News as of yesterday has 6 of the Islanders pending restricted free agents being tendered qualifying offers by the club. It doesn’t necessarily mean that these players are set to accept the offers, as they can still opt for salary arbitration. Throw in today’s news that the salary cap has been raised to $56.7-million, a $6.4-million raise from what it was previously last season. With a raise in the salary cap, means a raise in the salary floor - which could spell trouble for the New York Islanders.


Per the Islanders on the players qualified:

The New York Islanders have extended qualifying offers to forwards Sean Bergenheim, Jeremy Colliton, Frans Nielsen, Jeff Tambellini and Ben Walter along with defenseman Bruno Gervais. All will become restricted free agent if they are not signed prior to July 1st, 2008.

Bergenheim and Gervais spent the entire 2007-08 season with the Islanders. Bergenheim appeared in 78 games, scoring 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points. Gervais saw action in 60 games and recorded 13 assists and points to go along with 34 penalty minutes.

Colliton, Nielsen, Tambellini and Walter all split time between the Islanders and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League. Tambellini recorded one goal and three assists in 31 games with the Islanders while finishing seventh in the AHL in scoring, leading the Sound Tigers with 38 goals, 38 assists and 76 points in only 57 games. Appearing in 16 games with the Islanders last season, Nielsen recorded two goals and an assist for three points. Colliton also played in 16 games and went scoreless while registering eight penalty minutes. Walter saw action in eight games with the Islanders and scored his first NHL goal.

Moving back to what I had said previously, with the cap now set at $56.7-million, the cap floor is increased to around $40.7 million. With all of the current Islanders under contract for the 08/09 season INCLUDING the cap hit from Alexei Yashin, the total payroll for 08/09 is $34.354-Million. This does not factor in any of the qualifying offers for the aforementioned 6 players, some of whom (Tambellini and Bergenheim) may opt for salary arbitration seeking modest raises. Figure a number around 3.5 to 4 million (which is a generous guess) for those players and you still have some work to do in order to reach the league minimum.

With that in mind, there is room for Garth Snow to add talent to this club during Free Agency, the real question would be WHO and HOW MUCH? I like the way Snow has managed the payroll of this club up to this point because he certainly has a great deal of cap-room to add some big-name players should the desire strike him. It is the cap room and the Toronto media’s knowledge (and disdain) for Bryan McCabe that keeps his name in the ring of players rumored to be coming to Long Island this summer. The Islanders have a short laundry list of players they need in order to field a team next season, given their desire and willingness to go into full-out rebuild mode. They have the option of bringing in (at the minimum) one of a scoring center or wing and a puck-moving defenseman. The option to overpay even sounds like a good one, given the reluctance of players to come to Long Island and because of the distance between the cap-floor and ceiling. This is what makes absorbing McCabe’s exorbitant contract a little more palatable - although some insist on Toronto sweetening the deal.

This is certainly going to be an interesting summer even though the list of UFA’s isn’t nearly what it was last season in terms of the caliber of talent moving around. However, with names like Hossa, Campbell, Redden, Sundin, Malone, Avery, Ryder, Naslund, Morrison, Orpik, Huselius, and Pandolfo out there (just to name a few) - the potential to land SOMEBODY is pretty good.

Let me open this post with a big thank you to everyone who came by the blog and made this weekend such a great success. I was absolutely blown away by the amount of traffic and comments the site received this weekend and really appreciate the support and readership. Hopefully I was able to open a few more eyes to the blog and gain some regular readers! I would also like to thank the National Hockey League for granting Tom and I access to the draft - I had an absolutely amazing time and hope the relationship continues to blossom! Lastly, I would like to thank the New York Islanders for really making this all possible, Corey Witt for doing the legwork and keeping us in the loop, Josh Bernstein for taking us under your wing and making sure everything was going smoothly, the guys from Islanders tv (Steve and Matt) for all the hard work you guys put into the production of the videos and the interviews, Steve Mears for the great conversations, compliments and advice and finally Greg Logan for showing us the ropes and teaching us how to work a draft! It really was one of the most memorable weekends that I have ever had and hopefully one of many to come!

Home is definately where the heart is they say, I would have to agree.

What started with Tom and I spending free time at the airport has turned into an all-day affair. Our flight from Ottawa to Montreal was quick and painless, a mere 27 minutes from wheels up to wheels down. Unfortunately, we had that pesky connection in Montreal…….

When we arrived in Montreal, we needed to hustle across the airport to make our connection. We cleared customs in a heartbeat and continued onto the terminal. Our special friend (*whom I will introduce in a second) informed us that our connecting flight will either be delayed - or canceled completely. Fine we think, of the delay (which was only an hour) - it gives us a chance to grab a bite to eat and explore the airport.

As the time went on flights all around us began to get canceled, we started to worry a bit because we both did not want to extend our stay any longer. There was some bad weather holding planes in their destinations that was causing log-jams along the east coast and not enough planes for passengers. The gods were smiling on us tonight however, as our plane was at the terminal - just waiting for clearance due to the weather.

We finally board and we taxi away from the gate - and stop.

While sitting idle, I happened to be looking down the aisle towards the flight attendant and she was on the phone relaying information to the pilots - something I knew couldn’t be a good sign. Our flight had been delayed again - due to a ground stoppage in New York. Come to find out there was a problem with one of the doors as well, so that was being fixed while we were waiting. We get a sudden all clear and begin to taxi again - and then stop. Apparently this time, due to the opening and closing of aircraft doors the computer system was causing “alarms”. Can you say, unsettling? The aircraft computers needed a reboot (must have been running Windows Vista…), and this took 5-10 minutes longer.

Finally, success - we leave for another short flight, about an hour wheels up to wheels down. The trip was smooth and I had an interesting chat with a nice woman from Saskatoon (whom was a huge Habs fan) so it made the time go by even faster. We got our bags within 10 minutes of landing and I was on my way home - our awesome weekend trip officially over.

*The introduction of our “special friend”

While sitting on our flight to Montreal, an older gentleman walks down the aisle and Tom and I looked at each other and simultaneously said “OMG, Glen Sather!”. We giggled to ourselves at the luck of running into someone else in the Rangers organization. If you don’t remember the previous story - we ran into Larry Brooks at our hotel and some of the Rangers executives the first morning of the draft.

Tom is pretty much the same way as me, we don’t go out of our way to say anything to anyone (when it comes to personnel) unless the opportunity is golden. While waiting online to clear Customs - someone recognized him and it caused a firestorm of introductions and questions. When everything subsided, I mustered up the courage and said “I imagine there is no such thing as obscurity up here, is there?” He laughed and said no, not really.

Having opened up communication now, I mentioned we knew who he was but figured he was getting bothered by enough people so we didn’t want to make a fuss. He asked if we were up for the draft and I said - “Yes, but with the enemy” and chuckled to let him know I was teasing. He had an ear to ear smile and said, “Are you with the Islanders?” and we explained who we were. He seemed impressed that a bunch of bloggers would pay their way up to Ottawa and said that ambition is the only way to get ahead of the rest sometimes. We chatted for a minute or two longer, got through customs and then asked if we were on the connection as well. He told us about the delay and we thanked him for everything.

Fast forward to New York and we see him again at the baggage claim. At this point, almost pandemonium. Everyone and anyone recognized him and he was again getting pestered about the draft and the upcoming UFA period. He looked at us and mentioned what he said previously (something I feel obliged to leave out intentionally) and said everyone asks the same thing and he shook his head. We all laughed and Tom and I reminded him we knew better than to ask those type of questions. We thanked him for the conversations, wished him well and off into the sunset.

It was almost fitting that our trip would end with a great story, you cannot plan for things to happen like this - but it sure is great when they do!

Good morning folks, Tom Liodice and I are sitting up here in the media risers bright and early. The internet connection is blazing and an NHL employee (three more since I posted that) just came over to check if we were connected alright. I bet they had hundreds of complaints yesterday. Hopefully for us, as well as the rest of the folks here - it stays up and running.

While Tom and I sit here eating our breakfast, I wanted to get a serious post out there.

The fallout from Garth and company trading away the 5th overall pick for the 7th and then the 7th for the 9th has been raining down in full force on various message boards. The problem for fans is two-fold actually, and I can understand this to a certain degree. While I had an earlier post last week expressing my desire for the Islanders to draft Nikita Filatov, I am not heartbroken that we did not select his at number 5 when he was available. The reaction among us here in Row number 7 was not of surprise, but a feeling that they were confident they could get their man at number 7, number 9. When the Islanders finally made a selection with the 9th, they opted to draft a solid two-way center named Joshua Bailey. Instantaneously, those at the draft party and on the message boards were calling for Snow’s head on a platter. This just isn’t a fair assessment.

Everyone we ran into the rest of the first round were praising the play of Bailey and said that he was likely one of the best centermen available. When asked for my reaction on Islanders TV, I really meant what I said after I began to read about Bailey. He has a bigger frame, knows the North American style of play and put up 96 points last season with the Windsor Spitfires - so his vision and play making ability shouldn’t be questioned.

Touching on another angle, not picking one of Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo, and Schenn REALLY compounded the anger of those same fans. Understandable because we are looking at some of the top defenseman who will be coming up the next few years - but the fact the Islanders are loaded up with picks in the second round makes this more palatable. There were complaints that the Isles “cupboard was bare” in terms of prospects. Snow just made sure that the youth movement will continue into the unforeseeable future by adding 2 second round picks in what is said to be a very deep round. If their scouting is right (no reason to believe there is not at this point), we should get some very solid talent today.

Below are the picks the Islanders will use today, keep in mind that they still are yet to announce a decision on the extra picks from the trade with Toronto:

2nd Round: #36, #40 (Nsh to NYI), #53 (Ana to Edm to NYI), #60 or #68 (Tor to NYI)

3rd Round: #66, #73 (Edm to NYI to Edm to Ana to NYI)

4th Round: #96

5th Round: #126, #148 (Phi to NYI)

6th Round: #156, #175 (Min to NYI)

7th Round: None

Potential choices:

#36: Jared Staal - Right Wing
Right wing. Shoots Right. 6′3″, 198 lbs. Born: Thunder Bay, Ontario, August 21, 1990.
Hometown: Thunder Bay, Ontario

#40 Jake Gardiner - Defenseman
Defense. Shoots Left. 6′0″, 173 lbs. Born: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, July 4, 1990.
Hometown: Minnetonka, Minnesota

#53 Adam Comrie - Defenseman
Defense. Shoots Left. 6′4″, 205 lbs. Born: Ottawa, Ontario, July 31, 1990.
Hometown: Ashburn, Virginia

My guesses are simply guesses, I don’t really know much about the prospects listed above and these are likely not to be our selections.

The sky is not falling, this is a very important day and we will certainly benefit for years to come. I just wish that my fellow fans would exercise some patience with this organization as so many jump to negative conclusions too quickly.

Poor poor MAB, regulated to secondary minutes some games and flat out benched for a majority of his time with the Ducks - Marc-Andre Bergeron has been traded again, this time to the Minnesota Wild for a third round draft pick. Seems the only thing consistent with MAB is his NHL trade value - a third round draft pick.

Per Michael Russo’s blog at the Star Tribune in Minnesota:

The Wild has traded a third-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, a hard-shooting, strong-skating player who scored 15 goals in 2005-06 for the Oilers and a career-high 46 points in 2006-07 for the Islanders and Oilers (He was traded to the Isles for Denis Grebeshkov, whom the Oilers are extremely high on).

His 38 goals the past three years rank ninth among NHL defensemen.

Bergeron was dealt to the Ducks from the Islanders in February after scoring nine goals and 18 points in 46 games for the Isles. Bergeron didn’t get in any playoff games for the deep blue-line Ducks.

Bergeron is considered mid-range defenseman. According to a writer in Edmonton, “he can shoot like hell and skate, but he’s very unsure of himself, doesn’t have a lot of self-esteem, gets down on himself. He also struggles at times in his own end. He’s serviceable. He’s can play some reasonable minutes, but he’s prone to mistakes the more minutes he gets.”

What I know of him is he’s one of the hardest-shooting defensemen in the NHL. He’s got a bullet, like a left-shot Kurtis Foster, only much smaller. He also tends to have blinders in his own zone as far as picking up guys that are closing in on him. But this is a depth move as the Wild looks to replace guys like Sean Hill, Petteri Nummelin, Keith Carney and potentially Foster at the start of the season.

Oh well, maybe MAB can find his place on the Wild and under his 4th coach in 3 seasons. Hey, it’s bound to happen sooner or later - right? Being traded this many times does not do anything for someone with on going confidence issues, that’s for sure.

Not since the likes of one Zigmund Palffy have I been more excited or intrigued by a player like Filatov. It’s not because he is the next Russian sensation - (although it helps), but it’s because of the way he makes skating and other hockey skills appear natural and free-flowing. Everything I have heard of Filatov, I have liked. He is well versed in English, has a desire for the game and appears to be successful at being a well rounded player. The most important part, he wants to play in North America.

Past Russian picks have slipped (See; Cherepanov last season) due in part because of a lack of a Russian transfer-agreement. One doesn’t have to look far at what the lack of a transfer agreement can cause - Alex Ovechkin and what the Capitals went through to get him into the states is one such case. Filatov’s openness about wanting to come to North America helps ease these fears.

There is a real possibility that Filatov will still be available when the Islanders are set to pick in the first round at the fifth position. The top ten picks are mostly made up of big, franchise type defensemen who teams are just drooling over (Isles included), but my hope is that Garth Snow uses his pick on Filatov because of the severe lack of offense.

Something that makes me feel the Islanders are leaning that way, apparently Nikita Filatov has been blogging about his experiences at the NHL Draft Combine in Toronto. The Islanders are listed as one of the main teams interested in him. He actually goes on to speak very highly of the organization and how he thinks it will be his fastest route to the NHL now that the Islanders are in full rebuild mode.

Here is an excerpt from the website (with full credit going to HFBoards member Belarus for translating and posting a link to the blog):

Perhaps the Islanders

The last day in Canada has passed in the company of Toronto’s representatives. I spoke to their scouts, which was a good talk, informal, the way I like.

Seems like the quartet of the clubs where I may wind up has been set. They are the Islanders, Columbus, Toronto and Phoenix. I have mentioned before to me there is no difference where I wind up in the NHL. It’s a privilege to play for any of these teams. Why I’ve determined that these franchises have the best chances of landing me? I’ve heard others were looking for defensemen, and these clubs would be fighting for forwards.

I would not regret if I am picked at 8 by Coyotes or at 5 by the Islanders. Though I’m ready for anything, as draft is unpredictable thing, and you may be traded right during the ceremony.

You may be surprised that I’ll be glad to go to a team that will not be a contender in the nearest future. The thing is it is easier to crack the line up on the team without superstars. For instance the Islanders are considered as underdog, but everything can change. Look at the Washington or Pittsburgh.

Overall, the Islanders is not a bad option. As far as I know there are no problems with the owner, the coach stays and they probably will play youngsters more as they let some veterans go. And to play in New York is better that to play in the city where hockey is not the main thing. Always full house, always interest for the game of hockey. It is possible I’ll spend one season in the minors. I’m not afraid of it. I know my shortcomings and will be working on them to be able to play for the main team in the next season.

Here is a link to the Russian website, for the non-believers - complete with a picture of Sparky skating across center ice at the Coliseum!

It is the small stuff like this that really makes me excited, especially knowing that I will be inside the very building (with press access to boot) as the Islanders make their selection. I really believe Garth Snow has a plan and will execute it the best he can come draft day. I know there are naysayers, but you know what - the table is set and we need to see how everything is played out.

For those that may not know, Chris Botta has been keeping his blog NYI Point Blank regularly updated since he announced his resignation two weeks ago. Many of us have come to know and love his insightful word wizardry over the course of a year.

Before his official blogging “experiment”, Chris had a regular column of sorts on the Islanders website that would be just about every Friday during the season and off season. It was there that he developed his style of writing and more importantly the fanatic following of his fellow Islander fans.

Today marks a new beginning of sorts for Chris, as he has just started video blogging in addition to his regular blog entries. What I like most about the video blogs is that it gives those who may not have had a chance to ever hear Chris in person, the rare opportunity to hear a seasoned professional speak about something he loves as much as the rest of us - Islanders Hockey!

Before Chris’s sudden departure from the Islanders PR staff, there was talk of a PR podcast which would have featured similar content - this is Chris’s way of making good on that idea. It’s just a shame that he will cease blogging come July 7th. Without further interruption, Season 1 Episode 1 of the NYI Point Blank podcast!