Whats Next?

Well, here we are in....in mid July....nothing going on....no signings....no trades....nada.

At least not in the news. So lets take a look at the current state of the Islanders and see what lies ahead.

Forwards

Garth Snow made a nice recovery with the signings of Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Jon Sim and Ruslan Fedotenko. Obviously adding Sim, Comrie and Guerin and retaining Ryan Smyth would have been ideal, but it wasn't meant to be. Moving forward here are some possible line combinations....

Guerin - Comrie - Satan
Hunter - Sillinger - Fedotenko
Tambellini - Park - Bergenheim
Simon - Bates/Hillbert - Sim

Guerin and Comrie together is a no brainer....hard shot with a good passer. Satan going into his walk year...playing with Comrie (a superior playmaker) is also a given...even though Fedotenko would slot in here nicely as well.

Hunter and Sillinger play like they have ESP. They are perfect for each other and Fedotenko will also fit in nicely with these 2.

The 3rd line is something me and 2 of my cousins were talking about over the weekend. (Some background...both of my cousins were college hockey players and have a lust for this franchise as much as I do). So as we were discussing this upcoming season one of them suggested that "throw Bergenheim and Tambellini together and just let them play together for a few years...." As we talked about what he meant....it makes a lot of sense. Put 2 young talented players together and let them grow together and learn the NHL game together. Besides the fact that Bergie and Tamby both have excellent wheels, play good defense, and can probably score 40 goals between them....make them a good match. Add Park to the mix (a gritty, defensivly sound forward)....and this could be a real solid 3rd line.

Bates, Simon and Sim obviously would be a solid 4th line as well. Simon and Sim are both capable of scoring 10-15 goals each and adding solid checking along the way. Bates....well is Bates....(I would much rather Hillbert in this spot....but Bates would probably get the nod at this point if he's not traded.)

D

Last Season....Tom Poti and Sean Hill were both major contributers to the Isles blueline. Poti signed in early July by then GM Neil Smith to a 1 year deal. New GM Garth Snow picked up Hill off the scrap heap in mid August as an extra defenseman. Both turned out to be steals....Poti was fantastic leading the Isles in assists and and Hill was the perfect compliment to Brendan Witt. Now both are gone and leave a glaring hole leading into next season. Snow has been busy trying to fill the holes....Missing out on UFA's Sheldon Souray and Mathieu Schneider and failing to trade for Ed Jovanovski and Bryan McCabe to this point. The options are getting thin....(UFA's Danny Markov and Andy Sutton remain on the market and Derek Morris and Jay McKee are available via trade). There is the option of going with the following combos...

Witt - Gervais
Martinek - Bergeron
Campoli - Meyer

Given, there are risks going with 3 young defenseman and one who seems to miss a chunk of each season with an injury. Giving increased minutes to both Gervais and Martinek seem to be a likelyhood at this point. Gervais has improved his game over the last season and Martinek being as spectacular as he was, before he broke his leg, have both earned it. Bergeron showed last season why he is a very important piece of this team...but with his penchant for giving up the puck....he best hang around the 18 min per game mark. Adding a Danny Markov to this group would be a major addition and a steadying force on the blueline. Markov also has the knack for getting hurt every year....(since he plays a very aggressive, hard nosed style game) but would be well worth the gamble.

Goaltending

Rick DiPietro....enough said.

Dubie will be the backup with newly signed Joey McDonald manning the nets for Bridgeport. McDonald, the former top goaltending prospect with Detroit, was an excellent addition for a team that has little goaltending depth throughout the organization.

Coaching

I did a little reading into Ted Nolan and let me share with you what I found.

96 - 97 Buffalo Sabres 40W 32L 12T
06 - 07 New York Islanders 40W 32L 12OTL

a little weird eh??....gets even better....

that team....was a bunch of hustlers....grinders and very few skilled players...like....

Leader in goals....Donald Audette 28

Leader in assists....Garry Galley 34

Points??.....Derek Plante 53.....yes....53 points.

No Pat Lafontaine....no Alexander Mogilny.....the one star player on the team...

Dominik Hasek.

Sound familiar at all....

This team has some holes....but I have to say....if we add a defenseman like Markov or Andy Sutton to the group we have....we could be in store for another special year at the Coliseum.

As always lets hear your thoughts and I'll hopefully have something else to write about in the coming days....

Tony