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NHL Thoughts : New York, New York |
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First off. My heart goes out to the families of the Humboldt Broncos victims and to the entire community itself. I remember when I first read of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash in Russian and translated what was happening for HB. It was horrific, and I think this might take its place as the greatest hockey related tragedy. These young men will never get to live their lives and I can only hope the families and loved ones can find something to hold onto in their grief.
Goalvalchuk Coming Back? : So the rumours of Ilya Kovalchuk returning to the NHL have abounded for a few years. Especially once Radulov made his move. This plus winning the Gagarin Cup and now an Olympic “Gold Medal” has left only one prize left for him to win. A Stanley Cup. So naturally the major rumour is that he will sign with the…New York Rangers? What? That can’t be right. The rebuilding Rangers are going to add Kovalchuk? For 2-3 years? It doesn’t make a ton of sense for either party. Kovalchuk gets to finish the house he was building in the area…sure. His wife will be happy living in one of the greatest cities on earth for millionaires. But I don’t really see the Rangers turning things around that quickly. Maybe by year three if they can pull a Boston Bruins are draft very well (Chytil and Andersson are good starts). Don’t really see it. For the Rangers, I think this is a good idea to help mentor and mold Pavel Buchnevich. He seems like a guy who could use a countryman.
All in all it’s a strange rumour, which means it’s probably true. Maybe it’s their play to get Shestyorkin to come over?
Idiotic : Garth Snow and Doug Weight.
That is all.
Okay, so seriously they’re being retained? Why? Are their salaries so tiny it makes firing them a tough choice? Seriously, this season has been a disaster. Most of Garth’s time with the Islanders has been. He has a spotty record in every single category outside of trading with Peter Chiarelli. Drafting? For every success, he has huge failures. Oh, but he drafted Barzal (16th), Beauvillier (28th), Tavares (1st), Nelson (30th), Lee (152nd) etc…well how about Reinhart (4th), Dal Colle (5th), Nino (5th and soon traded for a 4th liner), Ho-Sang (28th and soon to be traded) and Strome (5th), you know what, just don’t let him pick 2-10. It’s fairly insane the levels of inconsistency. Let’s not even get into the 2nd round flubs. Regardless it’s a mixed bag. Trades? Honestly he hasn’t been the worst, but it’s still a mixed bag. Goalies…GOALIES. He was a freaking goalie. Only the Flyers can boast of more goalie issues than the Islanders recently. Hopefully for fans Sorokin can change that.
After a decade+ Snow has not done enough to make his team competitive. Weight has seemingly continued the idea of offense only that got (rightfully) Capuano fired. Shake it up and shake it up big. Make an example. Maybe changing the GM and Coaching Staff (remember Weight was internal) completely will NOT change anything. Maybe. It’s possible. But why not TRY? What do you have to lose? Nothing. The Islanders fans deserve better and should receive better for their years of tepid remorse. This once glorious franchise is a black pit of mediocrity and needs some kind of alteration.
Sorry for the brevity as this is not the soul of wit. I started writing this and immediately needed to do my playoff blog, so I didn't want to add some lengthier content on Dmitri Sokolov and a few other items.
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