New York Islanders Select John Tavares #1 in NHL Draft; Thousands Step Back from Ledge
by Dominik on Jun 26, 2009 7:35 PM EDT
in Roster Manoeuvres in the Dark
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PrintWhew! Turns out we don't need this.
In the end, it was much ado about nothing. There was no reason for the vast swath of John Tavares-coveting fans to panic. No need to believe the talking heads in Canada, nor the "sources" in Colorado. Garth Snow played us all, he played us good -- better than Tavares' agent has seen in 20 years of teen market player drafts. Better, frankly, than I've ever seen in a lifetime of sports. He played us, for the benefit of hype both for his franchise and the league -- although one suspects he didn't mind toying with fellow GMs such as the one who rhymes with Ryan Jerk.
This is the moment fans have been anticipating -- depending on their perspective and degree of fatalism -- since April's lottery, or December's swoon, or October's Rick DiPietro injury, or last summer's committment -- finally -- to the rebuild. This is the moment, everyone outside of Short Island Smurf (Rags) fans could agree, Islanders fans deserve. It's been a while since good news like this -- outside of the lottery itself. Amen.
I'm exhausted, yet happy. Impressed by Snow's poker face, much as it caused anxiety for us all.
That's all I got for now. Feel free to weigh in here, but go here for this blog's 1st-round open thread (there's another pick, you know). There's a whole rest of the draft to cover. More coverage tonight and through the weekend...
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Big mistake
Hedman was the right choice….hope I am wrong but I think stupid fan pressure gave way to bad picks….
Can Travares score 50 goals tomorrow, I don´t think so or whether he can do so in the NHL…..think people 6 foot 6 grounding post lost again!!!!!!!
Þorsteinn Halldórsson
by steinith@internet.is on Jun 26, 2009 8:01 PM EDT reply actions
Big mistake to go with the sniper on a team that needs goal scoring? We’ll see.
The one thing I don’t think happened was fan pressure. Rather, Snow allowed fan pressure to build because he knew his man was the one they wanted.
Tavares should be a very good blueliner some day. Tavares likely becomes the Islanders best scorer next year.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
by Dominik on Jun 26, 2009 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I have doubts that a Dman is the right way to go right now.
Recall Kenny Jonson getting run from behind every five minutes? The concussions?
It would look a lot like that.
Settle the offense so you D isn’t chasing the puck every five minutes and getting run. The Tavares picj probably extended Witt’s career.
Huzzah!
Does anyone remember the last time the Isles took someone that the fans wanted? Probably Luongo.
If you have a Franchise/All-Star goalie as the Isles technically do, you can lean on him to help the defense. Plus if the Isles have another bad year (ala Pittsburgh or Chicago) then they can grab a dman early then.
Plus, we have Streit. That’s a great #1 to build on. I love me a giant cornerstone D, but defense is ultimately a collaborative effort. Sniping is a freaking individual art.
Lighthouse Hockey: Side effects may include Weight gain and frequent game loss.
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
