Sabres 2, Islanders 1: When Flawed Teams Meet

That would actually be funny. They post the blanks first (3 verbs, 4 player names, etc) then you fill them into the story. I love it.

PA signed only a one year deal to return So he isn’t like Grabs and Mattty Mo who took what the best offer to stay long term.

That isnt fair- Moulson signed a 1y deal, too.

This is the time to explore.
Losing PA, and our UFA history leaves us with something resembling
Ullstrom-Bailey-Niederreiter next year. i’d much rather see Ullstrom-Bailey-Parentau/Okposo on friday and see what fruit that brings. Then you can get a wheelbarrow full of money and calendars for Parentau. Or you had better be prepared to spend on an experienced RW, or suffer through growing another one.

I know cary says Nabby is mediocre at best, but I say, better the mediocrity you know, than the one you don’t know. If you are having problems signing Nabby, bury his ass so we can see what Montoya and Poulin can do. Remember, they still have Nilson in BPT as a possible backup next year, and Koskinen in europe. there will also be the fall back of UFA goaltenders at the flea market in July, and that really is the only buying Snow has had any historical success with.

The main thing is getting to see some of the defensemen in the NHL again. Wishart needs to replace eaton ASAP. He probably won’t be an improvement, but he’ll most likely be available to them in October… so why not try to get him into NHL readiness.
Donovan is probably being close to where Macdonald was when his NHL journey began… but that should be considered a card only played if they must…Katic is probably a better option at this juncture.
I think CIL said that they can probably add two of (Wishart, Ness, Katic, Donovan, dehaan) to Hamonic, macdonald, Streit and have a servicable(“imporved”) D next year. I would prefer them signing Jurcina even if he spends most of his time in the press box, for depth, if nothing else… and trying realy hard to find a 20 minute mobile 210+ physical defenseman on the UFA market … That market gets smaller each day.

first priority though… SIgn PARENTAU!!!!

All crying aside, Ryan Smyth carried a mediocre team on his back to the Stanley Cup Finals. I dont think Messier could be classified as anything but one of the best leaders and heart and soul players of all time. He was also very talented though. I once took a shit on one of his hockey cards holding the cup when i was younger, but i would never dis credit the man in the sport of hockey. He was in his twighlight in Vancouver i dont think thats fair to asses him on that stint.
I dont think the guys i mentioned are the most talented players, they get by and put up numbers becasue of their grit, and determination. What they are not is 4th liners which is why i wanted clarification on that. Ryan Smyth looks like one of the least talented players ever when you watch him, but he managed to put up really impressive #’s for most of his career. Just because some guys you mentioned bailed on particular teams doesnt take away from how they played on the ice.
IMO, a big reason the puck doesnt go into the net for the Isles is because they dont go to the net. They play the perimeter game way too much. Outside of JT when was the last time you saw an Islander take the puck and really drive to the net with his teammates crashing it as well for a possible rebound. On the other hand, how many times have you seen an Islander player take the puck to the outside and lose it along the boards or skate into an area where he has an impossible angle to hit the net? I feel we have skill, Tavares is all world, PA is a great passer with good vision, i really like Baileys playmaking ability even though its wildly inconsistent, Okposo has enough skill to finish, Moulson can finish, Nielsen has good vision. We need bigger bodies to bang and create space for these guys to make things happen and help win them the puck along the boards. Just my opinion. I always favor players who make every shift count and put their heart in every shift over a world class talented player who isnt 100% motivated. Thats just me though

I’m most disappointed with Reasoner, although Rolston is really close too. You’d think someone would at least try harder to extend his NHL career. No one’s going to sign him after this mess of a season.

I don’t think I said anything contrary to your post, except that I think he might resurface in the NHL at some point. I don’t really think he’ll be successful in the NHL, but I’m sure that’s where he wants to play, and somebody might give him a shot if his agent pushes enough.
He’s not going to play for a Sutter team… but if he learns how to board smaller opponents (like Gerbe) maybe Pittsburg will give him a chance.

“Nolan wanted to play with veterans” meme.
What young players did he refuse to play?
Tambellini… wow… his father didn’t even give him a shot in the NHL.
Nielsen… 4 years ago Nielsen was not a better option than Mike Sillinger.
comeau.. He was up and down like a yo-yo, which probably turned him into the COZO.
I bet Nolan would do wonders with this team.
1. It’s a far better defense than he had. Would you rather have Streit or Poti, hamonic or Witt, Macdonald or Hill…
2. John tavares… who was his scoring leader… Jason Blake and Bill Guerin (year two). Do you want to compare those two dynamics.
3. Look at what Snow has done to the system in four years. We can really argue about who’s going to be where in this organization next year and beyond. In 2006 there was NOTHING in the system… there two best prospects beyond the ones I mentioned were traded for Ryan Smyth and NOBODY COMPLAINED.

Now if you wanted to change that to…
Nolan wanted to stick with a pre-lockout formual for winning, and Snow wanted to take the team to a more four-forward, smaller/faster dynamic… I’d buy into that..
… and can we agree that the islanders are starting to settle for a happy medium between those two dynamics going by the evidence presented on the last two draft strategies (more Hamonic, less Ness)

The sample is small, and I’m sure he still needs to adjust, but he’s looked more like a liability than anything to me. In a handful of games, Ness has impressed me more than disappointed. Between this year and last, Wishart hasn’t impressed me once.

Ness got the “emergency” tag. I don’t think you can constitute an “emergency” and sit somebody.
I agree, it doesn’t make any sense, because ness wouldn’t have warranted waivers either way. every time I’ve asked, I was told that Wishart would require waivers to be sent back.

He’s like a sunk cost/admitting a terrible mistake issue now. Tough to get rid of a “hero” (vomits), but I really don’t see what other choice they have. That team is going to quit on him real soon. He sucks.

And Hunter. Which will be quite pleasant. I’d be happy if he didn’t make it to the end of the season, but I’m sure they’ll let him ride it out.

My feelings on Dale Hunter: “I hate you. I hate you. I don’t even know you, and I hate your guts. I hope all the bad things in life happen to you and nobody else but you.”

P A Parentau = Jason Blake, Tomas Vanek and Scott Gomez
Okay… I’m wrong… let him go because turgeon1992 says it’s so.

$5M for 4 years doesn’t sound unreasonable at this point because it is in the ballbark. The circumstances probably put those kind of number in the ballpark. If you can sign him for less, great. that seems to be the standard right now, and it’s something they can definitely afford to gamble on.
He’s not a 39 year old bottom 6 LW who was waived by his former team twice.
He’s not a mediocre goaltender who hasn’t won a playoff series.
He’s not a russian center who was historically invisible at playoff time.
No, he’s the best RW on the team right now, and has been for two consecutive years. He’s reaching the age where he gets paid for the bus rides, the truck stop dinners in teh middle of the night and all those practices from when he 12 years old.
If that’s the price, and somebody is willing to pay it… it’s reasonable… or introduce Ryan Strome to the SAUSAGE FACTORY.