Anders Lee is another Islanders prospect who, like Kirill Petrov, has dropped in our Top 25 Under 25 in part due to "signability" concerns.

As an overager and one who played in the USHL before beginning play at NCAA Notre Dame, Lee falls into that Jason Gregoire/Kessel The Lesser loophole area where if he leaves college before graduating, he could make himself a free agent on June 1, 2013. (The official CBA language explaining this, so we're clear, is pasted below.)

There has been some talk that this loophole could be erased in the next CBA, but: 1) That's guesswork, with much bigger issues on the table, 2) Even if it happens, there could be a grandfather clause, 3) Like we really want to guess what the next CBA has in store or when it will be resolved?

Regardless, there's another reason for Lee's modest drop in our eyes: At age 21, his stats dipped a bit in his second year with the [Fighting Nationalities]. Now on all opponents' radars, Lee went from 24 goals and 44 points in 44 games during his freshman year to 17 goals and 34 points in 40 games his sophomore year. Much of that was due to a long mid-winter slump which followed a torrid start. Focused line matching? Nagging but unreported injuries?

Speculate what you will, but the drop in production goes in the file, the inclination to stay in school (for now) is also noted.

Continue reading this post »

The Lady Byng trophy for sportsmanship and general gentlemanly-ness is one of the more awkward NHL awards.

(I say "one of," because there is nothing more awkward than the forced presentation in which Mark Messier alone declares someone a leader in the name of a tire company. It's pretty awesome when you can achieve a station in life where your reputation for a subjective attribute is so hyped that both a league and a corporate sponsor are cool with you just going, essentially, "I think this guy deserves an award because he seems like a good leader. I'll be there at 5 p.m. for the announcement."

It's enough to make one wonder if this was how Kate Murray was selected Goodyear Town Of Hemsptead Supervisor And Chief Obstacle To Change.)

Anyway, the Lady Byng's ... ah, particularly subjective nature leads to votes being quite scattered, as they were in the poll of SB Nation hockey writers. Generally, people just look to good players who happen to stay out of the penalty box. Occasionally, special consideration is given to candidates of a pleasant demeaner who look like the type that would freely share their cookies with others.

Continue reading this post »

Have you ever dug into the SI vault? If not you should, because there's acres of Islanders history there, from Chico Resch's $1000 hair weave and his magical posts in 1975 to Mike Bossy's lust for goals and respect -- and even concerns the Isles' defensive commitment held him back. (Heh. The NERVE.)

Anyway, you could lose an hour or two in that vault if you're not careful. More links o' fun:

• Memorial Cup: Edmonton lost to London, while Kirill Kabanov's Shawinigan play Saint John tonight.
  
• Obscure and irrelevant but funny: Islanders goalie Al Montoya, the most popular hockey player on Wikipedia? | Puck Daddy
• Some really rich discussion of the 2012 top draft prospects here; they rate Yakupov 2nd.
• And then there's this list: 2012 NHL Draft - Top 80 Forwards | NHLNumbers.com

Continue reading this post »

We're continuing our survey of postseason award candidates today with the Norris Trophy for the defenseman "who demonstrates the greatest all-around ability at the position.

This year's finalists pose the kind of classic dilemmas we haven't seen in a while: At what point does an overwhelming amount of offensive production (padded by assists) make up for defensive deficiencies or one-dimensional use?

Some would say Erik Karlsson is at that point. His 78 points were good for 10th overall in the league and the most by a defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom compiled 80 in the offense-heavy 2005-06 season. They were a full 25 points more than the second-highest total. (Though another red flag for those obsessed with points at the expense of defense here: #2 on the list was Dustin Byfuglien.)

Is that enough to give Karlsson the nod despite him logging the lowest PK time on his team? In the rest of the metrics, his quality of competition is strong; his Corsi is also high -- though as expected considering his offense-friendly percentage of offensive zone starts. He may not be all there yet as an all-around defenseman, but he's not being hidden from the competition. And even if his margin over the next guy is padded by some Gretzky-style "he was totally near the puck!" assists, his puck-driving play was essential to a playoff team's offense.

Meanwhile, Karlsson logged 50 even strength points alone -- including 34 of his 59 assists. By any measure, it was a special year for Erik Karlsson. He wasn't my top pick for the award, but I won't be offended if his remarkable, perhaps unrepeatable season is commemorated with a Norris Trophy.

Continue reading this post »

The Devils tied up the Tri-State Hate series again last night, and Mike Rupp turned things up to 11 once the score was out of hand, looking for a ruckus, throwing a shot at Martin Brodeur, and leading to my favorite gif of a playoffs that have been filled with great gifs.

Here are some comments and inside views of the new Brooklyn arena, which will be home to a basketball team and Leonard Cohen concerts -- and maybe a preseason hockey game if there's no work stoppage. ("Say goodbye to Alexandra leaving / Then say goodbye to Alexandra lost" ?). You can see that if it has hockey, the seating will be on top of that rink:

Memorial Cup: After two games aside, all teams are 1-1, which is awesome and hasn't happened since the tourney went to this format in 1983. This kind of drama is why Carte Blanche secured the naming rights, I tell ya'.

Continue reading this post »

As the NHL schedule begins to slow down we'll start to take a peek at the postseason NHL awards, which will be formally celebrated and announced on June 20, 2012.

Today we consider the Vezina Trophy for the most outstanding goalie. Officially, the three finalists are Henrik Lundqvist, Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne -- all deserving candidates. But the writers at Lighthouse Hockey have a few more to consider and we'll explain why below. From those voting, our collective pick is Quick -- same as the consensus pick among SB Nation hockey editorial voters.

In comments, your own thoughts on this award are encouraged.

Continue reading this post »

With over a point per game two seasons running, there is nothing to dislike about 2011 5th-round pick Brenden Kichton other than a slightly undersized frame and an untimely broken jaw that robbed him of a chance to make an impact in the WHL playoffs.

Otherwise, the Spokane Chiefs' leading scorer -- from the blueline -- was a savvy overage pick for the Islanders last summer, when they selected him after he put up 81 points (23 of them goals, 10 on the powerplay) in 64 games. In 2011-12 he again put up over a point per game, with 74 points (8 powerplay goals) in 71 games.

Kichton won't turn 20 until June 18, so he could technically return for another season of juniors or be signed and assigned to the AHL. An intriguing case with good skating and offensive instincts, he lands at #21 on our May poll for the top 25 Islanders under age 25.

Continue reading this post »