It is the enemy of progress on Long Island. Stupidity has killed the Lighthouse Project, and stupidity has now infected the 88,389 people who went to the polls yesterday to vote down progress.
88,389 people voted it down is because of three main reasons.
Reason 1) They are partisan, and will vote against anything that their political party does not endorse.
This is the main problem in this country. People will say no the economy is or the wars in the middle east are or the dependence on foreign oil is or the environment is.
The biggest problem in this country is partisan politics. Our founding fathers as far back as George Washington saw that this could become a problem which is why the day the Republicans and Democrats basically seized the power in this country was the day all of the problems were seeded.
Can you imagine living in a world where people ignore what is morally right and wrong and make all of their life decisions based on what their political party tells them to?
We are in that world people.
Reason 2) They are misinformed.
No voters say Charles Wang is a billionaire and he can afford to build it himself. This statement shows one thing. People are misinformed. Nassau County owns the land the Nassau Coliseum sits on as well as the building itself. The people want Charles Wang to build an arena on land that is not his and donate $350 million to build it?
If Charles Wang owned the land or the county sold it to him then you would have a point with this, but he doesn't. Hey as long as the "no" voters want Wang to build stuff for free, maybe he can build me my new kitchen for free too. Hey he can afford it right?
No Voters also said "I will not vote for anything that increases my taxes." OK. Every year our school taxes go up an average of 5-12%. How does this happen? Oh yes, WE VOTE TO INCREASE THEM IN THE SCHOOL BUDGET VOTES IN MAY.
Critics of the project said that taxes in a worse case scenario would increase $58 dollars a year. That is $1.12 per week. Keep in mind that this was a one time increase. Keep in mind not an increase every year like our school budgets but a one time increase.
Unlike school budgets where districts tell the voters "vote for the kids" and do not offer any information as to where the increases every year are actually going but at the very least we knew where our $1.12 per week was going.
Don't people realize that in the case that the Islanders leave Nassau County and the Coliseum closes as a result, that all of the people that work at the Coliseum will be our of work, all of the tax revenue collected by events at the Coliseum will be gone, all of the people that came to all of the events at the coliseum wont be coming to Nassau County to spend money shopping or eating, boosting the local economy.
Lets not mention what will happen with the coliseum site. What will they put there? A shopping mall? Office buildings? Hotels? Senior Housing? Assisted Living?
Yeah, I know what your thinking, that's exactly what Long Island needs, more of what we have to much of.
Reason 3) They are stupid - Being smart and rational thinker is not a requirement to vote in the United States, but it should be.
This is a statement quite a bit of the no voters used. "Why do I have to pay for a new arena? I can go to Madison Square Garden or the new Brooklyn arena to see a show and pay nothing."
Is gas free? Are train tickets free? Is parking in New York City free?
Next.
This is another statement no voters told reporters on the way out of the polls -
"Traffic and taxes are two things I don't want." Talk about dense.
Here is another gem.
"The Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Nets are all built new arenas and stadiums with private money and it didn't cost me anything, so why should I pay for this?"
Yankee Stadium and CitiField were built with tax free bonds that otherwise would have been collected by the state and the city. Yes, that is tax dollars that should be in the city and states coffers that they signed off on letting go.
The land that Yankee Stadium is built on was DONATED by the city until the project was completed. Then the city took the land that the old stadium was on, which is far smaller by the way than the land the stadium currently occupies.
Where did the land come from that the new Nets arena in Brooklyn come from? Imminent Domain. Yeah, that's a way to build a fan base in Brooklyn. Tell your residents to leave your home and take this check so we can build a sports arena.
How did the Giants and Jets help finance their new stadium? Extortion. Oh excuse me they offered their fans "Personal Seat Licences" for the right to buy season tickets. Yes, in order to keep seats that many fans have had for many years, fans had to pony up thousands of dollars per seat for the right to even purchase the tickets they have already been paying for.
Has the average fan tried to buy a ticket for a Yankee, Met, Ranger or Knick game lately? If you did, you would find that for a family of four for seats that will impress no one you would have to pay at the very least $500.00 to anywhere around $1600.00 just for the tickets.
The average fan cannot afford it. This is something that was not true for the Islanders. Sure pro hockey is not cheap, but you could spend $160.00 and take a family of four to the Coliseum for a game and sit where you know, you can actually see all of the action without binoculars.
Who knows what is next but we are back to square one. We are guaranteed only one thing and that is four more seasons of Islanders hockey in Nassau County. If County Executive Ed Mangano has a plan B, he better get to it soon just do not depend on the intelligence of your voters to get it done.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
New York Islanders: The Real Truth Behind the Arena Project
Im sitting here trying to fond the angle to play with this article and decided to go and talk frankly about what is going on at the moment.
First a little background on what has been done to this point.
Charles Wang bought the Islanders for many reasons. One being most prominent is that he is a Long Islander and wherever he went, people said hey Mr. Wang, help out us Islander fans and buy the team.
Men like Charles Wang, who admittedly did not know much of anything about the sport saw something in the Islanders back then that not a lot of other people saw, value.
Maybe not in the horrid attendance figures and equally as bad performance but he saw value on the team.
Financial value.
Charles Wang had a vision for the Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding area and he figured if he owned the team well then it would put him at the forefront of the battle that was to be had over the 77 acre Nassau Coliseum area.
The Nassau Hub project if you will is something that has been talked about for many years dating back to the 1980's.
I will not go through all of the plans that have been put forth because for whatever reason none of them ever made it past the planning stage.
Charles Wang has a much more grandiose vision of what was to be placed on the site.
The Lighthouse Project was a complete area make over with e new renovated arena and tha fully developed 77 acre development plan that was so big and so huge that the idea that someone wanted to build such a project in Uniondale was mind boggling.
Price tags of between three and four billion dollars was what it was going to cost.
Charles Wang brought on a partner for this project in the Rexcorp, only the largest and most successful real estate developer on Long Island.
He was serious and he was going to finance the project himself.
Yes you saw that right.
The project went through most of the legal hurdles and tens of millions of dollars was spent.
The Town of Hempstead effectively killed the monster project saying it was to dense for Nassau County.
This put us back at square one.
Enter Ed Mangano.
In a stunning upset, Ed Mangano unseated incumbent Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
So where did this leave the development of the area?
Mangano decided to get everyone to the table, The main entities in the deal are Nassau County, The Town of Hempstead and Charles Wang.
They all agree on one thing. The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum needs to be replaced. It is outdated and way past its prime as a new arena has been talked about on the site as far back as the late 1980's.
They all came up with the plan that will be voted on by Nassau County residents August 1st at a special referendum to see if the people of Nassau County agree with their elected officials on whether the arena should be replaced with County money.
They want to borrow 350 million dollars to pay for the project and another 50 million for a minor league baseball park.
Here is the kicker. opponents of the project say that residents of Nassau County are in effect voting themselves a tax increase if they vote yes on August 1st.
That sounds bad right? No one likes new taxes do they?
Well how much more taxes are we talking about?
That number is in dispute but here is the range of money were talking about.
Anywhere from $18 to a worst case scenario of $58.
Wow. that sounds like a lot of money to pay extra every month.
Wait a second. Its not monthly? Its YEARLY?
So the big problem people have is that people will have to eat a monstrous 31 cents to $1.12 PER WEEK to pay for a new arena, and that is if the profits the new arena would take in does not cover the debt service.
Hey if that's the case, sign me up for 3.
So obviously money is not the issue here, unless there are people who are going to go into bankruptcy from an extra 31 cents to $1.12 per week on their tax bill.
Opponents of the project are plain and simple resorting to the one thing that is ruining not only life on Long Island, its making it awfully hard for this country to get anything done.
Newsday, owned by Cablevison and the same entity that owns the Rangers, which just so happens to own the currently being renovated Madison Square Garden. So ask yourself this question: With the new arena being constructed in Brooklyn, do you think the Dolans want another brand spanking new state of the art facility in their market as competition for the Garden?
While your thinking about that think about this: Remember how crazy the Dolan's went when the Jets wanted to put their stadium in Manhattan?
Yeah, I am really sure Jim Dolan would be crying a river if the new Coliseum does not get built.
Don't forget that Jim Dolan owns Newsday, you know, Long Island's newspaper.
The next major stinkfest at work here mucking up the water is partisan politics. Something that is so prevalent in today's American society that the stench of it reaches all the way to Washington DC.
Do you think the Democrats, who are still shell shocked from losing the Nassau County executive position to the Republicans want Mangano and the GOP to get credit for getting that new arena?
Partisan politics is something that could kill anything it touches because it is in my mind a mindless creeping disease that only serves to get worse over time.
There is no one, and i do mean absolutely no one who thinks that the Nassau Coliseum does not need to be replaced.
Everyone agrees that Long Island cannot afford to lose all the good that comes from having such a venue to go to without having to go to Brooklyn or Manhattan not just to see a hockey game, but for anything.
Pro Wrestling, Ice shows, circus events, Disney on Ice, Concerts the list goes on and on.
Yes the Islanders need a new home, we all know that. But this goes way beyond what the Islanders need. This is what Long Island and Nassau County needs. I would absolutely love to be able to bring my kids not only to an Islander game or two at this venue but maybe go see Monday Night Raw without having to sit uncomfortable in the seats that are so bad.
I am a Life long Nassau County resident. I am voting myself a tax increase tomorrow and for the first time I will know exactly where that tax money is going.
Can anyone tell me exactly where my tax increase dollars are going when I vote for a 4-12 percent school tax increase? They get over 56 million dollars to run my school district. Why do they need such a mammoth increase every single year?
Yet we keep doing it because of the signs they plaster all over the place that say "Vote for the Kids."
People will vote themselves anything as long as it is for the kids.
This arena is not for the kids. Its for EVERYONE.
You will hear account after account of people saying why we should vote no tomorrow.
They blame Chalres Wang for not building the arena with his own money.
Yeah OK, the guy is going to build something that essentially isn't his?
Everyone knew that his money went away when the Town of Hempstead killed the Lighthouse project.
Everyone says well the Giants, Jets, Mets and Yankees all built their new sports venues not with public money, but with private money.
Really? Really? REALLY?
Where did the land come from that the new Yankee stadium is built on? Where did the money come from to help pay for the new Football stadium in East Rutheford? How many tax breaks did the four of the richest sports franchises in the United States get to build their palaces?
The answers are right in front of you - in one way or another out of your pocket.
Instead of thinking about what Partisan politics or financial agendas are telling us to do why don't we look at that building sitting on Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale and let that tell us what the right thing to do is.
Please post your comments below and if you would be so kind as to tell us why you think it should be a yes or no vote.
First a little background on what has been done to this point.
Charles Wang bought the Islanders for many reasons. One being most prominent is that he is a Long Islander and wherever he went, people said hey Mr. Wang, help out us Islander fans and buy the team.
Men like Charles Wang, who admittedly did not know much of anything about the sport saw something in the Islanders back then that not a lot of other people saw, value.
Maybe not in the horrid attendance figures and equally as bad performance but he saw value on the team.
Financial value.
Charles Wang had a vision for the Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding area and he figured if he owned the team well then it would put him at the forefront of the battle that was to be had over the 77 acre Nassau Coliseum area.
The Nassau Hub project if you will is something that has been talked about for many years dating back to the 1980's.
I will not go through all of the plans that have been put forth because for whatever reason none of them ever made it past the planning stage.
Charles Wang has a much more grandiose vision of what was to be placed on the site.
The Lighthouse Project was a complete area make over with e new renovated arena and tha fully developed 77 acre development plan that was so big and so huge that the idea that someone wanted to build such a project in Uniondale was mind boggling.
Price tags of between three and four billion dollars was what it was going to cost.
Charles Wang brought on a partner for this project in the Rexcorp, only the largest and most successful real estate developer on Long Island.
He was serious and he was going to finance the project himself.
Yes you saw that right.
The project went through most of the legal hurdles and tens of millions of dollars was spent.
The Town of Hempstead effectively killed the monster project saying it was to dense for Nassau County.
This put us back at square one.
Enter Ed Mangano.
In a stunning upset, Ed Mangano unseated incumbent Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi.
So where did this leave the development of the area?
Mangano decided to get everyone to the table, The main entities in the deal are Nassau County, The Town of Hempstead and Charles Wang.
They all agree on one thing. The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum needs to be replaced. It is outdated and way past its prime as a new arena has been talked about on the site as far back as the late 1980's.
They all came up with the plan that will be voted on by Nassau County residents August 1st at a special referendum to see if the people of Nassau County agree with their elected officials on whether the arena should be replaced with County money.
They want to borrow 350 million dollars to pay for the project and another 50 million for a minor league baseball park.
Here is the kicker. opponents of the project say that residents of Nassau County are in effect voting themselves a tax increase if they vote yes on August 1st.
That sounds bad right? No one likes new taxes do they?
Well how much more taxes are we talking about?
That number is in dispute but here is the range of money were talking about.
Anywhere from $18 to a worst case scenario of $58.
Wow. that sounds like a lot of money to pay extra every month.
Wait a second. Its not monthly? Its YEARLY?
So the big problem people have is that people will have to eat a monstrous 31 cents to $1.12 PER WEEK to pay for a new arena, and that is if the profits the new arena would take in does not cover the debt service.
Hey if that's the case, sign me up for 3.
So obviously money is not the issue here, unless there are people who are going to go into bankruptcy from an extra 31 cents to $1.12 per week on their tax bill.
Opponents of the project are plain and simple resorting to the one thing that is ruining not only life on Long Island, its making it awfully hard for this country to get anything done.
Newsday, owned by Cablevison and the same entity that owns the Rangers, which just so happens to own the currently being renovated Madison Square Garden. So ask yourself this question: With the new arena being constructed in Brooklyn, do you think the Dolans want another brand spanking new state of the art facility in their market as competition for the Garden?
While your thinking about that think about this: Remember how crazy the Dolan's went when the Jets wanted to put their stadium in Manhattan?
Yeah, I am really sure Jim Dolan would be crying a river if the new Coliseum does not get built.
Don't forget that Jim Dolan owns Newsday, you know, Long Island's newspaper.
The next major stinkfest at work here mucking up the water is partisan politics. Something that is so prevalent in today's American society that the stench of it reaches all the way to Washington DC.
Do you think the Democrats, who are still shell shocked from losing the Nassau County executive position to the Republicans want Mangano and the GOP to get credit for getting that new arena?
Partisan politics is something that could kill anything it touches because it is in my mind a mindless creeping disease that only serves to get worse over time.
There is no one, and i do mean absolutely no one who thinks that the Nassau Coliseum does not need to be replaced.
Everyone agrees that Long Island cannot afford to lose all the good that comes from having such a venue to go to without having to go to Brooklyn or Manhattan not just to see a hockey game, but for anything.
Pro Wrestling, Ice shows, circus events, Disney on Ice, Concerts the list goes on and on.
Yes the Islanders need a new home, we all know that. But this goes way beyond what the Islanders need. This is what Long Island and Nassau County needs. I would absolutely love to be able to bring my kids not only to an Islander game or two at this venue but maybe go see Monday Night Raw without having to sit uncomfortable in the seats that are so bad.
I am a Life long Nassau County resident. I am voting myself a tax increase tomorrow and for the first time I will know exactly where that tax money is going.
Can anyone tell me exactly where my tax increase dollars are going when I vote for a 4-12 percent school tax increase? They get over 56 million dollars to run my school district. Why do they need such a mammoth increase every single year?
Yet we keep doing it because of the signs they plaster all over the place that say "Vote for the Kids."
People will vote themselves anything as long as it is for the kids.
This arena is not for the kids. Its for EVERYONE.
You will hear account after account of people saying why we should vote no tomorrow.
They blame Chalres Wang for not building the arena with his own money.
Yeah OK, the guy is going to build something that essentially isn't his?
Everyone knew that his money went away when the Town of Hempstead killed the Lighthouse project.
Everyone says well the Giants, Jets, Mets and Yankees all built their new sports venues not with public money, but with private money.
Really? Really? REALLY?
Where did the land come from that the new Yankee stadium is built on? Where did the money come from to help pay for the new Football stadium in East Rutheford? How many tax breaks did the four of the richest sports franchises in the United States get to build their palaces?
The answers are right in front of you - in one way or another out of your pocket.
Instead of thinking about what Partisan politics or financial agendas are telling us to do why don't we look at that building sitting on Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale and let that tell us what the right thing to do is.
Please post your comments below and if you would be so kind as to tell us why you think it should be a yes or no vote.
Monday, July 18, 2011
NHL Free Agency: Why the Islanders Should do Everything to get Drew Doughty
Opportunities like this do not come around often if it even is an opportunity.
Drew Doughty is arguably one of the best defensemen in the NHL and he is a free agent at the age of 21.
Yes I know he is a restricted free agent and signing him is not as simple as throwing the most money at him.
The Kings have the right to match any contract Doughty chooses to accept.
It is no secret the Islanders have the most cap space in the NHL right now and have millions and millions of dollars to spend to even just get to the NHL's mandated salary cap floor of $48.3 million dollars.
Meaning that if the Islanders are going to be salary cap compliant for this season they need to add about $9 million dollars in salary as per the current league rules.
Yes you read that right.
So how are they going to do that? they must have a bunch of restricted free agents to sign right?
Wrong.
The Islanders currently have three RFA's on the team. Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau and Jesse Joensuu.
Assuming the team resigns all three players, that would likely leave around five to six million to spend.
So where are they going to spend it.
I say Garth Snow: go out and do everything humanly possible to get Drew Doughty in Islander colors.
So what would it take to get him?
Well the Islanders would have to sign him to an offer sheet so extremely high that the Kings would walk away from their right to match or work out a trade.
Let us explore the most likely way it could happen and that is trade. What do you trade for a 21 year old all star defenseman?
Realistically, were talking a package of Calvin de Haan, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and two first round draft picks.
Then there is the matter of actually signing Doughty but that is something that Islanders GM Garth Snow should already have an idea of what it will take because Doughty is a free agent so negotiations could have already begun.
The other route is signing Doughty to a over priced offer sheet that the Kings would not be able to or unwilling to match.
How much would it take?
The Kings have just over nine million in cap space right now. So any deal with Doughty would have to be over that amount.
The beauty of it is is that if you sign Doughty to lets say a three year, 36 million dollar contract you would be paying him an average of 12 million dollars a season.
The Kings would not be able to match that and be cap compliant.
If they refuse to match, the Islanders would then have to pay restitution to the Kings in the form of four first round draft picks.
Either case the Islanders should be exhausting all avenues to get Drew Doughty if at all possible on his team.
Garth Snow, you want to show the world that the Islanders are for real?
I cannot think of a better way.
Can you?
Drew Doughty is arguably one of the best defensemen in the NHL and he is a free agent at the age of 21.
Yes I know he is a restricted free agent and signing him is not as simple as throwing the most money at him.
The Kings have the right to match any contract Doughty chooses to accept.
It is no secret the Islanders have the most cap space in the NHL right now and have millions and millions of dollars to spend to even just get to the NHL's mandated salary cap floor of $48.3 million dollars.
Meaning that if the Islanders are going to be salary cap compliant for this season they need to add about $9 million dollars in salary as per the current league rules.
Yes you read that right.
So how are they going to do that? they must have a bunch of restricted free agents to sign right?
Wrong.
The Islanders currently have three RFA's on the team. Josh Bailey, Blake Comeau and Jesse Joensuu.
Assuming the team resigns all three players, that would likely leave around five to six million to spend.
So where are they going to spend it.
I say Garth Snow: go out and do everything humanly possible to get Drew Doughty in Islander colors.
So what would it take to get him?
Well the Islanders would have to sign him to an offer sheet so extremely high that the Kings would walk away from their right to match or work out a trade.
Let us explore the most likely way it could happen and that is trade. What do you trade for a 21 year old all star defenseman?
Realistically, were talking a package of Calvin de Haan, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and two first round draft picks.
Then there is the matter of actually signing Doughty but that is something that Islanders GM Garth Snow should already have an idea of what it will take because Doughty is a free agent so negotiations could have already begun.
The other route is signing Doughty to a over priced offer sheet that the Kings would not be able to or unwilling to match.
How much would it take?
The Kings have just over nine million in cap space right now. So any deal with Doughty would have to be over that amount.
The beauty of it is is that if you sign Doughty to lets say a three year, 36 million dollar contract you would be paying him an average of 12 million dollars a season.
The Kings would not be able to match that and be cap compliant.
If they refuse to match, the Islanders would then have to pay restitution to the Kings in the form of four first round draft picks.
Either case the Islanders should be exhausting all avenues to get Drew Doughty if at all possible on his team.
Garth Snow, you want to show the world that the Islanders are for real?
I cannot think of a better way.
Can you?
Friday, July 8, 2011
NHL: Circumventing the Salary Cap: Why is it Allowed?
The NHL has the right to void contracts they feel circumvent the salary cap when they are presented to them when a player and an organization agree.
If this is the case, why have so many contracts been approved that so clearly are meant to get around the cap and lessen the cap hit over the length of the contract?
Lets examine some player contracts and why not go into the New York Rangers newest prized free agent signing Brad Richards.
The Rangers signed him to a nine year 60 million dollar contact, or an average of 6.6 million dollars a season. That doesn't sound so bad does it? Not on the surface it sure doesn't.
When you look closer it becomes more unsettling.
Looking at the contract it breaks down like this:
Year One - Age - 31 - Actual Salary: $12,000,000
Year Two - Age - 32 - Actual Salary: $12,000,000
Year Three - Age - 33 - Actual Salary: $9,000,000
Year Four - Age - 34 - Actual Salary: $8,500,000
Year Five - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $8,500,000
Year Six - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $7,000,000
Here is where it gets interesting.
Year Seven - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Eight - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Nine - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
OK so what is going to happen between years one through six and years seven through nine? Does Glen Sather have some magical crystal ball that says Richards production as a player is going to drop by 1,200 percent from the start of his contract?
No it is a clear and concise way of reducing the cap hit the Rangers will incur to 6.6 million from the 9.5 million it would have been in years one through six.
How can the NHL or anyone else for that matter look at this contract and say its all fine and dandy and is within the rules of the NHL CBA and allow such blatant breaking of the rules in this case?
Hey do not blame the Rangers for this. They are not at fault for this disturbing trend. the blame falls solely on the NHL for allowing the practice.
Sure the Rangers have given out massive contracts before most recently to Wade Redden, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and they were sort of front loaded in Gomez' case starting at $10,000,000 and reducing to $4,500,000 in the final year of the seven year $51,500,000 contract.
Sure that is an over 100 percent drop in value but no where near as egregious as Brad Richards new contract.
Let's examine some other questionable contracts.
Chris Pronger at age 35 signed a seven year contract worth $34,500,000 for an average cap hit of just over $4,900,000. Here is how this one breaks down.
Year One - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $7,600,000
Year Two - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $7,600,000
Year Three - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $7,200,000
Year Four - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $7,000,000
Year Five - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $4,000,000
If the contract ended there, no one would say anything about it.
Here is where the interesting part is.
Year Six - Age - 40 - Actual Salary: $525,000
Year Seven - Age - 41 - Actual Salary: $525,000
Does anyone actually think Chris Pronger is going to play two years of hockey for $525,000 at age 40 and 41? Something tells me Pronger will be celebrating his retirement after cashing the last of his paychecks exactly two years before his contract expires.
Here is another head scratching contract.
Roberto Luongo is 32 years old and at age 31 signed a twelve year $64,000,000 contract with the Canucks. Smart move by the Canucks to get this guy tied up for the rest of his career right?
How the NHL allowed this contract to be approved is beyond comprehension.
The contract breaks down like this:
Year One - Age - 31 - Actual Salary: $10,000,000
Year Two - Age - 32 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Three - Age - 33 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Four - Age - 34 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Five - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Six - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Seven - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Eight - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Nine - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $3,382,000
Year Ten - Age - 40 - Actual Salary: $1,618,000
Year Eleven - Age - 41 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Twelve - Age - 42 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Now tell me how the Canucks are not using the final three years when Luongo will be age 40-42 and well on his way to playing golf full time to lower the cap hit of this contract.
The Organizations in question are not at fault. They will do whatever the league allows them to to get one step ahead of the rest of the teams in the NHL.
Why have some organizations, like the Toronto Maple Leafs come out publicly and called contracts like the ones highlighted above cheating?
Why has the NHL not stepped in and nipped this one in the bud so to speak before the practice became more common?
These are not the only contracts that employ such a practice. Ilya Kovalchuck is the only instance where the league said enough is enough. But they allowed his restructured contract which is just as insultingly cap hit lowering than the first one which is 15 years in length and worth $100,000,000.
The last 5 years of the contract pay him $8,000,000 out of the total value of the contract.
How was his voided 17 year contract any less ridiculous?
There are other players signed to equally questionable contracts, Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Flyers and Henrik Zetterberg of the Red Wings.
The NHL tried to fix this with the "Kovalchuck Amendment" which says that if a player retires before the end of his contract then the cap hit stays on the teams payroll for the duration of the contract.
OK that may work, but then what is a players incentive to stay and play for pennies on the dollar when he is way past his prime? Loyalty? Not many players are Niklas Lidstrom that can win major NHL awards at age 40.
The only answer is to make the cap hit of a contract the actual value the player is being paid instead of the average of the contract.
At this rate, the Rangers could have paid Brad Richards $60,000,000 dollars this season and then $1 every year after.
The CBA leveled the playing field when it was ratified the salary cap was $39,000,000. Six years later it is $64,000,000. We are right back in the situation we were in before the salary cap was implemented. The players have to be laughing at the NHL for thinking they got the short end of the stick back then.
So what will happen when the CBA is opened again for negotiation? Will the NHL insist on an actual numbers salary cap or continue the average method that allows teams to so easily get around the salary cap?
Something has to be done. Hopefully it does not result in another lost season.
Please post your thoughts below.
If this is the case, why have so many contracts been approved that so clearly are meant to get around the cap and lessen the cap hit over the length of the contract?
Lets examine some player contracts and why not go into the New York Rangers newest prized free agent signing Brad Richards.
The Rangers signed him to a nine year 60 million dollar contact, or an average of 6.6 million dollars a season. That doesn't sound so bad does it? Not on the surface it sure doesn't.
When you look closer it becomes more unsettling.
Looking at the contract it breaks down like this:
Year One - Age - 31 - Actual Salary: $12,000,000
Year Two - Age - 32 - Actual Salary: $12,000,000
Year Three - Age - 33 - Actual Salary: $9,000,000
Year Four - Age - 34 - Actual Salary: $8,500,000
Year Five - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $8,500,000
Year Six - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $7,000,000
Here is where it gets interesting.
Year Seven - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Eight - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Nine - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
OK so what is going to happen between years one through six and years seven through nine? Does Glen Sather have some magical crystal ball that says Richards production as a player is going to drop by 1,200 percent from the start of his contract?
No it is a clear and concise way of reducing the cap hit the Rangers will incur to 6.6 million from the 9.5 million it would have been in years one through six.
How can the NHL or anyone else for that matter look at this contract and say its all fine and dandy and is within the rules of the NHL CBA and allow such blatant breaking of the rules in this case?
Hey do not blame the Rangers for this. They are not at fault for this disturbing trend. the blame falls solely on the NHL for allowing the practice.
Sure the Rangers have given out massive contracts before most recently to Wade Redden, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury and they were sort of front loaded in Gomez' case starting at $10,000,000 and reducing to $4,500,000 in the final year of the seven year $51,500,000 contract.
Sure that is an over 100 percent drop in value but no where near as egregious as Brad Richards new contract.
Let's examine some other questionable contracts.
Chris Pronger at age 35 signed a seven year contract worth $34,500,000 for an average cap hit of just over $4,900,000. Here is how this one breaks down.
Year One - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $7,600,000
Year Two - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $7,600,000
Year Three - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $7,200,000
Year Four - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $7,000,000
Year Five - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $4,000,000
If the contract ended there, no one would say anything about it.
Here is where the interesting part is.
Year Six - Age - 40 - Actual Salary: $525,000
Year Seven - Age - 41 - Actual Salary: $525,000
Does anyone actually think Chris Pronger is going to play two years of hockey for $525,000 at age 40 and 41? Something tells me Pronger will be celebrating his retirement after cashing the last of his paychecks exactly two years before his contract expires.
Here is another head scratching contract.
Roberto Luongo is 32 years old and at age 31 signed a twelve year $64,000,000 contract with the Canucks. Smart move by the Canucks to get this guy tied up for the rest of his career right?
How the NHL allowed this contract to be approved is beyond comprehension.
The contract breaks down like this:
Year One - Age - 31 - Actual Salary: $10,000,000
Year Two - Age - 32 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Three - Age - 33 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Four - Age - 34 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Five - Age - 35 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Six - Age - 36 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Seven - Age - 37 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Eight - Age - 38 - Actual Salary: $6,716,000
Year Nine - Age - 39 - Actual Salary: $3,382,000
Year Ten - Age - 40 - Actual Salary: $1,618,000
Year Eleven - Age - 41 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Year Twelve - Age - 42 - Actual Salary: $1,000,000
Now tell me how the Canucks are not using the final three years when Luongo will be age 40-42 and well on his way to playing golf full time to lower the cap hit of this contract.
The Organizations in question are not at fault. They will do whatever the league allows them to to get one step ahead of the rest of the teams in the NHL.
Why have some organizations, like the Toronto Maple Leafs come out publicly and called contracts like the ones highlighted above cheating?
Why has the NHL not stepped in and nipped this one in the bud so to speak before the practice became more common?
These are not the only contracts that employ such a practice. Ilya Kovalchuck is the only instance where the league said enough is enough. But they allowed his restructured contract which is just as insultingly cap hit lowering than the first one which is 15 years in length and worth $100,000,000.
The last 5 years of the contract pay him $8,000,000 out of the total value of the contract.
How was his voided 17 year contract any less ridiculous?
There are other players signed to equally questionable contracts, Marian Hossa of the Blackhawks, Ilya Bryzgalov of the Flyers and Henrik Zetterberg of the Red Wings.
The NHL tried to fix this with the "Kovalchuck Amendment" which says that if a player retires before the end of his contract then the cap hit stays on the teams payroll for the duration of the contract.
OK that may work, but then what is a players incentive to stay and play for pennies on the dollar when he is way past his prime? Loyalty? Not many players are Niklas Lidstrom that can win major NHL awards at age 40.
The only answer is to make the cap hit of a contract the actual value the player is being paid instead of the average of the contract.
At this rate, the Rangers could have paid Brad Richards $60,000,000 dollars this season and then $1 every year after.
The CBA leveled the playing field when it was ratified the salary cap was $39,000,000. Six years later it is $64,000,000. We are right back in the situation we were in before the salary cap was implemented. The players have to be laughing at the NHL for thinking they got the short end of the stick back then.
So what will happen when the CBA is opened again for negotiation? Will the NHL insist on an actual numbers salary cap or continue the average method that allows teams to so easily get around the salary cap?
Something has to be done. Hopefully it does not result in another lost season.
Please post your thoughts below.
Friday, June 24, 2011
2011 NHL Draft: Flyers Change Face of Team - What Will the Islanders Do?
Wow.
That is all that needs to be said about what the Flyers did yesterday in trading 26 year old team captain Mike Richards and Leading scorer and fellow 26 year old Jeff Carter.
The question is why. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren can wax poetic about how he needed the cash to sign Ilya Bryzgalov.
Way to make your new number one goaltender the franchise villain.
Bryzgalov needs to play well or the Flyers fans will destroy him.
I as an Islander fan am ecstatic the Flyers have chosen to essentially trade their two best players bringing them back down to earth in the Eastern Conference. Say what you want, the Flyers are not even close to being the team they were last year.
What team trades two 26 year old cornerstones that are locked up to reasonable long term deals?
Something is rotten in Philly, and the rest of the Eastern Conference has got to be happy about it.
Enough about the deconstruction of the Flyers.
The Islanders are set to pick at number 5 in the draft this year and where will the team go? A lot of that depends on who is taken in the four slots before them but I think we can safely say that the four players will be some combination of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson, Gabriel Landeskog and either Dougie Hamilton or Jonathan Huberdeau.
If the New Jersey Devils select Hamilton at four, should the Islanders select Huberdeau, another center? Or should they select Sean Couturier, who was once projected to go number one?
No matter that GM Garth Snow and his staff choose to go with, they will gain another large piece of the future here with the Islanders.
If Hamilton is there at five, then it is the fans opinion that Snow should grab him quick. He is a big bruising defenseman that every team needs.
If he is not there then I think the team should go for Couturier.
Unless Snow chooses to trade down. I hope he doesn't because the draft is deep but it is also thick at the top as the top 6 players are all very good prospects.
I will be at the draft party and it always is fun. Hope to see you there!
That is all that needs to be said about what the Flyers did yesterday in trading 26 year old team captain Mike Richards and Leading scorer and fellow 26 year old Jeff Carter.
The question is why. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren can wax poetic about how he needed the cash to sign Ilya Bryzgalov.
Way to make your new number one goaltender the franchise villain.
Bryzgalov needs to play well or the Flyers fans will destroy him.
I as an Islander fan am ecstatic the Flyers have chosen to essentially trade their two best players bringing them back down to earth in the Eastern Conference. Say what you want, the Flyers are not even close to being the team they were last year.
What team trades two 26 year old cornerstones that are locked up to reasonable long term deals?
Something is rotten in Philly, and the rest of the Eastern Conference has got to be happy about it.
Enough about the deconstruction of the Flyers.
The Islanders are set to pick at number 5 in the draft this year and where will the team go? A lot of that depends on who is taken in the four slots before them but I think we can safely say that the four players will be some combination of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Adam Larsson, Gabriel Landeskog and either Dougie Hamilton or Jonathan Huberdeau.
If the New Jersey Devils select Hamilton at four, should the Islanders select Huberdeau, another center? Or should they select Sean Couturier, who was once projected to go number one?
No matter that GM Garth Snow and his staff choose to go with, they will gain another large piece of the future here with the Islanders.
If Hamilton is there at five, then it is the fans opinion that Snow should grab him quick. He is a big bruising defenseman that every team needs.
If he is not there then I think the team should go for Couturier.
Unless Snow chooses to trade down. I hope he doesn't because the draft is deep but it is also thick at the top as the top 6 players are all very good prospects.
I will be at the draft party and it always is fun. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
New York Islanders: 5 Reasons They Make the Playoffs in 2011-12 (Part 5)
We have reached the final part of our five part series in why the Islanders will make the playoffs in 2011-12.
So much has happened since this series began. The Islanders and Nassau County announced plans for a new arena and there will be a public vote for the project on August 1st. Public support would seem to be behind the project to a 65-70% positive range at the moment.
Once Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's revenue sharing plan is announced it will go a long way into whether public support stays behind the project.
That brings us to the final piece of our five part series - intangibles.
So much of professional sports is not necessarily all having the most skilled players. We have seen time and time again that it is not the team with the biggest payroll or the biggest stars that wins every single Stanley Cup or any major championship for that matter.
Its the team that puts all of it together at the same time. You can see the similarities in the Islanders now that we saw in Chicago and Pittsburgh before they ascended to the top of the NHL. The talent is there. It is young but it is there.
All that remains for the Islanders to do is to put the pieces together mentally as a group.
Garth Snow and his staff have laid the foundation for a bright future and have built the team in a way that it will be possible to keep most of this same core group together assuming they take the next step. There are no seven, eight or nine million dollar per season players on this team to hamstring him from keeping his players should they blossom into full blown NHL stars.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a prime example of how signing guys like Brian Campbell to a ridiculous contract can hamstring you from keeping the goaltender who just won you a Stanley Cup and ushered guys like Dustin Byfuglien out of Chicago.
Some people would say it was worth it to win a Stanley Cup and they may be right, but that's not the way the Islanders are being built.
The Islanders are being structured as a team that is poised to stay together for the long haul. John Tavares will be the highest paid player on the team after his three year entry level contract expires and that's the way it should be. Michael Grabner just signed a five year contract. Matt Moulson signed a three year contract.
Its the perfect way to build an organization if you want to hold onto your players.
It will be no problem at all for the Islanders to keep what they have and if they so choose, add a mid level piece from outside the organization without breaking the bank.
Why is all this possible? Because of Garth Snow. He and his staff have put a group of guys in that Islander locker room that want to succeed on Long Island and recognize that they truly have a chance to be a part of something special.
Look at what happened to the team this season. After a brutal stretch of 21 games basically torpedoed any chance of the playoffs did the Islanders die on the vine and whine about how injuries killed the season?
No they turned the season around and made the rest of the NHL take notice and put together one of the top 3 records in the NHL after the all-star break.
Fans noticed also. The attendance at the coliseum rose in this period, yes buoyed by some outstanding ticket sales ideas but also by the Islanders solid play.
There was something even better brewing in the Islanders locker room.
Confidence and certainty.
Every Islanders season of the last lets say 15 years has begun and ended with uncertainty with the Islanders losing free agents to other teams or bringing in unproven guys to pick up the slack.
This season we know every major player on the roster will be back next year and beyond.
If you do not think that is a big deal to the guys in that locker room, your mistaken. Looking around the locker room at the end of the season seeing guys you know will be back and that you know you can be successful with means an awful lot.
That brings me to the fans. Everyone knows the Islanders rank near or at the bottom of the NHL in attendance. This past season the Islanders were dead last in overall attendance and percentage of capacity.
This fact is easily explained away for two reasons.
1) No one is coming out to see a bad team and let's face it, at one point this season the Islanders were dreadful. This is something that was easily remedied by one thing. Winning. No not the Charlie Sheen type of winning, the type the Islanders did in the last 30 games of the season.
Attendance rose at the end of the season because fans wanted to see first hand what this young group was up to that was winning so many games. Looking over the attendance numbers for the season, for the first 25 home games the Islanders had what in my mind is a "good crowd" of over 12,000 fans only FOUR times.
For the last 16 home games the numbers were way up overall and the Islanders had 11 games of 12,000 or more fans with four sell outs, the only four sell outs of the season.
As you can see if the Islanders play well people will come. This coming season if the Islanders can manage to stay in the top ten in the conference a heck of a lot more people will come to see them play.
You cannot imagine what that means to a young team to look up in the stands and see 3,500 fans in a 16,250 seat arena. That has to be disconcerting especially to young players.
At the same time, when you look up and see little or no empty seats that has to be like adrenaline again especially for young players.
Hopefully this season more Islander fans will come back to the Coliseum and see what Snow and company are building. The fans of the team are still there but they have had no confidence in what the Islanders were putting on the ice. Now that has changed. All that has to happen is for the team to take the next step and continue to build what they have started.
Secondly on top of the the strong player base the Islanders for once have great news brewing on an organizational level. Everyone knows the Islanders have a lease with Nassau County through the 2014-15 season. That date seemed so far away just a couple of seasons ago but guess what? It takes 2-3 years to physically build an arena. If your going to have plans to build one which can take up to 2 years you have to start the process well before the lease is due to end.
The powers that be for once have done it. Plans are laid down and the time frame is right for the Islanders to move into a new home arena on or about the 2014-15 season.
Players are already making note. Grabner stated on his Twitter page that he is excited about the news for the new arena. Now that plans are in place and the Islanders future would seem to be secure it can end almost two decades of uncertainty that surrounded the team on so many levels.
Soon we will be only worried about one thing. Hockey.
Thank You all for reading and please as always, place your comments below.
So much has happened since this series began. The Islanders and Nassau County announced plans for a new arena and there will be a public vote for the project on August 1st. Public support would seem to be behind the project to a 65-70% positive range at the moment.
Once Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's revenue sharing plan is announced it will go a long way into whether public support stays behind the project.
That brings us to the final piece of our five part series - intangibles.
So much of professional sports is not necessarily all having the most skilled players. We have seen time and time again that it is not the team with the biggest payroll or the biggest stars that wins every single Stanley Cup or any major championship for that matter.
Its the team that puts all of it together at the same time. You can see the similarities in the Islanders now that we saw in Chicago and Pittsburgh before they ascended to the top of the NHL. The talent is there. It is young but it is there.
All that remains for the Islanders to do is to put the pieces together mentally as a group.
Garth Snow and his staff have laid the foundation for a bright future and have built the team in a way that it will be possible to keep most of this same core group together assuming they take the next step. There are no seven, eight or nine million dollar per season players on this team to hamstring him from keeping his players should they blossom into full blown NHL stars.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a prime example of how signing guys like Brian Campbell to a ridiculous contract can hamstring you from keeping the goaltender who just won you a Stanley Cup and ushered guys like Dustin Byfuglien out of Chicago.
Some people would say it was worth it to win a Stanley Cup and they may be right, but that's not the way the Islanders are being built.
The Islanders are being structured as a team that is poised to stay together for the long haul. John Tavares will be the highest paid player on the team after his three year entry level contract expires and that's the way it should be. Michael Grabner just signed a five year contract. Matt Moulson signed a three year contract.
Its the perfect way to build an organization if you want to hold onto your players.
It will be no problem at all for the Islanders to keep what they have and if they so choose, add a mid level piece from outside the organization without breaking the bank.
Why is all this possible? Because of Garth Snow. He and his staff have put a group of guys in that Islander locker room that want to succeed on Long Island and recognize that they truly have a chance to be a part of something special.
Look at what happened to the team this season. After a brutal stretch of 21 games basically torpedoed any chance of the playoffs did the Islanders die on the vine and whine about how injuries killed the season?
No they turned the season around and made the rest of the NHL take notice and put together one of the top 3 records in the NHL after the all-star break.
Fans noticed also. The attendance at the coliseum rose in this period, yes buoyed by some outstanding ticket sales ideas but also by the Islanders solid play.
There was something even better brewing in the Islanders locker room.
Confidence and certainty.
Every Islanders season of the last lets say 15 years has begun and ended with uncertainty with the Islanders losing free agents to other teams or bringing in unproven guys to pick up the slack.
This season we know every major player on the roster will be back next year and beyond.
If you do not think that is a big deal to the guys in that locker room, your mistaken. Looking around the locker room at the end of the season seeing guys you know will be back and that you know you can be successful with means an awful lot.
That brings me to the fans. Everyone knows the Islanders rank near or at the bottom of the NHL in attendance. This past season the Islanders were dead last in overall attendance and percentage of capacity.
This fact is easily explained away for two reasons.
1) No one is coming out to see a bad team and let's face it, at one point this season the Islanders were dreadful. This is something that was easily remedied by one thing. Winning. No not the Charlie Sheen type of winning, the type the Islanders did in the last 30 games of the season.
Attendance rose at the end of the season because fans wanted to see first hand what this young group was up to that was winning so many games. Looking over the attendance numbers for the season, for the first 25 home games the Islanders had what in my mind is a "good crowd" of over 12,000 fans only FOUR times.
For the last 16 home games the numbers were way up overall and the Islanders had 11 games of 12,000 or more fans with four sell outs, the only four sell outs of the season.
As you can see if the Islanders play well people will come. This coming season if the Islanders can manage to stay in the top ten in the conference a heck of a lot more people will come to see them play.
You cannot imagine what that means to a young team to look up in the stands and see 3,500 fans in a 16,250 seat arena. That has to be disconcerting especially to young players.
At the same time, when you look up and see little or no empty seats that has to be like adrenaline again especially for young players.
Hopefully this season more Islander fans will come back to the Coliseum and see what Snow and company are building. The fans of the team are still there but they have had no confidence in what the Islanders were putting on the ice. Now that has changed. All that has to happen is for the team to take the next step and continue to build what they have started.
Secondly on top of the the strong player base the Islanders for once have great news brewing on an organizational level. Everyone knows the Islanders have a lease with Nassau County through the 2014-15 season. That date seemed so far away just a couple of seasons ago but guess what? It takes 2-3 years to physically build an arena. If your going to have plans to build one which can take up to 2 years you have to start the process well before the lease is due to end.
The powers that be for once have done it. Plans are laid down and the time frame is right for the Islanders to move into a new home arena on or about the 2014-15 season.
Players are already making note. Grabner stated on his Twitter page that he is excited about the news for the new arena. Now that plans are in place and the Islanders future would seem to be secure it can end almost two decades of uncertainty that surrounded the team on so many levels.
Soon we will be only worried about one thing. Hockey.
Thank You all for reading and please as always, place your comments below.
Monday, May 16, 2011
New York Islanders: 5 Reasons They Make the Playoffs in 2011-12 (Part 4)
First things first, my sincerest condolences go out to Derek Boogaard's family, friends and fans.
On the heels of the huge news that the Islanders may actually have a plan for a new arena and the signing of Michael Grabner to a five year contract may I present part four in a five part series of why the Islanders will make the playoffs in 2011-2012.
For this part we will examine the Islanders defense corps.
The Islanders were decimated by injury last season. We all know this. Their defense in particular was hit the hardest.
T`here are six defense positions on any NHL team for use in a game. Everyone knows that.
The Islanders had 13 different defensemen on their roster this season counting Mark Striet who did not play one game because of major shoulder surgery.
This fact in of itself could wind up being the reason the Islanders discovered what could be a defense pairing that will play together and grow as a unit for many years to come.
Andy MacDonald and Travis Hamonic have bright futures in the NHL. They consistently played as the Islanders number one defense tandem this season and played against the best the rest of the NHL had to offer and they did very well for themselves.
The two young defenseman also showed poise on the offensive side of the game also, scoring 27 points (MacDonald) and 26 points (Hamonic.)
Most impressive is that they were the only Islanders defesnemen to finish the season with plus ratings that played over 20 games. Doing that and playing against the NHL's best definitely proves that they are ready for the full time load of playing in the NHL and should start the year as the Islanders number two pair next season.
Returning Islanders veteran defenseman Mark Striet will be back at next season. Hopefully he can return to form and lead the Islanders power play and not show any ill effects from missing an entire season from such a major operation.
If he returns to form he will bring what the Islanders most sorely lacked this year and that is a power play puck moving offensive threat.
The Islanders power play sorely missed him as he provides the presence on the offensive side of the game that a team needs to have a successful power play.
Also returning from injury are a trio of steady veteran defensemen in Mark Eaton, Mike Mottau and Milan Jurcina.
On the young side Ty Wishart also played well in his 20 games this season after being aquired for goaltender Dwayne Roloson.
On a side note if the Tampa Bay Lightning should win the Stanley Cup this season Garth Snow should get a Stanley Cup ring as former Islanders Roloson and Sean Bergenheim are absolutely lighting it up for the Bolts.
Back to the subject at hand the Islanders also have young prospect Calvin de Haan who will challenge for a spot on the team straight out of camp and will probably make the team out of camp unless he takes a step back in his development.
Could Aaron Ness also make a case for a roster spot? What happens with Bruno Gervais who is a restricted free agent?
Having to many NHL capable defensemen is a great problem to have as this past season showed people get hurt and it pays to have people that can just step in and have the team not miss a beat.
The Islanders defense corps has it all. Size, veteran leadership, solid defense, speed and young players looking to crack the lineup. It boasts a solid base for the Islanders to build on this season knowing that the goaltending will not have to stand on its head every game to keep the Islanders in games because the defense will be solid.
The Islanders core of defenseman is a more than capable unit that will only grow better with time and it has Islander fans excited to see the next step of their development.
Please post your comments below.
On the heels of the huge news that the Islanders may actually have a plan for a new arena and the signing of Michael Grabner to a five year contract may I present part four in a five part series of why the Islanders will make the playoffs in 2011-2012.
For this part we will examine the Islanders defense corps.
The Islanders were decimated by injury last season. We all know this. Their defense in particular was hit the hardest.
T`here are six defense positions on any NHL team for use in a game. Everyone knows that.
The Islanders had 13 different defensemen on their roster this season counting Mark Striet who did not play one game because of major shoulder surgery.
This fact in of itself could wind up being the reason the Islanders discovered what could be a defense pairing that will play together and grow as a unit for many years to come.
Andy MacDonald and Travis Hamonic have bright futures in the NHL. They consistently played as the Islanders number one defense tandem this season and played against the best the rest of the NHL had to offer and they did very well for themselves.
The two young defenseman also showed poise on the offensive side of the game also, scoring 27 points (MacDonald) and 26 points (Hamonic.)
Most impressive is that they were the only Islanders defesnemen to finish the season with plus ratings that played over 20 games. Doing that and playing against the NHL's best definitely proves that they are ready for the full time load of playing in the NHL and should start the year as the Islanders number two pair next season.
Returning Islanders veteran defenseman Mark Striet will be back at next season. Hopefully he can return to form and lead the Islanders power play and not show any ill effects from missing an entire season from such a major operation.
If he returns to form he will bring what the Islanders most sorely lacked this year and that is a power play puck moving offensive threat.
The Islanders power play sorely missed him as he provides the presence on the offensive side of the game that a team needs to have a successful power play.
Also returning from injury are a trio of steady veteran defensemen in Mark Eaton, Mike Mottau and Milan Jurcina.
On the young side Ty Wishart also played well in his 20 games this season after being aquired for goaltender Dwayne Roloson.
On a side note if the Tampa Bay Lightning should win the Stanley Cup this season Garth Snow should get a Stanley Cup ring as former Islanders Roloson and Sean Bergenheim are absolutely lighting it up for the Bolts.
Back to the subject at hand the Islanders also have young prospect Calvin de Haan who will challenge for a spot on the team straight out of camp and will probably make the team out of camp unless he takes a step back in his development.
Could Aaron Ness also make a case for a roster spot? What happens with Bruno Gervais who is a restricted free agent?
Having to many NHL capable defensemen is a great problem to have as this past season showed people get hurt and it pays to have people that can just step in and have the team not miss a beat.
The Islanders defense corps has it all. Size, veteran leadership, solid defense, speed and young players looking to crack the lineup. It boasts a solid base for the Islanders to build on this season knowing that the goaltending will not have to stand on its head every game to keep the Islanders in games because the defense will be solid.
The Islanders core of defenseman is a more than capable unit that will only grow better with time and it has Islander fans excited to see the next step of their development.
Please post your comments below.
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