This may come as a shock, but I was never a huge fan of Keith Olbermann. I always considered him a bit of a douche when he was a host on Sportscenter, and couldn’t have cared less when he got his own show. I’ve come to have a respect for his show and I’ve enjoyed a lot of the clips of it I’ve been sent. I don’t think I ever saw a full episode, and I almost always changed the channel when he started interviewing someone (I do the same to Stewart and Colbert). I’ve heard some rumors about him being a jackass in/around the MSNBC offices. But I’ve also heard a lot of people claim that no one else worked as hard on their show, with him being involved heavily in daily research.

But you have to give him credit where credit is due. If he helped guide MSNBC to a more left leaning network, then he did political discourse in the country a favor. While Fox News has been in the pocket of the Republican party, the other news networks have taken a middle of the road path with an unwillingness to call them on it. Considering that George W Bush was re-elected in 2004, it wasn’t the popular thing to come out against him before the election. But it was the right thing to point out the lies and fearmongering being used by the right. I remember when Bush was first announcing the invasion of Iraq, I was telling everyone I could that it was a waste of life and no one took me seriously. My friends now take me seriously when I talk about this stuff. It was the lack of a counter which allowed the whole country to be taken down the rabbit hole.

One thing you really have to give MSNBC/Olbermann credit for is that unlike Fox News they aren’t just lapdogs for the Democrats. They have been just as critical of Obama as they have ever been of Bush. It even got to the point that I remember the Daily Show claiming MSNBC was doing it wrong when it came to defending Obama. During his time with the network he was the figurehead and central in their movement from an also-ran to Fox News biggest rival.

Now because I’m insane I was interested in seeing what the comments would be like on Yahoo! News comments. I don’t know why I keep going back to them, I guess I’m just amused as to how much venom people can have for someone. I mean the right is so riled up about MSNBC and NBC they’ll actually chant NBC Lies at rallies. It’s almost like the 2 minute hate. I sorted these comments based on the Highest amount of ratings:

“Good! He was worthless!” 1325 Up 507 Down

“Good riddance….” 810 Up 245 Down

“He is a lying piece of crap.” 738 Up 213 Down

“Best news I’ve read all day” 734 Up 181 Down

“the world is a better place with him off the air” 716 Up 189 Down

“I Love Lucy re-runs would get better ratings.” 589 Up 138 Down

“It is a shame. Countdown was the best news show on the air.” 562 Up 1498 Down

“Take Rachel Maddow with you – you’re both idiots!” 521 Up 148 Down

“Accuracy was his forte.Showing you with facts how the republicans LIE to the masses was his specialty. Sure gonna miss him.” 438 Up 1225 Down

“We have lost a critical voice in our countries debate” 405 Up 1136 Down

I don’t get it. Two of the three positive comments for him were relatively minor and didn’t bash anyone. You would think such comments would have gotten some love especially when someone’s leaving their job. How the negative comments combined don’t have as many down votes as a single of the positive comments is mind melting. Is the internet that conservative? am I overrating the amount of conservatives on the internet? I mean there are some people who no matter what craziness they did get a positive response from people as they leave.

I really wish the best for Keith Olbermann, even if I do think a good amount of it might have been him being a douche around the offices. I also hope this isn’t a sign of NBC taking a new direction with the channel now that Comcast has taken over. Thankfully we have Brent Bozzell (seriously, someone interviewed him about Olbermann and it was in the AP report) to inform us that the show taking over for Countdown is an even bigger evil meanie liberal. I guess for Conservatives it’s be careful what you wish for.

Actually, don’t get me wrong. I was a fan of Conan and was behind him all the way. But here’s the thing, I don’t watch Conan. I have very rarely actually watched an episode of Conan. Usually what happens is that someone tells me that something funny happened on Conan and I watch it via Youtube. People don’t realize that before Conan took over The Tonight Show, his show on a regular basis was losing in the ratings to Craig Ferguson.

I know what your thinking, who the fuck is Craig Ferguson? He’s the guy that played Drew’s Scottish Boss on the Drew Carey show. That’s right, for all his laurels, awards and history, Conan was losing to a dime a dozen standup hack. Because people that still watch TV on a regular basis are old and stuck in the past. Conan is funny, and some of his skits are great, but he’ll never attract a large following on TV because that’s not who follows him.

I’m still shocked that there were people surprised that Conan’s Tonight Show ratings tanked. We all know that Jay Leno is the biggest hack on the planet. But just a newsflash for you, the same people who found “The Jeff Dunham Show” funny watch Jay Leno at night. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the people who watch Leno don’t even get the jokes about current events or politics.

In the long run Conan was helped by the fact he went to TBS, because in 3 or 4 months people will forget he’s there and stop comparing his ratings to everyone else. TBS will be happy with whatever ratings he does manage to garner, because no one has cared about TBS since they lost WCW. Do people even know what the current theme of TBS is? I mean other then being another completely faceless entity owned by Time Warner? It’s actual tagline is TBS: We Know Drama.

If Ted Turner was dead, he’d be spinning in his grave. Back in the day TBS actually meant something. It was “The SuperStation”. Maybe at heart I’m still a kid who loves the Super Nintendo, but The SuperStation is so much of a better catch phase then “We Know Drama”  I mean first off, the whole drama thing is dead anyway. No one watches Soap Operas anymore. That was considered the height of TV Drama back in the day. It’s gotten so bad for TV Drama that Soap Operas are now crowbarring in commercials. So really, Drama does nothing for you.

(Editor’s note: Before writing me, see note at bottom of post)

So in Conan, TBS gets a face, people talking about them for some time, and maybe even a fresh lease on life. But if they are expecting a runaway success like the show has been for the first week they are drinking the Kool Aid. People are even less likely to watch Conan on TBS then they were on NBC. Maybe in a way it’s not even Conan’s fault, but a saturation of media.

Back in the day when Carson did the Tonight Show, there wasn’t all these channels interviewing celebrities. If someone was on the Tonight Show it meant something. But now I’ve seen comics who will cram in their appearances on “American’s Funniest People” twenty years after the fact as though they are fresh and new on the scene. Being on TV is no longer important, and TV is so desperate for celebrities that it’s inventing them. Like I said, Conan has some wonderful skits, but the interviews bring the show down.

No celebrity worth their salt does sit down interviews without knowing the Questions ahead of time. Think of how few times a celebrity actually gets “ambushed” with real questions. The only time lately I can think of is when Paris Hilton was fresh out of jail, and she was offended that David Letterman wanted to talk about her jail time and not her new perfume. She’s not even a real celebrity anyway, where does she get off being offended that she is being asked a question which is obviously the reason she’s on the show.

When you have two interviews on your show, it usually means one of them is awful. This is especially true when one of them is a hot chick. Megan Fox could save 22 orphans from a towering inferno and yet she’d still give the least interesting interview on the planet. So you can only imagine how bad the interviews are when she only comes around to promote one of her horrible movies.

The problem might not be so much Conan, but of the unwillingness to change with the times. You don’t have to do two interviews a night. Do more sketches, or even better work guests into the sketches. Set yourself up so you can actually sell “Best Of” DVDs that people will laugh at five years down the road. Unfortunately TBS is not about to do any thinking outside of the box. Neither will Conan, who desperately wanted to take over the “Tonight Show” when it was obvious no good could come from it (well other then the 45 million NBC paid him to leave).

Conan is still setup in a situation to fail. He passed up bigger networks with more of a built in audience. By taking a deal with TBS, he seemingly didn’t use any of his weight to do anything creative or new. This would have been the perfect time and way to legitimately change late night television. Instead it’ll be more of the same old same old. Two long interviews that bore people to death and won’t be topical in six months. Sketches that are hilarious but always a little short. Someday someone will bring a new view to late night, but it won’t be Conan. In the end Conan will be remembered along with Chevy Chase, Joan Rivers and a list of other hosts who were funny for a moment.

Editor’s Note: I was written by a twitter follower (Thanks, you know who you are) who reminded me that TNT is “We Know Drama” and that TBS is “Very Funny”. It’s my mistake, but I think it works towards the point I’m making. “Very Funny” is a completely forgettable tagline. TBS actually started using it in 2004, but there’s nothing that strikes me as being Very Funny on TBS. I mean I could think of a dozen better ways to say that your channel is funny other then “Very Funny”

When I have better things to do, that’s always when I’m most interested in oddball stuff. Right now I want to run through every Milbury trade and rate them. From -3 to +3 and see where I end up. All info is from Islesinfo.com. If a trade is missing from this list please email it to me with some backup to prove that it happened and I’ll add it.

1996

01/23/96: G Damian Rhodes and D Wade Redden traded from NYI to OTT for G Don Beaupre, RW Martin Straka & D Bryan Berard.
01/23/96: G Don Beaupre and C Kirk Muller traded from NYI to TOR for future considerations(W Ken Belanger).

A three way deal that got rid of the Albatross known as Kirk Muller. I still shudder when I hear his name. Also good for getting Berard here, he went on to win the Calder. Straka played 22 games before being waived and grabbed by the Panthers, Belanger lasted a bit in the Isles org racking up penalties and being a goon. Nearly Milbury’s best trade, I’d give it a +2

02/02/96: D Bob Halkidis traded from CHI to NYI for C/RW Danton Cole.

Halkidis played 5 games for the Islanders, Danton Cole played 10. Both of them were pretty worthless. This is a head scratcher, so I’d give it an Even.

03/13/96: C Darby Hendrickson, D Kenny Jonsson, C Sean Haggerty and TOR 1st round choice in 1997 Entry Draft(4th overall: G Roberto Luongo) from TOR to NYI for LW Wendel Clark, D Mathieu Schneider and D D.J. Smith.

Now this probably is Milbury’s best trade. He got Kenny Jonsson and the pick that became Luongo for Schneider and Clark. I never liked Clark, but I was sad to see Schneider go. Haggerty, Hendrickson and D.J. Smith never made it out of the Minors. I have to give this a +3

03/20/96: LW Pat Conacher and CGY’s 6th round choice in 1997 Entry Draft(LW Bobby Leavins) traded from CGY to NYI for C Bob Sweeney.

Sweeney ended up going to Europe to play after a year in the IHL. Conacher retired after his stint with the Isles. Bobby Leavins of course never made it out of the WHL and actually went back to college. This has to be an Even.

06/01/96: D Brad Lukowich traded from NYI to DAL for DALs’ 3rd round choice in 1997 Entry Draft(D Robert Schnabel).

The Islanders have traded Lukowich twice, 10 years apart. Schnabel was never signed by the Islanders and re-entered the draft. Since Lukowich actually played this year for Vancouver, I say a -1 rating.

09/04/96: D Brent Severyn traded from NYI to COL for COL’s third round pick in the 1997 Entry Draft (Later traded to CGY and then traded again to CAR. CAR selected Francis Lessard).

Well Brent did alright for the Islanders but was up there in age. Since the pick ended up nowhere, I’m going to have to say Even.

10/10/96: C Darby Hendrickson traded from NYI to TOR for a conditional fifth or sixth pick in the 1998 Entry Draft.

Hendrickson only became a full time player with Expansion, and even then he didn’t last long. I’m going to have to say Even since I’m guessing the draft pick did nothing.

11/17/96: Islanders trade Darius Kasparaitis and Andreas Johansson to the Penguins for Bryan Smolinksi.

Horrible, Horrible, Horrible trade. Yes, Smolinksi did add some scoring and worked well with Palffy but his 3 season totals of 56-43-40 points for the Islanders wasn’t nearly worth Kasparaitis. This is one of those trades Milbury made since he knew Smolinski from Boston. I’m going to have to give this a -2 rating

11/19/96: C Nick Vachon traded from LA to NYI for C Chris Marinucci.

Vachon played 1 NHL game, Marinucci played 13. Even

11/27/96: LW Paul Kruse traded from CGY to NYI for COL’s third round pick in the 1997 Entry Draft. (Previously acquired and later traded to CAR. CAR selected Francis Lessard).

Kruse managed 2 seasons on the Islanders and seems to be a 4th line goon. Going to have to say +1 just because he actually played more then one season.

12/07/96: C Craig Fisher traded from NYI to FLA for cash.

Fisher managed 12 NHL games in 4 different stints. Going to have to give this to the madman, +1

1997

03/18/97: The Islanders acquire Robert Reichel from the Flames for Marty McInnis, Tyrone Garner & CGY’s 6th round pick in the 1997 Entry Draft(previously acquired by NYI – Ilja Demidov). They trade Derek King to the Whalers for a 5th round draft pick in 1997(C Adam Edinger).

Finishing off the Islanders top line for two seasons (Palffy – Smolinski – Reichel) and trading solid but not spectacular (if memory serves right he was an FA that year) McInnis and Reichel almost seem about the same level of talent looking at their career stats. Garner was a bust. I’m going to have to give this a +1 But The Derek King trade was awful. King still had 2 or 3 good seasons left in the tank and was a veteran. Edinger was a bust. So I’m saying -1 for the King deal.

1998

02/06/98: Islanders trade D Bryan McCabe, C Todd Bertuzzi and a third-round draft pick(LW Jarkko Ruutu) to Vancouver for Trevor Linden. They also deal C Travis Green, D Doug Houda and RW Tony Tuzzolino to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for RW Joe Sacco, C Mark Janssens and D J.J. Daigneault.

These trades are in my nightmares. McCabe/Bertuzzi trade I’ve talked about before was a complete bust and ruined team chemistry. It’s an easy -3.

JJ Daigneault managed a whole 18 games before leaving in the offseason, Janssens managed 12 before he left. Sacco played 2 seasons for the Isles but was just another 4th line enforcer. Huoda was old and Tuozlinni didn’t even make the Islanders roster. Green was just absolutely hated by Milbury and this was a dumb move. Green was a regular NHL’er up till 2005 and averaged 30-40 points a season. Giving this one a -2.

03/23/98: LW Gino Odjick traded to NYI by VAN for D Jason Strudwick.

Odjick played 3 seasons on the Island on and off but was never more then a 4th line enforcer. Strudwick was another goon. Going to call this one even.

03/24/98: LW Jason Dawe traded to NYI by BUF for D Jason Holland & LW Paul Kruse.

This is a head turner. Dawe and Kruse look about the same, but at least Kruse racks up some penalty minutes. Holland only had 8 NHL games for the Isles, so he’s just a throw in. This is a -1 rating. At this point Milbury is trading like he’s a fantasy GM.

03/24/98: W Mark Janssens traded to PHX by NYI for PHX’s 9th round choice (RW Jason Doyle) in the 1998 Entry Draft.

And that’s why Janssens never played for the Isles. Doyle never did anything and surprise surprise was a former draft pick of Bostons. Even

05/30/98: Islanders trade RW Jean-Pierre Dumont & NYI 5th round pick in 1998 Entry Draft(later traded to PHI. PHI selected Francis Belanger.) to the Chicago Blackhawks for C Dmitri Nabokov.

Ugh, this travesty of a trade. JP Dumont was arguing with the Isles organization over his contract, so off he goes. Nabokov played 20 or so games for the Isles before returning to Europe. Why give up a 5th rounder too? Going to have to go with -2

06/18/98: G Eric Fichaud traded to EDM by NYI for LW Mike Watt.

The Islanders “Savior” in net was traded for someone that couldn’t cut it in the NHL. I think by this point everyone knew Fichaud was done, so I’m going to say it’s Even

07/14/98: LW Jorgen Jonsson traded to NYI by CGY for LW Jan Hlavac

The Islanders actually traded to do something to make Kenny Jonsson happy and got his younger brother. Hlavac was pretty much a bust his whole career except for 2 seasons with the Rangers. I’m going to say +1 just because I loved my Islanders program showing a picture of both Jonssons and proclaiming “Y2J” was the future.

08/25/98: D Raymond Giroux traded to NYI from PHI for NYI’s 6th round choice in the 2000 Entry Draft.

Trading a draft pick for a player who pretty much eternally looked good in the AHL but never made it in the NHL. Going to have to say Even.

09/10/98: COL traded Nick Beaudoin to NYI for cash.

Well, you do get a former 2nd rounder for nothing. Of course Colorado probably knew that he was going to be a bust. Even

10/16/98: NYI trade LW Tom Chorske and their 8th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(Maxim Orlov) to WSH for a 6th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft Bjorn Melin).

I always liked Chorske for the one season we had him. Was there really no possible way to get someone to trade a 6th rounder straight for Chorkse? I’m going to give it a -1

11/07/98: BOS trades LW Ted Donato to NYI for LW Ken Belanger.

Going to trade ladder this one, after gaining 18 points for the Islanders Donato was traded for a draft pick who never made the NHL. Why did Milbury keep trading for goons and then trade them all away? Going to call Even on this one.

12/15/98: COL trades D Ted Crowley to NYI for LW Michael Gaul.

Another nonsensical trade. Both players played less then 50 NHL games. Even, it’s crap for crap.

1999

01/09/99: Islanders trade D Bryan Berard & NYI’s 6th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(Jan Sochor) to Toronto for G Felix Potvin and TOR’s 6th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(Later traded to TB by NYI. TB acquired Fedor Fedorov).

Facepalm, this trade made me so angry. Berard was a Calder Cup winner, Potvin’s career looked like it was done. I’ve got to say -3 on this one. Toronto gets revenge for the Jonsson deal.

01/18/99: TB trades C Craig Janney to NYI for a 6th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(Fedor Fedorov)

Fedorov ended up re-entering the draft in 2001 and being picked by someone else. Janney retired after this season. Even.

03/09/99: NYI trade D Scott Lachance to MTL for a 3rd round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(RW Mattias Weinhandl).

Lachance was a former first rounder (4th Overall) but was never really a great dman. Considering Weinhandl’s best season was 23 points (also had a 2o point season) I would have preferred keeping Lachance around. But I think Lachance wasn’t going to sign. So I have to say Even.

03/19/99: NYI trade D Chris Luongo to OTT for cash.

Luongo played a season in the AHL before finishing his career in Europe. +1 for getting anything from him.

03/20/99: Islanders trade G Tommy Salo to Edmonton for F Mats Lindgren & EDM’s 8th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(D Radek Martinek)

The fallout from trading for Potvin was that Milbury could finally get rid of his hated nemesis Tommy Salo. Lindgren was shockingly another player who just couldn’t get 20 points a season with the Islanders. Milbury’s saved by the fact that Martinek has become such a long term piece on Long Island. +1 for Martinek.

03/20/99: NYI trade LW Ted Donato to OTT for OTT’s 4th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(choice later traded by NYI to PHX. PHX selected Preston Mizzi)

Didn’t get the trade for Donato and then to trade him away? Even, nothing gained nothing lost.

03/20/99: NYI trade F Robert Reichel, NYI’s 3rd round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(Jason Jaspers) & OTT’s 4th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft, previously acquired by NYI, (Preston Mizzi) to Phoenix for F Brad Isbister & PHX’s 3rd round choice in 1999 Entry Draft.

Brad Isbister was one of many players who debut season was their best season and Islander fans are left wondering when that player is going to return. +1 because Isbister was younger then Reichel and the Isles were burning salary and actually got something.

03/22/99: NJ trades a 4th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft to NYI for C Sergei Nemchinov. (NYI later trade choice to LA. LA selects Daniel Johansson).

Nemchinov had a good few seasons with the Islanders and did even better in NJ. He seems to be a player who has the defensive 90s took hold, his stats just went down and down. Probably another salary dump and for an older player not a bad pickup, going to say +1

04/13/99: NYI trade D Andy Berenzweig to NSH for NSH’s 4th round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(D Johan Halvardsson).

Bubba Berenzweig was a former 2nd rounder whose career total of games was 37 (22 in one season for Nashville). Meanwhile Halvardsson managed a whole 8 games in the AHL before returning to Europe. Going to go with -1 on this.

05/29/99: MTL trades their 1st round choice in 1999 Entry Draft(10th overall – D Branislav Mezei) to NYI for C Trevor Linden.

Wow, what a fleecing. Can’t believe anyone in their right mind would have given up a first rounder for an older slower Linden. Of course Mezei ended up being a bust. Going to say +2 on this one.

06/26/99: DAL trades a 1st round pick(28th overall – D Kristian Kudroc) in 1999 Entry Draft to NYI for NYI’s 2nd round choice in the 1999 Entry Draft(Michael Ryan) & MTL’s 3rd round choice(previously acquired) in the 1999 Entry Draft.

Gettting a first rounder for a 2nd and 3rd isn’t to bad. But Kudroc ends up being a bust. So I’m going to give this a +1

06/26/99: NYI trade C Jiri Dopita to FLA for SJ’s 5th round choice (previously acquired) in the 1999 Entry Draft(NYI selected D Adam Johnson).

This has to be a negative on so many levels. Jiri Dopita was a 6th round pick in 1992 by Boston while Mike was there. He then wasted a 5th round pick redrafting him. Then he traded him to get a 5th round pick back. Adam Johnson? Huge bust, never made it out of the WHL.  Minus 2

06/26/99: COL trades a 9th round pick in 1999 Entry Draft(D Tyler Scott) to NYI for a 9th round choice in 2000 Entry Draft.

The 1999 Draft was hyped as being one of the most loaded in recent history and the Islanders had four first round picks with three in the top ten.  So I don’t see the point in trading nothing for nothing. I’m going to go with an even on this one.

10/29/99: ANA traded LW Ted Drury to NYI for LW Tony Hrkac & D Dean Malkoc.

Except for a one game stint with the BlueJackets, Drury’s stint with the Islanders was his last NHL experince. Although Malkoc wasn’t much of an NHL player, Hrkac went on to put up 30 and 40 point seasons in the 4 years after the Islanders traded him. Not only that, but even before Hrkac had played for the Islanders he had shown the ability to put up some decent point totals. I’m going with -2 for this one, but I’m itching to give it a -3. We got a player who was ready to retire and gave up at least one semi talented player.

12/19/99: Islanders trade G Felix Potvin, a 2nd round pick in 2000(later traded to NY who selected Teemu Laine) & a 3rd round pick in 2000(Thatcher Bell) to the Vancouver Canucks for G Kevin Weekes, RW Bill Muckalt and C Dave Scatchard.

It seems like Milbury had a deal with other GMs in the league. I’ll make an insane deal with you, if you eventually make an insane deal with me. After sending off Bertuzzi and McCabe to the Canucks for almost nothing, he then gets them to take Potvin off his hands while getting the promising Kevin Weekes, Bill Muckalt and Scatchard. Scatchard put in four good seasons for the Islanders, while Weekes and Muckalt became pieces in other trades.  A +2 sounds about right.

2000

02/15/00: NYI trade LW Gino Odjick to PHI for LW Mikael Andersson and CAR’s 5th round pick in 2000(previously acquired. NYI selected RW Kristofer Ottosson).

Odjick, an enforcer who was traded for another enforcer, was traded for Mikael Andersson. Andersson proceeded to return to Europe after his short Islanders stint. Ottosson never played in America. At the time you might give Milbury the thumbs up for at least getting the draft pick. But I’m going to call it even because of Otto not even making it to America.

03/03/00: NYI trade D Dallas Eakins to CHI for future considerations.

Probably ended up being money or a bag of pucks. Either way Dallas only played two games for the Islanders and didn’t rack up many career NHL games. Going to call it Even.

03/09/00: TB trades D Ian Herbers to NYI for a 7th round pick in 2000(later traded back to NYI, who selected D Ryan Caldwell).

Why trade Dallas Eakins in the first place if your going to trade for Ian Herbers? Both were AHL players at best who had been drafted in the 80s. You might as well keep Easkins for the 6 games that Herbers played. Oh and Caldwell was a bust. Have to call it Even, nothing for nothing.

03/11/00: ANA trades C Johan Davidsson & a conditional pick in 2001 to NYI for C Jorgen Jonsson.(ANA did not re-sign Jonsson, conditonal pick lost).

Jorgen was Kenny’s younger brother. Funny enough, Jorgen is better known in their home country then Kenny. It’s obvious you brought in Jorgen as a favor to Kenny, but why trade him for another player that wouldn’t re-sign and jumped to Europe the next year. It’s an even trade, nothing for nothing.

03/14/00: NYI trade C Petr Sachl to NSH for a 9th round pick in 2000(D Tomi Pettinen).

Ever wonder what happened to Dean Chynoweth? He was the Islanders first round pick in 87, #13 overall. Well he was traded to the Bruins for the pick that got the Islanders Sachl. Sachl was then traded for the pick that got Pettinen. Pettinen? Well the trade tree peters out here as he only managed 24 games for the Islanders and was never traded. Calling this even, pretty much a nothing for nothing trade

05/11/00: NYI trade C Chris Nielsen to CBS for a 4th round pick in 2000(later traded to ANA, who selected Jonas Ronnqvist) and a 9th round pick in 2000 (Sean Kotray).

I would like to declare that everyone in this trade sucked. Nothing for Nothing, Even Trade.

05/23/00: ANA trades RW Trent Hunter to NYI for CBS’s 4th round pick in 2000(previously acquired by NYI. ANA selected Jonas Ronnqvist).

I want whatever the Duck’s GM was on when he made this trade.  Sure he was trading a former 6th rounder for a 4th round pick, but Hunter ended up panning out remarkably. Somehow somewhere someone listened to a scout in the Islanders organization. Either that or Milbury made so many of these type of deals someone HAD to pan out. +3 for this one.

06/24/00: Islanders trade G Kevin Weekes, D Kristian Kudroc and a second-round pick in 2001 to Tampa Bay for the fifth overall pick(LW Raffi Torres) and CGY’s fourth(NYI selected RW Vladimir Gorbunov) and NYI’s seventh-rounder(previously acquired, NYI select D Ryan Caldwell)

Weekes will always be that guy you feel bad for. He began his career with an awful Panthers team, only to be traded to an awful Canucks, awful Islanders and awful Lightning teams. Then he has two good seasons for the Canes before injuries get to him. He’s retired now. Although I thought at the time the Islanders should have kept him around, I was excited at getting a first rounder. Then Torres ends up being traded elsewhere.  I vote +1 for getting a first rounder.

06/24/00: Islanders trade G Roberto Luongo and F Olli Jokinen to the Florida Panthers for F Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.

Welcome to hell for Islander fans. Luongo, considered the best goalie prospect in the league and Jokinen who wasn’t chopped meat were traded for two role players.  Parrish was good on a good Panthers team (Bure had 94 Points, Whitney and Kozlov had 70ish) but he wasn’t lighting the world on fire. Kvasha epitomized the lazy European player stereotype. For a Sniper, he never managed about 15 goals in a season. This is a -3 on so many levels.

06/24/00: Islanders trade D Eric Brewer, LW Josh Green & 2nd round pick in 2000(Brad Winchester) to Edmonton for D Roman Hamrlik.

Hamrlik will always have his detractors and supporters. I was never a fan, and this feels like a lot to give up for him. It helped us short term, but not in the long term. I’m going to give it a -1.

06/25/00: PHI trades G John Vanbiesbrouck to NYI for 4th round pick in 2001 draft(later acquired by NSH who selected Jordin Tootoo).

Another deal that sort of makes no sense to me. You could have kept Weekes or Luongo around and let them continue to start. Instead you deal for an over the hill Beezer and proclaim that this team is going to be playoff bound or your head. I’m giving it a -1 as I think Beezer retired at the end of the season. My mistake, he partially retired, he played a whole 9 games over 2 seasons as a Devil.

11/14/00: NYI trade D Dan Trebil to PIT for a 9th round pick in 2001(D Roman Kukhtinov).

Nothing for nothing. Trebil barely played more then a handful of NHL games, and Kukhtinov never left Europe. Why did we keep drafting Europeans that would never come to the US? Even

12/05/00: Boston trades C Sean Pronger to NYI for future considerations.

Pronger never played a game for the Islanders. No idea what the future considerations were. Probably money. Even.

12/28/00: NYI trade C Mike Stapleton to VAN for a 9th round pick in 2001(later traded).

Stapleton played 34 games for the Islanders with 1 goal and 4 Assists. The 9th Round pick was traded for Berube. Berube, an old school enforcer, managed to play 38 games and get 2 assists.  The following season he was picked up by the Flames. Why we needed another enforcer at this point is beyond me. Nothing for Nothing, Even.

2001

01/03/01: LA trades LW Jason Blake to NYI for a conditional pick in 2002(5th round – D Joel Andresen).

Complete steal. I mocked this because at the time the Kings had Rob Blake up for trade. Blake ended up being a great player who gave it his all and never stopped. Andresen was a complete bust. +3 for Milbury.

01/04/01: TB trades C Steve Martins to NYI for future considerations.

Nothing for Nothing, Martins had managed 2 points in 20 games for TB, and had 3 points in 30 games for the Isles. Even

01/11/01: WSH trades RW Craig Berube to NYI for VAN’s 9th round pick in 2001(previously acquired, WSH selected Robert Muller)

Nothing for Nothing, Even.

02/16/01: NYI trade G Wade Flaherty to TB for a conditional pick in 2002.

And the Wade Flaherty era comes to a close. He could have been the Islanders GM if he made it a few more seasons. Nothing for Nothing, Even.

03/12/01: NYI trade G John Vanbiesbrouck to NJ for G Chris Terreri & a 9th round pick in 2001(W Juha-Pekka Ketola).

And so ends Beezer’s second tour of duty in NY. Terreri left at the end of the season and re-signed with the Devils. Ketola might be the worst 9th round pick the Isles ever made. Nothing for Nothing, Even

06/22/01: Islanders acquire D Adrian Aucoin and LW Alexander Kharitonov from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for D Mathieu Biron and a 2002 second round draft pick.

Biron was a former first round pick, but he already had bust written all over him. Kharitonov played a handful of games for the Isles before joining the Sound Tigers and leaving for Europe. No idea what happened to the 2nd round pick, but I’m giving this one to Milbury, +1.

06/23/01: Islanders obtain C Alexei Yashin from Ottawa for D Zdeno Chara, RW Bill Muckalt, and the second overall pick in the 2001 Draft(C Jason Spezza).

Sometimes you have to wonder what the Islanders could have been. Spezza, Heatley, Parisie, Chara, Luongo in Net. That’s one hell of a top line. Instead this trade which made everyone cringe happened. If there’s one thing no one in the NHL wanted it was Yashin on their team. Let alone giving up the 2nd overall pick in the draft. This makes me cry, -3.

06/23/01: NYI trade a 3rd round pick in 2001(Tomas Malec) to FLA in exchange for a 4th round pick in 2001(C Cory Stillman) and a 3rd round pick in 2002(later traded back for RW Eric Godard).

A Bunch of spare parts flying around without rhyme or reason? Another sure sign of a Milbury trade. Nothing for Nothing, Even.

06/24/01: Acquired C Michael Peca from Buffalo for C Tim Connolly and LW Taylor Pyatt.

Although Conolly and Pyatt have shown some of the reason why they were first round picks recently, there is always the what if of Peca not getting hurt. Peca was the opposite of Yashin and there was the hope that maybe some of him would rub off onto Yashin. So I’m giving this a +2 but at the time it was made it probably would have hit a three.

2002

01/14/02: ANA trades RW Jim Cummins to NYI for LW Dave Roche

I Surrender. I have no idea why this trade was made. If you do, please leave a comment or message me. Even.

03/19/02: ANA trades LW Dave Roche to NYI for LW Ben Guite and the rights to RW Bjorn Melin.

When I got up to the year 2000, I let this article sit for a good 20 days because I couldn’t deal with it anymore. This is just mind boggling. Why trade away Roche for nothing, and then trade back for him trading two youngsters in the process?  I might be at the breaking point. I don’t know if I can finish this tonight but I will try. -2 just on principle.

03/19/02: FLA trades D Darren Van Impe to NYI for 5th round pick in 2003.

Van Impe plays 14 games for the Islanders, and then a handful the next season for the BlueJackets before leaving to play in Europe. -1 for once again trading a possible prospect for a short term vet.

06/22/02: NYI trade RW Mariusz Czerkawski to MTL for RW Arron Asham & a 5th round pick in 2002(Markus Paulsson).

A big steal from Mad Mike here. Czerkawski for some reason only scores on teams GM’ed by Milbury. Czerkawski ended up signing back with the Islanders in the offseason, so +2 on this deal.

06/22/02: CBS trades D Mattias Timander to NYI for a 4th round pick in 2002(Jakabs Redlihs).

This is why there is no Rhyme or reason to Mike Milbury. Why make a smart trade with Czerwaski knowing he was coming back, then trade away a 4th round pick for someone who played one whole season with the Isles and by 2004 was back in Europe. Want to know why? Because Timander was drafted by the Bruins while Milbury was there. -1

06/23/02: FLA trades RW Eric Godard to NYI for FLA’s 3rd round pick in 2002(previously acquired, Gregory Campbell).

So Milbury traded a 3rd round pick in 2001 for a 4th round in 2001 and 3rd rounder in 2002. Then traded back the 3rd rounder for Eric Godard. I think we lose in this situation. Eric Godard and Greg Campbell are both NHL players today, neither with the Islanders. -1

07/03/02: FLA trades LW Jason Wiemer to NYI for D Branislav Mezei.

The Tree of Failure goes like this. Milbury trades Bertuzzi, McCabe and a Draft Pick (Ruutu) for Linden. He then somehow trades Linden for a first rounder. With that first rounder he picks Mezei. Then he trades Mezei for Wiemer. He then allows Wiemer to go through Waivers, were he gets picked up and the Islanders get nothing. Mezei was a bust, but he probably deserved more then 64 games with the Islanders. -1

10/11/02: NYI trade RW Juraj Kolnik & a 9th round choice in 2003(later traded to SJ, Carter Lee) to FLA for D Sven Butenschon.

Juraj was given all of 36 games to show he could do something. In about 3 full seasons with horrible Panthers teams he managed 25, 35 and 25 points before returning to Switzerland. Butenschon managed 78 games over two seasons and all of 11 points before bouncing between the AHL and DEL for a few years. -1

2003

03/09/03: NYI trade C Claude Lapointe to PHI for a 5th round choice in 2003(later traded to PUT, Evgeni Isakov). AND
PIT traded RW Randy Robitaille to NYI for PHI’s 5th round choice in 2003(Evgeni Isakov). (basically, Lapointe for Robitaille).

Lapointe was definitely older and slowly fading. The 5th round pick would have made this a +1. But trading it for Robitaille who only played 10 games with the Isles before signing elsewhere was a waste. I’m going to call it even.

03/11/03: Islanders trade LW Brad Isbister and prospect LW Raffi Torres to the Edmonton Oilers for D Janne Niinimaa, WSH’s 2003 second round pick(Evgeni Tunik) and a 2003 fourth round pick.

Isbister had some good seasons with the Isles, but was slowly fading and never reached his previous peaks. Torres was a promising first rounder. Although Niinimaa had some good seasons previously, his one full season was underwhelming and he was traded halfway into his second.  Tunik played 61 games in the AHL before returning to Europe and is seemingly done with hockey. I don’t think Torres by himself was worth Niinimaa and Tunik. -2

03/11/03: Islanders trade G Chris Osgood and a 2003 third round pick(Konstantin Barulin) to the St. Louis Blues for C Justin Papineau and a 2003 second round pick(C Jeremy Colliton).

Although Osgood was showing some Decline, Papineau managed only 69 games and 16 points in the NHL before becoming an AHL mainstay. Colliton managed 42 NHL Games and 3 points across 4 seasons before leaving for Europe. Osgood is still a valued vet backup. -1

2004

01/22/04: NYI trade D Mattias Timander to PHI for TB’s 7th round choice in 2004(D Chris Campoli).

This has got to be dumb luck. You trade enough late round picks and at some point you’ll hit something. Although it should be noted that Campoli has dropped off since going to the Senators, this is another steal for Milbury. +2

03/08/04: PIT trades RW Steve Webb to NYI for D Alain Nasreddine.

Both players are the same age, and it was great seeing Steve Webb come back. Of course he either retired after his final 5 game stint with the Isles or disappeared. Despite my like of Webb, this is another nothing for nothing deal, and so its even.

03/09/04: CHI trades D Alexander Karpovtsev to NYI for a 4th round pick in 2005(D Niklas Hjalmarsson).

Karpovtsev was born in 1970. He played three games for the Islanders, then after the lockout five for the Panthers before returning to Russia and retiring after 06-07.  Hjalmarsson just played his first full NHL season this year for the Blackhawks and in 6 playoff games has 4 points. -1

2005

10/03/05: Islanders trade C Michael Peca to EDM for LW Mike York & a conditional 4th round pick in 2006(3rd round pick if Peca re-signs. Trade of 3rd and 4th round picks in 2007 if not re-signed).

Poor Mike Peca, we will always imagine what might have been if not for a cheap shot from a Maple Leaf. I’m going to say that Peca didn’t sign but this is still slightly confusing. York had a career high with the Islanders in his first season before being traded a bit down the road. My guess is that the Isles couldn’t re-sign Peca who was heading into the twilight of his career and let him go. -1

2006

01/10/06: NYI trade D Janne Niinimaa & a 5th round pick in 2007 to DAL for D John Erskine & a 2nd round pick in 2006(RW Jesse Joensuu)

Let’s do one of those Super Big Trade Trees for this one.
Wade Redden is drafted by the Islanders #2 Overall
Redden dealt straight up for #1 pick Bryan Berard
Berard traded to the Leafs for Felix Potvin
Potvin traded to the Canucks for Scatchard, Muckalt and Weekes
Weekes is traded with Kudroc for #5 Overall pick used on Torres
So That gives us Torres
Marty McInnis is traded for Robert Reichel
Reichel is traded for Brad Isbister
So That gives us Isbister
Isbister and Torres are traded for  Janne Niinima and a second round pick in 2003 (Evengi Tunik)

Finally we have this deal. Meaning we’ve gone from Marty McInnis and a 2nd Overall pick to Jesse Joenssu. Erskine lasted a season before leaving for the Capitals, after the Islanders didn’t even make him an offer.  This is a -2 on principal alone.

03/08/06: NYI trade RW Mark Parrish & D Brent Sopel to LA for LW Jeff Tambellini, D Denis Grebeshkov and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2006(dependant on LA making 2006 playoffs. They didn’t qualify).

So Mark Parrish, who was traded for either Luongo or Jokinen is now dealt for Tambellini (who might be talented, but doesn’t seem cut out for the NHL) and Grebeshkov. Both Tambi and Grebs were former first rounders who the Kings were more then willing to give up on, rightly so. I’m going to have to place it at Even, as much as I want to give it a negative. It was an attempt in the right direction.

03/09/06:NYI trade D Brad Lukowich to NJ for a 3rd round pick in 2006(later traded to PHX for two 4th round picks in 2006: C Tomas Marcinko & C Doug Rogers).

Gotta give it a +1 for the picks. The trade for two 4th rounders weren’t made by Milbury.

03/09/06: NYI trade LW Oleg Kvasha & a conditional 5th round pick in 2007(if Kvasha doesn’t re-sign in PHX) to PHX for a 3rd round pick in 2006(later traded to BOS for a 4th round & 5th round pick in 2006: 98th pick & D Shane Sims. 98th pick later traded to SJS for a 4th and 6th round pick in 2006: G Jase Weslosky & G Stefan Ridderwall).

First off, shockingly, Kvasha didn’t re-sign in Phoenix. He ran to Russia and cashed in.  So you pretty much have Luongo and Jokinen traded for Parrish and Kvasha. Then Parrish and Kvasha are traded for Tambellini, Grebeshkov and a third rounder. +1 for getting something for Kvasha

So with 82 transactions reviewed, the highest possible score would have been 246 positive and lowest 246 negative. In the end although he finished with a positive 2, not much good can be said. How many times did he trade a vet for a youngster and a week or two later trade a pick for a vet. Time and again deals were even simply because the Islanders wasted a chance with a draft pick. When you follow one or two of the trade trees you see the continued ability to drop in value. A drafted third rounder player gets traded for a sixth or seventh or later. A second round player gets traded for a fourth or fifth and so on. If I combined this with my review of Milbury’s late round draft picks I’d have to say it would come in closer to -100 or -150 out of a possible -246.  Thanks for taking the time to read this, and if I missed any trade feel free to message or comment on it.

And for that matter keep Roenick. Since the start of the Olympics, my blog has gotten more hits then ever before. Other then my complaint about Milbury commentating I haven’t done anything that should attract more attention then normal in terms of Olympic coverage. Yet my hits over 30 days have gone from my average of 99-120 to nearly 200 hits for the last month. This is all due to NBC having Milbury as an analyst for Olympic Hockey.

You see, people are searching Milbury more then they ever had before. Since I tend to tag a lot of stuff with “Milbury Sucks”, they find my blog. That’s right, since the Olympics started people searching for “Milbury Sucks” has gone through the roof. For that matter, People are actually searching Milbury like never before, just go by this Google Trends report of Mike Milbury for the last 12 months. It spikes at the start of the Olympics. Lets just say that’s not the best sign.

Going by my google analytics, here’s how people have found my site for the last thirty days.

Mike Milbury Sucks = 32
Mike Milbury = 10
Mike Milbury Comments = 2
Milbury Sucks = 2

So 44 hits, about 1/4 of all my hits are coming via Milbury. Trust me, as much as I use the tag Milbury Sucks, I averaged 2 – 4 hits a month via Milbury.

Also interesting, my main page has 77 hits. Basically when you land on /blog is what I’m talking about. My second most hits? The page for the Tag Milbury Sucks with 34. Its halfway to getting more hits then my main page.

So if somehow NBC somehow sees this, you’ve hired a moron. A pea brained idiot whose better at saying dumb stuff then actually analyzing hockey. Meanwhile I must applaud your hire of Jeremy Roenick. He’s proven to be astute, hard working and with great relevant insights to the current game. I realize some people have issues with Roenick, but you have to ignore that feeling and realize he’s good behind the mic.

In the End though, I have to thank NBC.  Without your hiring of one of the biggest morons in hockey history I wouldn’t be getting nearly this level of exposure. Sure, its not much, but every little bit of traffic I get the better. At some point I’m going to write something that takes off, its just a matter of time.

So I was talking to someone about my last Milbury article and how he managed to almost never have a 3rd round pick. This got my curiosity up as to what did Mike manage to get in the deals with those picks. For the most part I think he parted with them as throw aways. Throw aways are basically players you throw into a deal that you think are of little value to you just to make the deal even. One of the more infamous throw aways was Raffi Torres in the Janne Niinimaa deal. Which brings up a question for another time, what was Milbury’s obsession with European players, considering that he’s supposed to be from the Don Cherry school.

In the 96 draft, Milbury kept the pick and got Zdeno Chara.
In the 97 draft, Milbury kept the pick and got nothing useful.
In the 98 draft, Milbury traded the pick as part of the Linden trade. Also traded for Linden was McCabe and Bertuzzi. Considering Linden bombed as an Islander, the trade was already in favor of the Canucks before the 3rd rounder was thrown in.
Okay, the 99 Draft was a mess. Basically because it was supposed to be one of the deepest ever, the Islanders did trade for two third round picks. But their original 3rd rounder was part of the Reichel for Isbister trade, and to  make even less sense, the Isles and Coyotes just traded 16 positions. Neither teams 3rd rounder as part of that trade did anything.
In the 2000 Draft Milbury traded away the 3rd round pick in the deal that got them Weekes, Scratchard and Muckalt for Potvin, the 2000 2nd and 3rd round picks.  I’d say thats just about a fair trade, as Potvin played horribly for the Canucks. I’m actually surprised the Islanders got that much for him and a 2nd and 3rd. Then again I’m surprised the Leafs got Berrard for Potvin.
In the 2001 Draft, let alone all the other stupidity that happened, the Isles traded their 3rd rounder for a 2001 4th rounder and a 2002 3rd rounder.
In the 2002 Draft the Isles took Franz Neilsen, with their 3rd rounder.
In the 2003 Draft the Isles traded the pick as part of the Osgood for Papineau deal. The Isles did get a 2nd in the deal and the Blues got the third rounder.
In The 2004 Draft the Isles kept the pick and got Sergei Ogorodnikov who is back to playing in Europe.
In The 2005 Draft, The Isles kept the pick and drafted Shea Guthrie who isn’t done with college yet.
In The 2006 Draft, the Isles kept the pick and got Robin Figren.

So basically over 10 years the Isles kept the pick 6 times. To me the Linden deal was a complete bust. The Potvin deal was fair, until you remember the Isles traded Berard straight up for Potvin. If you ever saw Berard before his Injury you knew he was going to have easy entry into the Hall of Fame. He was averaging 40 points a season on bad Islanders teams. The 2001 trade makes no sense to me. You already haven’t had a pick till the 3rd round and then you trade your 3rd for a future 3rd and 4th. The 2003 trade was pretty even considering the Isles got a 2nd out of it. Although I wish they would have kept Osgood around.

Out of the 10 picks, the Isles picked 6 times and only two of them were busts. Thats actually not a bad track record considering what the rest of the draft record looks like. Robin Figren is currently the #2 rated prospect in the Isles system, and Shea is rated to be at the very least a depth player with good size. Neilsen looks like he’s made the Isles for good, and we all know how good Chara is.

People might ask why I keep picking on Milbury? If you saw what Detroit fans were ready to do to Matt Millen, imagine someone that does an even worse job then Millen in every aspect and appears to be even more impossible to get rid of. He even guarenteed one season (1999 or 2000 I think) that if the Isles didn’t make the playoffs his head would be on the platter. How he was going to make the playoffs with a 39 year old Beezer in net we’ll never know, but his head was never on the platter somehow.