N.Y. Islanders: Lou Lamoriello New Lord of Flatbush

From the desk of:  NO SLEEP TILL BELMONT

FLATBUSH CLEARED OF SNOW

LOU LAMORIELLO RETURNING FOR BROOKLYN SWAN SONG

New York Islanders: If Jon Ledecky needs a playoff contender in time for his new Belmont arena, Lou Lamoriello will build it.

What Islanders fans have been longing to hear for over a decade is now music to their ears.

Arthur Staple of The Athletic is reporting former New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs executive Lou Lamoriello will be taking over the New York Islanders hockey operations.  Be it as team president and/or general manager for the moment remains unclear.  However, Arthur Staple also reports Lamoriello acting on behalf of the Islanders has already been in contact with pending unrestricted free agent John Tavares whom is set to hit the open market in July.

The Islanders have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

Snow retired after the 2005-06 season and was immediately offered the position of general manager despite having no coaching nor practical front office experience.  A well educated man, he was nevertheless hired to replace outgoing Neil Smith whom previously constructed a Stanley Cup champion at Madison Square Garden and hadn't yet held the Islanders job more than fifty days before experiencing a ponderous falling out with ownership.

Garth Snow's tenure started out quite promisingly but he never did build a sustainable contender.  The team made the playoffs during his first season behind the desk earning him Executive of the Year honors, but would not qualify for post-season play again for another six seasons.  All told, the Islanders made the playoffs four times during Snow's dozen years as general manager.  Their lone 2015-2016 first round playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins stands out as Snow's crowning achievement.  Suffice it to say the on-ice product has remained a major disappointment ever since.

In Snow's defense, any discussion involving him should also include former owner Charles Wang whose infamous battle with Nassau County over construction of his proposed Lighthouse Project would inevitably hamper and ultimately doom Uniondale's hockey club.

Snow may still potentially remain with the Islanders.  A statement from partner Jon Ledecky and new club ownership is forthcoming.

Lou Lamoriello took over in 2015 as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Three years later, they registered a 105-point season.  However, he too appears to have experienced a falling out with the Leafs, as well.

Be that as it may, the man knows a thing or two, or three, about winning Stanley Cups.  What he achieved in just three years with Toronto has not gone unnoticed.  The hope here no doubt is making the Islanders highly competitive by the time they open their new arena at Belmont.

If there exists an executive who can convince John Tavares the Islanders can and will turn this around, and see to it they become a highly regarded and consistent competitor, his name is Lou Lamoriello.

He instantly becomes the second most important person within the organization.  Until July 1, however, the most important person in the organization continues being John Tavares.

Both know lots can happen within the next three or so years.

Right now, however, it appears as if Lou Lamoiello has dropped right onto Jon Ladecky's lap.

... can't blow this, guys.

N.Y. Islanders: A Sinkhole Grows In Brooklyn

From the desk of:  NO SLEEP TILL BELMONT

Last Place: Metropolitan Division

Last Place: Metropolitan Area

New York Islanders: Just When You Thought It Could Get Worse, It Did ...

The New York Islanders were still above .500 on Dec. 31, 2017, albeit only barley with a 20-15-4 record.

Then 2018 hit them like a wrecking ball.

The Boston Bruins showed up at Barclays Center on the night of Jan. 2 with permits in hand to commence demolition of the local hockey season.  That night's loss to the Bruins dropped the Islanders down to par, but more effectively served as a preliminary watering down of the greater Flatbush Avenue area in preparation of the real implosion to come - all approved by chief architect Garth Snow, that is.

The Islanders are now 11-19-6 in this calendar year.  They enter Monday's game against the Florida Panthers with a 31-34-10 overall record (72-points), and firmly anchored in last place of the Metropolitan Division.  Between Feb. 19 and March 8 they lost eight in a row.  Otherwise, they're just 2-6-3 in March with seven games left in the regular season.

I would love to know what Jonathan Ledecky is thinking at this very moment, considering the new owner needs a new general manager; a new head coach; a new goalie; and a more committed compliment of two-way players and better skilled defensemen in particular.

There's also a good chance he may need a new franchise player if he fails to retain pending unrestricted free agent John Tavares. By the time Ledecky and Co. open their new arena at Belmont, Tavares will be 30-years old.  If he was unsure about extending his career with the Islanders before, then there's every chance the Islanders present condition could reinforce any inclination Tavares may harbor to leave.

And I wouldn't blame him, because what transpired this season is a disgrace.  Not that I'm an Islanders fan; I'm not.  I believe my readers know that.

But I'm sure any fan would agree that we're talking about one of the most bipolar teams in all of hockey.  For a great majority of the season, the Islanders were among the league's top leaders in goals scored and power play percentage.  At the same time, they've consistently been among the league's very worst in goals against and penalty kill percentage.

If you are a fan, that sort of stuff is infuriating.

N.Y. Islanders: A Revolt Grows in Brooklyn

From the desk of:  NO SLEEP TILL BELMONT

TONIGHT

New York Islanders

vs.

Montreal Habitants

FROM

The Great White North

New York Islanders: Time for Jon Ledecky to learn sign language.

Fans have every reason in the world to be furious with Garth Snow.

There are nineteen games left in the regular season, the team is heading in the wrong direction, and their franchise player John Tavares has yet to sign a contract extension.

Once again, the Islanders are among the league's top teams in scoring, but remain among the league's worst in terms of goals against.  That's been the ongoing condition under Garth Snow, whom once again effectively did little to change it.

SNOW MUST GO

PAID FOR BY LONG ISLAND HOCKEY FANS

The billboards are up - one at Sixth Avenue and Flatbush Avenue,

the other at Atlantic Avenue and Classon Avenue.  

I'll probably swing by tomorrow and snap some pics. 

In the meantime, you're stuck with my version.

Snow sent the Edmonton Oilers a 2019 third round draft pick in exchange for 26-year old blue-liner Brandon Davidson.

Listed at 6'2" 208 lbs., he is a minus-five over 137 NHL career games played.  Davidson was originally drafted by Edmonton in the sixth round of the 2010 entry draft.  He was traded in Feb. 2017 to the Montreal Canadiens.  By December, however, he was back at Edmonton when the Oilers claimed him off waivers.

Garth Snow also acquired center Chris Wagner from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Jason Chimera.

Net result ~ zero impact.

I'd be pissed off, too.

The Islanders are on thin ice.  They've lost three straight, and have slipped into a ninth place tie with the Carolina Hurricanes.  Both are four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the second Wild Card position, and nine points behind the seventh place New Jersey Devils (whom Tuesday night defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins for the second time this season).

Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are right behind them with 64-points and have suddenly become the hottest team in hockey.


*Hope Street mural, Williamsburg

N.Y. Islanders: Prime Time For John Tavares

From the desk of:  FIVE FOR FLATBUSH

4-0-1 At Home To Start Season

New York Islanders: Each John Tavares Goal Nudges New Ownership Another Two Minutes Closer To Midnight.

Don't take your eyes off John Tavares.

I say that for a few reasons.

As a 27-year old, he's only now entering his athletic prime.  I admit it's a little early for this, but something special may be unfolding before our eyes.

The first overall pick of the 2009 entry draft, Tavares is already well on his way towards a career season.  The only question is, how far can he take this?

His slash presently reads 11 goals, 4 assists, 15 points, in just 12 games.

Entering this season, Tavares has topped 30 goals three times in eight campaigns.  To date, his 38 goals in 2014-15 are his career best.  He finished just one point shy of equaling his total games played in each of the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.  His points then exceeded games played by seven in 2014-15, and by four the following season.

Tavares scored his first two goals of this season against the Buffalo Sabres in the Islanders second game of the season, but then went pointless in his next five games.  He finally netted his third goal of the season on Oct. 21, against San Jose.  Then unleashed fury with a pair of hat tricks against Arizona and Nashville, followed by another pair of goals against the expansion Vegas Golden Knights Monday night at Barclays Center, giving him nine goals in his last five games.

It just so happens John Tavares is also in his contract year.

Therefore, the Islanders are facing two choices: Pay him his worth and lock him up long term.  Or, try and maximize a trade by the deadline.

With regards to the latter, trading John Tavares would be a complete disaster.  So would letting him walk away as a free agent, for that matter.  The Islanders can not allow, nor afford, letting either scenario playing out.  Not after what the fans have been made to endure over the last two decades.

John Tavares is the franchise.  There's no way of overstating that fact.  He has been the Captain since 2013, and is clearly among the NHL's elite centers.  Between 1992 and 2001, the Islanders retired six jerseys belonging to members of the dynasty teams of the early 1980s.  None have gone up since.  There are some arguments to be made for other players.  Retiring Tavares' number, however, is becoming more of a certainty with each passing year.

If you're John Tavares, of course you want to get paid fair market value.  And even if the Islanders meet his price, will new ownership continue elevating the talent around him?  Make no mistake, parting ways with Kyle Okposo did not sit well with Tavares.  These may be new owners, but things like that remain in players' minds.  This is, after all, a business.

That being said, I'm sure missing the playoffs last season certainly didn't help the situation.  This is his ninth season with the organization, and the Islanders have only qualified for the post-season just three times since his arrival, with only one series victory to show.

One must also consider how Barclays Center fails as a viable NHL arena, and the continuing uncertainty regarding a potential arena next to Belmont Park.  Ownership has already stated the Islanders will be playing in Brooklyn through next season regardless.

All things considered, one has to wonder whether John Tavares will even want to continue playing with the Islanders.

It will be interesting, to say the least, watching Scott Malkin and Jonathan Ledecky negotiate a new home for the Islanders in Belmont (because I do not believe there is a Plan-B in place), and a new deal for one of the league's premier players at the same time.

One has absolutely everything to do with the other.  Tavares sells tickets.  Without him, the dominoes begin to fall.  Fans become disinterested.  That translates into empty seats in a potential new arena.  And before you know it, another decade of bad hockey has gone by.

Unfortunately, the Islanders do not have the luxury of wooing a new market starved for NHL hockey.  This is the same market, and the same increasingly disaffected fans who for long have been numbed by organizational inefficiencies and inadequacies.

*

The Islanders have won five of their last six games, and with their 6-3 victory over Vegas, improved to 4-0-1 at home.  They end the month of October 7-4-1, and just one point behind the first place New Jersey Devils in the Metropolitan Division standings.

Next on the docket: Thursday night against the Capitals in Washington.