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WebBard's thank you to our readers was well-timed, because judging by our traffic about half of you were in the path of Hurricane Irene this weekend and could use a little of our moral support.
Just to update our readers around the globe about the impact close to the Islanders home: Assessments are still coming in, but Newsday reported more than 474,000 without power and flooding saturating several coastal Long Island communities. Officials were going to try to assess LIRR damage Sunday afternoon. In the broader New York City area, 1 million lost power and major flooding hit several communities, though Irene technically was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit New York.
Thoughts are with you all affected by Irene. Even when the worst is avoided, this stuff is no fun. A few Isles and hockey tidbits after the jump:
Islanders-ish:
- Sound Tigers feature from the Greenwich Post on summer signing Sean Backman, about his "homecoming" and the transition from Yale to the pro schedule.
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Nino Niderreiter on hand to teach the kids -- one "kid" teaching plenty others -- and talking about the thrill of meeting a pro player back when he was just a tyke. That one's the official site version; there's another write-up from the Patch-Syosset here.
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FanShots: The Hockey Prospectus guys (via ESPN Insider) figure Frans Nielsen's production may decline this year because ... well after several seasons of improvement they suspect he's due. | All your Michael Grabner goals in one tidy package.
For the Mets/Islanders fans: This headline threw me for a loop, because you could see it applying to the new coach's takeover last November: Capuano Finds Less Thinking is the Answer.
Other Hockey:
- Which teams manage their cap most efficiently? By one measure, Ilya Kovalchuk's presence and absence really changes things. [Copper & Blue]
- Fun write-up on locker room pranks from Justin Bourne.
- This was weird but ambitious: Re-drafting all 30 NHL teams.
- Via Michael Fornabaio, a fun IIHF write-up on a Swedish referee working in the NHL.
- The CCHA seems doomed. Where will Notre Dame end up? (And will Anders Lee still be there when it happens?)
Just for Fun:
- Topical, but OT: Graphs about Charts and Charts about Graphs, Hurricane edition.
Alright, be safe everybody. If it helps, share your close calls and trials with our community here. And for all of you well beyond Irene's reach, well you just keep on keepin' on then.