I meant that more because that could mean his brother is about to die, but yes Dobson played well last game
- eichiefs9

Your thumbs down probably confused things somewhat.

Your thumbs down probably confused things somewhat.
- Wildschwein

- eichiefs9

Damn. Gallof really let himself go.

Damn. Gallof really let himself go.
- Wildschwein

I don't think that fat (frank) ever had anything to let go

I meant that more because that could mean his brother is about to die, but yes Dobson played well last game
- eichiefs9

I knew what you meant I was being a douche. What’s going on with his bro?

Damn. Gallof really let himself go.
- Wildschwein

From what to what?

Arthur Staple @StapeAthletic
24m
Trotz said Thomas Hickey left the building this AM for personal reasons. Believe he’s headed home to Calgary.

Andrew Gross @AGrossNewsday
21m
Trotz not updating further. But would assume Thomas Hickey heading to Calgary to be with his brother, Dan.


- eichiefs9

Prayers for the Hickey family!

I knew what you meant I was being a douche. What’s going on with his bro?
- Cptmjl

Aggressive cancer. Almost certainly terminal.

I don't think that fat (frank) ever had anything to let go
- eichiefs9

That's true.

From what to what?
- Cptmjl

He went from being a douche to a larger, hairier douche.

I knew what you meant I was being a douche. What’s going on with his bro?
- Cptmjl

By Arthur Staple Mar 3, 2020

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — It was another day without a game for Thomas Hickey. Another lengthy conditioning skate, another night away from his house on Long Island, another day out of the NHL.

Hickey is 31 and in the second year of a four-year, $10 million deal. He was Lou Lamoriello’s first signing back on July 1, 2018, a day remembered on the Island for a veteran who chose to leave. But somewhere from the time Hickey fell awkwardly into the boards in Denver on Dec. 17, 2018 to now, his professional life has been turned upside down.

And it’s not even close to the most important thing happening in his life.

Back home in Calgary, Dan Hickey is fighting a losing battle with cancer. Thomas’ older brother is only 33 but has glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor that defied treatment since doctors discovered it in September. The diagnosis came right around the time Thomas found out he was going on waivers and to the AHL, after what he called “my best training camp in 12 pro seasons.”

Dan Hickey had surgery to remove a similar tumor 18 months earlier, between his 2017 marriage to Jocelyn and the September 2018 birth of their daughter, Windsor. Thomas had confided in his Islanders teammates after watching his brother undergo two surgeries on the first tumor followed by an intensive round of chemotherapy. That 2017-18 season was a trying one for Thomas, but when he made it home in April, he saw his brother was recovering well from the ordeal.

Despite the enormity of Dan’s surgeries and treatment, his life was settling into a kind of normalcy — back to work for an energy company in Calgary, raising his daughter, seeing his brother when they could during the 2018-19 Islanders season. But a routine MRI last September changed everything: The tumor had returned, more aggressively than before, and spread further around Dan’s brain. It was too extensive to attempt another surgery.

Dan went on an experimental treatment before the new year, but the glioblastoma didn’t respond. He was taken off the trial in January and returned home, surrounded by family and friends and at peace.

“We’re just trying to be behind him, lift him up and help him get stronger, be happier day by day,” said Thomas, who has been back to Calgary three times in the last six weeks. “I’ll continue to go home when I want to, when he wants me there. I’ve got that freedom and that means more to me than any other thing in hockey.”

Thomas’ frustrations over his role with the Islanders could have consumed him. He joined the Islanders prior to the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, plucked off waivers from the Kings. He’d spent four full years in the Los Angeles organization without a single call-up, the fourth overall pick from 2007 becoming an NHL afterthought at 23.

Debuting with the Islanders in 2012-13, Hickey paired with veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and was part of a ragtag crew that reached the playoffs. Hickey worked his way from those unassuming beginnings to 449 NHL games with the Islanders, 12th-most among defensemen who have played for the organization. Five of his 22 career goals are overtime winners, including his Game 3 OT winner in the 2016 first-round series against the Panthers that gave the Isles a leg up in their first postseason series victory in 23 seasons.

Even with coach Barry Trotz coming in last season, Hickey’s roster spot never seemed in doubt. He was a regular for the first 31 games, alongside Scott Mayfield or Ryan Pulock.

Then, in Game 32, Hickey suffered a concussion. The Islanders called Devon Toews up, and even when Hickey was healthy again, he was no longer a regular. He played eight more games and all four of the second-round series loss to the Hurricanes after Johnny Boychuk went down with an injury.

Coming into this season, Hickey didn’t see anything preventing him from regaining his spot on the defense.

“I had good conversations after last season. My understanding was a clean slate for everyone,” he said. Instead, after that standout camp, Lamoriello told Hickey he was being waived and, failing a claim, was going down to the AHL to start the season. Rookie Noah Dobson was too mature for juniors and ineligible for the AHL due to his age, so Hickey was the odd man out.

“Sometimes, there’s the business side of it, the organizational side of it and they felt Noah was ready,” Hickey said. “He’s done a great job and sometimes it comes down to numbers.”

Still, Hickey was the eighth defenseman and the next lefty-shot on the depth chart. Nick Leddy missed a few games in early November and Adam Pelech suffered an Achilles injury on Jan. 2; both times Hickey, the obvious fill-in choice, was hurt. He’s played just 14 games with the Sound Tigers this season.

“You look back and it could have been 7-10 days I could’ve been down here,” Hickey said. “Injuries happen, things play out as they do and no ill will towards them. But I was definitely caught off guard, I had no inclination. As a hockey player, you’ve got to understand both sides of it. So while I was surprised, it doesn’t mean anything’s over.”

He spent much of his rehab time in November with the Sound Tigers at the Islanders’ Northwell Health facility, close to his Garden City home. The Islanders teammates he’s been close with for years have been there for him as he copes with his brother’s declining health from afar.

“He knows we’re all here supporting him,” Anders Lee said. “It’s tough because you don’t see him every day, but you just feel for him, for his brother, for their whole family. He’s been on our minds for a long time now. We’re trying to be there for him and his family, be as supportive as possible. … It’s just really hard. Thomas is such a great person, Dan is a great person and all we can hope is things can turn somehow.”

A GoFundMe page set up for the Hickeys two weeks ago has nearly reached its goal of raising $250,000 to support Dan, Jocelyn and Windsor, now nearing 18 months old. Thomas may yet get a call-up to bolster the Islanders’ defensive depth down the stretch, or he may finish out the year with the Sound Tigers and have this be his first season without an NHL game since 2011-12.

“We’re a personal family, but when I talk about perspective, the most important thing is I’ve been lucky to be with this organization that’s allowed me to be with him, spend some quality time with him, go back home when I need to,” Thomas said. “This isn’t the most important thing in my life by a long shot. But it is good to have an outlet and have the support from the organization top to bottom, being in the fight behind my brother.

“Every one of my teammates, here and on the Island, has been a great asset for me in wishing him the best. That means more than playing, more than anything else.”

By Arthur Staple Mar 3, 2020

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — It was another day without a game for Thomas Hickey. Another lengthy conditioning skate, another night away from his house on Long Island, another day out of the NHL.

Hickey is 31 and in the second year of a four-year, $10 million deal. He was Lou Lamoriello’s first signing back on July 1, 2018, a day remembered on the Island for a veteran who chose to leave. But somewhere from the time Hickey fell awkwardly into the boards in Denver on Dec. 17, 2018 to now, his professional life has been turned upside down.

And it’s not even close to the most important thing happening in his life.

Back home in Calgary, Dan Hickey is fighting a losing battle with cancer. Thomas’ older brother is only 33 but has glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor that defied treatment since doctors discovered it in September. The diagnosis came right around the time Thomas found out he was going on waivers and to the AHL, after what he called “my best training camp in 12 pro seasons.”

Dan Hickey had surgery to remove a similar tumor 18 months earlier, between his 2017 marriage to Jocelyn and the September 2018 birth of their daughter, Windsor. Thomas had confided in his Islanders teammates after watching his brother undergo two surgeries on the first tumor followed by an intensive round of chemotherapy. That 2017-18 season was a trying one for Thomas, but when he made it home in April, he saw his brother was recovering well from the ordeal.

Despite the enormity of Dan’s surgeries and treatment, his life was settling into a kind of normalcy — back to work for an energy company in Calgary, raising his daughter, seeing his brother when they could during the 2018-19 Islanders season. But a routine MRI last September changed everything: The tumor had returned, more aggressively than before, and spread further around Dan’s brain. It was too extensive to attempt another surgery.

Dan went on an experimental treatment before the new year, but the glioblastoma didn’t respond. He was taken off the trial in January and returned home, surrounded by family and friends and at peace.

“We’re just trying to be behind him, lift him up and help him get stronger, be happier day by day,” said Thomas, who has been back to Calgary three times in the last six weeks. “I’ll continue to go home when I want to, when he wants me there. I’ve got that freedom and that means more to me than any other thing in hockey.”

Thomas’ frustrations over his role with the Islanders could have consumed him. He joined the Islanders prior to the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, plucked off waivers from the Kings. He’d spent four full years in the Los Angeles organization without a single call-up, the fourth overall pick from 2007 becoming an NHL afterthought at 23.

Debuting with the Islanders in 2012-13, Hickey paired with veteran defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and was part of a ragtag crew that reached the playoffs. Hickey worked his way from those unassuming beginnings to 449 NHL games with the Islanders, 12th-most among defensemen who have played for the organization. Five of his 22 career goals are overtime winners, including his Game 3 OT winner in the 2016 first-round series against the Panthers that gave the Isles a leg up in their first postseason series victory in 23 seasons.

Even with coach Barry Trotz coming in last season, Hickey’s roster spot never seemed in doubt. He was a regular for the first 31 games, alongside Scott Mayfield or Ryan Pulock.

Then, in Game 32, Hickey suffered a concussion. The Islanders called Devon Toews up, and even when Hickey was healthy again, he was no longer a regular. He played eight more games and all four of the second-round series loss to the Hurricanes after Johnny Boychuk went down with an injury.

Coming into this season, Hickey didn’t see anything preventing him from regaining his spot on the defense.

“I had good conversations after last season. My understanding was a clean slate for everyone,” he said. Instead, after that standout camp, Lamoriello told Hickey he was being waived and, failing a claim, was going down to the AHL to start the season. Rookie Noah Dobson was too mature for juniors and ineligible for the AHL due to his age, so Hickey was the odd man out.

“Sometimes, there’s the business side of it, the organizational side of it and they felt Noah was ready,” Hickey said. “He’s done a great job and sometimes it comes down to numbers.”

Still, Hickey was the eighth defenseman and the next lefty-shot on the depth chart. Nick Leddy missed a few games in early November and Adam Pelech suffered an Achilles injury on Jan. 2; both times Hickey, the obvious fill-in choice, was hurt. He’s played just 14 games with the Sound Tigers this season.

“You look back and it could have been 7-10 days I could’ve been down here,” Hickey said. “Injuries happen, things play out as they do and no ill will towards them. But I was definitely caught off guard, I had no inclination. As a hockey player, you’ve got to understand both sides of it. So while I was surprised, it doesn’t mean anything’s over.”

He spent much of his rehab time in November with the Sound Tigers at the Islanders’ Northwell Health facility, close to his Garden City home. The Islanders teammates he’s been close with for years have been there for him as he copes with his brother’s declining health from afar.

“He knows we’re all here supporting him,” Anders Lee said. “It’s tough because you don’t see him every day, but you just feel for him, for his brother, for their whole family. He’s been on our minds for a long time now. We’re trying to be there for him and his family, be as supportive as possible. … It’s just really hard. Thomas is such a great person, Dan is a great person and all we can hope is things can turn somehow.”

A GoFundMe page set up for the Hickeys two weeks ago has nearly reached its goal of raising $250,000 to support Dan, Jocelyn and Windsor, now nearing 18 months old. Thomas may yet get a call-up to bolster the Islanders’ defensive depth down the stretch, or he may finish out the year with the Sound Tigers and have this be his first season without an NHL game since 2011-12.

“We’re a personal family, but when I talk about perspective, the most important thing is I’ve been lucky to be with this organization that’s allowed me to be with him, spend some quality time with him, go back home when I need to,” Thomas said. “This isn’t the most important thing in my life by a long shot. But it is good to have an outlet and have the support from the organization top to bottom, being in the fight behind my brother.

“Every one of my teammates, here and on the Island, has been a great asset for me in wishing him the best. That means more than playing, more than anything else.”
- eichiefs9

Yeah that sucks. Have a buddy that has the same thing he was given 3 months when he was first diagnosed. Since then he has defied the odds with an experimental treatment for the last three years and his tumor has shrunk to an immeasurable level but it never stops.

Sorry this isn’t a “shake up.”

Lines at #Isles practice today:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle
Ladd-Nelson-Bailey
Beau-Pageau-Komarov
Martin-Brassard-Clutterbuck

That’s a nausea proponent.

Sorry this isn’t a “shake up.”

Lines at #Isles practice today:

Lee-Barzal-Eberle
Ladd-Nelson-Bailey
Beau-Pageau-Komarov
Martin-Brassard-Clutterbuck

That’s a nausea proponent.
- Cptmjl

Save us... Andrew Ladd?

Save us... Andrew Ladd?
- Wildschwein

I guess he deserved a promotion for hitting a few people. I love Trotz have more respect for him than any coach this team has had since Arbour who also did crap nobody agreed with at times I’ll mention as well. With that said I’m failing to see how this helps us score? We finally have a great 3rd line center well let’s handcuff him with Komarov who has been absolutely terrible. Then let’s throw Ladd on the second line because he’ll jump start the offense. Sorry, that to me is not sensible.

I’m failing to understand the reluctance to throw Bellows in there. This team doesn’t shoot. He does. He played well in his time up. He also pushes Komarov and or Ladd the (frank) out of the line up where they belong.

Even if Ladd and Komarov score a couple goals each tonight nobody could predict that not even the coach. They’ve literally done nothing to show that’s possible if only by some anomaly like game. Can it happen? Yeah sure of course it’s hockey anything can happen but the idea is to put the best possible line up out there to help you win and have the odds in your favor to help you out score the other team. I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet who thinks that’s what Trotz is doing besides him with this line up imo.

I guess he deserved a promotion for hitting a few people. I love Trotz have more respect for him than any coach this team has had since Arbour who also did crap nobody agreed with at times I’ll mention as well. With that said I’m failing to see how this helps us score? We finally have a great 3rd line center well let’s handcuff him with Komarov who has been absolutely terrible. Then let’s throw Ladd on the second line because he’ll jump start the offense. Sorry, that to me is not sensible.

I’m failing to understand the reluctance to throw Bellows in there. This team doesn’t shoot. He does. He played well in his time up. He also pushes Komarov and or Ladd the (frank) out of the line up where they belong.

Even if Ladd and Komarov score a couple goals each tonight nobody could predict that not even the coach. They’ve literally done nothing to show that’s possible if only by some anomaly like game. Can it happen? Yeah sure of course it’s hockey anything can happen but the idea is to put the best possible line up out there to help you win and have the odds in your favor to help you out score the other team. I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet who thinks that’s what Trotz is doing besides him with this line up imo.
- Cptmjl

You get the sense that management just doesn't trust youth. Which is ridiculous.

I guess he deserved a promotion for hitting a few people. I love Trotz have more respect for him than any coach this team has had since Arbour who also did crap nobody agreed with at times I’ll mention as well. With that said I’m failing to see how this helps us score? We finally have a great 3rd line center well let’s handcuff him with Komarov who has been absolutely terrible. Then let’s throw Ladd on the second line because he’ll jump start the offense. Sorry, that to me is not sensible.

I’m failing to understand the reluctance to throw Bellows in there. This team doesn’t shoot. He does. He played well in his time up. He also pushes Komarov and or Ladd the (frank) out of the line up where they belong.

Even if Ladd and Komarov score a couple goals each tonight nobody could predict that not even the coach. They’ve literally done nothing to show that’s possible if only by some anomaly like game. Can it happen? Yeah sure of course it’s hockey anything can happen but the idea is to put the best possible line up out there to help you win and have the odds in your favor to help you out score the other team. I don’t think there’s anyone on the planet who thinks that’s what Trotz is doing besides him with this line up imo.
- Cptmjl

I agree Cpt. These lineups do not make sense and are not helping things. This has not been only a couple of games slump. The Isles have not been good for a while now.

You get the sense that management just doesn't trust youth. Which is ridiculous.
- Wildschwein

It's been like this long before Lou and Barry. Plenty of other teams seem to have no trouble calling up young players. No idea why the Isles bother with a minor league team when they cannot seem to trust many players in Bridge.

Leafs are set for years to come.
- RogerRoeper

Have been since 1967

You get the sense that management just doesn't trust youth. Which is ridiculous.
- Wildschwein

They’ve pretty much come out and said exactly that. Beating the usual old man Lou mantra but that’s not going to work in today’s NHL.

They’ve pretty much come out and said exactly that. Beating the usual old man Lou mantra but that’s not going to work in today’s NHL.
- Cptmjl

You get the sense Lou and Barry are get off my lawn guys.

Maybe they see pretty much all young players like JHS?

You get the sense Lou and Barry are get off my lawn guys.

Maybe they see pretty much all young players like JHS?
- ses111

I’m not sure I’m not disputing their success I just don’t think some of our veterans are good enough consistently for these guys to work with. Hopefully they snap out of it tonight but I don’t get Bellows not being in the lineup over at least four players debatable eight😂

You get the sense that management just doesn't trust youth. Which is ridiculous.
- Wildschwein

Have you looked at Lou's history with not waning to play younger players?

Have you looked at Lou's history with not waning to play younger players?
- JimmyP

I’m not staying up for this one which means they’ll win 6-2. Both Komarov and Ladd with three each. You’re welcome.

I’m not sure I’m not disputing their success I just don’t think some of our veterans are good enough consistently for these guys to work with. Hopefully they snap out of it tonight but I don’t get Bellows not being in the lineup over at least four players debatable eight😂
- Cptmjl

The Isles organization as a whole need to do better at drafting and developing young players. So far Lou and Barry seem to have very little patience for most young players. Bellows and Otto have yet to get a real shot. Aho could not even get into a game before Greene was added. We are not talking 18 year old's just drafted.