1) NYI Fan Central understands your position also but where you cover several teams we cover one team.

There are a lot of clubs in this league we can use increment’s for as well but only one team wins the Stanley Cup, the Isles have made the playoffs four of the last six seasons and there are a lot of clubs in the league that have not even done that. If they had won a playoff series and went out quickly the next round what was really accomplished?

2) It is not about supporting or not supporting the Isles, it’s about seeing things for what they are based on what’s happened, no more, no less.

Unless were in the room with Charles Wang we have no idea what his management style is on a day by day basis and those who speculate along those lines are guessing at best. What he did say at his press conference two years ago if you paid attention was he would scrap the committee approach if it did not work at some point and that’s exactly what happened which Mr Botta wrote about a few times last season. The owner was consistent and it was too much for the coach to be involved with player decisions in season. Somewhere along the way the media missed this or choose not to pay attention.

Ed Snider gave Ken Hitchcock a three year extension and fired him a month later and that club finished 30th, Wang made his mistake, took his well-deserved public beating for his mistake and fixed it at a point where his team made the playoffs the next year.

As for nutty decisions he came in and spent 120m over one summer vs billionaire owners who refused to spend fifteen million on the entire club but he picked the wrong players back then and a lot of owners do that with Wang finally buying out Yashin.

Teams are copying his nutty ideas by signing players to the same long term contract (for a lot more money) while Dallas and a few teams are leaning toward his committee approach. On top of that his ITV creation was picked up by the entire NHL.

Teams hire rookie general managers, Bob Clarke was hired from the ice as gm, Brett Hull is a co-gm in Dallas. Instead of Charles Wang giving his coach more term than his gm he did not extend Ted Nolan and did the conventional thing and got ripped for it anyway.

This is more about the media being unconventional, they wanted the coach extended and not the gm, according to Mr Botta Snow was not extended to his knowledge as of June when I asked him.

3) Being a fan of the NY Islanders has nothing to do with anything, this is about getting it right, nothing more. When Charles Wang shows up his coach in an interview by saying I told you so with regard to prospect he deserves criticism, as for the rest he had not spoken all season.

I do not know how the prospects will turn out but the current group (also from the Milbury era) are here and many are first or second rounders who have had time to be groomed, that could go either way. If you look at players past this summers draft like Figren, Marcinko, Joensuu there is too much depth not for someone to break through. Players like Colliton were playing on a line with Crosby at WJC a few years ago, not a group of fifth rounders here but prospect groomed since 2003.

4) Dipietro if you watched last season wandered two games and then Newsday made issue of it after ignoring his all-star appearance. Aside from that he was an all-star who kept his club in contention back in Nov-December on a team that scored two goals or less fourteen games in a row. Folks in the media who talk about his ego have not talked about how classy he has been with the fans over the years and have given no real proof of an ego besides wanting to win. Martin Brodeur told SI he think’s DiPietro is one of the best goaltenders in the league.

Finally on next season…

This team despite all it’s injuries and weaknesses were five games over break even in a playoff spot in Jaunary last year. The idea they will not be just as competitive if their young players and veterans are healthy does not seem realistic and reflects viewpoints that only looked at the final standaings and not the games. Sure they could have problems and be a poor club out of the box but it’s highly unlikely given how competitive they were in division a year ago.

Regards,
NYIsles1
New York Islander Fan Central
http://newyorkislanderfancentral.blogspot.com/

The past fifteen years have nothing to do with the last two years. This team has been to four playoffs in the last six years and were in a playoff spot until half the team had the flu or the four hundred man games lost to injury took their toll.

Still they won six straight.

Not everything is about deep dark conspiracies where a hire was made over money or getting someone Charles Wang or Garth Snow could control, he could have hired Gallant too and saved money.

Charles Wang could have told Snow and Nolan work it out and if he wanted a change it would not have come in July so he did not take the inexpensive way out.

If you look at the prospects finally breaking into the NHL and the ones on the way it’s more than fair to say this team has been on the right track for a while now but not enough folks have cared to notice.

You have to escape the nineties and bring your view to the present day. Comeau, Bergenheim, Okposo, Gervais, Campoli, DiPietro and a lot of quality prospects are also going to get a chance here and have had years in the system. Nielsen, Colliton will get their chances, Tambellini will get his chance.

Regards,
NYI Fan Central