The Islanders dropped their rare Sunday night game 4-1 to the Canucks as Evgeni Nabokov was tested early and often.
It seems that no Isles goalie can be tested early enough though as Nabokov gave up a goal 1:57 seconds into the game, on a shot by Aaron Rome. It was a bit of a defensive breakdown in front of Nabokov, and would be a sign of things to come for the Islanders.
Showing posts with label Vancouver Canucks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver Canucks. Show all posts
November 14, 2011
June 28, 2011
Islanders Acquire Rights to Christian Ehrhoff
For the longest time, fans have been hoping that this summer was the one where Garth Snow would begin to make significant moves to improve his hockey club. A funny thing happened on the way to that idea.
On a day when many of the top UFA targets were retained by their old teams, the Islanders made a statement and acquired the rights to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 4th round pick.
The move is a bold, low risk move and a perfect chance for the Islanders to try and take the next step that they need.
The Islanders were expected to scourer the free agent market for a forward, but over the last few weeks gave subtle hints that they were less than thrilled with their defense, which finished 27th in the NHL this past season in goals against. Bruno Gervais was traded to Tampa, while Jack Hillen and Radek Martinek have been cut loose and are free to sign wherever they like beginning Friday.
The Islanders now have the exclusive ability to negotiate with Ehrhoff over the next 72 hours and try to sell him on the idea of playing for the Islanders.
The sell is going to be a very tough one - make no mistake about it. This is a team that is banking on a 'Yes' vote on August 1st, which Ehrhoff will undoubtedly hear about from Snow, Charles Wang, Doug Weight, John Tavares, Michael Grabner and maybe even Mike Bossy. Make no mistake that those currently associated with the Islanders will come out in full force to bring Ehrhoff here.
Ehrhoff was offered a deal similar to the one Kevin Bieksa signed with the Canucks, which was a five year, $23 million front loaded deal worth $4.6 million per season. Both Bieksa and Ehrhoff reportedly were willing to take hometown discounts in order to stay with the Stanley Cup Finalists, but Ehrhoff decided he would take his chance at 27 to go for the gold in his prime.
Many feel that by leaving a contender to go for the money, he is not necessarily about winning immediately. If that's the case, then there is absolutely no reason to think the Islanders can't get him signed, sealed and delivered by July 1st. Then with Ehrhoff in the fold, this team automatically catapults itself into the conversation for the bottom part of the Eastern conference playoff race but not as a cup contending team just yet.
If it unravels and Ehrhoff decides this isn't for him, then it's nothing lost. The Islanders won't simply whimper and say "we tried." This move says anything but. If Ehrhoff doesn't come, then the Islanders will move right on to their next target.
Snow says he'll have a better indication Wednesday morning of where things are at with Ehrhoff, which indicates to me if something is to be consummated here, he wants it ASAP so they can hold their heads high going into Friday and point to Ehrhoff as an example of them being serious no matter what the future holds. If not, then like I said it's on to the next target be that via trade or free agency.
At the end of the day, this is a right move for a team that is in need of some excitement and buzz from around the league, and on the Island where they are trying to get their arena. The fun has just begun on this ride folks. Buckle your seat belts.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter
On a day when many of the top UFA targets were retained by their old teams, the Islanders made a statement and acquired the rights to defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a 4th round pick.
The move is a bold, low risk move and a perfect chance for the Islanders to try and take the next step that they need.
 |
| Does this become a familiar scene on the Island? Photo by C. Hessel |
The Islanders now have the exclusive ability to negotiate with Ehrhoff over the next 72 hours and try to sell him on the idea of playing for the Islanders.
The sell is going to be a very tough one - make no mistake about it. This is a team that is banking on a 'Yes' vote on August 1st, which Ehrhoff will undoubtedly hear about from Snow, Charles Wang, Doug Weight, John Tavares, Michael Grabner and maybe even Mike Bossy. Make no mistake that those currently associated with the Islanders will come out in full force to bring Ehrhoff here.
Ehrhoff was offered a deal similar to the one Kevin Bieksa signed with the Canucks, which was a five year, $23 million front loaded deal worth $4.6 million per season. Both Bieksa and Ehrhoff reportedly were willing to take hometown discounts in order to stay with the Stanley Cup Finalists, but Ehrhoff decided he would take his chance at 27 to go for the gold in his prime.
Many feel that by leaving a contender to go for the money, he is not necessarily about winning immediately. If that's the case, then there is absolutely no reason to think the Islanders can't get him signed, sealed and delivered by July 1st. Then with Ehrhoff in the fold, this team automatically catapults itself into the conversation for the bottom part of the Eastern conference playoff race but not as a cup contending team just yet.
If it unravels and Ehrhoff decides this isn't for him, then it's nothing lost. The Islanders won't simply whimper and say "we tried." This move says anything but. If Ehrhoff doesn't come, then the Islanders will move right on to their next target.
Snow says he'll have a better indication Wednesday morning of where things are at with Ehrhoff, which indicates to me if something is to be consummated here, he wants it ASAP so they can hold their heads high going into Friday and point to Ehrhoff as an example of them being serious no matter what the future holds. If not, then like I said it's on to the next target be that via trade or free agency.
At the end of the day, this is a right move for a team that is in need of some excitement and buzz from around the league, and on the Island where they are trying to get their arena. The fun has just begun on this ride folks. Buckle your seat belts.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter
January 12, 2011
Isles, Canucks Bring The Offense
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| Tanner Glass wins fight over Matt Martin. Photo by Chris Hessel |
After 65 minutes of play, the game went into a shootout where the Canucks won 2-1, giving them the game at 4-3 overall. While there were only a total of six real goals scored in this one, the amount of chances each team had was unbelievable. The Canucks enjoyed a 51-41 shot advantage for the game. It's even more astounding when you think back to how many blocked shots each team had.
Obviously, there were a number of defensive gaffes on both ends by pretty much everyone on both teams on the blueline. For every player I think of, I can think of a good and bad play they made. But it made for some good entertainment.
Kevin Poulin made some nice saves, and let up a couple of big rebounds that Vancouver was unable to convert on. A couple of the goals, however were not his fault. The Canucks passed the puck multiple times from the corner towards the front of the net, and that resulted in two goals for them. Both times, the defensemen on the ice were unable to get the job done. It is worth nothing that both times, Milan Jurcina was one of those defensemen but aside from that he had a pretty good game and laid some big hits.
The shootout did Poulin in unfortunately, as he was beaten by a spin-o-rama by Mason Raymond and a nice deke move from Ryan Kesler. He did make 48 saves, and play as well as he had to to get the job done but in the end the Canucks would walk away with the two points - which puts then 29 points ahead of the Isles, for those of you who are counting.
Blake Comeau has continued his hot play, scoring a goal and registering an assist. Lately he has been scoring by using his slap shot which has been powerful and pretty accurate. I have been getting upset with him lately when he was on a rush and trying to pass the puck off to Jon Sim. It's good to see him taking the initiative now.
John Tavares also kept up his hot streak, scoring a goal on a one-timer after a nice pass from Rob Schremp. He now has 15 goals for the year.
The Islanders should be happy they at least picked up a point in this game. More importantly, they were able to run all game with a team that is very talented and very fast. The Canucks didn't play at the top of their game, but they did have more nice chances than the Isles did and either squandered them or ran into the hot Poulin. All in all, it was a good performance.
The Islanders take on the struggling Senators on Thursday. The Sens are coming off of a 6-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. It was the sixth time this season they have lost by a shut-out. Needless to say, they will be coming into this one pretty annoyed.
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| Rakhshani after being concussed. Photo by Chris Hessel |
We don't know the status of Rakhshani yet, but I'm sure we'll hear some updates in the coming days.
Okposo Practices: Kyle Okposo practiced with the team on Wednesday, wearing an orange practice jersey along with Frans Nielsen. Okposo still seems like he's still a ways from returning to the line-up, but it's a great sign if he can start practicing with the team more often than not in the coming weeks.
Speaking of injuries, Garth Snow expects Rick DiPietro to return either Thursday or Saturday.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
October 5, 2010
Isles Claim Grabner, Waive Hilbert
The Islanders today claimed winger Michael Grabner off waivers from the Florida Panthers. As a follow up move to that, the Islanders placed Andy Hilbert on waivers with the intention of sending him to the Sound Tigers.
Grabner, who turns 23 today, comes in with a real shot to prove himself, similar to the way Rob Schremp did last season. The 14th overall pick of the 2006 entry draft had five goals and six assists in just 20 games last season for the Vancouver Canucks. He was dealt to the Panthers in the blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Keith Ballard to Vancouver on draft day. After having a sub par showing in training camp with the Panthers, he did not earn a spot and Florida had hoped that he would clear waivers and go to the AHL.
Grabner is a great skater with good speed, and has very good offensive instincts. By many accounts, defense is the weak part of his game (perhaps even non-existent). The Islanders were in dire need of offense after loosing Kyle Okposo until December and Schremp for the first three to four weeks of the season. Grabner comes to a situation that could potentially be very good for him, and for us.
Some people have concerns about picking up any players from waivers. Schremp has worked out well for the team. Many of the concerns with him were his skating, defensive play and attitude.
I have yet to see any indications about Grabner's attitude, but one concern that people seen to have is the fact that he was unable to crack a Panthers roster that many expect to be last in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are going through their own rebuilding phase, and have been trying to build a new culture there, one that began when the jettisoned Nathan Horton, one of the poster boys of attitude problems, to the Boston Bruins. Was there any issue with Grabner as far as work ethic? Not from anything I have seen or read, but it is a valid concern.
Judging from the comments made by Garth Snow, the Islanders have some big plans for their new acquisition. As I mentioned earlier, he's a guy who is speedy and likes to shoot a lot, which could possibly help to create chances if on a line with guys like Matt Moulson, John Tavares or Josh Bailey. It will be interesting to see where he will skate in practice, and if this has any bearing on Matt Martin or Nino Niederreiter.
Before last season started, Sean and I went on the air to discuss the Islanders moves. Sean expressed disappointment that they did not go get a "top six try" like some people had speculated. I argued that the move had not come yet, but would come in the form of Schremp. Two days after that, we had Schremp. In similar fashion, this past Sunday Sean thought Grabner was going to be an Islander. Here we are, two days later, and now he gets his 15 minutes of fame. Congrats.
Welcome, Michael Grabner, and Happy Birthday. Here's your chance to show the NHL what you can do. For our sake, please put up the numbers that the Hockey News predicted you to in their fantasy edition - 25 goals.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
Grabner, who turns 23 today, comes in with a real shot to prove himself, similar to the way Rob Schremp did last season. The 14th overall pick of the 2006 entry draft had five goals and six assists in just 20 games last season for the Vancouver Canucks. He was dealt to the Panthers in the blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Keith Ballard to Vancouver on draft day. After having a sub par showing in training camp with the Panthers, he did not earn a spot and Florida had hoped that he would clear waivers and go to the AHL.
Grabner is a great skater with good speed, and has very good offensive instincts. By many accounts, defense is the weak part of his game (perhaps even non-existent). The Islanders were in dire need of offense after loosing Kyle Okposo until December and Schremp for the first three to four weeks of the season. Grabner comes to a situation that could potentially be very good for him, and for us.
Some people have concerns about picking up any players from waivers. Schremp has worked out well for the team. Many of the concerns with him were his skating, defensive play and attitude.
I have yet to see any indications about Grabner's attitude, but one concern that people seen to have is the fact that he was unable to crack a Panthers roster that many expect to be last in the Eastern Conference. The Panthers are going through their own rebuilding phase, and have been trying to build a new culture there, one that began when the jettisoned Nathan Horton, one of the poster boys of attitude problems, to the Boston Bruins. Was there any issue with Grabner as far as work ethic? Not from anything I have seen or read, but it is a valid concern.
Judging from the comments made by Garth Snow, the Islanders have some big plans for their new acquisition. As I mentioned earlier, he's a guy who is speedy and likes to shoot a lot, which could possibly help to create chances if on a line with guys like Matt Moulson, John Tavares or Josh Bailey. It will be interesting to see where he will skate in practice, and if this has any bearing on Matt Martin or Nino Niederreiter.
Before last season started, Sean and I went on the air to discuss the Islanders moves. Sean expressed disappointment that they did not go get a "top six try" like some people had speculated. I argued that the move had not come yet, but would come in the form of Schremp. Two days after that, we had Schremp. In similar fashion, this past Sunday Sean thought Grabner was going to be an Islander. Here we are, two days later, and now he gets his 15 minutes of fame. Congrats.
Welcome, Michael Grabner, and Happy Birthday. Here's your chance to show the NHL what you can do. For our sake, please put up the numbers that the Hockey News predicted you to in their fantasy edition - 25 goals.
-Chris
nyifyi@gmail.com
May 30, 2008
Where we Stand; R.I.P. Luc Bourdon
The Islanders season obviously didn't go as well as we all would have hoped, but that happens. In all honesty, I felt they were a playoff team and they had some real good chemistry in the early going. As the season rolled on, their inability to score goals began to hurt them, not to mention a lack of creativity on the powerplay.
As things stand right now, those are two of the glaring needs staring the franchise right in the face. Being that nothing can be done with this until the Stanley Cup Finals are over, we'll have to wait to see how that plays itself out. To a lesser extent, another problem for the team is a lack of prospect depth. That is something that the team has addressed.
Two games before the end of the season came, the team announced the signing of Jack Hillen, 22, out of Colorado College. Hillen was thrown into the fire immediately for the two games, both against the Rangers and really played well for someone who had only just been playing with other kids his age. Weeks later the team announced the signing of Rob Hennigar, who was the CIS player of the year this past season at 25 years of age. Hennigar was a very effective playmaking winger at the University of New Brunswick. Although these guys aren't being highly touted or anything, its great to take a shot on guys like these, especially for a team like the Isles which has a farm system that's thinner than that of many other teams.
The Isles also seemed to luck out with many of their picks from the 2006 NHL draft. The first rounder from that year, Kyle Okposo left the University of Minnesota mid-season to begin his pro career. Kyle was effective in his 9 games for the Isles. The teams 2nd round pick from that year, Jesse Joensuu, was also signed to a contract and played in only one AHL game for Bridgeport, but looked pretty good in that game. The Isles also signed their 3rd rounder from that year, Robin Figren. Figren had played with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. Figren shined at the world juniors, and upon coming back to Edmonton he continued his hot play and received some nice words from his coaching staff, when they hinted that he would be signed by the Isles. Figren will spend next season back home in Sweeden before returning to North America to play with the organization in 2009-2010. Finally, the team also signed their 4th rounder, Tomas Marcinko. Marcinko played last season in the OHL, and averaged about a point per game. It is not completely clear where he will play next season, be it here or back home in Slovakia.
Again, none of those players appear to be anything special right now, but they have all had some good success where they have played. Maybe the Isles lucked out with some of those players from the later rounds. Okposo is going to become a great player in this league, and he'll have a running mate in 3 weeks when the Isles select 5th in the 2008 NHL draft. There are a number of players at the top of this year's draft who are going to be excellent, and many can step in immediately to help NHL clubs. So that should be fun to watch. In the coming days I'll give a better rundown of where I would rank the '08 draftees and talk in depth about some of the players.
The Isles have taken advantage of their ability to only sign people with the playoffs still going on. You can't go wrong with the moves they have made. As far as solving the problems of the NHL club, we'll probably start to hear more rumors and such once trading can begin again. Should be fun when that happens.
R.I.P. LUC BOURDON
As many of you have heard already, the hockey world lost one of their top prospects yesterday when Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon crashed his motorcycle into a tractor trailer near his home town. Bourdon was 21. As someone who has really followed prospects a lot, Bourdon really appealed to me and once I got to see him a bit more he quickly became one of my favorite d-man prospects in the league. Last season he got a taste of NHL life and he seemed to do well with that. He was only going to get better and would have lived up to his top 10 selection in 2005 very quickly. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I can only hope that we don't have to hear something like this again.
As things stand right now, those are two of the glaring needs staring the franchise right in the face. Being that nothing can be done with this until the Stanley Cup Finals are over, we'll have to wait to see how that plays itself out. To a lesser extent, another problem for the team is a lack of prospect depth. That is something that the team has addressed.
Two games before the end of the season came, the team announced the signing of Jack Hillen, 22, out of Colorado College. Hillen was thrown into the fire immediately for the two games, both against the Rangers and really played well for someone who had only just been playing with other kids his age. Weeks later the team announced the signing of Rob Hennigar, who was the CIS player of the year this past season at 25 years of age. Hennigar was a very effective playmaking winger at the University of New Brunswick. Although these guys aren't being highly touted or anything, its great to take a shot on guys like these, especially for a team like the Isles which has a farm system that's thinner than that of many other teams.
The Isles also seemed to luck out with many of their picks from the 2006 NHL draft. The first rounder from that year, Kyle Okposo left the University of Minnesota mid-season to begin his pro career. Kyle was effective in his 9 games for the Isles. The teams 2nd round pick from that year, Jesse Joensuu, was also signed to a contract and played in only one AHL game for Bridgeport, but looked pretty good in that game. The Isles also signed their 3rd rounder from that year, Robin Figren. Figren had played with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. Figren shined at the world juniors, and upon coming back to Edmonton he continued his hot play and received some nice words from his coaching staff, when they hinted that he would be signed by the Isles. Figren will spend next season back home in Sweeden before returning to North America to play with the organization in 2009-2010. Finally, the team also signed their 4th rounder, Tomas Marcinko. Marcinko played last season in the OHL, and averaged about a point per game. It is not completely clear where he will play next season, be it here or back home in Slovakia.
Again, none of those players appear to be anything special right now, but they have all had some good success where they have played. Maybe the Isles lucked out with some of those players from the later rounds. Okposo is going to become a great player in this league, and he'll have a running mate in 3 weeks when the Isles select 5th in the 2008 NHL draft. There are a number of players at the top of this year's draft who are going to be excellent, and many can step in immediately to help NHL clubs. So that should be fun to watch. In the coming days I'll give a better rundown of where I would rank the '08 draftees and talk in depth about some of the players.
The Isles have taken advantage of their ability to only sign people with the playoffs still going on. You can't go wrong with the moves they have made. As far as solving the problems of the NHL club, we'll probably start to hear more rumors and such once trading can begin again. Should be fun when that happens.
R.I.P. LUC BOURDON
As many of you have heard already, the hockey world lost one of their top prospects yesterday when Vancouver Canucks defenseman Luc Bourdon crashed his motorcycle into a tractor trailer near his home town. Bourdon was 21. As someone who has really followed prospects a lot, Bourdon really appealed to me and once I got to see him a bit more he quickly became one of my favorite d-man prospects in the league. Last season he got a taste of NHL life and he seemed to do well with that. He was only going to get better and would have lived up to his top 10 selection in 2005 very quickly. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I can only hope that we don't have to hear something like this again.
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