Nostra-who? Revisiting LHH's 2010-2011 preseason predictions
by Keith Quinn on Sep 3, 2011 4:10 PM EDT
in Big Picture Musings
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[Today we look back at JPinVA's "Drop and Give Me Three: Positive, Negative and Surprising" from August 31, 2010]
There was a great deal of fan hope for the NY Islanders during training camp prior to the 2010-2011 season. Garth Snow had said that the playoffs were the goal after a 15 point improvement in the standings, Rick DiPietro was healthier than he'd been in years, Doug Weight was on the mend, the youth movement was expected to break out and we acquired an emerging #2 defenseman in James Wisniewski and depth with Mark Eaton and Mike Mottau. We expected that Garth Snow worked his magic again with PA Parenteau (see Moulson, Matt) also. Well, we all know how that turned out. There were bright spots of course, but what exactly were we thinking?
After the jump, we'll examine the hits, misses, and "damn, I can't believe somebody got that" of some of our community members.
We'll start with some accurate predictions:
Pos- young D Harmonic and A-Mac progress into legitimate #2 pairing [Rickfansince76]
Who knows, he may end up being wrong because they're a first pairing.
Surprise: NHL awards for an Islander. Or at least a nomination. Maybe Streit for Norris and Go-Go for Jack Adams. NHL finally recognizes that there was is a franchise on Long Island, and they actually won a few Cups. [Billymac23]
Hey, Grabs was nominated...we'll find out next week right? Grrrr.
NEG: Midseason retirement due to injury. Not sure who, don’t want to name names and risk jinxing. [MTBVibe] Sounds like Doug Weight to me.
Pos: Roloson has a .915+ svpct and 5 so [Stats] This one is me...okay, the sv% is slightly low, but counting post season, it goes above .915 and lands on 5 SO. He did have a .920 as an Islander though.
POSITIVE – The Isles kill you with a thousand small cuts…[mikb] Indeed, goalscoring was spread around and solid, but mikb's guesses at who those goalscorers will be was iffy, so I cut it off.
Where we missed:
SUR: Wang, his family and the Shinnecock Nation make headlines [Wangs and 'Cocks Tangle, Then Smoke The Peace Pipe]. After battling over Nassau County land to develop the Lighthouse Project vs The Shinnecock Resort and Casino the two parties have moved their destinations to Elmont. [JPinVA] Well, there was some tangling, but in the end, it looks like the two will remain separate, but connected somehow.
Hey…that Lighthouse in Elmont was my thought…Thanks for the repost on that i like that idea. It really is a perfect place for all involved…The tough part will be getting in all worked out. [Michael C. Ryan]
Positive: Isles put the pieces together and finish 7th in the conference, bow out in the first round to the rival Pens in a hard fought, 6 game series. [billymac23] Well, that's what Snow told us...but the Pens were a key story this year...
Pos: Tavares has a 35goal/80pt season [ozzyfan] Soo close...
Positive: KO finds his scoring touch and hits 25 goals for the season [ilopan] Stupid goalposts and crossbars.
! … Josh Bailey becomes a Frans-lite two-way force, with passing that reminds people of Turgeon, leading us all to think, "Even when they rush the kids along, it turns out alright in the end." [Dominik] It looked that way for a while, but if by Frans-Lite, you meant not even close, please move this to the accurate column.
Surprise – An actual resolution to their arena issue (not sure if it will be good or bad) [The Fitz] Well, at least we have a beginning of the end now...kind of a just miss. Update, no new arena in Nassau for now.
Some "Holy Cows!!!1!"
Neg: Weight has a career ending injury; Surprise: Wiz has a 35pts/top 2 d-man [stats] year and the Isles finish in the 7th/8th spot. [Ozzyfan] Pretty good stuff right there...some may debate Wisniewski's #2ness, but the points were there...amazing on the Weight call!
SUR: Martinek plays 65+ games as a reliable top 4 guy and sustains no major injuries [TheMetalChick] Possibly the gutsiest prediction ever made, Radek played 64 games this season and was reliable top 4 (if not by his play than at least by the bad luck of others).
What were we thinking?!?!?! (Kudos to anyone who took a risk on DP health predictions, hopeful bold move.)
Surprise- DP plays in 50 games [Rickfansince76] Maybe he meant by 2014.
Pos- Bailey scores 30G; Surprise- RSH finally starts living up to his potential. [anacurt] Don't get your gambling advice from anacurt who had the futility exacta on these predictions.
Surprising – DP is healthy enough to be the backup for the season [Webbard] Nope, somebody made DP 1A, and then he wasn't even healthy enough to be the backup.
DP Healthy [Michael C. Ryan]
Sur: Hunter ties career high in points and leads team in playoff goals. Bridgeport wins championship. [Me again] Feel free to mock me in comments...I deserve it.
Negative: Jeff Tambellini has an impressive, solid season and makes us cry/hate Gordon for not just giving him some darn ice time. [ilopan] Hahaha, Jeff Tambellini is in the 2nd leg of his healthy scratch world tour, moves to Sweden.
POS: Kyle Okposo starts turning his "just wide of the net" near-misses and pingers off the post into goals [TheMetalChick] I'll bet right about now, Okposo is hitting his golf ball into a flag, yardmarker or tree somewhere...the pings continue?
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I remember the Bailey one
For a week it looked real good. Completely forgot about RSH.
Definitely qualifies for one of these:
No Sleep 'til....
by Anarcurt on Sep 3, 2011 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Is there a prediction thread for this year?
I may have missed it.
And lol at Dom moving the frans-Lite comment to the accurate column.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on Sep 3, 2011 6:24 PM EDT reply actions
I'm okay... you're okay...
I’m good with not having a predictions thread this year. Because somebody will inevitably predict that the Islanders will not possibly be able to have over 580 man games lost to injury three years in a row…
and we all know how that’ll turn out.
Lighthouse Hockey: Home of the "STROME-BOLI"!
Thanks for voting "YES" on Aug 1st... just not enough of you!!!
by JPinVA on Sep 3, 2011 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Nice job Dom. The only thing that really bothered me last year was Wiz.
Wiz had #1 d-man potential, his offensive skills were top notch, him and Streit would have been tremendous to see, but Streit got hurt and Wiz just couldn’t play reliable defense against good competition. And to make it worse, Wiz’s defensive issues were something he could easily fix if he wasn’t so ballsy and learned patience. Wiz could have(and still could) have been an elite #1/top pairing d-man and a big part of our future “core”, but oh well.
I was hoping for more from him
He seemed to have potential, but at times it wasn’t polished. I was hoping he would stick around another year so we could see what he could do with Streit. He asks for the money of a top defenseman, but he just didn’t deliver for us; and I guess that was the deal breaker for Garth.
All Who Oppose Grabner Shall Perish.
I think Wiz has a lot more problems
I’ve seen him misplay the puck at the point far too many times.
"Maybe (Frans) should concentrate more on FO rather than the thugging aspect of his game." - AP77
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Just 1 comment ...
re: Wisniewski.
The guy wasn’t that good before he came here, he wasn’t that good when he was here, and hasn’t been that good since he left.
Maybe being paired with a healthy Streit would have made him better. Maybe. But the Matzo-man did get hurt and I want defensemen who are good players period, not only when paired with a particular mate, and Wisniewski wasn’t.
Only the great defensemen can be alI things, ie. Potvin, Bourque, but both MacDonald and Hamonic are at least closer to that mold than Wisniewski ever was or will be. Maybe Streit is still that type of all-around D-man too, and those 3 are a good starting point for this team, but Wisniewski was a total non-factor to me, then and now.
by dose on Sep 4, 2011 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I apprecate the courtesy, Keith
It’s only fair that I stand up and get the mocking I deserve!
I predicted that nobody would reach 35 goals (yay, I think), but we’d have seven 20-goal guys. Got Comeau, Tavares, and Moulson correct. Missed on Okposo and Hunter and Bailey. That wouldn’t be so bad, except that I missed on the three of them COMBINED (17 goals total for the three of them). In my defense, this was before the advent of Grabner – and who could have seen it coming, he’s too fast.
My seventh guess was Ol’ Detlef Shremp. I was sorta kinda maybe right. He did reach 20 (career) goals… while in Atlanta. Pffffffft.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
SUR: Martinek plays 65+ games as a reliable top 4 guy and sustains no major injuries [TheMetalChick] Possibly the gutsiest prediction ever made, Radek played 64 games this season and was reliable top 4 (if not by his play than at least by the bad luck of others).
Thank you, thank you. :D
And what do we do with our finally healthy, dependable D-man Islander since the 90s?
Watch him walk away. :(
Not that I dont kinda understand, but it still sucks.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Sep 3, 2011 11:27 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
hey hey
Jonsson played in the 2000s.
Actually I just realized in my 2K8 game that the Red Wings picked him up as he was a Free Agent.
"Maybe (Frans) should concentrate more on FO rather than the thugging aspect of his game." - AP77
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Nice prediction
Were you listening to Judas Priest’s Nostradamus concept album when you made it?
(I hope not. I thought it kinda sucked)
"He's depriving some small village of a pretty good idiot" - Mike Milbury on Ziggy Palffy's agent Paul Kraus.
It didnt suck
But I thought Halfords solo albums before it were way better.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on Sep 4, 2011 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions
I know there was another post where
We all guessed everybody’s projected stats. I’d like to review that one, but I can find it. Most of it was done in comments from
What I remember, but I’m not sure if it was a Dom story, a fanpost or fanshot, and we’ve had so many since last year, it is eluding me.
If anyone knows what it was, let me know. I’d love to look back on that one because I think a lot of people participated in it.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Sep 3, 2011 11:41 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I found this fanpost, but all it really has is my and a couple others' predictions:
http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2010/8/9/1613924/2010-2011-player-stat-projections
I think there could be another fanpost, because I recall more predictions. If we knew who made it, it would be a hell of a lot easier to find.
Yeah, this is the one I'd found
but I know I participated in it and so did a lot of others. It was basically like we picked the team leaders by stat category and I know I had Frans as a +35.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
Hey, remember that time I got Bailey demoted?
Good times…
Jeff Carter to Columbus? Wait, I've seen this one before, it was called Shanahan to Hartford. Advice? Don't buy a Carter jersey.
by BrassBonanza10 on Sep 4, 2011 12:10 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
I triple dog dare you
To try that with a certain goalie.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Sep 4, 2011 12:16 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 3 recs
Actually, I've been trying to get a certain goalie to stay home.
If a certain goalie retires at some point between now and the new year, I’ll know how strong I am with The Force.
Jeff Carter to Columbus? Wait, I've seen this one before, it was called Shanahan to Hartford. Advice? Don't buy a Carter jersey.
by BrassBonanza10 on Sep 4, 2011 8:01 PM EDT up reply actions
OT
But Rakhshani is on twitter.
@itsrhett
Not official, but Matt Donovan brought it up so it’s probably good.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Sep 4, 2011 12:16 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Awards
An Islander did win an award, but if you asked me at the beginning of last season, I wouldn’t have guessed it would have been Doug Weight winning the King Clancy Award.
by Dougtone on Sep 4, 2011 6:46 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Oy, rereading my predictions reminds me why I don't gamble.
Love how TMC’s Martinek prediction came out though.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
That alright Dom
One AH SHIT doesn’t wipe out a hundred atta boys!!! Maybe we should put you in net with such a great percentage:)
In loving memory;Dad thanks for making us Islanders fans, ACC 1918-2011
Nice job!
It happens often, so I have to ask: Why do Americans confuse Switzerland with Sweden?
Tambellini will play the next 3 years with ZSC Lions in Zürich, Switzerland.
Usually I don't!
I legitamately thought he was going to the SEL! Poor guy, no offense, but the Swiss league is inferior to the KHL and SEL right? Poor jeff.
NY Islanders, just one irrational free agent signing away from contention!
Website:Lighthouse HockeyTwitter: @KeithLHHockey
by Keith Quinn on Sep 4, 2011 10:04 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Maybe he’s hanging out with Sim and Park again?
"Maybe (Frans) should concentrate more on FO rather than the thugging aspect of his game." - AP77
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Park not good enough
Sure, that’s why they hired the waaaay better Rico Fata and Kevin “Who?” Hecquefeuille, and kept Tony Salmelainen the Friendly Ghost.
Financial reasons if you ask me.
by Kaonashi on Sep 5, 2011 7:34 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Park
The Ticino press only mentioned Servette wasn’t happy with Park. I automatically presumed they didn’t like his performance.
How Chris McSorley always persuades players to terminate a valid contract is beyond me. Ambrì-Piotta couldn’t get rid of Martin “I fear to shoot” Kariya even crying in greek.
I read that, too. It just doesn’t make sense, unless it’s a matter of bang for the buck. Which would mean that they vastly overpaid him or thought that he would be an offensive juggernaut, or both. In all cases, you can hardly put the blame on Park, who had a very good season all in all.
As for McSorley’s ability to get rid of contracts, it’s pretty amazing indeed. He must have files or something.
They dumped Park?!
Those bastards!
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
"They mutually agreed to terminate the contract"
They should have settled for a financial compensation (no buyouts in CH), but with McSorley you never know. He is a scary, scary man.
Don't feel bad I had listed several players and the country/nationality of origin..
on a prior post and listed Nino Neitteritter (spelling?) as being “SWISS” and was told “SWISS IS NOT a COUNTRY”. Can’t make this stuff up.
In loving memory;Dad thanks for making us Islanders fans, ACC 1918-2011
Globally KHL and SEL are better than NLA,
but the best NLA teams can keep up with the best KHL and SEL teams. The last winner of the now discontinued European Champions League was ZSC Lions in 2009.
Tambellini went to Zürich because his father played there in the ’80.
Guess who recommended Tambellini to Edgar Salis (ZSC Lions GM)? Mark Streit.
Additionally to his salary, I estimate a net salary of 500’000 CHF/630’000$, the team will pay his rent. He will also get an official team car. This for 50 regular season games, a maximum of 21 playoff games (8 teams, best of seven) and the privilege of sleeping almost every night in his bed at home.
I wouldn’t feel sorry for him.
That sweet deal
is why I’m always surprised more players don’t take the Euro offers. I guess sometimes the expectations for imports are too high, but man it sounds like a nice gig.
Lighthouse Hockey: A flute with no holes is not a flute. A Dane with no holes is Frans Nielsen.
The expectations are very high,
but it can also be very rewarding. Imports usually are fan favorites and they feel the love. Some even settle down, like Paul DiPietro
He married a swiss and played 10 years for EV Zug. His goodbye in Zug (he is 40!), after a semifinal elimination was moving
Funny
We have a DiPietro who is lined up to say goodbye when he’s 40 too….
by afrosupreme on Sep 7, 2011 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
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1979-80
Source: Uploaded by user via NYIslanders on Pinterest
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.
