As much as he's a fan favorite, I think Isles' management doesn't care for him all that much and is going to dump a few of the "goons" as a PR move. Zeke and Gillies aren't long for the team.
Martin and Haley are going to be on the starting roster next season unless someone has a stellar camp and they dog it.

The way I see it, lines 1-3 are as follows:

PA - Tavares - Moulson

Grabner - Frans - Okposo

Comeau - Bailey - Nino (Okay, this one's not set in stone but it seems like it would work for breaking in the newb without causing too much trouble. Comeau and Bailey's defensive natures could compensate for any, uh, youthful excesses on Nino's part.)

A Finn named Jesse - started to show signs of life this season, but still pretty unconvincing. Could maybe be a nice call-up guy if one of the regulars gets injured or suspended for frowning.
Hunter - Not sure I like this at all, really. He would make a pretty good mentor for two younger guys, but I don't think he's got the wheels to keep up with Mike and Matt at all, especially coming back from injury. I could see Isles' management taking their chances with waiving this guy - if worse comes to worst, he gets claimed, the team only has to pay half his salary and nobody has really missed him all that much this season anyway. (Be honest: How many times have you said "Boy this game would have gone better with Hunts around"?)
Colliton - Okay, so this one is my fantasy, but you could do worse than a pretty defensively responsible player who happens to be Bridgeport's all-time leading scorer. His capacity for assists combined with Martin and Haley's ability to make room could make for some good fourth-line scoring opportunities.
The Rahk - Rhett would benefit from having two bruisers out there with him and he slots in nicely (Martin is listed as a LW, Haley as a C, Rhett's a RW). Maybe this could make for a defensively shaky line?

Sound off, Lighthaüsen - What do you think is the fate of the fourth line? Did I use too much fancy formatting? Let me have it in the comments.

All our favorites!

ilopan — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:58:56 -0000

All our favorites!

Grabs40, AMAC, Ox and The Great Dane to appear at the Islanders team store in NYC this coming Monday (the 14th) at 4 p.m. for a Q&A session... hosted by Billy Jaffe!

Worth noting is that the Islanders are the only team with three players in the top 30 goal scorers...

ilopan — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:44:47 -0000

Worth noting is that the Islanders are the only team with three players in the top 30 goal scorers (unless I've overlooked an entry) and that Grabner is 16th overall, even beating out Alex Ovechkin(!!!).

Unfortunately worded indeed

ilopan — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:21:08 -0000

Unfortunately worded indeed

All possible interpretations of that ad end poorly for someone's special lady.

Jurcina extended through 2011-2012

ilopan — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:47:45 -0000

Jurcina extended through 2011-2012

The expiration date on this Juice just got further away.

Open Letters to Dwayne Roloson

ilopan — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:50:42 -0000

LHH editors' note: This FanPost is front-paged by popular demand. Leave your salutations for Roloson here.

Islander Fans, join me in saluting/sending off a man who is the real deal; a man whose dedication and respect for the franchise warmed our hearts. A man whose interviews gave us a reason to stay tuned after the W's and L's were doled out. A man whose goaltending was always solid, and often stellar. It is my hope that whatever small outpouring we can organize here might find its way to back to Dwayne and let him know how much he was appreciated in his short time here.

LHH editors' note: This FanPost is front-paged by popular demand. Leave your salutations for Roloson here.

Dear Dwayne,

When you arrived on the Isles' roster, I had never heard of you. Now I'll always remember your name.

You were consistently the best player on our team for a season and change. Last season, you stole games with some truly thrilling feats of athleticism and gave a downtrodden Islander fan reasons to cheer during what would have otherwise been a season marked by growing pains and unsatisfying performances. This season, you helped a lost team find it's way back onto the path. I can only hope they don't lose their way again, because I'm not sure if anyone can lead them back like you did.

I'd like to also thank you personally for reminding me that age really is just a number. I know you're tired of backhanded "he's great for an old guy" praise, but you are great. I'm sure you'd look at me and think I'm just a kid, but there are often times I wonder if I've waited too long to pursue the things that matter to me. I'm able to look at you and feel that maybe it's never too late at all.

Thanks for all the inspiration and all the W's.

- A Fan

Seems appropriate right now

ilopan — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:51:50 -0000

Seems appropriate right now

Islanders toast already?

ilopan — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 11:35:07 -0000

The last thing I want to seem like is a reactionary, and it's depressing to count your team out so early in a season, but I started doing some mental calculations (which may already call into question their validity) and things already look pretty hopeless for the Isles.

Last season the Islanders finished in thirteenth place with a grand total of 79 points in what was considered a "weak" Eastern Conference, with a record of 34 wins, 37 losses, and 11 OT/SO losses.
The Islanders currently have 11 points
The Islanders have 65 more games left in the season, for a possible 130 points up for grabs. (Please correct me if my count is wrong, here)
In order to meet the 79 points they earned last season, the Islanders need 34 more victories (for the sake of simplicity I am not factoring in OT/SO losses)

So, 34 out of 65 games, huh? That's a little more than half, and bear in mind that this is just to meet their point total from last season, which was not sufficient for entry to the playoffs. Montreal and Philly squeaked in with 88 points each, and assuming that would be sufficient this year, the Islanders would need an additional 5 victories, meaning that the Isles would need to win 39 out of 65 games for a total of 89 points ("rounding up" and leaving out OT losses again for simplicity's sake).

Raise your hands if that seems impossible :( At this point, the Islanders' hopes rest on an improbable turnaround and perhaps the Western Conference kicking the tar out of everyone in the East all season to keep Eastern Conference point totals down. And the second part of that statement grates on me - I'm a bit tired of always counting on the failure of other teams to further the Isles' cause, but that's a topic for another fanpost. One wonders how a team that is ostensibly "better" than last season's is on track to possibly have a worse record.

Dom, you mind if I co-opt your Blues fandom? A brother needs to feel rewarded by a team he roots for sometimes.

Last season the Islanders finished in thirteenth place with a grand total of 79 points in what was considered a "weak" Eastern Conference, with a record of 34 wins, 37 losses, and 11 OT/SO losses.
The Islanders currently have 11 points
The Islanders have 65 more games left in the season, for a possible 130 points up for grabs. (Please correct me if my count is wrong, here)
In order to meet the 79 points they earned last season, the Islanders need 34 more victories (for the sake of simplicity I am not factoring in OT/SO losses)

Dom, you mind if I co-opt your Blues fandom? A brother needs to feel rewarded by a team he roots for sometimes.

Bench Candids, 11/07/2010

ilopan — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 16:28:11 -0000

Ostensibly I'm a photographer so I curse myself for never having my real camera with me. But for once my Droid 2's photos were satisfactory. I took other pictures but these three are the only ones that live up to my standards. And so I share them with you, fellow Islander fans/photo enthusiasts. Please take a moment to view them in their larger sizes.

Incident of note: At one point during the game, a young fan behind the glass was frantically trying to get the attention of anyone on the Isles' bench. Scott Gordon noticed and made eye contact. Maintaining his typical stoic mask, he quickly winked at the child and returned to the business of coaching. Seemed to satisfy the kid just fine.

October, 2010 - The Islanders attempts to emulate the Devils by scratching their highest paid...

ilopan — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:04:18 -0000

October, 2010 - The Islanders attempts to emulate the Devils by scratching their highest paid player prove fruitless when they are unable to figure out how to bench Alexei Yashin's buyout.

Down Goes Brown

JT and Hockey Sense

ilopan — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:06:54 -0000

JT and Hockey Sense

JT gets a little credit for his ability to read the game.

Yayyyy

ilopan — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 21:07:09 -0000

Yayyyy

Reese is officially in for another year! He really impressed me with the handful of games he played last season so here's hoping he gets more time with the big club this time around.

Scroll right for hockey relevance.

ilopan — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:56:01 -0000

Scroll right for hockey relevance.

Weight is out for the season

ilopan — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:11:59 -0000

Via Katie Strang

As much as I like Weight, I think now would be the perfect time to step down as captain and hand the reins over to Kyle Okposo. If nothing else it will give Isles fans something to cheer for. Maybe a desire to see how the new "C" adjusts to his role will put some more butts in the seats at NVMC now that the playoffs are effectively out of the picture.

Via Katie Strang