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By Mark D, November 16, 2010 7:51 pm

(This was written for Lighthouse Hockey but got pushed back a bit, and with recent news is no longer topical/useful. So it’s posted here for prosperity.)

With the book closed on the first month of the new season, this year’s Islander team finds itself in the nearly same position as last year. Floating around .500 (though this losing streak is pushing .500 further away), some nights they look like David the Giant Slayer, and other nights they look like the Brave Tailor before he got stepped on. No one can come up with a single answer for what might be ailing the team. It seems every aspect, from Goaltending to Fowards to Defenseman, is getting argued over and picked over with a fine comb.

Historically, when you’re a bad or struggling team, making a big trade usually doesn’t fix anything. For those that follow football, the whole Randy Moss episode this last week is a shining example. When something’s not working right, throwing someone new into the mix rarely improves things. Just look to the Islanders’ past and the acquisitions of Trevor Linden, Felix Potvin, Ron Hextall, Kirk Muller and Ryan Smyth: All short-term fixes which hurt us in the long run.

As the Islanders roster stands today, there’s not going to be much movement. The roster is made of players tied to Garth. Since the Smyth trade Snow has really been quiet on that front. The only time he’s traded NHL’ers was in order to stockpile picks. To suddenly believe that he is going to wake up one day this week, clap his hands, call another GM and make a trade that dramatically changes the team is unrealistic. It goes against everything he has been doing the last two years.

It’s not just trades though. The answer to the Isles woes is not going to be found at Bridgeport either. Yes, Matt Martin is a likable guy, especially when he’s throwing his body around in complete disregard for tomorrow. But asking/expecting a 21 year old in his first NHL season to turn the boat around might be a tad unrealistic. The same could be said of asking most any of the youngsters to make a big splash in the NHL now.

As of right now there’s 35 players that are 20 and under who have played at least one game this season. That means there’s barely more then a player per team who is under 20. Even looking at players aged 21 to 23 there’s only 102 of them in the league. 48 23 year olds, 26 22 year olds and 27 21 year olds. That’s why borderline players seem to hang around the league so long. Teams would rather play a grizzled veteran then have a youngster skating with the sharks. It’s especially easy to point to the Islanders past to see what happens when young guys are thrown into the NHL.

If this is going to be a lost season because of the injuries, then let Rick DiPietro play it out. If your hoping for next season to possibly be a playoff year (as many of you voted) then the Isles need to figure out the future in net. If it’s not going to be DP, better to know that now. Let Micheal Grabner, Rob Schremp and PA Parenteau play to see if they are part of the solution. Let David Ullstrom, Travis Hamonic, Rhett Rakhshani and Calvin De Haan go through their growing pains outside of the NHL.

Be it through trades or callups, the Islanders aren’t going to be fixed overnight. Players will get better and stragglers on the development curve will be left behind, but the team isn’t going to change overnight. There’s no magic involved except for patience. In twenty years as a fan, this feels like the fourth or fifth time I’ve got to put my hopes in the GM that he is making the right moves for tomorrow.If we’ve gotten to this point with Garth, we have to believe in his vision that tomorrow will be brighter. Going by his track record there’s no reason to predict a big splashy trade or a sudden rush of youngsters being called up. In the end the Islanders will be better for that, and the future will be brighter.

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By Mark D, February 7, 2010 4:51 pm

I’m going to make this somewhat short and sweet. The Islanders success last month is now a double edged sword. People were/are unwilling to admit that this was an over achieving team. Short memory also means that most people forget how bad this season started off in September/October. I’m not worried, if the team is going to get cold then its better to get cold in February then in April. Just ask last year’s Penguins how that works.

But people seem to be really down on Scott Gordon. I just wanted to say at the very least he deserves one more year if not two. First off, you can throw last year’s team away. Not only was it his first season, but everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I still wonder why on earth Dubie wasn’t brought back as a backup. This season the Islanders have been impressive for large periods of time, especially for a team that was considered by many to be the worst in the league. The other bright spot for the Islanders this year? The continued development of prized prospects Bailey, Okposo, Tavares along with the breaking out of Schremp and Moulson. Also factor in two players were considered marginal NHL replacements, MacDonald and Kohn, have played well enough to displace Witt. You memory doesn’t have to be that good to remember 10-15 years ago and all our prospects who did horrible on the Island and great elsewhere.

Another reason to keep Gordon is stability. I say the same thing about the Jets, during the time I’ve been a Jets fan it seems like every 3-4 years we get a new coach. Meanwhile the Giants have been to two Super Bowls and a contender while only hiring 3 coaches during the same period. There’s something to be said of having a coach for more then just two seasons. I think recent Islander history shows so much.

From 1972 to 1994 (22 years) the Islanders won 4 Stanley Cups, made it to Five Finals and over 200 Playoff Games (128 Playoff Wins) with 5 Coaches including Al Arbour Twice.

From 1994 to 2010 (16 years) the Islanders have made the playoffs 4 Times, played a total of 22 Playoff games and 6 Playoff wins. They also have not made it out of the first round.  During this time they have had 12 coaching changes (not including Arbour’s special game) with Lorne Henning and Mike Milbury each having two separate stints.

Gordon was the coach picked by Snow. So far they seem to be working well together.  Snows free agent signings seem to be players who will work the best in Gordon’s system. If you get rid of Gordon now your upsetting the chemistry, possibly upsetting the youth, and worst of all you might be starting from scratch. If you bring in someone and they want players A,B and C, suddenly its a whole new game plan. Quite truthfully as long as the young players continue showing improvement this is going to be a good team and Gordon is a success.

So give Gordon one more year. Let’s see if the youth keeps developing. Let’s see if DiPietro  can return to old form. Let’s see if Snow can get another Moulson/Streit/Schremp level pickup in the offseason. When Milbury was in charge during his first few years there was always signs of insanity lurking in the background. I have faith in Snow which I didn’t before this season. I think Gordon’s the right guy for what Snow is planing, and stability when it comes to coaching is a good thing.