Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all. Who's In: Scott Gordon (head coach), Doug Weight, C (UFA), Mark Streit, D (UFA), a youth movement (Frans Nielsen, Blake Comeau, Kyle Okposo, Jeff Tambellini).
Who's Out: Ted Nolan (hear about that?), Wade Dubielewicz, G (Russia), Miro Satan, RW (Penguins), Josef Vasicek, C (UFA), Ruslan Fedotenko, LW (Penguins), Bryan Berard, D (Flyers). What's Changed: Well, if you haven't heard by now, there were some issues when it came to the direction of the team earlier in the summer. It was clear that Garth Snow and Charles Wang wanted to bring in the kids and go with a youth movement. Snow and former head coach Ted Nolan clashed throughout the second half of the season and it was apparent to anyone within Nassau County. Actually, the only people who probably didn't know were stranded out on a deserted island somewhere.
When coach and GM clash, as Nolan knows, the coach usually gets the boot. And, well, that's what happened here. The real surprise was not that Nolan was let go, but how long it took. The team began rookie camp in August at about the same time that Scott Gordon was hired. There's no sense in rushing to make a selection as important as who your next head coach is going to be, but sometimes you've got to have a coach. Like at summer camp. But hey, this is the Charles Wang era and, as we all know, the Isles march to the beat of their own drum. You've gotta respect that.
Today, they unveiled another addition in their long line of original, creative and controversial gimmicks. Although I imagine that this one will probably be much less controversial than the Blog Box. It comes to us from the ticketing gurus the Islanders employ.
The team is selling what they are calling a 'Victory Pack' ticket plan. It's four Wednesday night games, one of which features Sidney Crosby. What's different about this plan from the norm is that the final score of the games will impact how much bang the buyers of this plan will get for their buck. For each of the four games that the Islanders win, purchasers will receive 'free' tickets to future games.
Each time the Islanders win a game in the four-game Victory Plan package, you will get to come back and watch another select game - on us! For example if the Isles defeat the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins on November 26, you get to return to the Nassau Coliseum on December 16 to see Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals for FREE.
The second game is advertised for free, but the Islanders did not post a price for the Victory Plan along with the article. Being the cynic that I am, I think there could be some extra charges. Either way, it's a very creative way to try and put butts in seats and props to the Islanders for that.
As you may know, I'm an avid New York Islanders fan. I also have an avid east-coast bias. Journalistic integrity be damned, at least I'm being honest with you, right? So while the Islanders are setting up tee times for Saturday after they finish up another lackluster season against their cross-town rivals on Friday, I will still be thinking about hockey. And in doing so I have been faced with a rather large dilemma. You see, after the Islanders gained a point against the Devils tonight in an overtime loss, there are now issues at hand that are larger than tee times and putting greens. With 77 points, the Islanders are currently looking at having the 5th most lottery balls in the bucket for the draft lottery. That's a nice spot and with some losses and a little help from St. Louis that position could improve to 4th. With two more games to play, it's also possible that they could win and fall to 7th behind Columbus and Phoenix. But, you see, life is funny. It turns out that those finals two games both happen to be against the arch-rival New York Rangers. The scheduling gods sure had some fun with this one.
I think you can see the dilemma here. I can take the blue pill or the red pill. Take the blue pill, and I root the Islanders to two wins against the Rangers, and with some losses from Columbus and Phoenix they move into the 7th lottery spot. This is completely possible given that the Islanders are 4-2-0 against their rivals this season, an 8-3-2 mark when combined with last season's record. The other option is that I take the red pill and watch the Islanders lose twice in regulation on their way to 5th and potentially 4th on the lottery list. Meanwhile, I would be committing the cardinal sin of sport by rooting against my team when they face their most hated of hockey teams.
Do I root for the Isles to beat their rivals or should I ask the heavens for a better draft position?
The boys from 2 Man Advantage sure take their sweet time getting their videos out, but it's usually worth the wait. Perhaps they spend all of those extra hours working on their makeup. *ahem*
Anyway, their latest web-vid has them attending the New York Islanders home opener and loitering in the parking lot. I'm just disappointed that they didn't spend at least five minutes reminiscing about the greatness of ex-Isle Oleg Kvasha.
The New York Islanders had to count on minor-leaguer Wade Dubielewicz (a name that is hard for even us non-Polish Slavs to get right) to help save the day with four straight wins to make the playoffs. When Rick DiPietro suffered two concussions late this season, "Dubie" was there, when Mike Dunham was not.
Dubielewicz showed he could perform in confidence-inspiring fashion in the pressure of a playoff race to earn the backup job. In eight appearances for the Islanders, including three mop-up situations, Dubielewicz compiled a 4-1 record with a 2.06 goals-against average and a terrific .934 save percentage.
Switching to a backup role will be a big change for Dubielewicz, who played in the AHL All-Star game last season. Asked after the season if he could handle long periods of inactivity behind DiPietro, Dubielewicz said, "You have to be ready. I've always been very good at coming into games. It's going to be something new. If Ricky goes on these runs where he plays for six weeks straight, something you might see is me going to Bridgeport to play a couple of games to stay fresh.
Mike Dunham? Not only is he frequently injured, but he frequently sucks! In 19 games, Dunham had a woeful 3.74GAA, 4-10-3 record, and an 88.9 SV%!
Wade, 27, was never drafted, but has an impressive pre-NHL track record* and has been waiting for his chance to show his talents in the NHL.
*Dubielewicz won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie in the AHL for 2004 and he was once an all-American goaltender for the University of Denver Pioneers.
As if Rick DiPietro didn't have enough problems trying to think straight after suffering two successive concussions, the prodigy with the 15-year contract is now recovering from major hip surgery.
Rick DiPietro had hip surgery this week, and the New York Islanders goalie is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp in September.
DiPietro, sidelined by two concussions 12 days apart late in the regular season and the start of the playoffs, had arthroscopic surgery Monday in Vail, Colo., to repair a tear in his left hip.
Any time you sign a player to a long-term contract, a major injury is a big worry. When that player is your #1 goalie and you signed him to the most insane deal ever, you have to hope this hip problem doesn't become a constant thorn in Ricky's side. Hip problems doesn't always just go away, as any senior citizen will tell you.
DiPietro truly established himself as a premier net-minder this season, after struggling to find his groove after being rushed by the Islanders earlier in his career.
After putting up a pedestrian 90.0SV% in 2005-06, DiPietro improved that number drastically this season to a 91.9% figure, 6th best in the entire NHL. Consider that he was playing behind a rather poor defense, and Ricky has to be considered one of the more underrated (but not under-compensated) players in the league.
When the New York Islanders gave up prospects Ryan O'Marra and Robert Nilsson (plus a first-round pick in 2007) to get Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers, they pretty much wanted him for his ability to score in the playoffs ... and even just to get them there! It was a hefty price to pay, but the Islanders will willing to make such an expensive short-term investment.
Since Smyth provided everything pretty much everything asked of him, the Isles surely don't want him just to leave, now that they gave up so much to get him.
Reading between the lines, I wouldn't expect Smyth to give the Isles any special discount.
[Smyth] told the New York Daily News that he's "not leaning one way or the other" about what he described as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" as an unrestricted free agent.
While Oilers expect Smyth to be so attached to Edmonton that he'll come crawling back, I don't expect Smyth (who was negotiating hard with the Oilers) to be any different than, say, Bobby Holik. He owes the Isles no loyalty, doesn't seem to be especially enamoured with the place (or Yashin), and was probably hurt by the trade from Edmonton that he just may want a fresh start.
If your NHL club wants Ryan Smyth, they better open up their wallets and get ready to pay big bucks. Heart and soul isn't cheap, you know.
Q: Who makes $7.6* million a season, dates a former supermodel, and disappears the moment the playoffs start?
A: Alexei Valeryevich Yashin
It looks like Isles coach Ted Nolan has already had enough of Yashin's floaty ways and has quickly demoted his captain:
Nolan busted Yashin, 33, down to centre on the fourth line halfway through the first period of the Eastern Conference quarter-final game. Yashin played between Richard Park and Andy Hilbert, while Richard Zednik was promoted to Yashin's spot with centre Viktor Kozlov and right winger Miroslav Satan. Yashin barely got off the bench in the third period.
Yashin played 7 minutes, 7 seconds in Saturday's game, the least amount of ice time of anyone on the team except for backup goaltender Wade Dubielewicz. But it is richly deserved.
Kapitan Ka$hin has always had a reputation as a player who has disappeared the moment the regular season paycheques stop coming, and he's doing nothing this postseason to improve on that. With just 10:21 in ice time per game in this series (0 points in those 3 games), Yashin finds himself behind such superstars as Aaron Asham, Trent Hunter, and Randy Robitaille. I guess being the highest paid player on the team and having the captain's 'C' isn't enough to motivate the guy. What is?
All I know is that playoff games involve turning up the intensity a few notches and skating faster and harder. Yashin, on the other hand, is a player that has always relied on his brains and great stickhandling ability, rather than speed and hustle. In the regular season, it's easy enough for him to get time and space with the puck and float around looking for open spaces. In the playoffs, both of these elements are hard to find, and Yashin does not work harder to compensate.
If I were Nolan, I would have stripped Yashin of the C much earlier and given it to somebody like Mike Sillinger, who actually gives an honest effort most every night.
Some have suggested that the reason that Oleg Kvasha, the talented and enigmatic Russian giant, isn't in the NHL this year is all due to the Salary Cap restricting a guy of his talent and salary range from finding a willing team. Why else would an effective 2-way forward be playing in Russia this season?
That sounds logical, but I think it has more to do with him seeing this 'rap' video and running away from the North American continent in total and utter terror.
The New York Islanders had to count on minor-leaguer Wade Dubielewicz (a name that is hard for even us non-Polish Slavs to get right) to help save the day with four straight wins to make the playoffs. When Rick DiPietro suffered two concussions late this season, "Dubie" was there, when Mike Dunham was not.
As if Rick DiPietro didn't have enough problems trying to think straight after suffering two successive concussions, the prodigy with the 15-year contract is 
When the New York Islanders gave up prospects Ryan O'Marra and Robert Nilsson (plus a first-round pick in 2007) to get Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers, they pretty much wanted him for his ability to score in the playoffs ... and even just to get them there! It was a hefty price to pay, but the Islanders will willing to make such an expensive short-term investment. 
Q: Who makes $7.6* million a season, dates a former supermodel, and disappears the moment the playoffs start?
