BUFFALO -They are the NHL’s Stepchild Franchise, third and least visible in their three-team hockey market, ninth and least visible in their nine-team pro sports market.
To suggest that the Islanders play in Obscurity would require the club to book a flight from Uniondale to that vacation destination.
And yet . . . and yet. There is no team in the NHL or in the New York market that has managed to do more with less than the Islanders. There is no team in the league or in the market whose overriding work ethic in the two years since Ted Nolan came to town – Long Island, that is – has exceeded his club’s.
They are a team of modest means with big-time leadership behind the bench and in the room. The seemingly insane 15-year Rick DiPietro contract appears a stroke of genius. Charles Wang gets to say, “I told you so,” to me and to everyone else.
The free-agent signing of Billy Guerin and his subsequent appointment as team captain have provided a foundation of accountability within the room. If this is on GM Garth Snow, more power to him.
Of all the playoff contenders in the East, the Islanders seem the least equipped to win a round. But then, of all the playoff contenders in the East, the Islanders seem the least equipped, period. Yet there they are.
Maybe the ghosts from Al Arbour Night still reverberate in the old barn that the greatest team in hockey history once called home. Or maybe Wang and Nolan and Snow and Guerin and DiPietro have found the formula to create something out of nothing, modest though seventh or eighth place may be in the grand scheme of things.
It is about work ethic on Long Island. It is about the uniform on Long Island. It is about being all that they can be, whether or not anyone out of the area code ever notices or ever cares.
The signing of Trent Hunter to a five-year extension was the right move, for as difficult as it is to attract prime free agents to the Island, it is imperative for management to keep the players who want to wear the logo. That’s why Snow is trying to sign Mike Comrie to an extension, though we’re told No. 89 seems to be overestimating his value. If the Islanders can’t lock him up by Tuesday, chances are he’ll be gone at the deadline.
There are six weeks to go. Comrie might go. If Miro Satan waives his no-trade, he’ll probably go. Maybe the Islanders will go away. Yeah, probably the Islanders will go away.
But probably not; not if Nolan – neck and neck with Wayne Gretzky for coach of the year – and Guerin and DiPietro have anything to say about it. There is no greater example in the NHL or in this market of a unit being greater than the sum of its parts.
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A money grab is no less obnoxious coming from the players’ side as it would be from ownership or Sixth Avenue. To that end, let’s hope that this notion recently floated in the NHLPA newsletter by normally straight-thinking individuals proposing a “Goaltenders’ Club” in which NHL netminders would wear unique sponsored uniforms including corporate logos, is dismissed immediately by union leadership.
Why stop at a Goaltenders’ Club? Why not a separate Captains’ Club in which those wearing the “C” would wear their own distinctive jerseys. Actually, why not go one step further and change the designation from “captain” to “admiral” so American Airlines could become title sponsor of the NHL Admiral’s Club.
Imagine, someone like Brad May could use all his miles to become an honorary member.
In Detroit, they’re trying to resurrect Darren McCarty. In Ottawa, we’re told, they’d welcome back Gary Roberts. And so, Glen Sather, is there doubting the market this summer for Sean Avery? And as for you, Garbo, is there any question that there’s no place like home in New York?
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If Brian Rafalski was able to command a five-year, $30M free-agent deal last summer from the Red Wings, then that’s the starting point if and when Dan Boyle hits the market. Speaking of which, the state of Nicklas Lidstrom‘s, uh, knee injury is worrisome enough that Detroit’s joined the hunt for Boyle, who is no-slam dunk to waive his no-trade even if he can’t agree on a new deal with Tampa.
So the Sabres made little effort to retain Chris Drury, less than that to retain Daniel Briere and now just about the same try to keep Brian Campbell from fleeing, which is why the impending Group III will be traded by Tuesday. Tom Golisano must be saving his money for another gubernatorial run. Either that, or he’ll insist the league shut down again when the current CBA expires.
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I am insinuating nothing. I am implying nothing. But if Anaheim GM Brian Burke sends a package of major prospects to the Maple Leafs in order to rent Mats Sundin and then Burke becomes Toronto GM over the summer – the man doth protest his lack of interest way too much – while Sundin returns to Toronto next season, well, how exactly will that look?
John Tortorella is operating on borrowed time in Tampa, and everyone knows it, including him. Question: Does he wind up in San Jose, Detroit or Philadelphia?
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Finally, in the latest episodes of Willie, Mickey and the Duke, Henrik Lundqvist seems to be playing the part of Roger Repoz.