Yet Another Departure... This Time From the Press Box

After four seasons of color announcing for the Islanders broadcast, Billy Jaffe has been shown the door by the organization. (Source: Islanders Point Blank) Exactly why, no one can tell for sure.

This is a bit of a surprise, and more than a little saddening, seeing as for four out of my five years watching Islanders hockey, I've learned more from Billy than from anyone else. His broadcasts with Howie Rose were often my favorite part of the game, and made it a great experience no matter what the score was. No matter how badly we lost, he always remained positive and gave us something to end the night with, and him not being next to Howie at the start of next season is extremely disheartening, especially since I (being a bit biased) and many other fans could call this duo the best broadcasting pair in the Metro area. Not only that, but Billy made himself available for plenty of events including draft parties, and seemed like a classy, all-around good guy.

No word yet on who's coming to replace him, but I do know this: Billy, you will definitely be missed. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

The Dreaded "C" Word... Contract... And How Kovalchuk Did Not Become "Koval-cha-ching"

And all that THAT implies regarding one insanely talked-about player since free agency started: Ilya Kovalchuk.

I almost didn't write a post about the three-ring circus revolving around this young man, seeing as so many other people were writing about him that I feared it would be the same old rehashing a few days too late. But I figured I could put it into my own words and my own view, and besides, the blog needs material, and this is Grade A, top-choice fodder. So here goes.

Kovalchuk has been mightily chased after by a few teams since July 1. People had been expecting this since the end of the playoffs for the Devils (who traded for him late in the season), and so it was- the Kings, Blues, and Islanders were just a few of the teams involved. To my chagrin, the Isles even reportedly offered Kovalchuk $10M a year, which he refused, apparently. (Thank God.) Then there was talk of him signing ultra-long-term with the Kings for a couple of days... until (not so much) out of the blue, the Devils came along and offered him a 17-year deal worth over $100 million.

And he accepted.

But the good old NHL didn't.

The next day, the league rejected the contract on the terms that it circumvented the salary cap. The Devils decided that they would spread out the money so that Ilya would get more now, less in the later years, thus lowering the cap hit to about $6M a season. Not cool by the league's standards. (Source: Yahoo!Sports) So now it's back to the drawing board, and Kovy's future remains up in the air.

As long as we don't/didn't take him, I'll be happy, and here's why: this is a guy who is projected to be sub-par after 12 years, who hasn't won a Cup, and who is a big name and provides offense, but in my opinion would not be a good fit for the system that Scott Gordon has implemented. And us paying through the nose for him long-term would be a disaster whether or not it gets us up to the cap floor. We would be much better off going for a Lee Stempniak or an Alex Frolov (both of whom are reportedly still available). But I digress.

This has been a wild, wacky saga, and who knows how it's going to end. All I know is, I'm kind of tired of hearing about Ilya Kovalchuk on Twitter, Facebook and everywhere else. There are plenty of other players worth following and hearing about. Let's focus on them and leave this sad story alone for a while.

While You Were Out

I must admit, looking through old notebooks full of game notes from five years ago helped me get out of this non-posting funk. So over the next couple of days, barring any kind of major catastrophe (like work? *cue laugh track*), I will be posting plenty of my thoughts on what's been going on lately in the hockey world- Isles being a given, but also around the NHL and such. So please, stay tuned. :D

Isles And Draft Doctor Jankowski Part Ways

After some good news on the Island, the clear skies suddenly have a foreboding tinge of gray to them.

The Islanders have decided not to renew the contract of assistant general manager/amateur scouting director Ryan Jankowski, whose deal expired shortly after the 2010 NHL Draft. Chris Botta reports that since his takeover of the scouting staff in 2006, the Isles have drafted players such as Josh Bailey, Travis Hamonic, Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin, Andrew MacDonald, Calvin de Haan, Kirill Petrov and others. When you consider the promise and talent these young players show, one has to wonder: Did it go wrong somewhere? And if it hasn't, then what exactly are the Islanders doing letting go of a guy who's been so beneficial to the drafting process?

And who does that leave in charge of it all?

Stay tuned.

Free Agency, Islanders Style

So. As it turns out, the Islanders can't buy a free agent that easily.

Yesterday, the Island was strangely quiet amid reports that while GM Garth Snow tried to offer plenty of money to D Paul Martin and Dan Hamhuis, both turned him down in favor of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks, respectively. Some say that when it comes down to it, the reason isn't because of the fact that the Isles aren't going places, hockey-wise... it's just because they aren't really going anywhere, geographically. Nassau Coliseum, while well-loved and full of history, is not the newest of buildings, and its condition more often than not drives top-tier FA players away. Aside from that, goalie Martin Biron and winger Jeff Tambellini both wandered elsewhere- Biron to the Rangers, Tambellini to his hometown Canucks.

Today, it was a different story, with the Isles signing D Milan Jurcina and Mark Eaton to one-year deals. They also agreed to terms with G Nathan Lawson on a one-year, two-way contract, and signed P.A. Parenteau and Zenon Konopka to one-years as well. Not terribly binding, but I suppose it'll be good enough for now. Jurcina and Eaton, at 6'4 and 6'2, add some definite size to the Isles' blueline, not to mention some toughness, no doubt. Meanwhile, young Parenteau, who played a few games with the Rangers last year, will likely get his first real crack at playing in the big leagues, and Konopka, while more of a fighter (with 265 PIM last season with Tampa Bay), also helps out in the faceoff department. Lastly, Lawson might not get a ton of playing time as a two-way contract, but it'll be interesting to see when he comes up and how he will do.

One person I'd love to see back, though? Andy Sutton. Chris Botta reported via Twitter that Sutts would love to be an Islander again... then again, I'm sure he wouldn't mind donning the Senators jersey for another year either. Stay tuned for that story as it (hopefully) unfolds.

To read more about the signings, check out here, here and here.

An Abrupt Yet Satisfying Ending

Last night was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between Chicago and Philadelphia, and it was a great one. Thousands filled the stands with an orange wave at the Wachovia Center, and though the home team gave them plenty to cheer about- a brief 2-1 lead, then a tying goal by Scott Hartnell with about three minutes left to play- it was Patrick Kane who slipped the puck through Michael Leighton's pads at 4:06 of overtime, crushing their hopes and clinching the Stanley Cup for his team.

At first, no one but Kane was even sure the puck had gone in- no light had come on over the goal and the ref hadn't even responded, but Kane took off to the other end of the ice, raising his arms high and jumping onto goalie Antti Niemi. Once it was certain, though, the Blackhawks celebrated in triumph, and for good reason- there were many milestones to commemorate.

Jonathan Toews, for example, now stands among the youngest captains to ever hoist the Stanley Cup, is the second youngest Conn Smythe winner (for playoff MVP), and the youngest Triple Gold inductee (Olympic gold medal, World Championship gold medal, and Stanley Cup) at 22 years of age. Marian Hossa also was able to celebrate his third time being in the Stanley Cup Final, this time with a win, and here's a fun fact for ya: he's the first Ottawa Senators draft pick to win a Cup. And of course, Antti Niemi, the goalie everyone's been talking about (other than Jaro Halak), becomes the first Finnish goalie to win the Cup. Teamwise as well, this is the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup win since 1961.

Even so, and it pains me to say this... all due respect to the Philadelphia Flyers for a great series, and a great run to the Cup. You beat a lot of odds to get to where you were at, and you played your hearts out. Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, Michael Leighton and Co. have much to be proud of, and though I loved to hate you this series, I have to admit you did Philly proud.

That said, congrats to the 'Hawks for a well-deserved win, and to the city of Chicago as well. As for now... well, that's all she wrote on the ice. The NHL Awards are coming up, as well as the Draft, so we'll be working on previews for those soon. :)

Oh Caption My Caption!

Hossa Mantra : Stanley Cup Final Game 5

In an NHL article après losing to the Flyers in Game 4 (5-3) Marian Hossa talked about moving beyond frustration and playing smarter...actually he mentioned that word quite a few times...HOSSA MANTRA...WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER. A tip of the Tony Robbins hat to you sir.

Full Story

The only question I would ask the Blackhawks and want to correct is: WHY DO YOU ALL LOOK SO NUMB OUT ON THE ICE? Is that about playing smarter or about something else? Something else that the Flyers seem to have.

What can Chicago salvage from game 4? Scoring goals 2 & 3...knowing they are capable of scoring like that under that kind of pressure...these two goals may have made all the difference heading home as opposed to walking out of the Wachovia Center with a 4-1 or including empty net 5-1 wound.

This is a most unwelcome team role-reversal but I keep 'seeing' my nephew TJ (who lives outside of Chicago) at the parade in Chitown, hopefully foreshadowing to this result - that the unexpected underdog wins in the end.

GO HAWKS! PLAY ALIVE! BLACKHAWKS FANS HELP THEM OUT!

ps. You better believe my nephew is an Islander fan. Hawks are his second team...distant second if he wants to be invited to the big people table at Thanksgiving.

Stanley Cup Final Game 4: Book vs. Street

It's 8:03 and I should be in front of a TV but am not, busy day. So before jumping into my car to get in front of a TV here's a thought for game 4...so it's like this...Blackhawks are like people with book smarts and the Flyers are like people with street smarts. Usually it's good to have as even a balance of both but that's not going to happen with these two teams. Who wins the Stanley Cup is going to depend on what type of 'event' they are at - street fight or intellectual debate. In game 3 Philly did what they are so good at doing - pulling the other team into a street fight, thus they won - although not enough of an impressive sequence or goal to make it seem like Philly can pull this whole thing off from 2 games to 1...and that is why my cell phone is still chirping crickets. Chicago looked tired in OT- yeah it sucks when the muscles start to feel sour. But like I said in prior blog post it's all about endurance so unless Chicago wakes up and turns the atmosphere into a debate of intellect (aka skill), the Flyers are going to win. And by now if you follow this blog, you know how hard it was for me to type that last sentence. For some reason I don't think Chicago is done - maybe something such as a loss was needed to jilt Chicago out of their trance. Whether it be a gut feeling or a wish I think/hope Chicago is going to come down heavy in this game and remind everyone why they (team) are playing for the Stanley Cup in the first place, while at the same time reminding Philly of how lucky they were to have even gotten this far. Hope all that makes some kind of sense, it's hard to type a blog post with one foot out the door, it's 8:15 now and I've got to find myself in front of a TV pronto.

GO HAWKS!

Stanley Cup Final Game 3: Philly Fan Factor

So the Blackhawks are up 2 games to zero as Game 3 is about to start in a few minutes. If the Flyers want to stay in the race, they will need to draw upon the energy of their fans around them. Anyone who has been at a do-or-die game at the Wachovia Center knows what I mean. Not sure what happened to Peter Laviolette but it has resulted in a scattered energy on the team, unable to focus under his leadership and like Chris Pronger, some are acting out.

Got a kick out of the shots of Antti Niemi in the third period Monday night...the crazed look in his eyes was like the look of a crazed ex who just doesn't get it that it's over.

Blackhawks still not impressive, like studying for a C and surprisingly getting an A. All the Flyers have to do is use the boards and shoot.

Best part of the series so far? The sound coming from Flyers fans on my phone -



GO HAWKS! Let's keep it this way.

GAME ON!!