Let's Talk about Islanders Awards
by Dominik on Apr 1, 2010 3:03 PM EDT
in New York Islanders Report Cards
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PrintQuick and dirty: Last year, back when Mirtle ran From the Rink and before he was sentenced to watch the Maple Leafs day in and day out, the SBN hockey blog managers pooled our team nominees for the major end-of-season awards. Here were my submissions for 2008-09, along with the rationale and some extra "bonus" awards.
We're doing a variation of this again for 2009-10. I like the 30-team look because it's a quick snapshot of what at least one theoretically informed fan thinks is worth watching on their team. Often the nominees are obvious, but sometimes you stumble upon a gem you didn't know (for example, a non-Isles-fan last season might have discovered why Frans Nielsen is worth watching way before it became cool).
But this is where you come in: I'm not taking a direct poll (creating the options for each one would be a logistical pain), but I do want to hear your Islanders nominees for Calder, Selke, Hart, Norris, Vezina -- and any other award (real or fictional) that you want to put forth. Some of the team nominees will be pretty obvious (Vezina), but some not.
Both sincere and humorous (Who is this season's Yashin Memorial Scapegoat recipient?) responses are encouraged. For the serious ones, make a case if it's an unconventional pick (MacDonald for Calder?). I'll submit my nominees in a couple of days, potentially influenced by the responses here.
For lurkers, this is a good chance to jump in and alter the conversation. For everyone, just have fun with it.
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
My Candidates for End of the Year Awards
Calder: John Tavares/Matt Moulson (not sure of eligibility)
Selke: Richard Park
Hart: Dwayne Roloson
Norris: Mark Streit
Vezina: Dwayne Roloson
Most Improved Player: Josh Bailey or Blake Comeau (tied in my opinion)
Memorial Yashin Scapegoat Award: Jeff “Why is he still getting a shot at this point?” Tambellini
Nystrom Award (Best Embodiment of a NY Islander): Kyle Okposo
Best Body Checker under 5’9": Freddy “The Fourth” Meyer
Biggest Sean Avery Wannabee: Jon Sim (hey, he’s gotta win something at some point…)
Worst Use of Dynasty Islander’s Last Name: Trevor “Facewash” Gillies
Good Soldier Award: Brendan Witt (almost forgot about him didn’t you?)
I’ll think of more later. Use that to get yourselves started.
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Just Remembered One
Next Biggest Waste of Potential Who’s Not Jeff Tambelini: Sean “Pinball Wizard” Bergenheim
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Goal of the Year Award (League-wide): Rob Schremp Hockey
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Now that I think about that one I think Bruno and Bergie can share this one.
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know
I tend to think Bruno is playing to his potential.
But great nominees, sir. And nice additional award names. We need to compile all of them.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
I particularly like the “Worst Use of a Dynasty Islander’s Last Name”
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
So what’s the name? The Steve and Jeff Tambellini Award? The Justin Bourne Award?
We're doomed. Doomed!
by David Hanssen on Apr 1, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Calder – Isles – Tavares, with RSH 2nd and MacDonald 3rd; League – Myers, Howard 2nd, Rask 3rd
Vezina – Isles – Roloson; League – Miller
Hart – Isles – KO; League – Henrik Sedin, Just because Ovechkin or Crosby will win it every other year and Sedin give voters an excuse not to vote for them.
Selke – Isles – Franz; League – Franz (Although he won’t get it), someone like Lehtonen or Datsyuk gets it purely on reputation and not on performance
Norris – Isles – Streit, Hillen, Sutton and MacDonald tied for 2nd; League – Green, but like the Selke someone wins it purely on rep (Lidstrom) when everyone knows Green should win.
Nystrom – KO
Yashin – Witt and his AHL exile
Most Improved – Andy MacDonald, went from playing in the ECHL two years ago to a potential Top 4 Defenseman.
Avery Douche of the Year – Dion “Sloppy Seconds” Phaneuf for hiding behind his teammates and refusing to face the music for his hit on KO.
We're doomed. Doomed!
I definitely agree with the “Avery Douche of the Year” Award. I can’t believe I forgot about that, even momentarily.
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by IslesOfficial on Apr 1, 2010 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
The thing that sealed it was he even hid behind Jamie fucking Lundmark for Christ’s sake! He had his new teammates, guys that had absolutely nothing to do with the original incident, try and fight his fights.
We're doomed. Doomed!
by David Hanssen on Apr 1, 2010 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I see his tombstone now
he hid behind Jamie fucking Lundmark for Christ’s sake!
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
It takes a special type of douche to replace Avery as the perennial winner, I thought it would be impossible for him to ever lose it, but Dion qualfies. To make it worse, I may have the first gulity pangs of regret for feeling a tinge of respect for Avery for having called Phaneuf out in the first place.
To make it worse, I may have the first gulity pangs of regret for feeling a tinge of respect for Avery for having called Phaneuf out in the first place.
Unholy, yet so true.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
Selke
I agree what you said about the Selke Trophy. It used to go to best defensive forward, now it goes to the all-star player who is a decent back-checker. Datsyuk is a great two-way forward but is he is really the absolute best defensive forward, period?
New One: The Jeff Tambellini Vanishing Young Player Award: Joel Rechlicz
We're doomed. Doomed!
by David Hanssen on Apr 2, 2010 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Selke: Frans Nielson
Calder: Tavares (who else could possibly win this?)
Hart: KO
Norris: Andy Mac baby! If only he could have started the season with us the way the way he came in…
Vezina: you mean there was another goalie on the Isles roster other than Roloson?
Nystrom: KO because of all the line juggling at the beginning of the season
Brett Lindros Memorial: (ability to only play half a season): Martinek or DP that one is a toss up
Derek King Award (please don’t make me like you award): Jon Sim
Billy Smith Award (anti-Lady Bing): Trevor Gillies (if only he had half of the talent)
After all the crap that went down at the beginning of the year with Patrick Kane you really have to hand it to him for keeping his mouth shut and getting back to hockey. He was able to put all the cabbie crap behind him even with Avery yapping at him about it.
Please let Roloson and Biron be the guest announcers on some Chicago playoff broadcasts...please hockey Gods!
For the Brett Lindros Memorial isn’t DP disqualified… I mean it’s not like he’s played a half a season.
by IDCWhoYouLike on Apr 2, 2010 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
That would seem to make him ineligible.
And Radek Martinek’s agent called complaining about overlooking him for both the name and the recipient of that award.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
And the Oscar goes to...
OK, maybe no oscars, but here is my choice for the awards for 2009-10.
Hart: Dwayne Roloson. He has been the difference most nights, and has bailed out the youngsters in front of him on many occasions.
Vezina: Dwayne Roloson. He has the best goaltender stats, but was clearly the #1 all year, and the overall best player for the Isles.
Norris: Mark Streit. I love the way AMac has played, but is he as good without Streit eating up minutes in front of him? Probably not. I think Mark has done a fantastic job, and should be worthy of leaguewide recognition soon. Not to mention he is a +1, playing over 25 minutes a night on this team. Enough said.
Selke: Franz Neilsen. I don’t have the Corsi breakdown, but he’s a +6 on this team, and, if I’m not mistaken, draws the best from the other team. Very impressive.
Calder: John Tavares. He had a rough spot, but his overall game has improved astronomically lately. He is playing better defense (OK, he’s playing defense at all, which is an improvement), he is skating hard, he is taking the body…A great improvement. I look forward to seeing his improvement next season.
Nystrom: Matt Moulsen. The Silent Assassin. He has broken through this year in a big way, and I look forward to him doing well for us for a long time. Plays tough, scores goals from the tough spots, and is a +1, which must mean he plays a little defense.
Avery Douche of the Year Award: Sean Avery. A no-brainer, he’s a douche, always has been a douche, always will be a douche. Hell, the award is named for him, so why not?
Oscar for best performance in a dramatic role: Poor Ricky DiPietro. The guy is a drama magnet, and the way the team treats his injury updates, it makes us fans crazy. Through no fault of his own(I’m sure he doesn’t want to be hurt), he wins this illustrious award.
Dun Dun Dun Dun
Norris Memorial Trophy – Hands down Streit. Pick which part of his game is worth the award, they all are; He stays healthy, puts up points, and plays near 30 minutes per game on a blueline that’s more likely to get struck by lightning than last five straight games without injury.
Selke Trophy – Frans Nielsen. This was a fairly close one between Park and Frans for me, and while many might not feel that way, I think the numbers are comparable. Both players kill penalties, both have a 50.0% + faceoff percentage, and chipped in a short hander. However, I think the big difference is the somewhat obscure +/- ratings and the fact that you can’t make Nielsen commit a penalty if you paid him to do it. The Danish centerman is +12 in games the Isles have won, and -6 in losses (Park was a modest +4 in wins, and a fairly rough -16 in losses). He’s a daft skater than can create chances when nobody pays attention to him, and a threat to get into the offensive zone even shorthanded. What more can you want from a good defensive forward than a skater with a really good head on his shoulders? We have that in Frans Nielsen.
Hart Memorial Trophy – Kyle Okposo. Great in the offensive zone and on the forecheck, great in the defensive zone and the backcheck, great at moving the puck up ice, and great at clearing it out of the defensive zone. Great heart, great head, great energy and poise. Fun to watch, polarizing, mesmerizing even? Kyle Okposo was born to be an exciting hockey player with excellent talent, the numbers might not be up to par by league standards, but with a little more talent everyone is going to revere this player.
Vezina Trophy – Roloson. In a tough situation he has outplayed expectations and warded off two goaltenders to hold on to that #1 job. In a sometimes thankless environment, the guy can take all the shelling in the world (58 saves huh?) and come back the next night for more. Rolo is more than what the Vezina entails, as he is not only an excellent netminder and a huge upgrade from recent journeymen, but he is to the Isles what Ryan Miller is to the Buffalo Sabres.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – Weight/Streit/Sutton. I think these three vets have conducted themselves both on and off the ice in a professional and superbly fine sportsmanship manner that deserves this award. You don’t hear people complaining about these players because they’re the cream of the NHL good guys, and a guy like Sutton especially makes it feel nice to know he was an Islander. Often overlooked, I think these are the guys that should be looked upon to see how the game really is played.
Calder Memorial Trophy – Believe Moulson is ineligible, so this comes down to Schremp or Tavares, and in reality Tavares has earned it. He has taken his licks and lumps, and battled through some dry spells during the year, but I haven’t seen him crack. Others would have taken a few games when the going got rough, but JT kept going. He’s a playmaker, and gets the goals in front of the net because he’s sharp like a tack. He won’t win the Calder for the league, but he definitely merits the award on this time.
Masterson Memorial Trophy – Didn’t think I’d forget Moulson did you? This might be the embodiment of perseverance. At 26 years old, Mighty Matt Moulson has won his way onto the the Islanders and never looked back. Rob Schremp would be a close #2 for this award, as both players have made incredible impressions on the coaches and fans in their first (almost full) seasons.
Pearson Award – Kyle Okposo once again.
“Raise The Parking Rates”-Pension Plan Award – Radek Martinek. Oh the things that could be said . . . . Like, I hope Wang created an injury trust fund when they drafted this guy, or … Imagine what would happen if he was in a real dangerous job, like demolition!
Best Way to Augment Raising Parking Prices Award – Islanders third period play (team award)! Holy 23 Overtime Games! 10 at home! A very nice way to let the fans get an extra 5 minutes for their 60 minute tickey, with a side of pulminary errosion for good measure.
Geico’s So Easy A Guy Looking Like A Caveman Could Do It Award – Jon Sim. Think about it.
Make a 8 to 15 Playoff Play-in tourney suggestion Award – Wang, via Snow. Even though the team has done everything it can to shoot itself in the foot to take themselves out of this playoff race multiple times in a pathetic Eastern Conference “honey I’m too tired tonight” kind of limp to the finish.
Where’s Chris Simon When You Need Him? Award – Trevor Gillies. Love the guy, but Simon would have speared Sean Avery if he was sitting third row with a busload of nuns on each side of him, just wouldn’t matter at that point.
Do You Remember Brett Lindros? Award – Jeff Tambellini. Because much like Eric’s younger brother, your goals/plays were forgettable.
I’ll try to brainstorm more, kind of ran out of gas.
Islanders in 3D? At least we won't have to worry about them playing flat in the third!
Calder- Nikita Filatov
Norris- Wade Redden
Hart- Dion Phanuef
Vezina- Chris Osgood
Selke- Illya Kovalchuk
Lady Bing- Sean Avery
In all seriousness, I think Nielsen deserves to garner votes for this years Selke trophy, all though in recent years they like to give this award to the star who displays displays above average defensive awareness, as opposed to the best defensive forward, period. I think Tavares should come third in calder voting, behind Tyler Myers then Matt Duchene. Also I think Streit deserves to get some votes for Norris, if his point totals were a little but higher he could of counted on some third and fourth place votes. Bailey and Nielsen both played lady bing approved hockey this year.
Rob Schremp should be given all awards
by Judgegavel on Apr 1, 2010 7:51 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
This.
I miss Rob Schremp Hockey.
Perhaps today IS a good day to die.
- Klingon proverb
by Thomas Wachtel on Apr 1, 2010 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Hart: Matt Moulson. Not the most obvious choice, I know. But I’d just not be fully happy with picking Okposo or Roloson for example. Okposo’s still been very good of course and at around New Year I couldn’t have imagined not to pick him for this award. But he should have been better overall, I feel. Yes, he might have been unlucky in front of the net most of the times, but the points total is disappointing anyawy. Even more so the +/- rating (he’s at a team’s worst -19 currently).
Moulson might not be the best or most talented player on this team and might not become the biggest star of this franchise in the future, but he’s been consistent and very valueable indeed. His numbers look really good and he’s scored so many important goals, particularly early in games and that’s when this year’s Isles needed to be good and score to be competitive at all. I would not want to imagine where the Islanders would have been in a number of those games and how their EV ratio would look without Moulson.
Vezina: Dwayne Roloson. No doubt. He’s been very good mostly, but hasn’t handled the 1a/1b situations good enough to get the Hart as well. Neither with Biron early on nor with DP in the middle of the season.
Norris: Mark Streit. No doubt. Not exactly Hart material (or a league-wide Norris consideration) this season because of the rather slow start and too many average months. But he’s played a great 2nd half.
Selke: Frans Nielsen. No doubt whatsoever.
Calder: Rob Schremp. That’s a similar story to my choice for the Hart. Tavares would be a good choice, too, but here I just love consistency or consistent development, as that is one of the hardest things to achieve for a rookie. And JT’s been too much of a mystery to me there to get an award this season. Schremp on the other hand has been fantastic in 2010. Once he got to play regularly, he put up fantastic numbers despite still playing with average line mates most of the time. And whereas I still didn’t like everything about JT’s game even during his best weeks, I loved pretty much everything Rob Schremp did from New Year until the injury. And Schremp’s got Blake Comeau going.
C’mon Blue Trophy: Doug Weight. What a great person. And what a funny broadcast that was.
I mostly agree except with your calder choice. I don’t know what’s such a mystery about Tavares. As of last nights game he is our teams leading scorer and there’s not much more you can ask of a 19 year old rookie. Schremp has been a nice suprise this season but I just don’t think he has the impact of Tavares. Some fans were expecting more from JT because of all the hype that comes with being a first overall pick but if you can’t be happy with what he’s done this season I think your expectations were to high.
both have been great...
It’s so hard to compare JT and Rob Schremp, I think. There’s so many differences just in terms of where they came from and how their seasons have unfolded. After all, I like both of them and kind of feel bad to talk a bit more critically about either of them. But how to pick the Calder winner otherwise..?
Regarding the expectations, I try to not take those into account too much and honestly didn’t have any concrete ones for either of them anyway. So, I’m fine with JT getting around 50 points, that’s very good for a rookie in almost any case. By the way, my impressions and choices are much more based on what I’ve felt and seen on the ice from watching the games throughout the season than on what the stats tell. But numbers might help to describe the feelings. So, here are a few stats which might tell what I’ve felt.
JT’s points total is good, no doubt, but it’s not outstanding considering how he got there. Honestly, I think he’s even overachieved slightly pointwise this season. I know he hit so many posts and had a bunch of very unlucky games there, but particularly early on, he got too many points for what his all-around game was. Then he had that pretty long very unproductive time, when he didn’t do anything right, it seemed. And although everyone’s stats are boosted by PP production, JT has had to rely quite a lot on that. Actually, his EV PTS/60 is 4th worst among forwards, ahead of just Joensuu, Rechlicz and Martin, who obviously are tough to count in here at all. Despite playing against quite good competition mostly, that’s disappointing. His PP numbers look good, but again not incredibly good. And then he leads the team in giveaways.
But as said, it’s not just the numbers. I missed other things, too. The one goal against Boston when he came in off the right side and fired it top-shelf was fantastic. But I missed other similar moments. I know he’s not supposed to be the player who dominates the game with every shift, but too often I had the feeling the opposition doesn’t need to particularly careful with JT.
Some of these things might be minor and nothing of that means JT has been disappointing or will have a disappointing career. But his rookie season was such that other guys could make a point for this award, too. Looking at it from Schremp’s perspective, one might say the same, of course. Mainly as Schremp played only 44 games, but also because he didn’t play against very tough competition (albeit with less talented line mates). And these are important points indeed. But other than that I just liked pretty much everything about Schremp’s game (once he was used regularly). More often than JT – at EV as well as on the PP – he was able to dominate the game with every shift and therefore even had kind of the bigger impact, I felt. And he did that without the PP units or of course also the EV lines being constructed around him. That’s pretty impressive, but I of course understand those who think 44 games played might not make him the best choice after all.
Fair enough. I get a bit defensive of JT because prior to the season I heard a lot of people saying that they expected him to get 30-40 goals, and based on his stats in junior it was a reasonable guess. But having had seen him play a few games in OHL I saw his flaws, namely lack of speed, size and strength; and while I could see the potential I expected him to struggle this year and honestly had my fingers crossed that he would score 10+. I really expected that his transition from junior would be rougher then its even been. I was happy to see him come out the gate scoring but as you mentioned some of those goals were luck and when we saw him start to struggle mid-season part of was he wasn’t getting those lucky bounces and his game was starting to catch up with him. I just watched the Ottawa game where he got another two points and I think the JT we have seen post Olympics is a totally different player then he was before, even when he was scoring goals early. In a different post I mentioned what has impressed me the most is his playmaking. John has adjusted his game and is starting to find what works at the NHL level. You make fair points about your choice of Schremp over Tavares and believe me I have been very impressed by Robbie. As you said you can’t really compare the two. Robbie has three years of AHL experience under his belt. It makes sense that he is the better all around player right now. John’s flaws are still very apparent, but besides his skating they are all fixable. It will take time but his game will continue to progress. And he will continue to learn to find ways to make up for lack of speed. Anyway, you definitely make a great argument for Schremp and I agree that in many ways his game this season was better than JTs.
I agree this recent Tavares is much closer to the one we’ll see in the future. The expectations from some were pretty high - I think Crosby and Ovechkin spoiled people, even if people weren’t expecting Crosby or Ovechkin-like seasons. The reality is most normal #1s have LOTS of ups and downs in their first season, and JT’s ups and downs have just been consolidated into two long stretches of each.
I remain very happy with their choice and fortune to land him. From head to hands (and hopefully one day to legs, too), he’s going to be an elite player.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
The list of first or second overall picks who struggled as rookies is much bigger than the ones who hit the ground running. Just look at Pierre Turgeon. I think what seperates the Turgeons and Tavares’ from the Crosbys and Ovechkins is strength and size. JT is a boy playing against men. The fact that he is scoring at all is an achievment in my book. Like I said earlier I had serious concerns he would break 15 goals this year. I think his long goal drought mid-season helped him more than it hurt him. It may have dented his confidence but he really had to learn to be more of a complete player. He’s very far off from being ‘well-rounded’ but has looked at least passable defensivly of late.
Oh Dom, as far his ‘legs’, I think for the most part that is one of those things you can’t teach and only seem to be able to marginally improve. So while I don’t see him becoming much faster in the years ahead its still something he will learn to work around. Speed doesn’t always equal goals and there have been hundreds of players who skated like the wind but couldn’t find the back of the net if there lives depended on it.
as far his ‘legs’, I think for the most part that is one of those things you can’t teach and only seem to be able to marginally improve
Speed when skating is purely building up the strength and learning to do it right. It most certainly can be taught and there are plenty of examples of guys improving their skating significantly. Now if youre talking about decision making and hoxckey sense, those things are a lot harder to take lessons in.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Apr 3, 2010 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Power skating clinics and the such have improved some players a bit. I would disagree (IMO) that it makes ‘significant’ improvements, but I hope I am wrong as it would be great to see someone like Tavares develop some real speed in his stride. With the skills and sense he already has, if he became a fast skater, he’d be pretty unstoppable. I just think that to a degree skating speed is like foot speed in sports like soccer or football. You can learn techniques to maximize your stride and you can strengthen the muscles necessary for producing speed but I think for the most part it is a natural ability that after a certain age isn’t going to significantly improve.
And let me clarify I am talking about NHL players. You are absolutely right that significant improvements can be made learning to skate the right way. I just think someone like John Tavares, who has been tagged his whole career as a slow skater, would have done everything already to try to improve his skating as much as possible. I just wonder what can be done that hasn’t already been tried by the time a player reaches the NHL. I realize he definitely isn’t fully developed physically and his skating will improve with improved strength. I’m just not expecting huge improvements there. He’ll never be a Pavel Bure and will always have to compensate for lack of speed. I don’t think at the end of the day this is going to hold him back from producing offensively.
Oh Dom, as far his ‘legs’, I think for the most part that is one of those things you can’t teach and only seem to be able to marginally improve.
I should have clarified: I’m referring to his leg strength, not his speed. I don’t have much hope for increasing speed — the margin of improvement at this level is very small.
But in terms of his ability to fend off checks and stay on his feet, I assume a summer spent focused on NHL conditioning rather than one dealing with the whirlwind of transitioning from junior to the draft circus to the new franchise will do him good.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
It will do Tavares a lot of good to have the offseason to focus on improving his strength and conditioning. I’d like to compare Tavares to Joe Thornton in that respect. As Thornton matured, and he improved on his conditioning, his play and statistics also improved. I see the same happening with Tavares.
Cool, thanks. I had never seen him play in OHL and that was probably why I didn’t have any expectations really. Looking at your thoughts and judging from what I’ve seen meanwhile, your expectations probably were reasonable indeed – thanks for sharing. But looking at how JT’s been used this season and what kind of support he’s had, he almost couldn’t do other than score 10+, I feel. Again, that’s not to tell JT has been a disappointment, but there are some things one might want to consider. To those already mentioned, we can probably add the numbers of an interesting piece about icing leaders over at BehindTheNet.
JT has taken 81 percent of all Islanders’ offensive zone faceoffs following an icing by the opposition. Leaving Gillies aside, he also generally leads the team in offensive zone starts. These two little things obviously didn’t boost JT’s points total by a whole lot, but it shows that they tried to help him where possible. Rightly so, of course. But if some mention how tough a year it’s been for JT in terms of pressure as #1 pick, well, it is tough, but he’s had a lot of support, also to some extent not every rookie gets. Support from his team mates, as well, of course. Gordon has just said that in an interview, too, how his line mates did all the work for him early on (and how it’s changed with JT getting stronger).
The fact that JT needed the line mates to support him a lot, or then him having been unable to support them, might also explain the 59 percent of defensive faceoffs taken by JT after own icings – which of course means JT’s line has been responsible for 59 percent of the icings. JT has played against tough competition, too, but definitely not nearly in as tough situations as Nielsen and Park, who both have taken clearly more defensive zone draws. Therefore you wouldn’t expect JT’s line to ice the puck as much. Of course, that was not all JT’s fault, the whole line obviously got pinned in their own end and had to ice the puck that often. And in theory, it even could be one or several of his line mates to have struggled. But here it probably had to do quite a bit with JT indeed – with his all-around game, with his decisions with the puck (giveaways), etc.
Regarding his improvement since the Olympics, well, there’s no doubt he has made progress and is playing much, much better than during the big slump in the middle. But not sure if the improvement might not be overrated a bit, particularly compared to January/February. I really can’t tell. I like some things a lot, too, but then I also still believe to see some things which could need quite a bit longer to get fixed.
Great points. I appreciate the deeper analysis. I would agree that he has been helped along a little in offensive production by playing time, offensive zone faceoffs, linemate etc. When I was worried he wouldn’t crack ten goals, it was before the season started and I thought he would be used in a more limited role, especially in the beginning of the season.
Figure the end of the season is as good as any to join the conversation, but I have certainly enjoyed your work all season, Dom. While the support above for Andy Mac is well warranted, I just don’t feel there’s been enough love so far for Jack. Can’t we all just agree on fair distribution? Give Roli the Vezina (although we all know he is also the MVP this year) then we can give Streit a merited Hart and then Hill can get the Norris. And as far as the Masterson, to me perservation is the exact word I’d use to describe the way Blake has dug himself out of the periennel dog house and become an absolute stud lately. Here’s wishing the worst commish in the history of sports lets Hill and KO lead Team USA in 2014!!
Welcome!
Thanks for joining.
It does seem like Hillen deserves some love in all this. Nice call on Comeau as Masterton; I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess he’s ultimately just a young forward going through what so many have gone through, but hats off to him for sticking with it through thick and thin, demotion and scratch.
Lighthouse Hockey: What's wrong with lotteries? I've been in lots of lotteries.
Everyone else has great reasons to give the real awards to the right people, and there’s nothing I can add. So I’m just going for the All 90s Team Memorial Awards
Ziggy Palffy Strongest Mullet Award – Witt
Scott LaChance was an All Star!?!?!? Award – Gervais
Rich Pilon is still on the team Award – Martinek
Cairns Big Orange Cone Award – Gillies
Hurray He’s Not Dalgarno V2.0 – Tavares
Kenny Jonsson Patience Award – Streit
Mariusz Who Award – Moulson
Sharing Bertuzzi’s Doghouse Award – Tambelleni
Mark Lawrence Once had 30 Points Award – Richard Park
Glenn Healy Saving the whole team Award – Rollie
Finally, I couldn’t think of a 90s Islander for this one, so lets just give it a long name
Greatest Celebratory Photo after putting the last Knife into the Rangers – Okposo
I probably had too much fun picking on our defense, but it was a bit easier. I’m sure Rollie picks on them too. I can only imagine “Hey guys, can I ever let up a rebound and not have to make a miracle save to make sure they don’t score?”
Come on Isles! 11-0-0 or 10-0-1 I'm not picky! Playoffs!
by Mark D on Apr 3, 2010 11:21 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Strongest Mullet Award – Witt
When Witters hair got long he wore his hair all one length-that is not a mullet.
Not to nitpick your humor, it is a just a pet peeve of mine when people refer to men with long hair as having mullets when they arent.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Apr 5, 2010 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions
OK Ill give it a shot:
Calder: JT (RSH is runner up because Mighty Matt was not eligible)
Art Ross: JT
Rocket Richard: JT
Selke: Fransie
Vezina: Roloson
Norris: Mark Streit
Hart: Roloson
Pearson Award – Roloson
Lady Byng: Doug Weight (HM to Mark Streit , practically a tie)
Masterson: Mark Streit (HM to Doug Weight, practically a tie)
Messier Leadership Award: Mark Streit
Fan Favorite Award: Kyle Okposo
Nystrom Award: Trent Hunter
The Webb Award (AKA most annoying to opposing team): Jon Sim
Most Improved: Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau, Jack Hillen, too many are tied…
The Connolly Award (AKA why cant you stay healthy?) : Radek Martinek, Rick DiPietro, HM to Doug Weight
The “OMG I need to blame someone” Scapegoat Award: Bruno Gervais (edging out Sim, who was the unquestioned frontrunner back when the D was healthier)
The “need to defend him” Fanlove Award: Bergie
Best use of his size: FMIV
Best Fighter: Fu (with an HM to Tim, who many fans forget was top 10 in fights won in the whole NHL last season and who couldnt fight for most of this season but still made himself useful)
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
I missed this one earlier
Calder- JT league- Myers
Vezina- Roloson league-Bryzgalov
Selke- Neilsen league- H Sedin
Hart- Moulson H Sedin
Norris- Streit League- Green
Most improved- Josh Bailey league Stamkos
Biggest surpirse- Moulson league- H Sedin
Comeback player- Freddie Meyers, league Brad Richards
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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.
