Will the Islanders Ever be Good Again?

Brooklyn....oy vey

 

GREAT DRAFT GARTH!! PARTY ON!!

 

Little bump in light of the 8-0-2 run they are having...nice to see the team firing on all cylinders these days.

 

I'm sure it's even nicer to coincide with the Rangers nosediving.

 

IF true, much more convenient for their Long Island based fan base

 

More convenient for everyone. Brooklyn is an out of the way place that is a nightmare to get to.

 

Yeah but then there is no reason to place this at the rink all the time.

 

The Islanders may be leaving Brooklyn for Queens thanks to the New York Mets

"Not only were there obstructed seats, Barclays is small for a hockey arena, with a capacity of 15,700 — and approximately 1,500 of those make up the famous blocked view seats. According to Bloomberg, the Islanders averaged 13,626 fans per game, an 11 percent decrease from their last season in Nassau. With declining attendance draws at games and an overall feeling of being unwanted in their own building, it’s not a surprise that the Islanders are looking into another relocation."

 

The plot, it thickens...

Sources: Isles eye Belmont for possible new arena

 

Annnnd they're off......

 

Thank God JT pretty much pledged his allegiance to the Isles in the thick of all these relocation talks. I see an 8 year, $80M contract in his future....

 

He said some good things. Keep in mind the original question was in regards to him and the Leafs and like with Stamkos I'm not sure the Leafs are such an attractive proposition at the moment given that they're a few months past finishing dead last in the league.

If the Isles don't progress, or regress even, I could still see him leaving town even if it's not for Toronto (to be honest, I doubt the Leafs will be in a position cap-wise to accommodate a mega deal for him by that point anyway).

 

Dammit - why must you rain on my parade BBB?!?!

I can see him getting a Jamie Benn deal or maybe a few bucks more. I think what the Isles do this year will weigh heavily on what JT wants to do. Losing Nielsen and Okposo and adding PAP and Ladd isn't sexy, but if they can still compete at a high level, there's no reason to think that swap of players will effect JT's thinking.

I feel like I'm the only one that feels they are still a 100 point team.

 

Not so much rain, but I've made it pretty clear that with the cap space they've had available and the good prospect pool they've developed over the years the Isles were a team I expected to move into another gear some time ago.

I still think they're a 100 pt team but that's more because I expect the teams that sucked last season to suck again than because I think the Isles have made any great improvement to their roster. To their detriment, the only team that finished above them that got worse seems to be the Rangers (which I'm sure delights you), and some (see Florida) got much, much better.

So yeah, it might weigh heavily on JT. He might see himself staying no matter what. Who knows. Hopefully for our sakes he doesn't pull the same crap Stamkos pulled.

 

I expect the Islanders to be better this year. A lot will depend on guys like Strome, & Barzal. Of course signing Strome would certainly help. Get it done Garth.

 

I think the Islanders take a step back this year, losing Okposo is going to hurt them.

 

I really liked Okposo. Heart and soul type player and a good fit in Buffalo. Class act and the kind of guy you want in the locker room.

That being said, the guy is a turnover machine. There wasn't one game this past season I didn't find myself yelling "GET THE PUCK DEEEEP" as he turned it over at the blue line. It was maddening.

I do think that Ladd is about the same, if not a little better than Okposo. The problem with the Isles offseason is they didn't replace Nielsen. I think the loss of him hurts the Isles more than Okposo.

Time will tell but I still think they are a 100 point team.

 

The Islanders taking a step back, that's not Okposo ta happen.

(Kinda bad, but couldn't resist)