Islanders Roundtable, Part II: The 2nd Half and the Future

I just want to point out that last night was a very chirpy one for the Islanders. Keith and Mark trolled Neil Smith (who may have been drunk Tweeting. He works for TSN, right? They may not want their talent telling viewers to…). Grabner and Martin were chirping some idiot fan who was talking shit about Grabner’s breakaway skills. And Moulson was complaining about how Atlantic City was treating him.

That whole Neil Smith exchange is great. Like Billy Smith mocking Gretzky during the ’83 finals great.

Frans and PA are back or are at least traded for the Sedins.

No but seriously I really want them resigned.

On a strange note:

I was walking home from work (I was wearing my Isles jersey to work that day— coat was open) on the West Side of Manhattan and some dude from a car at a light starting yelling at me " fuck you DP sucks DP sucks.".

Nor can I see Frans leaving. Lock these guys up Snow, they will probably come cheap.

Parentau he makes things happen out on the ice, 5th in the league in assists at the moment & i’m sure he’ll be up there come the end of the season as well, a lot of teams will look at him & think we’d like him on our roster got to re-sign him. Nielsen is a good,solid player I’d like to see him resign as well. I think Nabby will be traded as soon as a team challenging start’s to lose confidence in there goaltender id like to see him stay but can see him getting traded.

Is who is our 3rd line center?

JT is obviously 1st, Strome is the 2nd. I think Strome was drafted because he plays a two way game, is very fast, and would be paired up well with Grabner. Add Nino to the line to crash the net and play the corners and you have a solid 2nd line.

So, who stays, Bailey or Nielsen?

I think they should sign Nielsen to a 4-5 year deal around $3 million and trade Bailey to a team who needs some 3rd line depth. Look at teams like Nashville/Ottawa/Buffalo who have defensive depth but could use some forwards depth. Buffalo would really like Bailey’s contract because its cheap next year.

My Bailey 30 point prediction was made before they deprived him of Grabner on his line and once again gave him Cap Mule Brian Rolston as a linemate.

If Rolston disappears, I’ll stick by my prediction.

Oh and Dominik “Answer Changer”, I love the nicknames.

I wonder how much the Coliseum is effecting free agents decisions. If a new arena was in place i think we would be one of the teams FA’s would look to come to. We are ready to turn the corner, but we need help. Dream Scenario: Kyle Okposo is good friends with Parise and both train together in the offseason. Parise has history w/ the Isles. Parise sees potential in the team and contacts Suter to intrigue him on the possibility of going somewhere together. The Isles add Parise and Suter and immediately become a scary team to face. How many teams can afford these guys? I do believe Snow is very keen on both of them and they are the type of players Snow can get very lenient on what he would offer them. Another big question is, will Charles Wang really spend when push comes to shove. I dont know why free agents dont look to join up and coming teams to rather than top contenders. It took Marian Hossa 3 swings at contending teams to finally land a cup and that was a bizarre scenario. I cant really think of examples where this has worked and i dont care to look into it that much.

Capuano: I think the only thing keeping Capuano’s head above water is the fact that the Isles seem to change coach’s so much and people finally want to see a stop to that. We dont want to be a target for more criticism from the media, but i feel if the right guy was brought in we can turn the league’s perception and media perception into a positive one. Unfortunately, i do not know who that guy is.

Team Related Prediction: I think it will just be more of the same from the Isles. Some very good hard fought games with some stinkers thrown into the mix. I dont see to many ups or downs, just a continuance of what we have already seen. I do believe if anyone, we should see Bailey and Nino continue to take the next step throughout the course of the season.

….other then JT?

Resign Frans, OK? And there’s Bailey, and there’s Strome to consider. Now what about Cizikas?

I can see where it may come down to keeping either Frans or PAP, not both. There is part of me that can see where they let Frans walk, give PAP a little extra, and Cizikas and Strome (along with JT and Bailey) are next years’ centers.

MM-JT-KO
Grabs-Bails-PAP
Nino-Strome-Ullstrom(?)
Reasoner-Cizikas-(Aged Veteran)/Rakhshani

If he really is being made available, I’d definitely get in on those discussions. Defintely what the Islanders need. Nasty defenseman able to put up some points, not a UFA who could turn Isles down and a friend of JT.

What would it take? I’d put up this year’s 1st Rounder — since Isles would probably use it on a defenseman anyway given the talent at the top of the draft — in a package along with a younger player or players deemed expendable.

At the very start of free agency, the Islanders should offer short term max contracts to both Parise and Suter, knowing full well that both of those players likely won’t take them up on it, and most likely neither. This is the only way i can see the Islanders announcing to the world that they’re serious about competing now, with the right pieces.

After those two go by the boards, they can go after some of the other guys our panelists here have spoken of. Again, Wang can afford to overpay a bit, albeit nowhere near the initial offers. The point of the initial offers is to get other players’ attention so that they, too, don’t dismiss the Isles out of hand.

And if one of those players DOES accept the deal, that would put the Isles near the floor. Surely they can lure one or two more effective pieces for better terms after that. Decent players like to flock to the teams that make a splash, so long as the terms are reasonable.

This would actually put the Isles over the floor, but i think it’s something they can’t afford not to do, given the arena situation. If the Isles are to put pressure on the local government to finally pull their heads out of their asses and get a deal done, it’s going to have to be during next season, the Isles are just about out of time. You need two years at a minimum to get an arena built.

And that’s why they have to go after people and actually get them this time around.

Let me get this straight – I’d want us to re-sign Parenteau. But his skills are such that in theory, at least one if not more of our wing prospects should be able to surpass parenteau in the same position. We CAN replace PAP.

Nielsen is nearly irreplaceable.

Pleasant surprise: Watching JT develop. I knew his hands were good, but WOW. Even got his FO% above 50%, which means he putting in the time on the little things. Everything you want to see in your franchise player.

Biggest disappointment: The continued failure of SnowWang to land an upper-tier FA. For whatever reason, you can throw a cruise ship of money at guys and they still sign somewhere else. After reading Afrosupreme’s nice FA defenseman write-up, left me wondering who we actually have a realistic chance at? Maybe coliacov…. the guy with the weird name on the Blues. Or Shane O’Brien, but I already got called out for suggesting him last simmer.

Deadline moves: OK, I do not want to see assets given up to obtain a rental to just make a run at the playoffs to finish 8th and get knocked out in the first round I.E. Ryan Smythe…and don’t play the hindsight card either, because I can go to work on some of Snow’s draft picks in that regard on whom he passed up. If they make a run, do it with the players that are there. Nabakov to Detroit for a 3rd maybe? Otherwise hold onto to him for the rest and let him walk, which he’s gonna do anyway.

Realistic FA targets: I’ll take heat for this one…Semin! No way he’s gonna get 6.7 million from Washington again. Might just have enough chip on his shoulder ( a la Mark Streit) to sign here. Colaiacovo may be obtainable. Why not Nittymaki? He could hold down with Montoya for another season, and he’s familiar with the division. I’d claim him if I was Snow( unless someone else already has)….make it easier to get something for Nabby.

Capuano’s job is always on the line. Snow doesn’t want to look bad. If the team doesn’t improve from last season’s total, I fear Capt. Jack will be getting high somewhere else and leaving this special island.

Nabby will be playing somewhere else, if the price is right ( Cue Drew Carey). Somehow I see him as a backup in Detroit. Trade him for the Vic 64,lol. PAP and Franz should be signed ( I’ll get to the Nielsen issue and the end) or Snow will find himself hanging upside down by his nads from the tallest tree on LI.

Predictions: Isles will finish with 79 points. I believe they have a bit of a heavier Road schedule this half. I fear they might hit a wall with the 4 and 5 game trips near the end of Feb into March where they play 11 out of 15 on the road.

As far as Nielsen..he can be a premier 3rd line center and still get 40 points a season. My only criticism is he needs to win more faceoffs. 45% doesn’t cut it, and 38% when short-handed is inexcusable.

Ok, now you all can rip me a new one!

Another great round table. Thanks!
UFA: The two obvious choices are Suter and Wideman, either would earn Snow a permanent endorsmant from the JPinVA PAC. I also like Mike’s idea of raiding a team who will have some asset management issues. The Avs are a good target.. in this scenario the devils might be a good source as well.
But most likely we he throws out a moderate bid for both, and lands Johnny Oduya… and JP weeps.
CAPPY: I may be the biggest Capuano fan here, but even if I wasn’t I think we’re all over deliberating this. I always assumed that when he WON the job with the team’s performance at the end of last year it was a decision that was made with a standard three year deal. I can’t find the terms of the deal.
If the decision was to make him a lame duck this year, then his future is still uncertain, and based on the options that are avaiable. I have a feeling that both Snow and Capuano have done enough to earn the support of ownership and the fans. Snow really has to take the hit for early failings because he failed to upgrade the talent level of the D, and put too much trust in a guy like Rolston… way too much.
Nabby: I think his performance, and the fact that Nilsson and Poulin are performing well in a strong 1/1A rotation will allow garth to set a pretty high price tag on Nabby. He’s the $20 blender at your garage sale. If somebody really needs a blender you have a really good one to offer… but you don’t put a $5 price tag on it and let it go for $2. I’d say we get a second rounder or better… or he finishes out the season. both are of equal value to the team.
Second Half Surprise: This is more, WHAT I’D LIKE TO SEE… Casey is tearing it up now in BPT in a high end role. He’s a plus infinity and scoring nightly. The stars are also aligned in that Marty Reasoner won’t be back soon. Very early in february I’d like to see them commit 15 games to a KID LINE… Ullstrom-Cizikas-Rhett. Rhett’s not a kid, but he’s technically a rookie. This, of course would also mean that a relationship between Martin-Bailey-Nino is started, and Brian Rolston get his long term press credentials.
I don’t see that happening, so I’d settle for
Ullstrom-Bailey-Nino
Rolston-Cizikas-Martin
PLUS: casey gets a taste of what he needs to work on in the NHL. He sees some PKing duty to better understand the speed and creativity of NHL PPs, and he starts to form a bond in practice with guys like Nino who he may be on the shuttle with quite often next year.
MINUS: It could disrupt his EN FUEGO status in the A (see Kevin Poulin). BPT is tearing it ip as well, and very well could use their current run to get into the playoffs.