I never thought the Isles were in danger despite the PP's the Oilers got in the 3rd P. Next Wed at Calgary will be a tough game. As for the weather I have my snow blower ready and 3-5 really isn't that big of a deal. LGI.
This is getting ridiculous its going to be a tough 8 days = my buddy just called me and before I even said hello I said " tell me they made a trade " lol
Menace I saw that but Lou saying that makes me believe he's going to make a move or 2----> lets see clock is ticking
His history suggests that Lou will at least be active in sniffing out opportunities right through trade deadline day, and it wouldn't be a surprise at all if he pulls the trigger on something, including on that day. Doing nothing is actually probably all right, given that the team isn't IMO only one player away from serious Cup contention. On the other hand, one of the lessons learned in the 70s is that successful playoff experience, even short of the Cup or Cup finals, is very valuable on the path to championships.
StatJeff I never thought I could say this BUT I believe this team can contend for the cup this year. The Power Play is a weakness / non existent it MUST be improved or it could the teams downfall.Im not comparing this team in any way to the 79 Islanders but once they traded for 1 guy = Butch Goring it made all the difference in the world . Lou is 76 and not getting any younger and nothing is guaranteed next year the goaltending and team could take a step back = when opportunity knocks I say answer the door----> its knocking.
As I said earlier in this thread, in my view this is not a quasi-reincarnation of the 1979 team, it's a quasi-reincarnation of the 1974-1975 team - good goaltending, scrappy defense, excellent coaching, some offensive talent, but ultimately inadequate offense. The team acquired Jude Drouin and J.P. Parise during that season, and it made a difference. The playoff run that year was incredibly fun (and well worth me freezing my ass off sleeping overnight outside the Coliseum to get tickets - being able to do that being a nice perk of attending college at Stony Brook), but we knew it was ultimately a mirage. The next fall Bryan Trottier showed up, and two seasons later Mike Bossy showed up. IMO getting someone now would be like getting Drouin and Parise - making them serious playoff ongoing contenders, but that's all. They still need more offensive talent, to make getting someone like getting Goring - making them serious ongoing championship contenders. As I said, I'm not against making a move now, but I think they need at least two guys at the level of playing on the first or second line, and I don't know how realistic that is. The shame of it is that they actually had the top guy they needed, and he left. How do you think this team would look with a guy scoring at a 45 goals-per-season pace?
I still don't mind JT leaving ( I hate the way he left ) but IF they had traded him I can only imagine how good a spot we would be in right now as far as team depth or to make a trade or two this week. Good stuff Stat Jeff-------BTW anyone see the pregame yesterday ? Westfall and Trottier sitting down telling stories great stuff
Great stuff - Torrey and Arbour were the best, and the nice thing is everybody knew it. It was such a pleasure to root for those teams - they were genuinely good people. My parents saw Nystrom in the shopping malls a bunch of times, to the point where he actually recognized them and went over to them once to say hi before they even saw him.
I’ll be shocked if we see a blockbuster trade. My biggest concern, and it’s simply fan insecurity, is messing with the chemistry this team has built. Will a pending FA like Duchesne or Panarin buy into a system that potentially hinders their output the rest of the season and may break from that system to try and get their points? Do we need that type of elite player to improve the team? I’m of the opinion we look for a team guy who can be had for our first and Ho-Sang and call it a day.
Just over a week away. Maple Leafs at Islanders. What kind of reception is JT going to receive? I heard there will be a video tribute. My opinion, there will be a lot of venom in the building that night. What do you Isles fans think? 13
JT will be buried by 90 percent if not more of that crowd, people will boo the video and they will boo every time he is on the ice I can guarantee this . The anti JT chants will be priceless and many. In other news I am reading tweets that teams including the Blues are VERY interested in Brock Nelson----> lets pull the trigger and get back a Center or make him part of a package deal that makes us better = get it done Lou
There absolutely shouldn’t be a TJ tribute. It isn’t as if he led us to a Cup and deserves celebration. He was just a good player that accomplished nothing for the team.
I agree Blue,,,,,,why have a tribute to this guy ? It will NOT be received well by the crowd as I said they will boo and protest thru the entire video, I hope the Islanders management rethinks this it is a BAD move.
He will absolutely get booed but that game against the Leafs is the warm up game to the real show down which takes place the next night Friday March 1st. Caps vs Isles at Nassau Coliseum. It just sucks that the Isles will have two huge emotional games B2B. Would have preferred a day off and have the Caps game Saturday 3/2.
I will be very surprised if he gets a tribute - there is absolutely no reason to do it, and I think it would be received very poorly by the fans, making it pointless. He was a good player who played for a few years for mostly bad teams and then chose to leave - what is there to celebrate?
