System Life Cycle: In Which Stage is the New York Islanders Rebuild?

I’d love to see some playoff hockey, whether it’s in March, April or even February. If they play to their potential this will be a tough team to play against, and should be very entertaining.

We are both coming to this from the same place. I was on the edge of apathy when they fired Nolan… this is the best I’ve felt about hte team and the organization in forever.

the way I see it Rebuild 2.0 will be the steady assessment of the team in relation to UFA (our own) opportunities. There will be questions like Frans next year, Comeau and Steit the year after, then you have to start thinking about Moulson. All the while we’ll have Strome, Nelson, Lee, Donovan, deHaan and Kabanov pushing for spots with huge time available as indentured servents.

With that said, I believe this team is ready to push for a playoff spot, and we won’t, for the first time in a long time, be drafting in the top 10 at the end of the season. This team is ready for the next step and then we can finally put the final nail in this rebuild’s coffin.

This is what I meant by the answer relying on each reader’s perception. There really are no “wrong” answers, but each answer would be in line with each reader’s expectations after the 2007-08 season. Look at the differences in the snapshots at each team:
Philosophy
2007: Traded for Ryan Smyth to get into the playoffs, and retained Jason Blake through the trading deadline knowing they would not sign him in july and get nothing for him at that point.
2011: They have been consistent sellers at the trade deadline, accumulating future assets with expiring contracts. It has all been about building a foundation, rather than adding expensive additons on a beat up frame.
Inventory:
2007: Absolutely nothing. At that point they had Kyle Okposo and frans Nielsen. They didn’t have enough talent in the system to even support those two. There were guys like Campoli, Gervais, Tambellini and Comeau. Only Comeau will be on the 2011 team. He may be the only one in the NHL.
2011: I could re-write the list, but all you have to do is look here and take stock of every draft from 2008 on. It’s like night and day.
Potential:
2007: On July 1 2008 every hope of reaching the playoffs in 2008-09 went out the window. Well… they really did have a good coach who could get them there with some string and a little elmer’s glue… but that team was thinner than Calista Flockhart after a purge.
2011: I think that every October from 2010(yeah, I thought so back then) we can look at our roster and say, if there is some improvement in some players and others just stay on plane, this team can make the playoffs. In a few years we’ll have the same outlook as the Washington capitals do right now going into every season. Hopefully we have more success.
This is why I think the “rebuild” is done, and now we are more in maintenance, and moving into the iterations of obsoletion and versioning.

Lets put the final nail in Milbury’s coffin instead

Over the past 18 months or so we (LHH) have had this general conversation. I really think your (you, and this community) perspective molded most of this post. I know I don’t speak for everybody, but with each evaluation of Snow’s moves since I’ve been a part of the community it becomes clearer that this team is moving in the right direction.
So… really… thanks!

I just refreshed the page and see you’ve cleaned up my mess. I even like your title better.

One way to look at this is the “approval rating” of Garth Snow in 2008 v 2011. I know there are still some fans that think he needed to get bigger names, and better players through the UFA process… and struggling to make the CAP FLOOR is no way to run a NEW YORK franchise. But I’d bet that here at LHH Garth would get well above an 85% approval rating.
I have issues with maybe three moves since he was granted autonomy (I assume that was right after the 2007-08 season).
1. Firing Ted Nolan. I think he’ll always be a better option than Scott Gordon, but I don’t know what their working relationship was like. Snow and Gordon were on the same page, and he stood behind him as long as he could… and Nolan is in Europe now after double digit NHL jobs have been filled in his absense. So… I have to say that better hockey minds than me have given Garth third party confirmation.
2. Andy Sutton. Maybe the biggest need this team has had over the first three years was a big, physical defender. We had one that was on the decline, but was enjoying his best season as an Islander. Well we got an asset that helped move up from possibly getting Alex Petrovic to Brock Nelson. Who knows where Travios would have been if they retained Andy. But it all seems to have worked out in hindsight. Again… Garth is doing his homework.
3. Sean Bergenhiem. I am certainly happy that Sean is making some nice money in Florida, and will be under a little more pressure to put up better numbers… but there is no way I’d ever reverse what has turned out to be an eventual waiver trade of Grabner for Bergenhiem. Letting Bergy go for nothing was not a popular move because he was a cheap asset… but the “opportunity cost” would have been incredible. Could they have afforded to pick up Grabner and give Martin a full season, Nino nine games, JJ an audition and pick up Zeke if they keep Bergy. Again, in hindsight, Snow and his staff are making quality decisions 12 months a year.

I agree. The team should aim to win the division…AIM SMALL-MISS SMALL

In September every team has one goal… getting to the dance. In March some teams have their tickets, and have changed their priorities, but the original goal should not be overlooked. You can’t go into September trying to WIN THE CUP.. see WAS, PHI, PIT… et al. The main thing is playing good hockey and compiling W’s. One game at a time. The important thing is that they have the horses to do it now.

I definitely overlooked Casey… my bad. I look to him as being a young AHL asset this year, and a fence rider next year. He will definitely help build a winning tradition in BPT, but at this moment I think he’s behind guys like Ullstrom, Rhett and Haley at the NHL troth… but he’s a persistent little bastard, and you can’t count him out of ANYTHING.

i do believe he is signed and will be there opening night.

I dont think so, but I really like Casey- I would not be surprised if he did the same kind of thing Hamonic did- come up to fill in, then stay.

But I see it a little diffferently. The process never ends, but they have establsihed the groundwork, and now they have to start dealing with a whole new set of issues.
If I remember correctly, Langevin(defunct WHA) and Morrow(NCAA/Olympics) were Islander property before they became NHL players. Only Lane was added to the “inventory”.

Drink the cool-aid, it tastes GREAT!

My main take away from JP’s post (which is excellent, by the way), is that there is actual real honest-to-goodness talent happening on this team. We can see it. We can look at the stats and watch the games and see actual players forming right before our eyes. Sure, some guys still need time to grow. But that’s the point: they’re growing.

“Drinking the Kool Aid” to me implies convincing yourself to buy into something you know deep down is probably wrong (remember the tragic genesis of that phrase). I don’t think posts like these, nor the general tone of this entire blog, qualifies for that. A lot of us, myself included, drank some serious Kool Aid 10-12-15 years ago, trying to convince ourselves that guys like Barry Richter and Jamie Rivers and Bill Muckalt and Eric Fichaud were anything but Mendoza line players just barely good enough to hold onto NHL jobs (or just outright dogs). Telling people, “No really, they’re good. They’re just hurt/young/old/whatever” is drinking the Kool Aid. When Claude Lapointe* is your team’s number one center and you refuse to acknowledge that as very, very wrong, you’re drinking the Kool Aid.

 * – No offense, of course. Good player, good soldier. But his particular skills were not that of a traditional, prolific team-leading number one center.

Wed probably get a 3rd rounder at best for him, and hes only 21, its still way too early to give up on him. At least give him another season or 2. But i agree if Ricky doesnt manage at least a .905 save percentage this year, even as a backup well be pretty screwed because then well have to rely on Montoya maintaining last seasons performance, which i dont think can be down over a whole season. At least not as well

The D.P. situation will find resolution this year.
A reliable goalie that we all have confidence in and JB may take longer.

Sadly theres a log jam at center. One thing is for sure. Our top three centers will be JT, Frans (pending resign) and strome upon the horizon. Id love strome to take over. Hed work great on a line with PA and Comeau. And I think Haley and Martin will be fixtures on the 4th line. Problem is…with depth, comes movement. chances are we will lose beloved players. I hope it doesnt happen to Franzy…Bc i lovem.

But i think PA could be expendable. as well as BC. too many centers unfortunatly with Czikas as well.

Fire Garth Snow!!!!!1

No offense, but Im just so tired of the emo drama from fans when it comes to Rick.

And I find the fact that you actually believe this team, if healthy, is bottom five of the league, absolutely ridiculous.

The Islanders will not get a new building until the last minute.
It is not yet the last minute.

Sorry, but deal… thats the way things are.
Thats the way it was in Pittsburgh, too.

You realize hockey is played as a six man team. I can argue that the transition from Konopka to Reasoner will drop the GA more than a deal that would replace the bottom two (of six) defenders with a “top four” defender.
1. There will be way less penalties to kill.
2. When they do have to kill penalties, they will have an able body to win faceoffs, and control the puck.
3. They will turn around the zone time of the fourth line.
4. Reasoner can spell any position on the team after PP minutes.
I’m ready to wager that the Islanders will have a positive goal differential this year. There are definitely questions that will need to be answered, but I think the days of asking the goaltender to make 40+ saves on a consistent basis is over. I’m looking for a team that will bring offensive zone pressure with every line… and that will leave a lot less time to be hemmed in their own zone.
Goal: As I said before… 6 candidates… (unlike the Republican Party) one of them will emerge as a solid #1 option.

Is on the wing w/JT/MM. I think I would like to see that experiment. Although it could crap up the 3rd/4th line combos, but that becomes an easy transition if any of Strome, Ullstrom, Lee, Nelson are ready (ish) next year.

The problem becomes you’re basically putting two of PAP, Comeau, Niño or Rolston on the 4th line which may not be so good…also we’d need another center unless Haley is ready for that.

I’d still like to see it though.

All of which are reasonable arguments. I will say that all of these have shown small samples of success. My three counter arguments would be:
1. Cap has not only had the post 12/16/10 success which has been well documented, but he has also had organizational success with THIS ORGANIZATION. He didn’t just get pulled out of retirement, or from the broadcast booth to coach this team. He has been around since the Sterling era and I think the powers that be have more confidence in him than the fans do. When you combine that confidence with the ability to motivate the talent that has been assembled… I think he’ll be around until he loses the job.
2. I think they’re a few players away from being a cup contender. They are also present player maturaton away. Most of the current roster aren’t ready to win playoff series. That’s fine… let them play and find out why for themselves. I’m not sure the team needs added pieces as much as it will evolve into a cup contender. Those additions could very well come from inside the present lineup, and the organization.
3. I don’t think their as far off as some may think with their lines. I’m pretty sure that in December we will be seeing a core structure that is based on the pairings (that I continuously allude to) that developed last year:
Moulson-tavares
Grabner-Nielsen
Comeau-Bailey
Then there is a pool of players that can really be slotted in any of the reamining 6 forward positions. By december I fell as though the only movement will for rest, productivity and injury (not necessarily in that order). In the previous three seasons there had never been more than a few weeks of consistency (with three lines). Sometimes due to lack of consistent production, but mostly due to injury. THEY NEVER HAD THE DEPTH TO REST anybody but Jeff Tambellini.

they have hired a new Dir. of Sports Performance according to Katie Strang (maybe this is old news?). Apparently there will be some big changes comparing to the last couple of seasons.

Great to see the club trying to solve the problem.

I’m really not that concerned about the goalie situation that everyone else seems to be. Every goalie we have right now have more or less NHL experience this season and last seasons debacle won’t happen again IMO. With that I mean that Montoya and Poulin showed last season that they could play in the NHL and do it well. Nabokov remains to be seen whether he stays here or not but he assuming he stays and get some match practice, he’ll do fine as well. Brings a lot of experience at least. If DP stays healthy, well he’s going to be in the discussion as well. And from what I’ve seen from Anders Nilsson he’s not that far behind Poulin talent- wise. And then you have Koskinen who probably is not ready (as he showed last season) but has the experience.

Point I’m trying to make is that even if there are injuries we will be in a better position to cope with it this time.