New York Islanders: is it the goalie or the system?

 

I saw total fear in some of the Isles fans at the start of game four. We don't want Greiss; we want Varly. He is the main reason we are here. But what happened? The same old, same old. The Islanders never lost a beat with the change of goalies.

So maybe this system the Islanders play deserves more credit than I thought. I was among those who questioned the decision to put Greiss in net for the Isles.  

So this system where everyone has their job and does it seems to be working. Just maybe it makes it a little easier to play goal for the Islanders. I mean, everyone looks at this team and shows no respect for the talent and then asks how are they winning? I will tell you why they're winning—because everyone fills in for their teammates. If someone is caught out of position, someone else bails them out. The defence is nothing flashy, yet it is the best in the league. How? 

I will tell you why everyone does their job. The defensemen stand up to play the man, not the puck. Everyone does what they are supposed to. Do you notice that no one does more than they are supposed too? Do you want to know why they don't do the extra? Because eighty percent of the time, they get caught out of position when they do. 

So those people who say it is the defence that makes Varly look so good, they may very well be closer to the mark than you think. The Islanders have shocked me with how well they have played. No other team is clicking s well as they are. They are operating like a well-tuned engine. Sometimes heart wins over talent. Ask the Caps and the Flyers, now on the verge of being eliminated. 

Randy

The top four New York Islanders players of the 1980s

 

I am the first to admit that I didn't grow up an Islander fan. Frankly, the only time I really pulled for them is when they played the Oilers in the finals. But, that does not mean I did not respect them for what they are and what they had become. What they became is the heart of a champion. I know that is a little corny. But the reality is they were champions.

My top Islanders' favourite list was hard to put together. There were so many good players in the 1980s. So my list consists of my favourite underdog Islanders. The list is going to surprise you. You probably have a list of your own. Let me know who is on it! 

John Tonelli

I loved John every time he was on the ice. I knew and expected things to happen. He was a firecracker. He was the one who set the pace. I might have some selfish reasoning for picking John. On March 11, 1986, Tonelli was traded to Calgary for Richard Kromm and Steve Konroyd. In Calgary, he became a huge Flames fan favourite. 

Bob Nystrom

Mr. Hustle was always known for his hard work. He would not step down from anyone; he had a heart like a lion. An interesting statistic that I did not know about Bob is he scored 30 goals in the 1977-78 season. I never knew him as a sniper, but one thing I did remember him on May 24, 1980.

Duane Sutter

Look at his last name. Do I really need to explain to you why? Duane is a man's man. The man squatted in the corners; one would have thought he lived there. A fantastic role player who fought for his teammates. He was known for his role as a leader; being from a Sutter family born in Viking, Alberta, he had to be. You never doubted his heart and who he represented. 

Ken Morrow

Ken Morrow was known for being one of the best stay-home defencemen. 

Ken would do anything to win. He blocked every shot he could. It did not matter who was shooting; Ken would give up his body to stop a goal. The greatest achievement of Morrow was, of course, the gold medal Team USA in 1980.

There are a lot more names come to mind when it comes to underdogs playing for the Islanders. That is what made the 1980s New York Islanders so special. Everyone did what they were told—there was no questioning Mr. Al Arbour, the greatest coach in Islanders' history. What made Al Arbour so good was the cast who believed him. 

Randy

Can the Maple Leafs deliver? Capitalizing on the Kapanen deal

The trade of Kasperi Kapanen to the Penguins leaves the Maple Leafs with some options. The departures of Kyle Clifford and Tyson Barrie gives you an additional $3.5 million. At $3.2 million, Kapanen gives the Maple Leafs a total of $6.7 million to play with. Previously, I listed possible additions on the defence side.

Now we have to look at how to fit everything together. The Maple Leafs can use that money to grab a defenceman or make another trade. Keep in mind we will have to replace Clifford with another fourth-liner.  

What will we get for Nylander if we go through the trade route? Nylander is coming off of a 30-goal season. Those don't grow on trees. Nylander is being used in all aspects of the game: He has a deadly shot on the powerplay. His speed makes him dangerous in the 5-on-5, allowing him to get around opposing defenders. There should be plenty of teams knocking at the door, especially with Nylander's on contract for another four years.  

Nylander should get us a top-of-the-line second-pairing defenceman. Or maybe even a lower-echelon top-pairing defenseman. There are rumours that the Oilers might part with Oscar Klefbom. Perhaps a deal could be worked out centering around him. If the Leafs use this option, the remaining money could buy a cheaper version of Nylander through free agency. Either way, the Maples Leafs have more options with the shrewd deal made by Dubas. A general manager should get his props for the good as well as getting smacked for the bad. 

Randy

Islanders MVP So Far?

 

So who deserves the most credit for the Islanders? I mean besides Trotz, of course. So you have to think it is between three players. Well, I am going to keep the list to three players because it is my blog. 

Semyon Varlamov 

Where would we be without him? Even more amazing than his record of 8-2 is his 1.50. He is on a roll. What makes him so good is his vision; he keeps track of the puck so well. I love his lateral movement from side to side. He is not the fastest goalie, but by the way, he plays his angles he doesn't have to be. 

Anthony Beauvillier 

Anthony has been outstanding in the playoffs. On any other team, he would be the best. His six goals have been a blessing. Whatever the Islanders need, Beau will get it. He is playing up to his potential as a sniper and a top-six forward. The only bad thing is his next contract negotiations in two years. Anthony is a speed demon with a terrific shot.

Amazing what a little confidence can do for a player. He is running on all cylinders.

Josh Bailey 

Josh is still everything he claims to be. Plus, he is playing like a second-line player. In other words, he has kicked it up a notch. Whether or not he is a second-line or third-line player may be up for debate—but there is no debate in the playoffs. He is a second-line player. 

Last Word

What do the Islanders have to do to win this series? I have noticed one thing: as long as everyone does what he is expected, their chances to win grow. What gets the Isles in trouble is when a player tries to do too much. I am talking to you, Barzal. When they do too much, they make mistakes and leave themselves exposed. Shoot the puck. Do not try to make a play that is not there. Keep it simple. It may be boring, but I promise you, it's effective.

Randy

Now what?

 

The Maple Leafs have some soul searching to do. Finding a defenceman who actually knows how to play defence would be an excellent start. Yes, I am being facetious, but you get my point. We have more leaks in our defensive than a toilet. The defence has to be the Leafs' top priority. 

The free-agent crops are loaded with talent at the top, but it quickly thins out. Let's weed this list out and go over it with a fine-tooth comb. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but saying that, here are my top four free agent defensemen.

Alex Pietrangelo 

Alex can write his own ticket. He does everything well. He has a great slapshot for the powerplay. Alex distributes the puck well and has excellent vision. His best quality is that he makes everyone around him better. However, he might be out of the Leafs' price range. 

Tory Krug 

Tory's strength is that he is a great rushing defenseman. Do not underestimate his defensive abilities. He is a great skater and uses his speed to get himself out of trouble. He is a reliable number one or two defensemen. A solid pick, I would make the appropriate roster changes to fit him in.

Travis Hamonic 

Travis means the world to me. He is a leader in and out of the ice. He would give up his immortal soul for the team. Travis will become an instant fan favourite. He is an excellent stay-home defenceman and one of the best shot-blockers. As he is called, Hammer should be the best option, but you can probably sign him for around $4 million or less. 

Chris Tanev

Chris Tanev is a solid, experienced defenceman who can still play for a couple of years. He is great in the defensive zone and leads by example. Again, a cheaper defenseman. Who says you have to spend a lot to get results?

Randy

What to do with Kyle Dubas

If there is one thing that is unanimous with the fans, it is to fire Dubas. Let me try to talk to the fans away from the edge. I can understand the frustration, but the worst thing the Leafs can do is make a knee jerk decision and fire everyone.

I have often heard insiders say a new General Manager is given time to rebuild his team. When the GM is brought in, the people around him are not usually his own. He has inherited a coach and other coaches already in place. In other words, he gets a mulligan until he brings in his first coach. Babcock was not Dubas' hire; he was part of the different regime. Dubas never liked Babcock. There were rumors that he had discussions with Shanny about firing Mike. Dubas wanted Sheldon Keefe from the start. They have not given this dynamic duo chance to spin thier webs out yet.

The second reason for keeping Dubas is that he has never had total control of the team. I know he is the General Manager, but he clearly has to okay everything through Shanahan. The Leafs will deny that until they are blue in the face, but we all know Shanny is in charge. He has to cut the puppet strings and let Dubas make the moves he wants to do. 

The third reason I say to keep Dubas is that putting a new GM in right now would set the Maple Leafs back a couple more years. I am not ready to do a complete rebuild. I am not sure the Leafs could do much of a rebuild because of the core's heavy cap load.

Last word

It will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason. Only time will tell which road this team will take?  

Randy

What makes Trotz So Good?

 

Someone asked me what makes Trotz so successful? That is not easy to answer because he does so many things right. As I see it, an NHL caliber coach must excel in four areas:

Put the players in the position to achieve greatness

I know that sounds corny, but it is every coach's goal to have his team win the Cup. To do that, he has to massage the players. A coach's job is to know when to be a parent or when to be a friend. Barry does this to a T; no one knows his team better than Trotz. You might notice a pattern with Trotz. He always has one top centre. Cizikas led the team with a 53.5% face-off win percentage. Trotz would put Casey Cizaikas on the ice in the final minute for that reason. He puts players in a position to succeed. 

Play to win, not to lose

Too often, I see teams with the lead in the third period, and then it goes all to heck. They seem to forget what got them the lead in the first place. Barry Trotz has a reputation for being a shark. When he smells blood, he goes for the throat. A lot of coaches do not keep to the plan. Trotz rarely strays from the program. He knows what it takes to win. 

No special treatment for his core players

The number one peeve I have is coaches that put the superstars ahead of the role players. Too often, I see coaches give the core players extra rope and let them play with it. That teaches the players, "if you are a star, you can do anything you want." Trotz is as hard on Barzy as he is any of his players. He disciplines everyone when there is a need. Everyone has to pay the piper when it comes to Trotz.

Every player knows his role

When I see a team disorganized or panicking in the defensive zone, usually it is on the coach. It is the job of a coach to explain to his players what is expected of them. I cannot emphasize this enough to often. I often see players commenting after a coach is fired: "We did not know what was expected of us. We were not focused." In a Barry Trotz dressing room, every player knows his role and is expected to fulfill it. 

Last word

Yes, there is a game 5. But don't panic. The Islanders took silly penalties that cost them the game. Barzal has to play smarter. Not to be too hard on him, but it is time to put away the selfish attitude. He is not alone; there were just too many 'me' players and not enough team players. Trotz is one of the best in the business at getting the ship on course; give him some time to achieve it.

Hey, what we do with Josh Bailey?

 

Never underestimate a New York Islander fan's thirst to win. No one brings out that desire than Josh Bailey. I have heard from every one of my Islanders fans at Drive for Five on their thoughts on Josh Bailey. They ranged from "one of the best passers in the game" to "a complete passenger."   

There was no middle ground when it comes to Josh. As an Islander fan, you either love him or you hate him.  

Where do you stand? Are you on the 'Nay' side or the 'Yea'?

The Positives

Josh has a great vision on the ice. His passes are crisp on target. If you're in the open and he sees you, the puck will get to you. I don't know many better passers than Josh.  

Josh is one of the best penalty killers in the game. His speed intimidates powerplays into giveaways. Josh often turns those mistakes into scoring chances. He uses his strengths to his advantage.  

He knows his role and what is expected of him. He puts his heart into it. He will strive to be the best he can be at what he does. He is nothing spectacular, but he is an effective third liner. 

Negative

Josh Bailey is what he is: a third-line role player who gets you 40 to 50 points. He has reached over 60 points only once, in the 2017-2018 season. He had 18 goals and 53 assists for 71 points. Yet, Bailey makes $5 million a year. Why? This third-line role player is making too much money for what he does. 

Conclusion

I love Bailey, but he might indeed be a little overpaid. Bottom line: he has found his niche in the Lou system. I say it is worth an extra million to keep the system flowing.  

Randy

The Maple Leafs Biopsy

The underachieving Toronto Maple Leafs strike again. Matthews, Tavaras, and last but not least, Marner forgot there was a game. One more time, the Maple Leafs had no answer to tough defence.  

Same old, same old. The Maple Leafs get outworked every series. No one wants to get their hands dirty. There is no grit on this team when push comes to shove. They just really get shoved.  

There seems to be a lack of leadership. When the Maple Leafs needed some emotion, there was none. They seemed to satisfied with the loss. When Marner, Matthews, Tavaras could not score, everyone gave up. Apparently, if you stop the big three from making a play, no one else can make it.  

The biggest problem—the elephant in the room—is a lack of depth on the defence. When Muzzin went down, it was catastrophic. There was no depth to replace him.  Let's face facts; no one wants to admit there is no easy fix. The frustrating thing is that this has been a problem for years. The Leafs had a weak defence this year, two years ago, three years ago, and so on. Yet the Leafs do not address this issue. Why? It is a casualty to the cap. They continue to pour money into the offence and have none left for defensive dept. Oh, they acquired defensemen and offensive d-men, but not the ones they needed. Trading Kadri was the right decision; what they got from the Avs was not. They need a stay-home defenseman. What they got was Barrie. He is a valuable player, but he is too sloppy in the defensive end. 

Until the Maple Leafs decide to fix the defence and bring in someone to help Reilly and Muzzin, expect the same old, same old. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It is time to clear out the deadwood. Should they cut Nylander? Marner? Get a top-six forward and a stud defenceman in return. 

Hard decisions have to be made. Does Dubas have what it takes to pull it off? 

Only time will tell. 

A New Beginning for Bob Mckenzie

One of my favourite sports personalities recently announced that he is working his last day. Bob Mckenzie and TSN go together like ice and hockey. Like me going to Tim Horton's for doughnuts. (They are not a sponsor of my blog. Although I wished they were, I would love some free ones!) But I digress. On to the more important news, the Legacy of Bobby Mac. 

The biggest thing that I connect with Bob is the world juniors and draft day. I miss the day when TSN held the NHL rights. Bob was one of the best at the rankings of the Juniors. Nobody knew his stuff better than Bob. 

I mentioned draft day in the dark ages when we rode dinosaurs. Again, I digress. It comes with old age. Bob would get eighty percent of his picks. I often thought he must watch a lot of hockey to know all of the players. Here is a part of the draft show. 

Bob Mckenzie will always be known for his insider knowledge, especially on hockey deadline days. I would always be looking to see if Bob was on his phone. I remember thinking I would never believe any rumour until Mckenzie said it. Nothing was official until you heard from Bob. I loved his insider trading show. 

Final Word

Bob was the leading voice behind the RTP. He went into the details of the negotiations. He was the man who broke the story first; the man behind the scene. A true legend that every insider should thank for paving the road for each of them. 

Randy