Dan Petriw: And Away We Go

Dan Petriw: And Away We Go
- Dan Petriw

Finally it's here. Let's go ISLES

Dan Petriw: And Away We Go
- Dan Petriw

im going "all in" this team will make the playoffs.

XxNYIxX

im going "all in" this team will make the playoffs.

XxNYIxX
- XxNYIxX

I need to see the defense

I need to see the defense
- Dan Petriw

Is Ryan Ellis a top 2 on this team? If so, what would it take to acquire him?

Isles make the playoffs this year. There i said it.


Bos
TB
Pit
NYR
NYI
Mtl
Wsh
Philly

(in no particular order)

Is Ryan Ellis a top 2 on this team? If so, what would it take to acquire him?
- jwbadlands

No and NO

Is Ryan Ellis a top 2 on this team? If so, what would it take to acquire him?
- jwbadlands

I would say top 4.. Not sure of his value to be honest

No and NO
- eichiefs9

He is a solid dman

He is a solid dman
- Dan Petriw

He's a 5'10'' defenseman that plays heavily sheltered minutes getting a ton of offensive zone starts and put up offensive numbers comparable to Thomas Hickey last season.

Is cloning Hickey really going to help?

I say put the Rangers at the top of the division with PITT and Boston. Why do I say it? Because these teams have a core of pros who have done it before; win, stay healthy and win consistently aka mature pro hockey players. For the Islanders there is still a lot to prove.....Are they still a team of 40 game players?, video gamers?, play big time vs Rangers and Devils then cough up a loss to??? Get swelled heads and visions of Stanley Cups after winning three in a row? Have a coach who repeats the same phrases after losses?

He's a 5'10'' defenseman that plays heavily sheltered minutes getting a ton of offensive zone starts and put up offensive numbers comparable to Thomas Hickey last season.

Is cloning Hickey really going to help?
- eichiefs9

That's actually quite fair. I'd take Krug in a heartbeat though size be damned

Count me as another fan that going "All In" on this team. IMO, they are leaps and bounds better (on paper) then they have been in years. If Halak performs as advertised, the offense is as good as we think it can be, I think the Islanders won't just fight for a playoff spot but also can compete for Home Ice Advantage as well.

Lets Go Boys!!!!

Islanders invite Colton Gillies for a try out

That's actually quite fair. I'd take Krug in a heartbeat though size be damned
- Dan Petriw

Krug has shown the ability to put up a fair amount of points, I just haven't seen that from Ellis. I forgot to mention it, but Hickey has played against far superior competition, as well. I just don't see him (Ellis) as the answer. Krug would definitely be a better option, if I had to pick one or the other.

Still would prefer Boychuk though...no matter how much of a pipedream that is

Islanders invite Colton Gillies for a try out
- kasperrko

BPort depth

Isles make the playoffs this year. There i said it.


Bos
TB
Pit
NYR
NYI
Mtl
Wsh
Philly

(in no particular order)
- clark_griswold

I don't see Washington making the playoffs unless Johansen holds out for a long period of time and Detroit falls flat

Krug has shown the ability to put up a fair amount of points, I just haven't seen that from Ellis. I forgot to mention it, but Hickey has played against far superior competition, as well. I just don't see him (Ellis) as the answer. Krug would definitely be a better option, if I had to pick one or the other.

Still would prefer Boychuk though...no matter how much of a pipedream that is
- eichiefs9

same here, we need the big time crease clearing nasty defenseman with enough mobility to play a solid defensive game in his own end. This would solidify our defense and allow the kids sheltered minutes to adjust to the NHL game. as it stands right now, I don't see us as a playoff team. Bubble team likely, an injury or two could drop us down to the bottom third of the conference pretty quickly.

same here, we need the big time crease clearing nasty defenseman with enough mobility to play a solid defensive game in his own end. This would solidify our defense and allow the kids sheltered minutes to adjust to the NHL game. as it stands right now, I don't see us as a playoff team. Bubble team likely, an injury or two could drop us down to the bottom third of the conference pretty quickly.
- Isles_since_6

90 percent of the league is looking for the dman you are describing

90 percent of the league is looking for the dman you are describing
- Dan Petriw

fully understand that. which actually goes to my point in the previous blog comments about training camp invites being a waste of time - if most of the league is looking to upgrade on defense and those guys haven't been offered a contract by now, they're not worth it.

I don't expect us to add a defenseman through trade, I really don't, but without upgrading our defense we are playing with fire..despite adding better goaltending and more forward depth, doing nothing on defense except expecting kids to step up and injury prone players to stay health is asking for us to be running a defense with carkner and ness as top four players by the end of october and looking up from the bottom again.

I do not like our defense at this stage, but I also do not like what's available out there right now. We could suck on the back end another year or two while these kids get their feet wet before we see any results.

This is why I think we're a bubble team at best. I hope i'm wrong and reinhart/pokka/pulock/pelach/mayfield/donovan/czuczman etc surprise me.

This team is going to be good. I honestly have very little doubt, and I am not a Lighthouse Hockey-type relentless optimist either. This Isles roster is clearly deficient on the blue line, but defensive depth is not a good predictor of how a team performs in the regular season (the playoffs are obviously a completely different story) in the post-trap-clutch-grab era of the NHL. Forward depth is far more important to regular season success. Look at the Avs last year compared to the Yotes and Preds, or the Capitals' President's Trophies under Boudreau. Even the Penguins haven't exactly been brimming with blue line depth since their cup win but it hasn't slowed them down much during the regular seasons.

Again, come playoff time, this all goes out the window and the teams with the most Doughtys and McDonaghs win, but first things first for the Isles. They need to win games in November and December before worrying about April and May.

This team is going to be good. I honestly have very little doubt, and I am not a Lighthouse Hockey-type relentless optimist either. This Isles roster is clearly deficient on the blue line, but defensive depth is not a good predictor of how a team performs in the regular season (the playoffs are obviously a completely different story) in the post-trap-clutch-grab era of the NHL. Forward depth is far more important to regular season success. Look at the Avs last year compared to the Yotes and Preds, or the Capitals' President's Trophies under Boudreau. Even the Penguins haven't exactly been brimming with blue line depth since their cup win but it hasn't slowed them down much during the regular seasons.

Again, come playoff time, this all goes out the window and the teams with the most Doughtys and McDonaghs win, but first things first for the Isles. They need to win games in November and December before worrying about April and May.
- Snowblind

Completely agree with this. Isles have a ways to go to compete for the Cup. Making the playoffs is an entirely different matter. Based on what they have now, WITH the deficient D, they should at the very least,fight for a spot.

This team is going to be good. I honestly have very little doubt, and I am not a Lighthouse Hockey-type relentless optimist either. This Isles roster is clearly deficient on the blue line, but defensive depth is not a good predictor of how a team performs in the regular season (the playoffs are obviously a completely different story) in the post-trap-clutch-grab era of the NHL. Forward depth is far more important to regular season success. Look at the Avs last year compared to the Yotes and Preds, or the Capitals' President's Trophies under Boudreau. Even the Penguins haven't exactly been brimming with blue line depth since their cup win but it hasn't slowed them down much during the regular seasons.

Again, come playoff time, this all goes out the window and the teams with the most Doughtys and McDonaghs win, but first things first for the Isles. They need to win games in November and December before worrying about April and May.
- Snowblind

we have forward depth, but not the top line depth of the pens. Last year we were a slightly below average offensive team at the end of the year, with terrible goaltending. While we should be better offensively this year, it's a little unrealistic to go from below average to "capable of carrying a bad defense"

I don't share the same optimistic view. I would love to see them be competitive all year and to lock down a playoff spot but I have very real doubts over whether or not this happens. Our coaching staff is weak, our defense is riddled with question marks and our GM is hesitant to address weaknesses until the season's long done.

we have forward depth, but not the top line depth of the pens. Last year we were a slightly below average offensive team at the end of the year, with terrible goaltending. While we should be better offensively this year, it's a little unrealistic to go from below average to "capable of carrying a bad defense"

I don't share the same optimistic view. I would love to see them be competitive all year and to lock down a playoff spot but I have very real doubts over whether or not this happens. Our coaching staff is weak, our defense is riddled with question marks and our GM is hesitant to address weaknesses until the season's long done.
- Isles_since_6

Nelson-Tavares-Okposo
Kulemin-Grabovski-Strome
Lee- Nielsen - Grabner
Bailey - Cizikas - Clutterbuck/ Conacher

Sure they don't match the 1-2 punch of Crosby/Malkin, but every one of that top 9 is capable of scoring 20+ goals plus Clutterbuck, Conacher, and, um, Bailey are capable of contributing offensively as well. That, to me, IS a group of forwards able to carry a weak defense as long as Halak and Johnson provide credible goaltending.

Nelson-Tavares-Okposo
Kulemin-Grabovski-Strome
Lee- Nielsen - Grabner
Bailey - Cizikas - Clutterbuck/ Conacher

Sure they don't match the 1-2 punch of Crosby/Malkin, but every one of that top 9 is capable of scoring 20+ goals plus Clutterbuck, Conacher, and, um, Bailey are capable of contributing offensively as well. That, to me, IS a group of forwards able to carry a weak defense as long as Halak and Johnson provide credible goaltending.
- Snowblind

capable? sure. realistic? no chance in hell they're all going to score close to 20 goals. I don't share your optimism.

**edit** let me be clearer, I'm not saying our team is crap, I'm not saying our forwards aren't the deepest we've had on the team in...well, a damn long time. I'm just not quite willing to look at the team as a whole (especially looking at the defense) and saying this is a playoff caliber team.

We have a goaltender who should be solid in Halak, and a more capable backup than we've had in a decade behind him. We have potentially 3 solid lines that should all contribute. But we also have a head coach that looks lost when things aren't going well, a defense that seems to be made of candy glass with very very little experience. makes me quite uncomfortable.