The Crease Runneth Over

Last night, I was with my son as he was taking his first steps (gratuitous proud dad announcement!) when I got a text from a friend telling me of the Biron signing. I of course pushed my boy aside to run to the nearest computer to get all of the details (kidding, kidding). Admittedly, the news caught me off guard at first, but now that I've had a few hours to digest it, I think it tells us a few things:

1. Ricky is not going to be ready to start the season, and likely won't be ready until at least after the Olympic break. Sure this is just conjecture, but I'm sure if they expected Ricky to be ready by even Thanksgiving, they would be comfortable enough letting their new $5M man Roloson carry the load until then.

2. Scott Munroe did not give the coaches and GM a warm fuzzy feeling. It's hard not to feel a little bad for the guy, who by all accounts seems like he has the potential to be a backup at least on par with the guys we called our starters last year. He must have expected a legitimate shot to be the #2 guy while DP continues his "recovery". And given the fact that he would be backing up a guy who just received his AARP card, a few starts along the way would not be unexpected.

3. Familiarity does NOT breed contempt. A team with a former goalie as GM and coach suddenly developed the deepest pool of talent (perhaps not in terms of quality, but quantity) at the position in the NHL. Too bad our GM and coach aren't former skilled scorers, we'd be talking Cup contention, baby!

4. Snow's desire to add an enforcer is not as strong as we'd like it to be. I'm sure he's working some angles, but to add another goalie with the lack-of-enforcer elephant still in the room says something to me.

Through all this, I wish DP a complete recovery. He's become the in vogue whipping boy of the fanboy commenters on Botta's and Logan's blogs. But for many, many games he was our best player, and he stole many a win for us along the way. There's no doubt we are a better team with a healthy Ricky in the crease.

MC

JT Behind the Curtain

Today's press conference was a success in that there were about 500 people (my estimate) that showed up to the Nassau Coliseum on a weekday afternoon to give our #1 pick a warm welcome to Long Island. For Tavares, despite generally showing little emotion, I'd have to imagine it's reassuring to see such a nice turnout in what has likely been described to him as a poor hockey market. To the fans in attendance, however, the festivities were a bit ho-hum. Maybe I'm subconsciously comparing it to the environment back at the Draft Party, but more likely it's a reaction to the whopping 3 overall questions asked. And pretty terrible ones at that. (Who was that last guy, anyway?)

Turns out, the "real" media did all of their work at the "post press conference" press conference that occurred behind the curtain after the dog-and-pony show ended. I made a last minute decision to attend and therefore didn't have any kind of press credential. But thanks to modern technology, I was able to use my phone to show my picture from the Isles Website to prove who I was and gain access. Thank you iPhone.

Here, for those of you that sat through the 3 (generally) awful questions during the press conference, is a quick post-event quote from JT regarding Steven Stamkos' first season and reaching out to learn from his experiences:

"Me and Steve have worked a little bit together, playing a little bit of summer hockey, and obviously Team Canada and a couple of one-event teams in the Ontario Hockey League. I know he got off to a slow start but I think obviously it's a tougher situation, and most guys [do] when they step in. Obviously like I said there are going to be times when there's growing pains, it's a long season with 82 games. And for me there's going to be a lot of new experiences, and things that I'm going to go through. Obviously, I'd love to be able to contribute right away and have success but I think he showed up really well towards the end of the year, overcoming adversity, and if I get a chance to I'd love to talk to him and pick his brain a little bit and learn a lot from him because I'm a guy who loves to listen and loves to learn and always believes I can get better. So any way I can do that I'll look into those options."

Nothing overly spectacular, I know, but that's what I've got to offer. I was live-updating like a madman via Twitter, so if you want to catch up through that and check out all of my pictures from the event, follow me at Carey303 or click the link in the sidebar to the right.

MC

Quick Recap and Preparing for the Dog Days

As far as playoff-less offseasons go, this year's is unquestionably the most exciting in the recent history of the team. Days after the season ended, we had the drama of the Draft Lottery. My heart-rate increased with each envelope that was opened. I started to settle down a bit after Colorado was revealed at #3, figuring even if Tampa won they would take Hedman. Still, I nearly hit the ceiling when we secured that #1 spot and John Tavares.

But a funny thing happened on the way to ordering my new #91 (or will it be #61?) jersey. Garth decided to get all cutesy and throw some serious doubt into what seemed like the obvious and inevitable decision. For the next two months, I was run through the emotional wringer trying to decipher the hints, clues, and flat-out misinformation slowly funneled out to the public. There was a lot of pro-Hedman sentiment emerging. Was it the dastardly Candian media trying to mess with our young, impressionable GM's head? For my own sanity, I'm done trying to rationalize all that went on. Things hit a new level of crazy a week or so before the Draft, when suddenly flavor-of-the-week Duchene was THE GUY. I'm not ashamed (ok maybe just a bit) to admit I had a few nights of fitful sleep last week hoping this organization would not make another colossal error. Hearing the right name called on Friday was a catharsis to a long, emotional-roller-coaster of a summer.

Before I could even catch my breath, though, it was July 1 - Free Agency Frenzy! The adrenaline starts pumping again, despite Garth doing his best to temper expectations. Suddenly, despite logic dictating otherwise, I'm imagining Komiksarek accepting a big hometown discount to join the Isles. I think, maybe Mike Cammelleri would welcome the challenge of restoring pride to a once great franchise.

Well, as big name after big name fell off the board, I started to think a little more clearly. I was actually yearning for the good old days of Jon Sim, whose signing was a tsunami compared to the splash we made yesterday. No disrespect to Roloson, who under the circumstances is a good signing. It was just ho-hum considering there was no real surprise there.

So now we are starting the dog days of summer. Other than a modest FA signing or two, there won't be much going on until camp opens. So here, as a service to you faithful reader, are a few suggestions to help get you through the next 3 months:

- Go see The Hangover. Usually great comedies take a little time to grow on me. Not this one. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard in the movies.

- Take a trip to Europe to catch some dates from Faith No More's summer tour. The best band of the 90's is Reunited and it feels so good.

- Read some classic Paul Auster - I'd start with Leviathan or Moon Palace, and work your way towards Mr. Vertigo and the New York Trilogy.

- Head up to New Paltz and so some rock scrambling at the Mohonk Preserve. Head up to Bonticou Crag for a challenging and rewarding climb.

Keep checking in for regular updates throughout the summer, and feel free to follow Carey303 for all you twitterers. Until next time...

MC

Party on Garth!

First off, let me just say that this is a great day to be an Islanders fan. We don't get to say that too often, so soak it in. For the first time in a long time, a high profile decision went the way the fans were hoping (and praying) for. Clearly, this is just one step in a much longer rebuilding process. But it's one more piece of the puzzle, and while we wait we've at least had a little spark jolt us out of our losing-induced stupor.

Friday night was, for better or worse, one of the most exciting nights in recent Islanders history. Probably the best since the electrifying Al Arbour night back in November...2007. My brother drove down from Boston for the Draft Party and thankfully did not leave disappointed.

But things were looking dicey for a while. The swell of (mis)information in the hour before Garth stepped up to the podium was overwhelming. The "certainty" that Duchene was their guy (per Newsday) spread like wildfire throughout the Coliseum. No disrespect to the kid, but PHEW. When Garth, in his stilted manner of speech, finally said "Jo-", the old barn erupted even before he finished his thought.

Here's a few quick thoughts from a fun night in Uniondale:

- Hockey truly is like no other sport. Not only for drawing 10k fans to the Coliseum 2 months into the offseason. But in what other sport would you have a living legend like Trottier - one of the Top 25 players in the history of the sport - mingling with the crowd, signing autographs, talking hockey? If this were baseball, he'd be perched behind a long table charging $75 per signature.

- How on earth did Charles Wang know there were - and unless my memory is faulty I am quoting - "10,119 fans" at the Coliseum?!? They didn't even collect the "required" tickets! Was Rain Man in the press box counting the fans?

- I'm fine with the de Haan maneuvering now, but at the time I was so excited for the crowd to erupt once more as Kassian's name was called with the #12 pick. Oh well. I'll give Garth & Co. the benefit of the doubt on that one for now.

- I was thinking, if the Islanders can become competitive quickly, now is the perfect time to really grow the fan base. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the ticket prices and policies of the Giants, Jets, Yankees and Mets. The Islanders are the most family friendly and convenient alternative and can really capitalize on the ill will the other local sports franchises have generated.

For those that care, I've decided to keep the blog going and try to keep/make it relevant in the midst of all the other great Islanders blogs and sites. And while I'm still trying to figure out exactly what Twitter is, I am on twitter. You can follow me under Carey303. Until next time...

MC

We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For

Things have been quiet in 360-land for quite some time. In the next couple of months, I'll be deciding whether to continue with the blog or bid my small handful of readers a fond farewell. Frankly, with the plethora of high-quality Islanders blogs out there, it's very difficult to keep this site relevant given the (very) limited time I have to devote to it.

In the meantime, I might as well use my little piece of Internet real estate for something productive.

The message is simple. The next several months are critical in determining the future of the Islanders on Long Island. I know this isn't a revelation, but I still think the message hasn't truly hit home for many. All the talk about Tavares vs. Hedman is great, but it is meaningless if we do not get to enjoy the fruits of this draft here on Long Island.

And it is a very real possibility if we do not all make our voices heard. So I am here to ask each of you to get involved as much as possible, whatever form that may take. Step 1, however, is to get educated. Sadly, the best source for information at this point is the blogosphere. I mean that as no disrespect to my fellow bloggers, but rather as a sad commentary on the role of the mainstream media on this issue.

So here are some good, independent sources for news and opinions on the Lighthouse project:

Let There Be Light(house) - THE definitive source for Lighthouse coverage. For those needing an education on the issues, I'd recommend reading through his archived posts as well as his current ones.

Islanders Independent - BD Gallof and friends have a relatively new blog that, to date, has focused fairly equally on both hockey related issues as well as Lighthouse related issues.

NY Islanders 7th Woman - Somewhere along the way, Dee's hockey blog has evolved into a good source for some first-hand Lighthouse reporting and opinion pieces. Check out this piece for a good example an item I haven't seen covered anywhere else.

Islanders Point Blank - I'm confident there is literally no one that is reading my blog that hasn't already checked out Chris Botta's blog at least a few hundred times, so no need to say anymore.

I don't want to slight any of the other bloggers out there doing great work. This is just a sampling to get you interested and involved.

I'll leave you with a small excerpt of a comment I left on Nick's Let There be Light(house) site earlier today regarding many people's inclination to write-off the Lighthouse and focus on alternatives in Queens/Brooklyn/Suffolk:

Over the past 12 months, the majority of Lighthouse news has skewed towards the "discouraging" end of the spectrum. I think a lot of passionate Islanders fans are starting to panic and are looking for quick-fix alternatives.

The problem is that many of these people genuinely believe Queens/Brooklyn/Suffolk are viable and EASY alternatives. And why not? The little droplets of "news" we hear regarding these areas, unlike the Lighthouse, is all positive (Queens will welcome us with open arms! We already share a color scheme with the Mets!!). Of course, the reason the news is all encouraging is because there's been no substantive dialogue AT ALL up to this point (correct me if I'm wrong). But to someone relying on sound bites, these sure seem like good options to keep the Islanders on the Island.

So here's what I think needs to happen. First, we need to get people away from promoting alternatives (I know you've been working this point already). It's creating divisiveness within the one group that should demonstrate the greatest solidarity. We share a common goal, we need to share a common strategy to achieve that goal.

MC