Lighthouse Hockey - All Posts

How good can John Tavares be?

2013-05-25T11:00:08Z

To say John Tavares is special is to repeat what has been said about him, in increasingly broader circles, for the last 15 years.

He was the first to be granted exceptional status by the OHL. There was the attempt to let him into the NHL draft early since his birthday was so close to the cutoff. There were the stories from both hockey and lacrosse. As his mother told the New York Times in 2007, two years before he became essential to the Islanders' future:

"It was one of the reasons why I moved him up an age. I had to. He played so aggressively and he was so strong."

Barbara described lacrosse games and soccer games where John would play so hard, he would be thrown out of games for simply running over other players. He was 5.

But as that article and so many others pointed out then, there have been plenty of special players at young ages. Each new level up the ladder weeds another crop out.

Although Tavares broke records and generated a hype machine coming out of the OHL, he wasn't even the consensus top pick at the time of the draft in 2009. (Majority? Yes. Consensus? No. Victor Hedman and Matt Duchene drew some votes. Thankfully the Isles went with the majority.) There was reason to believe he would be a very good player, but perhaps not a franchise star.

There's no reason to think that anymore.

In his rookie year Tavares exhibited the body weakness typical of a 19-year-old and the skating weakness projected by his draft year critics. Some wondered if his future would be at wing, not center.

They don't wonder that anymore.

Though Tavares was a great power play poacher in his rookie year, the power play did not run through him. It does now.

Though Tavares was a dangerous scorer in his rookie year, his weaknesses mad him a ripe for targeting by opponents' best lines. He's not a target now.

He used to feed Matt Moulson for the majority of that dynamic duo's goals, but in 2013 Moulson flashed his dishing side while Tavares scored at a rate that dwarfed his previous years. Tavares scored 28 goals in 48 games, three short of what he scored in 82 games in 2011-12 and four more than what he scored in 82 games of his rookie year.

I know when I watched Tavares during his rookie year, I saw a player who I thought would be a really good scorer but not a franchise cornerstone. Not someone to be mentioned in those generational superstar discussions.

But he's improved dramatically each season to the point that you can even wonder if he's following in Sidney Crosby's wake.

He's starting to get that attention, too. He is a Hart Trophy finalist in 2013. Media are routinely raving about him, with The Hockey News putting him just behind Crosby for its own MVP award. You see him high up on lists (the contract helps) more often than not now.

I don't expect him to be a Crosby (in the area of incessant whining about officiating, I expect him to be better), but an oft-cited trait about him, most recently in The Hockey News, is reminiscent of Crosby and makes you wonder how high he can go:

"All of us in the room see how hard he works every day," Matt Moulson said. "He just keeps getting better and better and that desire to not be satisfied with where he's at is one of the things that makes him so special."

He's just 22 years old and already drives his team. How much better can he get?

On team speed: How fast are the New York Islanders?

2013-05-24T16:20:38Z

As the New York Islanders assembled some success, or at least progress, in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, you'd hear more and more other teams and hockey media note their team speed. The Penguins noted it as the Islanders had them on their heels -- and outshot them -- in four of six playoff games.

But what is it, really?

"Team speed" is one of hockey's many amorphous measures that has no trusty, well, measure. You think you know it when you see it, but you can't exactly pinpoint it nor average out everyone's 40-yard dash to get a rating.

Tallying up individuals you think could win a lap around the ice doesn't quite tell you what you want.
Counting breakaways doesn't tell you much. (Yes, the Islanders have breakaway machine Michael Grabner. What about the other 17 skaters?)
Even observing how fast a team gets in on the forecheck is more of a stylistic thing -- are they aggressive or passive? -- than a measure of speed.

But that last point might be closest to the mark. One age-old principal in coaching is that the puck moves faster than any individual player can skate. From that premise comes the idea that if you maintain puck possession -- and do it securely and quickly -- then you are creating discomfort for the opponent, who is now scrambling to keep up.

There is plenty of talk about the league being a fast, young man's game now. Part of that is probably an echo chamber, but part of that is real: Transitions, keeping the puck, getting other teams' off their game, it's always important but it is more so when younger (and faster) talent is taking over and obstruction is the exception rather than the rule.

In an official team site article about Jack Capuano that talked a lot about all kinds of the usual indefinable hockey concepts of "grit" and "determination" and "accountability," there was also a little of this:

"You can look at our team individually, man-for-man against other teams that we play," Capuano said. "Maybe we’re not as fast individually, but there’s a certain style. We have to play fast and we have to play on our toes, and I thought we did a good job of that this year."

and this:

"Every single day, we had the focus and the work ethic, and the right details in practice," forward John Tavares said. "Guys bought in and were doing the right things. I think early on, we didn’t have the success. There were a lot of ups and downs. But we developed a lot of good habits early in the season during practice as far as how we needed to play, and that kept us going, kept us in the mix, even when things weren’t going well."

For me those descriptions bear out: As the season went on, the Islanders had "good habits" and "details" in place that aided whether their team speed mattered.

I look at their breakouts, and how consistently wingers were able to receive and move passes from the half walls, how consistently a center or second winger was able to receive the relay breaking out of the zone, and how consistently the third forward was joining that rush and able to convert a breakout into a transition to the opposition's zone.

None of this is new or groundbreaking stuff. A hockey breakout is quite simple, really. But to have consistent success, "speed" sure helps. And even if the opponent knows what you're going to do, if you can speed it up ... catch me if you can.

But that doesn't just mean the foot speed to get there before the opponent. It means the speed to handle the puck quickly and accurately, making a quick decision to move it onward. (The second line of Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey became machine-like in this area on transition plays down the stretch. Consistent breakouts and audibles that got the puck out with possession, limiting time in their zone.)

It also requires the work ethic to make sure you keep going at that speed, breakout after breakout, even when things aren't working out.

Skating and moving at high capacity is hard; quick decisions that may end up with you taking a hit to make a play takes courage. (And mustering that courage time after time, especially for talented players who have a safe job anyway, takes a belief that the sacrifice will be worth it.)

Doing that regularly does take the ol' "grit" and "determination." The forward consistently going there rather than bailing out builds confidence in the defenseman who is looking to send that breakout pass to him. If that forward doesn't do it, that's when you better have the ol' internal "accountability" in place.

You can boil the Islanders season down to other factors: John Tavares is great. Lubomir Visnovsky massively improved their transition game. Andrew MacDonald and Travis Hamonic helped limit the damage from opponents' top lines. Michael Grabner on the third line and PK was a sign of long-awaited depth.

But you have to go beyond that. The Islanders lower lines were more effective than this team has seen in years. The team, as noted often before, finally outshot opponents on a regular basis. They drove play more often than not. The Islanders five-on-five goal ratio (.98) was the highest it's been in years, and that despite having one of the league's worst save percentages.

Those things like Visnovsky's puck movement -- no more Steve Staios or Mark Eaton off-the-glass breakouts, but it should be noted Visnovsky is a great skater despite his age -- and the luxury of Grabner making the third line dangerous rather than just bangers? They are indications of an overall team approach that was working. Details adhered to.

They were moving, and keeping, the puck better. With speed.

Now the coaching staff just has to get them to do it again next year.

Bits: In desperate times, Rangers turn to ex-Islanders for a win

2013-05-23T19:41:22Z

Perhaps you've heard: Those MSG darlings, the lovable Smurfs whose World's Most Famous Self-Congratulatory Slogan is keeping Penn Station from rising again, they have their backs against the wall.

Their red pants in a tizzy, the Rangers are down 3-0 in their series against the Boston Bruins with Game 4 tonight at home. All Dolan's millions and all Sather's men can't put Torts' mojo together again.

The latest in a turnstile of top-dollar free agents who come in, then go out, is Brad Richards, who is set to be a healthy scratch for Game 4. You know this decision wasn't taken lightly by John Tortorella, whose bond with Richards goes back to their 2004 Cup together with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The fun irony for Islanders fans is that Richards, who has been getting only fourth-line minutes plus power play duty, leaves the Rangers lineup (possibly for good, buyouts willing) while it appears former Islanders AHL/NHL cult hero Micheal Haley enters. Haley played in nine regular season games this season, and tonight would be his NHL playoff debut at age 27.

There were so many reasons to think the Rangers had overspent and over committed again when they signed Richards for nine years and $60 million two summers ago, but only the most cynical would have thought the 33-year-old's usefulness would fall this far, this fast.

Richard's cap hit is $6.67 million. Haley's is less than one-tenth of that.

But Haley can bring New York hockey fans of any stripes into agreement on at least one thing: Haley can take out the trash:

Roman Hamrlik is also expected in the lineup as an injury replacement.

Bits

Speaking of Dolans, the PR war between MSG and Bruce Ratner over their competing bids to redevelop Fort Neverlose continues. Here is Ratner appearing on Fox Business (the anchor is amusing), saying he doesn't think MSG can veto Ratner's plan which calls for six Islanders games a year at a new Nassau Coliseum.

You cannot leave it the way it looks on the outside. I think we are one of the only bidders who really uses high design to start with how to change it.

IPB: If the Penguins can shell Craig freaking Anderson, does that change your view of Evgeni Nabokov?

Montreal prospect Dalton Thrower has been suspended for the rest of the [YOUR CREDIT CARD HERE] Memorial Cup for this headshot.

The guy who does the HNIC intro videos has been getting some press lately, and deservedly so.

Brian Burke will not be Team USA GM this year.

The Hurricanes will join the Stars in changing their pajamas. RBK template RIP.

Manny Malhotra wants to play NHL hockey still.

What about Bob? The CBJ goalie is an RFA, but no progress on talks yet.

Great read from Copper n Blue's OKC correspondent on dealing with tornadoes.

As mentioned in comments yesterday: The 20 Types of Depressed Sports Fans - Grantland

Nice chirp from Brock Nelson on Colin McDonald in the Tavares EA cover campaign.

Finally, on that topic, what's better than one Mike Bossy? Two Mike Bossys, for Tavares. (Man, the dynasty would've never ended...)

That's a tough shoot for non-actor, but I bet he could nail it 50 times in 50 takes.

Garth Snow: GM of the Year?

2013-05-23T10:30:05Z

Despite the first round loss, the 2012-13 season is seen as a success, an important step forward for the New York Islanders. While many arguments will be made that Hart nominee John Tavares is solely responsible for the club's progress, it does take more then one person to make a team. And the man who has put together roughly 90% of the Islanders roster is Garth Snow.

Over the past month, we've seen Snow garner praise from the more analytically inclined set of hockey commentators for the team he assembled this past season, as well as praise from his harshest critics, Islanders fans.

He took some extraordinary chances this season. It began with the trade for Lubomir Visnovsky. The loss of a second round pick (which many thought would be an early pick) to rent a 36-year-old defenseman on the downside of his career seemed almost Milbury-esque. Then Visnovsky didn't want to play on Long Island, awakening all kinds of Islanders fan insecurities.

But Snow stuck to his guns, got Lubo in uniform and it worked out great. The team was remarkably better with him in the lineup.

Yet it also goes back to the waiver wire claims, picking up Brian Strait, Thomas Hickey, Joe Finley and Keith Aucoin. Each player was a positive addition to the team (well maybe not the one that rhymes with Ginley), with Strait garnering himself a 3-year extension.

Surprising Depth on D

When you look at it though, despite some saying the moves were no-brainers, Snow never had to make those claims (and several other GMs didn't). He could have just as easily stood pat and gone with homegrown youngsters. Matt Donovan, who tore it up in his second AHL season, seemed ready to break through to the NHL this year. You could make similar arguments for Aaron Ness and Ty Wishart. Both were former high draft picks looking to get a shot.

You always want your draft picks to succeed, and to succeed with you. We've seen the Islanders give an abundance of chances to guys like Blake Comeau, Sean Bergenheim and Josh Bailey. Moreso than the Rob Schremps or Jeff Tambelleni's that have passed through the organization. Donovan and Ness' continued success in the AHL is promising. But the big leagues is what makes or breaks a prospect.

No matter how well they are playing in the AHL, Donovan and Ness are still young. They are still going to make mistakes. In a short season and short training camp, you don't have games that you can just throw away on evaluation and tutoring. You can't lose a game because of a rookie mistake and shake it off. Every point counts. Hickey and Strait both had four seasons of AHL play under their belt. Despite this being their first full season of NHL hockey, they didn't made those little mistakes.

Now that Strait and Hickey have had success, in the long run it should make the team better. If any of number of young Islander defenders want a spot, they are going to have to push someone out. It's also a nice bit of insurance, considering the Islanders' most promising defenseman prospect, 2009 first round pick Calvin de Haan, has had a career marred with injuries.

The same could be said for the well traveled Aucoin. The 34-year-old had played 102 games across seven NHL seasons but was largely relegated to the AHL. In the AHL though he has 673 games played and 777 points in 11 seasons. While he's never been able to convert that scoring touch to his NHL play, his play on the 3rd/4th lines has been an upgrade over seasons past for the Islanders. Almost as important, he spent several games as a healthy scratch this season and yet didn't miss a beat when he returned to the lineup.

It's more then developing youngsters though; the Islanders have continually struggled to attract marquee free agents. Snow has tried to work around this, even trading a draft pick for the rights to talk to Christian Ehrhoff before free agency opened in 2011. Time and again though the team has come up short. But the additions of Evgeni Nabokov and Lubo (like James Wisniewski before them) were a way around this.

While each player for a time refused to report to the team, they eventually came to the Island ... and liked it. They proved what Snow had been saying all along about the team: if you play on the Island, you'll love it. Each player has signed a contract extension with the team. Along with the playoff appearance and the resolution of where the team will be playing in 2015, this should give the Islanders offers to UFAs a new glimmer.

In the time that the GM of the Year award has been handed out, it has gone to underdog teams two of three seasons. The surprise Coyotes got Don Maloney the award in 09-10. In 11-12 the Blues won the award after dominating in a season in which they were thought to at best be contending for a playoff spot.

You know what was said around the league, the promising Islanders future was coming, but not this season. Not with the Flyers, Rangers, Devils and Penguins standing in the way.

When you look at the two biggest moves of this offseason, the Rangers trading for Rick Nash and the Wild signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, those were teams that were going to be dominant.

Instead the Rangers clinched the playoffs after the Islanders had locked in their spot. The Wild locked up their spot in their last game of the season. Parise finished with 38 points in 48 games, Nash with 42 in 44 games. Islanders bargain bin signing of Brad Boyes? 35 points in 48 games. The Wild spent nearly $200 million in order to become the 8th seed, just like the Islanders. They put up much less of a fight against their conference's top seed than the Isles did.

People point out that it seems like the Islanders have been rebuilding forever. But the reality is that the rebuild didn't begin in earnest until the failure of the 08-09 season. Rick DiPietro was a good enough goalie to carry a questionable team to the playoffs the season before, when his injuries really began. Maybe if he doesn't get hurt the Islanders continue to fight for the 8th playoff seed over the last few seasons. But the team is obviously better today than it would have been.

From the drafting of John Tavares, the team has been on a slow but clear upswing. Today it looks like a no-brainer to draft Tavares, but at the time there were plenty of questions about his skating. Combine it with a monster blueliner in Victor Hedman who could be a cornerstone in any defense, along with Matt Duchene's promising JR career and you could see the debates to pick up any of the three. (For example, the LHH Mock Draft Pick)

In 2013, the Islanders and Blue Jackets were probably the two most surprising teams in the league. That the Blue Jackets missed the playoffs while the Islanders made it should have been the biggest difference between the two when it came time to vote for GM Of The Year. (In reality, the three finalists are a little puzzling. Of those three, here's betting on Ray Shero to win it, even though trades with the idiots in Calgary shouldn't be counted.)

Some were calling Snow a bold genius and others called it a mistake back when he got Ryan Smyth. But since then if you go through his trade history he really hasn't lost a trade. Even the Smyth trade, in which he gave up three first rounders (well two former firsts that flamed out plus one pick that has yet to produce) ended up better for the Islanders than the Oilers. Just as an example, look at the Brock Nelson trade. He gave up 2 second round picks to move up 5 spots. The Hawks ended up picking Ludvig Rensfeldt and Kent Simpson. Neither is as close to making an impact as Nelson.

The trades, the patience, working out ways to get talented players in the fold and even managing whatever budget Wang is giving him. Snow has done just about everything you could want from a GM in his circumstances. This even as once-heralded names like Ryan Jankowski left the organization, and as outsiders have claimed that the Isles are spending little to no money on scouting.

Given the expectations, given the results, and given where this team appears to be headed, Snow deserves the award for this season at least.

Islanders Bits + Playoff Poll: Shero and Snow; Nino and CMac

2013-05-22T20:35:22Z

Colin McDonald, who does have job security thanks to a two-year extension signed during this season, does not have domicile security. At least according to this promo he shot for the Tavares for EA Cover campaign:

Vote for Tavares here.

From Elliotte Friedman's 30 Thoughts (which as always, has more than this):

21. What victorious GM Ray Shero said to counterpart Garth Snow after the Pittsburgh Penguins-New York Islanders series: "You gave us everything we could handle and we wish you were moving to the Western Conference."

Canucks Army covets young forwards, including Nino Niederreiter and former Portland teammate Ryan Johansen. (Say, maybe we should target Johansen and get the Winterhawk band back together.) The baggage is collected therein, where you also see this rumo(u)r-ific scuttlebutt via the Winnipeg Free Press:

The Jets attempted to trade Burmistrov and reportedly had discussions with the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders at the deadline. The names Jakob Silfverberg, Drew Stafford and Kyle Okposo have all been attached to Burmistrov trade rumours.

Cam Charron at Leafs Nation jumps off that thread to admire the 2012 Islanders additions.

The Angus 2nd annual Top 50 Trade Value list that features a couple of Islanders.

From the Islanders official site, Nino after his World Championship run.

Also, if you have a Long Island hockey player born between 2000 and 2001, here are dates for tryouts for the Islanders pee-wee team.

Elsewhere:

Alain Vigneault has been shown the door in Vancouver. He is not a candidate for the Maine job.
Jakub Voracek Lubo'd his Ferrari [Puck Daddy]
Do you like GIFs? Here are a bunch of GIFs from last night's games. I didn't create them, I just placed them.
This is very cool. Sens Bonk-loving blogger gets fans to pledge money to charity for various Sens achievements. Team thanks him.
Former Islanders legend Andy Sutton is retiring. However, he still would very much like to re-sign. (Okay, I pulled that last factoid from 2010.)

Finally, in our playoff polls we neglected to do one for the Blackhawks - Red Wings series, which continues Thursday night with the Wings ahead 2-1 in the series. Consider this your evening thread for Wednesday's game (Penguins vs. Senators), but also vote and chime in on how you think the rest of the Detroit-Chicago series will go.

Poll

What happens in the rest of the Red Wings-Blackhawks series?

Zeitgeist: Raffi Torres Suspended for Memorial Day Barbecue After Illegal Hit to the Head

2013-05-22T16:44:00Z

SAN JOSE, CA _ Sharks forward Raffi Torres has been suspended for a charity barbecue this Memorial Day weekend after an illegal check to the head, the NHL announced today.

The charity suspension is the first for Torres, who has been suspended four times by the league for infractions during games. Torres will not lose any salary but he will be absent from this Sunday's Bay Area Prosthetics for Pets Celebrity Barbecue and Fundraiser.

He is currently suspended for the entirety of San Jose's playoff series against Los Angeles for a high hit on the Kings' Jarret Stoll in Game 1.

The hit that caused the Memorial Day suspension occurred during an organizational meeting for the barbecue. With time winding down on the meeting, Torres caught former San Francisco 49er Merton Hanks with an elbow to the head as Hanks was pouring himself a cup of coffee. Hanks appeared dazed and in extreme discomfort as he lay on the floor covered in lukewarm coffee. Torres was ejected immediately from the meeting, while Hanks was helped off the floor and given some Tylenol as a precautionary measure.

The Sharks are not expected to appeal the suspension, but general manager Doug Wilson issued a statement vehemently disagreeing with the decision. Wilson insists that Torres was simply reaching for a donut over the shoulder of ex-Golden State Warrior Tim Hardaway, another member of the charity's celebrity board, when his shoulder inadvertently grazed Hanks' head. For Wilson's outspoken comments, the NHL also decided to fine the Sharks 300 hamburger buns, to be delivered to the barbecue no later than noon on Sunday.

Torres has a history of questionable actions at community events throughout his NHL career. Last season as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes, Torres was disqualified from one of Alice Cooper's charity golf tournaments for parking his golf cart directly over a rival player's ball in the middle of the fairway. In 2007 while playing for Edmonton, Torres was ejected from a Select-A-Seat event for new season ticket holders after allegedly throwing two teenagers down a flight of stairs at Rexall Place.

The Bay Area Prosthetics for Pets Barbecue is an annual event featuring a host of actors, athletes and musicians raising money for the research and distribution of artificial limbs for animals ranging from hamsters to miniature horses. All of the teams from the Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose area send players and Torres was expected to be the Sharks' representative. His replacement has yet to be named.

"They'll probably send that Swedish guy, Raga, Ragu...Ragamuffin... something like that, man," said rocker Sammy Hagar, the charity's founder and the barbecue's chief organizer. "The Q's gonna go on no matter what some dickhead does, man. Not gonna harsh this buzz.

"We got some killer grub from Guy Fieri, some Cabo Wabo tequilla, a little music, some girls, Rickey Henderson's gonna be there, it's all good. If Raffi promises to chill out, we'll fix him a plate of leftovers he can eat the next day."

___

This is a parody. But is it really that far-fetched to see Torres (or Sammy Hagar) doing any of this?

BTW: Did you know that Merton Hanks is basically the NFL's Brendan Shanahan? I had no idea.

University of Maine and New York Islanders Coaches

2013-05-21T20:00:08Z

There is a coaching search underway right now that has nothing to do with the New York Islanders, yet the location of this search has at least tangentially drawn them in.

The University of Maine has been without a head coach since firing Tim Whitehead in April and naming associate coach Bob Corkum as interim coach. Maine, many Islanders fans recognize, is the alma mater of three particularly important people steering the Islanders and their young players: General manager Garth Snow, head coach Jack Capuano and Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Scott Pellerin.

For the Maine opening, the Islanders-related scuttlebutt began in April, when Pellerin's name was mentioned in media as a candidate but Pellerin wouldn't comment.

There has been nothing concrete naming Pellerin as a finalist for the job, but pretty much any former Black Bear currently behind a bench has had his name surface.

Including Jack Capuano.

The latest local report from the Bangor Daily News mentions neither Capuano nor Pellerin, though the university is not exactly naming names. Maine says it expects to have one secured by next week, is interviewing more candidates, but will not acknowledge specific candidates because many are in current jobs. The Bangor paper has the following candidates:

... reliable sources in the hockey community have indicated the frontrunners include University of New Hampshire assistant coach and former Colby College head coach Jim Tortorella, former Black Bear and University of Massachusetts assistant and current Yale University assistant Dennis "Red" Gendron, Maine associate head coach and Black Bears interim head coach Bob Corkum, and Mark Osiecki, former University of Wisconsin assistant, who was recently fired as the head coach at Ohio State after three seasons.

... but of course there could be more.

Completely coincidentally (Of course? Of course.), Jack Capuano was named to the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month.

And readers here brought this up in the morning LHH thread: A College Hockey News column (which, fair warning to Islanders diehards, reads a bit like a message board "cheap SnoWang!!1" piece ripping the Islanders' frugality), says "according to two sources, there have been overtures made" from Maine to the Islanders about Capuano.

You Be Capuano

The Islanders are always mum on the contract status of their coaches, but Capuano is widely believed to have finished a contract this season. So put yourself in his position, if indeed the alma mater came asking:

He's in an interesting spot. He's survived the worst and his NHL team is on the rise, so he theoretically can command an extension and a raise -- something few would have predicted in January -- but also his position is not one of perfectly solid ground. (It almost never is in the NHL, but...)

The Islanders coaching staff had this team "humming," as the players say, by the final third of the season. But it's also a staff with two assistants who were suggested if not outright picked for Capuano.

Meanwhile, NHL coaching jobs are inherently unsafe, and a step backwards after the team raised expectations in 2013 would be disastrous for Capuano. An eighth seed this past season, the bar is now set there as the minimum for 2013-14. The team was healthy in 2013. What if the injury scourge returns, or the goaltending further underwhelms?

Meanwhile, NCAA hockey jobs are ... well they're not cushy exactly, but they often end up being long term. A New Englander leading the good life at his alma mater could sound enticing versus the instability of the NHL, where even Jack Adams award winners are a fluke- or injury-aided losing streak away from suddenly acquiring an expiration date.

On the other hand, Capuano is in the very position he has toiled so many years to secure: Leading a team that is only expected to get better, carving out respect for the club and his work around the league, at a point where the latter two help his bargaining position.

It's all a matter of one's aspirations, one's aversion to risk and tolerance for job-forced relocations ... and of course whether one even gets an offer to mull.

There's no indication that has happened, but regardless Maine fans should know soon. And it's summer for hockey, so we can ask ourselves: What would you do if you had a hand in any of these decisions?

New York Islanders/Bridgeport Signing: Chris Bruton, fighter and Acadia alum

2013-05-21T18:17:47Z

The New York Islanders announced another low-on-the-radar signing today that may have you asking yourself, "Who?" As is typical in these late-bloomer additions to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, his history and path to the pros is an adventurous one.

The signing is Chris Bruton, who is essentially an undersized AHL fighter with some modest hockey skill. (See his ample fight card at hockeyfights.com, going back to Spokane in the WHL.)

But he gets a two-way contract -- i.e., an NHL deal -- so he at least potentially could see time with the big club. This is part of the annual rotation of muscle guys we see in the AHL, with some of them receiving that added carrot of a two-way deal.

From the team release:

Bruton, 26, scored 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 69 games last season with the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League. The Calgary, ALTA, native led Peoria with 134 penalty minutes, while posting a plus-2 rating.

He split his first professional season (2011-12) between Peoria and the ECHL’s Alaska Aces, totaling 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 65 games.

You'll note two things there: 1) Don't expect much offense, and 2) His ECHL Alaska Aces ties likely led to positive references for the Islanders, who have previously dipped into Alaska, where they recruited current assistant coach Brent Thompson into the organization (first as head coach at AHL Bridgeport) after his success with the Aces.

However, the other thing that stands out is at the end of the release: After juniors, Bruton played Canadian university hockey at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. That's why he didn't play his first pro season until age 24, where AHL Peoria noticed him and called him up in 2011-12.

They then re-signed him for this past season, with this in mind according to the Peoria Journal Star:

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Bruton earned a call-up from ECHL Alaska during the season and made a big impression on the parent club St. Louis Blues while in Peoria.

He fought nine times in just 38 games, and also bagged his first two goals at the AHL level.

"We've been around Chris Bruton for a while and we're glad to have him under the Blues umbrella," said Blues assistant general manager, director of pro scouting and Rivermen GM Kevin McDonald. "He joins a long line of players who have earned a chance to come up from the ECHL to Peoria during a season, got the job done and earned an AHL deal to stay there, then earned a full contract to return another year.

"We think he has a big ceiling and we want to see what develops."

Now at age 26, I doubt anyone sees "a big ceiling" for Bruton, but he undoubtedly ingratiates himself to his teammates and fans if his Peoria experience is any indication. You'll also see him as the first testimonial in this Riverman "You Can Play" project video.

With Peoria being abandoned by the Blues and scrambling to field a SPHL replacement for the Illinois town, it was time for Bruton to find a new location if he was going to continue chasing moves up the pro ladder.

Now, suddenly, that chase include an outside shot at appearing in an NHL uniform.