well, for starters, I'm concerned that Strome is on the 4th line in camp. Very Nino-like. I'm also concerned that Nielson is on the 2nd line and not the 3rd where he belongs. I'm concerned that we still have Marty Reasoner. I'm concerned that we don't have PA Paranteau, and we need Boyes to make up for the missing PA numbers. I'm concerned that Martinek is back and probably won't stay healthy. Did I mention that I'm concerned about a certain goalie who is still on this team and will likely be there for a long long time. whew....I feel better now. A little pre-season vent/rant.
- Charlie21

cappy is quoted as saying if strome stays hes on the top 2 lines.
unless you want strome playing on the 2nd line center, nielson is the 2nd center.
marty reasoner is a 4th line center...far from an issue.
pap sucks
you concerned that martinek is back or that hell get injured? which one?

Joe Finley picked up off waivers from Sabres
6'8" 234 lbs (great size....if he can skate)
5 NHL games with buffalo last year.
Only real stat: 12 PIM's in 5 NHL games. -3
Way to go Garth....you fleeced another team of their (secretly) best player. Wishart put on waivers to make room....
Plan the parade.
- jmo16

Habs lost another D-man to Nashville. Kostitsyn is gonezo. for 2 picks

you think people looked at the isles and laughed at them as opposed to looking at nabby and saying hes a baby???
- LetsGoIsles

Both.

I'm just not sure the Isles' actions from this point forward in this situation matter one way or another to the team's reputation. Fixing the poor reputation requires...fixing the reasons why this team has a poor reputation. Only changing the franchise's course entirely will make a trade to the Isles not seem like a death sentence to players. Vis could end up coming here, playing, liking it, and re-signing, just like Nabokov did, and it still probably wouldn't matter to the next guy in his situation who's traded here...just like the resolution of the Nabokov situation obviously mattered very little to Vis. People don't want to play here because, right now, it's seen as a dead end. Just imo, there has to be a big shift from living off the scrap heap and finding deals/making decisions on a purely financial basis to a serious commitment to winning at any cost for the franchise to be taken seriously.
- UIF

and obviously a lot of other players...

I love the typical Garth Snow response. He loves the team the team is fine. OMG does this guy ever say anything else. He is like that lost muppet
- kasperrko

at 11:29 you said:
"I know I say this every year but I dont know why I have this feeling this team is going to be a lot different"

...you couldnt even last 3 hours!!!!

This wasn't just a hockey buzz situation, we were laughing stocks everywhere, this team was made out to be the bad guys... right or wrong has nothing to do with it.. the perception was horrendous.

The Viz trade was awesome... he is a great player that can really help this team, But his not wanting to be here, from calling the trade illegal to him staying in the KHL to little things like us buying him a ticket and him not using it (we did the same thing with Nabby & he did the same thing) makes this team look pathetic
XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

No matter how anyone dolls it up that is the end result.

I want to use twitter to get hockey info........anyone have any suggestions for names i should add?

Sidenote: i've never used twitter.....
- kindlyrick

I know nothing about such things, I can't even cut and paste

I disagree. The team here looks like they're trying to improve and LV looks ridiculous for not reporting and trying to find a different way out each time.
- Isles_since_6

How?

even while PA was playing on the second line he was still on the first PP unit with MM and JT, hence a lot of points continued to come for him. I see him as Jason Blake 2.0 and was glad we didn't give him the 4 mil per year he got in colorado. I don't like Boyes taking that spot and think KO or even Nino/Strome would be a better choice, but overall I don't think losing PA hurts us. Wonder if Colorado might end up using the buyout on PA in the summer if his year turns out as badly as I think it will.
- Isles_since_6

Most would agree of course. After all 70 points for this team won't be hard to find

I hear they are having a "presser at 3pm" about the signing...it will be streamed on Islanders website...
- kear20

Good God, serious?

I'm guessing that as far as Snow is concerned, the knowing Wishart isn't any good outweighs the not knowing anything about Finley, at this point. That said, at that size, this boy had better bury some people, or you can float that driftwood right back out to sea....

Agreed...he needs three NHL quality players- a 2nd line center like you mentioned...a power RW that can play with JT and Moulson, a top 4 defenseman...then you sprinkle in some depth players like Boyes, Carkner, etc...and hope some of your prospects turn out to be studs. What Snow does is he goes after depth signings and forgets to bring in some quality...he's a chump. I think he thinks we are stupid...
- kear20

Alot of Isles fans are. As is proved on here daily.

OK

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

What else can you say to this?

even while PA was playing on the second line he was still on the first PP unit with MM and JT, hence a lot of points continued to come for him. I see him as Jason Blake 2.0 and was glad we didn't give him the 4 mil per year he got in colorado. I don't like Boyes taking that spot and think KO or even Nino/Strome would be a better choice, but overall I don't think losing PA hurts us. Wonder if Colorado might end up using the buyout on PA in the summer if his year turns out as badly as I think it will.
- Isles_since_6

nino on the top line is a good idea...he isnt scared of getting into the dirty areas and he certainly can finish. he doesnt mind getting a little physical...i think i like it...

Most would agree of course. After all 70 points for this team won't be hard to find
- Cptmjl

When the chips are down and you're in a tight-checking game that means something, I don't think PA is the guy you're gonna turn to. Maybe I'm wrong, but points and all, I've never been very impressed with him as a hockey player, personally. If he keeps it up in Colorado, it certainly won't be the first time I've been wrong. The only thing I'm ticked at is that Snow knew right from the start that he was not going to meet PA's salary demands and had to figure some other desperate team would, and he still held onto him past the deadline. That's piss poor management of assets.

Edit -- Well, two things I'm ticked at...Snow again does not replace what he let walk...unless you think Boyes was a good signing, but my previous meltdown about that probably made clear that I don't think it was. Just a bad trend with our GM. He lets replaceable players go, which is fine, but he never actually replaces them. How long have we been looking for a big physical presence on D that makes players keep their heads up at the blue line? Since we traded Sutton and never replaced what he provided.

you think people looked at the isles and laughed at them as opposed to looking at nabby and saying hes a baby???
- LetsGoIsles

Both the team and him looked like morons. Nabakov for refusing to report and the Isles for pursuing him making believe nothing was wrong. If you think the Islanders came out of it unscathed you're being a bit naive or a homer. Take your pick

When the chips are down and you're in a tight-checking game that means something, I don't think PA is the guy you're gonna turn to. Maybe I'm wrong, but points and all, I've never been very impressed with him as a hockey player, personally. If he keeps it up in Colorado, it certainly won't be the first time I've been wrong. The only thing I'm ticked at is that Snow knew right from the start that he was not going to meet PA's salary demands and had to figure some other desperate team would, and he still held onto him past the deadline. That's piss poor management of assets.
- UIF

PA won me over to an extent towards the end. He amped up his game a bit towards the end and played with some passion which always seems to be hard to find on this team. I think we should have paid him, after all look where we are now. Boyes, no defense, usual goaltender debauchery, it would've been nice to know we had one solid line at the very least. On paper we have not much of anything. I think he'll do well in Colorado but I like everyone else have been wrong before.

you think people looked at the isles and laughed at them as opposed to looking at nabby and saying hes a baby???
- LetsGoIsles

oh my god yes!

We were evil for grabbing a guy off waivers, that was only signing with the wings because he wanted a shot at the cup.. we didnt do anything wrong claiming him, we didnt break any laws, but yes we looked like the wrong ones in the whole situation

XxNYIxX

Most would agree of course. After all 70 points for this team won't be hard to find
- Cptmjl

for another player or team total?

XxNYIxX

PA won me over to an extent towards the end. He amped up his game a bit towards the end and played with some passion which always seems to be hard to find on this team. I think we should have paid him, after all look where we are now. Boyes, no defense, usual goaltender debauchery, it would've been nice to know we had one solid line at the very least. On paper we have not much of anything. I think he'll do well in Colorado but I like everyone else have been wrong before.
- Cptmjl

Yeah, I added to my post that we didn't replace what he brought. But I fell for that "looking great at the end of the season" thing in 2010-2011. Let's go after a player that looks good before the team is 654 games out of a playoff spot...

When the chips are down and you're in a tight-checking game that means something, I don't think PA is the guy you're gonna turn to. Maybe I'm wrong, but points and all, I've never been very impressed with him as a hockey player, personally. If he keeps it up in Colorado, it certainly won't be the first time I've been wrong. The only thing I'm ticked at is that Snow knew right from the start that he was not going to meet PA's salary demands and had to figure some other desperate team would, and he still held onto him past the deadline. That's piss poor management of assets.

Edit -- Well, two things I'm ticked at...Snow again does not replace what he let walk...unless you think Boyes was a good signing, but my previous meltdown about that probably made clear that I don't think it was. Just a bad trend with our GM. He lets replaceable players go, which is fine, but he never actually replaces them. How long have we been looking for a big physical presence on D that makes players keep their heads up at the blue line? Since we traded Sutton and never replaced what he provided.
- UIF

truth


XxNYIxX

We are winning the Cup this year!

PA won me over to an extent towards the end. He amped up his game a bit towards the end and played with some passion which always seems to be hard to find on this team. I think we should have paid him, after all look where we are now. Boyes, no defense, usual goaltender debauchery, it would've been nice to know we had one solid line at the very least. On paper we have not much of anything. I think he'll do well in Colorado but I like everyone else have been wrong before.
- Cptmjl

PAP will be fine in Colorado.

XxNYIxX

PA won me over to an extent towards the end. He amped up his game a bit towards the end and played with some passion which always seems to be hard to find on this team. I think we should have paid him, after all look where we are now. Boyes, no defense, usual goaltender debauchery, it would've been nice to know we had one solid line at the very least. On paper we have not much of anything. I think he'll do well in Colorado but I like everyone else have been wrong before.
- Cptmjl

coincidence that it was a contract year....?

oh my god yes!

We were evil for grabbing a guy off waivers, that was only signing with the wings because he wanted a shot at the cup.. we didnt do anything wrong claiming him, we didnt break any laws, but yes we looked like the wrong ones in the whole situation

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

hahaha....this is hockey not a kumbaya. its business. for whatever reason everyone assumed he would sign with the red wings, without realizing that a team could pick him up off of waivers...isles playing by the rules, they looked fine.