The Strangest Franchise

By most any measure, the once proud New York Islanders are a failure of a franchise. They're still in the NHL, but barely, it seems.

Yet as they arrive in Toronto to take a poke at the perfect Maple Leafs tonight, the hockey team itself appears to be anything but a pushover.

Despite being without veteran defenceman Mark Streit and young forward Kyle Okposo, and without young star John Tavares before he returned on the weekend to help in a victory over Colorado, the Isles have been ornery and competitive so far, with only one regulation loss in five games so far.

Credit head coach Scott Gordon, centre Josh Bailey and winger Blake Comeau are good young forwards and the return of goalie Rick DiPietro has certainly been useful, although DiPietro's numbers aren't great or even as good as Dwayne Roloson. Adversity seems to have welded this long forsaken club together - the Isles haven't won a playoff round in 17 years, remember - and these players, so far, have banded together in impressive style.

Actually, adversity may not even be the word for it. For most of this calendar year, the Isles have been either dysfunctional or bizarre, depending on your definition of such things.

Consider:

--The club planned a pre-season trip to China and would have been the first team to travel there for the Far East. But then owner Charles Wang abruptly cancelled the trip, with differences with the NHLPA part of the problem.

--The team recently signed a radio broadcast deal with Hofstra University under which students will serve as analysts and reporters. It's the kind of move you'd expect from a minor-league baseball operation. And not the high minors.

--Organized "split" squads for pre-season games, and had to sign four free agent players to tryouts just to meet the NHL's minimum veteran rule.

--Defenceman James Wisniewski recently made a lewd gesture towards Ranger forward Sean Avery that got him suspended for two games. Gordon made a bit of a fool of himself by walking out of a post-game press conference when asked about the incident.

--Attendance for last Monday's Ranger game, always the Isles best draw, was under 12,000.

--The team's plans for a new arena as part of the larger Lighthouse Project have gone on and on for years with no end in sight. Nassau Country Coliseum is now, without question, the league's worst facility.

--The club's payroll is so low that it would be below the NHL's minimum if not for charges from old buyouts to Alexei Yashin ($4.75 million) and Brendan Witt ($1.33 million).

It goes on and on. Yet in the early going, the Isles have been no soft touch this season. Good for the players. Keeping it going won't be easy.

And don't be surprise if they end the Leafs' winning streak tonight.

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Garmo]

Tavares is being wasted in Long Island. He scored over 20 goals (more than Stamkos his rookie year) and went virtually unnoticed. Here is a guy that will lead the league in scoring in a couple of years playing in a minor (I mean bush) league system. It's a shame.

[Pyramid Power]

Lebda in for Gunnarsson. Leafs playing very well with lots of confidence. Saw the Islanders win over the Rangers last Monday, they looked pretty good. Their 18-year-old rookie El Nino looked pretty good.

Hope Toronto is not overconfident, and the Isles don't get a world class goaltending performance as I recall they did last year in one memorably horrible loss at the ACC with Roloson stopping 59 shots if memory serves.

I will be very surprised if Toronto loses this hockey game.

[Rob]

What is the Nassau Country Coliseum? I'm pretty sure that doesn't even exist. And the arena issue is not the team's fault. The team was willing to pay for the whole project without taxpayer dollars but the town didn't want the whole project built. The Town of Hempstead (which you have probably never heard of) is the problem for the arena.
As for attendance for the Ranger game last monday, America has a stupid holiday called "Columbus Day". On Long Island, unless you're a teacher, or you work at a bank, you DO NOT have off of work. Colleges DO NOT have no class. And yet the NHL scheduled a 1pm game that day. Most people in the area weren't even able to watch on TV let alone go to the game. That SAME DAY at 4pm the Devils played Pittsburgh in New Jersey in front of a crowd of 12,000 people. What was the problem for their attendance issues? Oh right. The same thing! Dude, before writing an article bashing a franchise, do some background research.

[Leafs will win a cup]

"And don't be surprise (sic) if they end the Leafs' winning streak tonight"....Good call Damien. Here's an idea. Say that before every game and one time you will be right.

[mark]

It's sad to see how a once proud franchise can take such a nose dive. In my opinion, the fault lies squarely at the feet of Charles Wang. It's incredible that someone who has shown such as talent for shooting himself in the foot when it comes to his hockey club has made billions in his other business ventures. If you were to put together a top 10 list of the dumbest ideas in NHL club ownership history, I would venture to say the Isles under Wang would dominate that list. The 'Milbury' years, the Yashin contract, the Di Pietro contract to name three. Frankly, I don't know why Wang is holding onto the club and I suspect with the possible death of the Lighthouse development plan looming so may be Wang's tenure as an NHL owner. Jim Balsilie, are you out there?

[Scott Bennett]

I take exception to your statement that DiPietro has been "useful"

Actually, he's been pretty horrid, showing a lot of rust (at least we hope it's rust, and simply not the hips / knees of a 75 year old) , and not a lot of mobility.

Rloson is clearly the better of the two.

[sd]

The Islanders are not moving to Canada. Ever.

[Rick Grace]

Why do we waste our time trying to sell hockey down there?
In the US of A they find baseball exciting.
Isn't that evidence enough we are two different countries with vastly differing tastes?
I am tired of our great game being treated as a bad joke down there.

[Geoff Read]

Mark - I have to disagree - the Isles were a basket-case before Wang came along. In fact, I think you can lay the blame squarely at the feet of a different character: Mike Milbury, the worst GM in NHL history. Only now are the Isles beginning to emerge from the hole that Milbury dug.

OK, and granted, Wang has been a bit of a tool too. Di Pietro's contract stands out as one of the stupidest deals ever signed by an NHL club.

[Will]

I find it incredible that you take the time to bash the Islanders and label them a "failure of a franchise." What is your measure of success? If it is attendance, and money made every year, then yes, the Islanders fall way short of teams such as the Leafs, who have no problem filling their building. If you want to talk success like most do, in terms of stanley cups, then i would think you wouldn't say a thing. Since the Islanders came into existence, they have more cups (4) than the leafs (0) in that same period. This is success. Although the Islanders have fallen from grace, with a host of ownership problems in the 90's being the main problem, they are finally on the right track. Garth Snow is showing poise in drafting smart, signing guys who seem to perform much better than anyone would think, and slowly building a team that contend every night. Much like the Leafs. Before you let a hot start go to your head and begin bashing teams like the Islanders, take a moment to think about it.

[Pyramid Power]

@mark Good stuff. Mad Mike Milbury and his legendary gaffe trades are near the top of the list for me. What would Bill Torrey and Al Arbour say about all of this? Ugh! I actually feel sorry for Wang as he is trying, but Hempstead and the town council and other issues standing in his way. Time to relocate the Islanders soon if they can't get a new arena. Wang is rightfully frustrated. Jim Balsillie can help you Chuck. lol

Personal story about the disarray with the Isles and China. I live in China near Shanghai. Just past 4 a.m. here now. Was on the phone with the Isles and e-mailing them constantly etc.... three years ago when they wanted to develop Project Hope in northeastern China and promote hockey here. Wanted to hire me as a hockey coordinator/trainer/coach etc.... and English teacher so the kids would have the English skills necessary to deal with hockey trips to the New York area etc.... Project blew up in their faces mainly because of ineptitude on their part dealing with the authorities here, and of course the whole Lighthouse fiasco had to be focused on. Left a very bitter taste in my mouth after all the work put in trying to get that done. Typical New York Islanders. I wish them nothing but the very worst.

GO LEAFS GO!

[mikb]

@Mark - the Milbury years started well before Charles Wang. The DiPietro contract was not the problem - his health was. (Otherwise why would other franchises be signing their own stars to eight or ten year contracts like Ovechkin and Richards?) Even Yashin was productive while on the Island, though nobody would argue that he was worth THAT much money.

Considering how the Isles' dynasty was shamefully dismantled under the absentee ownership of John Pickett, how Chicago was mismanaged nearly to death under Bill Wirtz, how nobody seems to know who owns Phoenix, the ongoing Spendthrift Circus of Misadventure olaying 41 dates at the Madison Square Garden, whatever the blazes is going on with the Florida Panthers... to say nothing of MLSE's oversight of the Leafs... well, Charles Wang, while not perfect, is far from the top of the list of problems with the New York Islanders... certainly not dominating any top-10 dumbest owner ideas.

[Pyramid Power]

@Rob "Dude", I am sure that Damien knows a LOT more than you do about the Islanders situation, and everyone has heard of Hempstead Hassles and the Lighthouse Project. Thanks for the info about Columbus Day, and the poor attendance that day though.

This was a blog btw not a full-scale column. Chill out man. Btw, I call it the Nassau County Coliseum. What do you call the old barn?

[mark]

mikb, I see your point. Chuck Wang isn't all to blame, although, one could argue he let Milbury stay on way to long once he took over the team despite evidence that pointed to an immediate firing. With deep pockets and apparantly the patience of a saint, perhaps Wang will eventually succeed in turning this franchise around. But, my guess is that with the Lighthouse project wavering, so is his resolve and cheque book.

[Bob]

Mike Milbury single handily accounts for at least 60% of the blame. As posted above, "Since the Islanders came into existence, they have more cups (4) than the leafs (0) in that same period." And now that the Islanders are heading in the right direction, you want to bash them now? Hahahah come on

[Pyramid Power]

You just had to call the Isles to win eh Damien? Tsk tsk. lol Excellent prognostication skills. I salute you. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[Paul]

As a diehard Islanders fan, it's been sad to watch this team slowly die over the last 20 years. A few thoughts:

1) Wang is actually one of the best owners the Isles have had in the last 20 years. He bought this team when it was on its last legs and has poured millions of his own $$$ into the team these last 10 years while trying to work out an arena deal with the local political machine. The "town of Hempstead" is one of the most corrupt political entities in Nassau County history and has stonewalled this project at every turn. Mr. Wang is a long island native who does not want this team to move out of NY. He might move it out of Nassau County (NYC is 30 minutes to the west - Suffolk County is 15 minutes to the East), but it will not leave the general area. He has other options in Queens County or Suffolk County.

2) There is still a rock solid fanbase on Long Island. Years of losing, bad deals, and pitiful movement on the arena situation have not helped. Diehard fans still attend. The casual fan does not want to waste their time because of the horrible traffic and 70's era experience that will await them at our relic arena. Hockey will never be #1 in this town, but there's still a fanbase waiting to be slapped out of their decade long coma. When the Isles returned to the playoffs 9 years ago (after a 6 year absence), ticket sales were very good and the arena was rocking.

[BillyBC]

I dont understand why Canadians have a hate on for the New York Islanders?? I am from Long Island living in Vancouver (0 cups) and hear it quite a bit. All the complaints about the franchise being a mess are pretty accurate but we are doing our best to turn it around. For those who think we should be relocated are dead wrong. Listen, there is a very dedicated fanbase that is established, and if the Isles get it together, they will return. We are a young franchise that has a great history and Canada should give pause to want to see that go and make your cheap shot jokes. Point is, Canada NEEDS the NHL to be successful in the states PERIOD! Hockey is Canada's sport, but the revenue comes from us and for you to want the Isles to move to a smaller market than NEW YORK with one of the greatest rivalaries then you are only hurting your own sport.

There are a lot of other teams with no established hockey markets out there, go pick on them and how about this....lets root for this once great team to make a resurgence!