It appears that John Tavares is not as popular as his namesake, a 17 year old G-8 summit junior delegate who caught the eye of US President Obama. According to google trends Mayara Tavares is one of the top 50 searched upon names, John Tavares is not.
I'm sure this will change once Charles Wang decides to give him a 20 year contract.
The New York Islanders have added a a top flight forward to their horrible franchise by selecting John Tavares. Garth Snow did the safe thing and went with the pride of the London Knights. Tavares will now be tasked with returning a downtrodden team from laughingstock to respectability.
Its going to be a large task for this dynamic center. Luckily the media attention on the Island will be nothing like what he's experienced in Canada. Not to mention he will only be playing in front of 8000-12,000 fans at home. Wonder if Wang will immeditately sign him to a 20 year deal?
According to Jay Greenberg of the NY Post Sean Avery will be back in the New York Rangers lineup Thursday night if all goes well. On Monday Sean will be placed on re-entry waivers and if he goes unclaimed the Rangers will grab him for half the freight. So if all goes according to plan Sean will be playing against the hated Icelanders Thursday night. One team that could grab Sean is the Islanders, which would be an interesting twist and would make for a very entertaining game Thursday.
The NHL is introducing 4 new rule changes for the 2008-2009 season. I am not always in agreement with changes that are introduced by the league but I have to say that 3 of the 4 new tweaks should help the game. I think that #2 could be a good rule but it is very subjective and the refs will not enforce it properly.
Now next year, slim down the goalie equipment.
Scott Gordon has been hired to coach the New York Islanders this season. This is a bold move by Garth Snow and is keeping with the youth movement that the Isles are going with. As you know the Islanders canned Ted Nolan after he made rabbits fly out of their tacklas the past 2 seasons, big mistake imo. Hiring Gordon to guide the lighthouse is definitely a high risk choice when two veteran retreads were in the final 3.
Gordon will be the fishsticks fifth coach in six seasons - and their 14th overall.
Gordon stats: Providence went 55-18-3 last season, and in five seasons with the team, he was 221-141-20-27. He was an assistant with Providence for three seasons before taking over as head coach, and worked in the ECHL before that.
The Toronto Maple Leafs just moved up in the draft and sent their 7th overall pick plus a a pair of conditional futures to the Islanders in exchange for the Icelanders 5th overall pick.
With that pick the Leafs selected defenseman Luke Schenn of the Kelowna Rockets.
Schenn is a physically punishing defensive defenseman who should help create some snarl on the Leafs soft blue line.
This is the 2nd move in as many days as Toronto acquired forward Jamal Mayers from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a third round pick last night.
Wasn’t it only 2 months ago fishsticks fans were calling Charles Wang a genius and visionary?
Not sure how many of you caught the pre and post game comments from Islanders coach Ted Nolan and backup Rick DiPietro. Something is definitely amiss with Dipetro and there is more to the story as to why he didn’t start Thursday’s Islanders vs Rangers game. Lets recall last year when the Rick went down with injury and Dubie held down the fort. As soon as Rick was cleared to play he returned as the starting goalie.
This notion about missing time and not being in game shape is bull. Watching last night you could clearly see the often fast talking DiPietro taking his time and answering in a tone which clearly displayed how annoyed he is. This makes me believe the rumors swirling around that this all started Tuesday night might be true. The story/rumor going around is that DiPietro upon hearing he would not start on Tuesday opted out of the game due to his grandmothers death. Ie he would have been there if he was starting but once he found out he was sitting he decided not to attend the must win game for the Islanders. So either Nolan was punishing him last night or really playing a hunch. Net result the Islanders failed to win and now might have an “issue” with their 15 year man. Wonder who Charles will side with?
Alright let me start by saying I am a huge Rangers fan so
this pains me to write this. But if
there is another coach in the NHL that gets more from less than Ted Nolan,
please let me know. I know that Brent Sutter is
doing a great job for the NJ Devils but at least they have a solid organizational
philosophy and foundation.
The Islanders? Look at the lineup they’ve got NOTHING.... Yet here they are AGAIN close to a playoff spot and busting their tails on every single shift never giving up. This team barely has a 1st liner, is plagued by injuries yet they won’t go away. If I had a vote Ted Nolan would be my pick for Coach of the year, even if the Fishsticks don’t make the play-offs.
Well folks the NY Islanders Chris Simon is back, again. Will he make it without incident for the rest of the season? No one knows that answer, not even Chris. History tells us the answer is no as Chris' recent incidents seem to be happening more frequently and his infractions more appalling. Hopefully he's straightened himself out but we'll see how he does against against the NY Rangers when they face the Islanders. Nothing like a rivalry to set off the NHL's ticking time bomb.
Credit to the great Ken Henderson for the Simon image.
How bad are the Rbk EDGE jerseys failing? They are such a failure that Reebok has offered alternative fabric jerseys to any players that request them (as per a Boston Herald Rbk EDGE article on Saturday). This is due to increasing NHLPA complaints that the new Rbk Edge uniforms are leaving players drenched in perspiration. The Canton company said it made the decision after soliciting feedback from players, teams and equipment managers. So much for two years of research Reebok spent developing and testing a new lighter and streamlined NHL uniform that they claimed would wick away moisture to keep players drier and create less drag to make them faster.
More from the Herald article: But some Boston Bruins and other players started complaining last month that the jerseys were collecting water that ran down their arms and legs, soaking their gloves and skates. Others complained that the new jerseys made it hard for them to grab onto opponents during fights.
“Many NHL players are satisfied with the current Rbk Edge jersey, but since the start of the season we have received player feedback about the jersey’s moisture management and durability,” Reebok said in a statement. “. . . Reebok will provide players with the option to wear a version with slight sizing and fabrication adjustments.”
Reebok has removed its Bead-Away technology in the alternative jerseys and added a new air-knit fabric. The jerseys still will have PlayDry moisture-wicking technology and a stretch mesh fabric for increased range of motion and ventilation, Reebok said.
Reebok plans no changes in the jerseys that it sells to the public, why of course not. They have to bleed consumers of all of their sunk R&D costs, thanks Reebok. Anyone looking to buy a new jersey BUYER BEWARE, I wouldn't buy the new Rbk EDGE as I'm sure they'll have a new style out next year so people have to buy the next latest and greatest "sweater".
For those of you who truly hate the new Reebok Edge Jersey's or want to save some dough, now is the time to pick up the "old" style jerseys before their sold out. Check out these great deals on NHL Jersey Deals.
Want to know all the specifications and the advantages (as per Rbk Marketing) of the new Reebok EDGE uniforms, check out this link: Facts about New NHL Jersey Reebok EDGE. Or those in the mood for humor check out this blog Why You Need to Buy a Reebok EDGE Jersey!
Check out my previous rant about the new Reebok Edge Jersey and Top Reasons to Boycott Reebok EDGE.
