With news around the league at a standstill, I reached out to my friends in social media land for any and all questions pertaining to the Islanders. I thought I’d answer a few of them today in our second installment of the viewer mailbag. There were a lot of questions on similar topics so I will combine a few of them in hopes of answering everyone’s requests. Most of the questions revolved around the Islanders defense, and that is where we are going to begin.
Q: Who are reasonable options to acquire as a second pairing defenseman and what are my opinions of the current state of the Islanders defense?
A: I believe that there are some players available that could help this team and play top four minutes for the Islanders. I believe Nick Leddy and Johnny Oduya would both be nice fits on the blue line. The problem that arises is Chicago’s cap situation. They certainly will not be looking to take salary back so I am not sure if tradable pieces like Josh Bailey or Michael Grabner would work for the Blackhawks. Perhaps a mid-level prospect could secure one of those players. Another team in a similar cap situation are the Boston Bruins. If a player like Johnny Boychuk is truly available, I would be jumping at the chance to acquire him as I think he would fill a massive hole in this blue line.
When it comes to remaining free agents, I would offer a camp tryout to Derek Morris. I am aware that he is often injured but when healthy I feel that he still has a lot to offer and could provide veteran leadership to the back end. Even if it is in a bottom pairing capacity, I think Morris could log serviceable minutes for the Islanders and be an upgrade over some of their current defensemen.
As for the current state of this defense, I think it truly is a work in progress. I do believe it is better but there are a lot of question marks surrounding the blue line. The main question is health. Can Lubomir Visnovsky and Travis Hamonic stay healthy? Will Hamonic rebound after a down season last year and be the player we saw terrorizing Evgeni Malkin in the playoffs a year and a half ago? What will T.J. Brennan have to offer? Will Calvin de Haan continue to develop and prove he can be a top pairing defenseman? Which rookie will make this team and can they have a significant impact? There are just too many questions surrounding this blue line right now. I do believe that two good goalies and some more responsible forwards will certainly lower this team's goals against. However, until I see this defense play, I really have more questions than answers as it is currently constructed.
Q: Do you agree with taking maybe their 2nd best faceoff guy and big body and making him a winger in Nelson?
A: One of the values that Brock Nelson brings to this team is his versatility. Wherever he is lined up, I think Nelson will have an impact. Even at wing, Nelson will still take his share of face-offs and I think with John Tavares, Mikhail Grabovski and Frans Nielsen, the Islanders are set down the middle. You can argue that Nelson could be the fourth line center however, I think you want Nelson on the ice as much as possible. Being relegated to the fourth line doesn’t help your team. I think Nelson has the chance to win the top line winger spot alongside Tavares and Kyle Okposo and I think Nelson’s combination of size and speed will be a good fit on that line. There will also be injuries throughout the season and the Islanders now have depth when one arises. If a center does get injured, Nelson can simply slide into that spot and the Isles are no worse for it.
Q: Do you think the coaching staff will adjust their strategies much? Learning from past mistakes.
A: Islanders’ head coach Jack Capuano already stated that the team is working on changes to their penalty kill and I expect that won’t be the only tweaks in their system. Having goalies that can stop the puck is key to any good penalty kill but the Isles were constantly out of position last season and those seam passes through the box need to be eliminated if the Isles have any chance to improve the penalty kill. As for the rest of the system, I would not mind seeing the one we saw late in the season when the team was fielding a minor league roster. It was far more conservative at the back end and I think it helped. I honestly feel that the Isles do not have enough mobile puck movers on the blue line to successfully execute the current system as it is intended. Therefore, you have to build your system to the roster you have. I can only hope that this is what will occur this year. The Islanders don’t need to be top five in team defense. If they can go from dead last to about 15th, they should score enough goals to compete for a playoff spot.
Q: Are the Sound Tigers going to move to the Coliseum in the future?
A: Honestly, I would be surprised if they didn’t move to the Coliseum. I think it is a matter of “when” and not “if.” It will take two years to remodel the Coliseum and the Sound Tigers have five years left on their lease in Bridgeport. I would think that when the Coliseum is ready or when the Sound Tigers lease expires, the Island will have an AHL franchise. I am going to try and not sound bitter because Bridgeport will be stuck with the Rangers farm team. However, I don’t think an AHL team will do well in Long Island. The Sound Tigers can average 4,500-5,000 in an 8,000 seat arena and make money. I’m not sure the same can be said for a renovated Coliseum. There is already a majority of the fan base that is going to Brooklyn kicking and screaming. I can’t see them going to a Sound Tigers game on a Sunday afternoon. I understand why this move will happen, but the Sound Tigers are making money where they are now so I am not sure if this is the best thing for all parties involved.
I would like to thank everyone who sent in questions and I hope you all enjoyed reading this. We will do this throughout the season. As always for all things hockey please follow me on twitter @DanDanNoodles78.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
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