Perhaps the surprise story and happiest of the off season acquisitions Garth Snow signed prior to the 2009-2010 season, Matt Moulson and the New York Islanders reached an agreement for a one year contract just before his arbitration hearing this morning. This, to me, was good news as far as having the team get the deal done prior to an actual hearing needing to take place.

Moulson certainly had a “story book” season, scoring 30 goals after being pretty much cast off by the Los Angeles Kings. Often being on a line with John Tavares, Matt found a very nice scoring touch and gained much success setting up in his “office” just outside of the blue paint. He had a number of “big goals” for the Isles, and his sense of humor and personality were aspects of the guy that definitely made him quickly become among my favorites on the team.

It is interesting that the Isles and Moulson settled on a one year deal. He will then be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. If this was meant as a “proving” season to see if Moulson is the “real deal”, it will then be risky as far as having to get an extension done before July 1 of 2011. Of course, it won’t matter if he does not have such an impressive season, but I am of the mind that he will come back with another solid, 82 game effort.

From Moulson’s standpoint, well, he’s pretty much placed himself in a great spot. If he continues to show the scoring touch, he can entertain offers for his services elsewhere that could earn him some nice spending cash. If the Islanders want to keep him, well, they will have to be the team to offer him that incentive to stick around.

Personally, and it is simply a matter of opinion and it is why I am not a hockey GM, I would have preferred a two year deal. The Isles don’t have cap issues, and I would have felt more comfortable having an extra year there should he prove to be a good scorer. Obviously, if he flops, you are stuck with the contract for another year, but let’s face it … the Islanders have taken much bigger risks on long term deals …

According to a post I read on IPB, it appears Billy Jaffe is not going to be offered a contract with MSG to be the color man this season for the Islanders. I do not know if this information is “officially” true as of yet, but from what I read, I am led to believe that it is so.

Personally, I find this to be quite disappointing and discouraging. Jaffe’s analysis over the last four years has been so insightful and impressive. As a student of the game of hockey, he taught me so much by listening to his descriptions of plays and his in depth explanations of positioning on even the smallest aspects of a game. You simply do not find color guys who can offer such spot on observations and the ability to make one understand why or why not a simple pass or the placement of a stick was so important. Whether you are a fan of the game or casual observer, Jaffe has the ability to make you “understand” what is going on out on the ice at any given time.

Having also had the honor and privilege of having met Mr. Jaffe this passed April, I am all the more disappointed. I believe Billy also did analysis for Verses and for the NHL network, so I have no doubts that someone will snatch him up. Unfortunately, he has a wife and two children, as well as a house on the island. From what I read, he really wanted to stay in New York.

If this information proves to be true, I wish him the best of luck and thank him for his great work in the booth with Howie over the last four seasons. To me, he will be sorely missed.

Makes for an interesting connection.

With the Town of Hempstead making their super-scaled down version of Charles Wang’s dream, Nassau County Supervisor Ed Mangano came out of left field, and brought up the possibility of having the Shinnecock (sp) Native American’s have a potential Casino/Entertainment complex with the Nassau Coliseum.  Bottom line, is that with this Native American situation – the plans would be clear of TOH involvement and zoning.

This potential idea is not only supported by Mangano, but by the Nassau and NYS Republican party.  The same people that I attacked a few months prior for having Kate Murray (TOH Supervisor) knock down the Lighthouse, and stall this process to no end.  I did not like Mondello for that – but my thoughts of him can change for the better.

My thoughts about this are simple.  The Islanders ARE LONG ISLAND.  The Islander must STAY ON LONG ISLAND.  Whatever way gets it done, so that the arena gets either re-fitted or replaced, and the attraction of potential free-agents to Long Island becomes a much better proposition than it was in years and in the recent past, then let’s get the freaking thing done!  Stop the politics, and allow Long Island to grow.  Get out of the 1970’s and let this process move on!

“Can I double down?”

Well – the kid started and finished the year strong.  It was the middle that was an issue.

Being the #1 pick in the draft is a big undertaking.  For JT – he was projected the #1 pick since he was 13 years old.  With four years of junior under his belt, JT was the number one pick for the Islanders last year.  If he was going to probably any other team, there would have been fan-fare beyond belief, and notoriety all over North America.

However, he was drafted by the ‘who gives a flying flip’ Islanders, he immediately became a ‘yawn – who cares’ player.  Believe you me, if he went to Toronto (as Brian Burke thought he MUST go….), a shrine would have been constructed in downtown Toronto.

JT started off quickly, going at a point a game pace in the first 20 games of the season.  Playing with Matt Moulson – his old neighbor and shinny partner – there was a great deal of comfortability that made the first few months easy for John.  Once December hit – the slumps began.  No goals in nearly 20 games.  He looked like he was squeezing his sticks too hard, and really struggled with his game. 

But JT did not make excuses.  He kept his head up, answered every question that was brought to him, and had a great attitude about him.  The Olympic break in February was a chance for him to get away from the game, and allowed him to relax.

Within a week or two after the Olympics were over, the game came back to #91.

And then some…

I was in Vancouver when he got 5 points in one game.  He finished the season well enough to be in the top 5 in rookie scoring with 24 goals and 30 assists for 54 points, which also led the Isles in points.  His -15 was improved from a low of -22.  11 of his 24 goals were on the power play, and spent 22 minutes in the box.  His 189 shots will hopefully increase by a good deal next season, as his confidence grows.

This spring, he led the World Championships in goals with 7, despite having a fracture in his foot.  As of the start of mini-camp – he is back on the ice, and working on his conditioning and strength for the upcoming season.  The needs for JT are simple:

1.  Getting stronger on the puck

2.  More shots

3.  Being able to get a solid 2-way game

Many are expecting a Steven Stamkos type 2nd season.  I am not bringing the goals that high for him, but I can see 30-35 goals this season as potential for 2010-11. With continued maturation of the other young players on this Islander squad, I can see a lot of potential for 10-11 for JT.

As far as a grade is concerned, I will give Tavares a solid B.  The first 20 and the last 15 would have been a A-, and the 45 in the middle would be a C-.  I expect a great deal more from him, and I think he does too.  The question is will he get it done.  I will definitely look forward to checking it out.

What a pleasant surprise Mr. Comeau provided us with this season. Blake played 61 games and put up 17 goals and 18 assists for 35 total points, ending up with a -2. As the season passed, he seemed to find his confidence, and his offensive skill was demonstrated more and more each game. Frankly, I was personally quite impressed with his play on both offense and in regard to his defensive responsibilities. Islander fans have been hoping for Comeau to emerge as one of the future pieces of the puzzle for the team, and he really showed that he can be part of the offense.

Unfortunately, his season was cut short because of an injury. Just when it seemed he was going to score over 20 goals and, perhaps, even more than 25, the injury bug struck him. What was also quite impressive about him was his physical game. He didn’t seem to be afraid to take the body, and I recall more than a few games where he delivered some pretty solid hits.

Overall, I’d have to give Blake a B+. I think he can do much more, and I am going to be curious to see if his confidence will continue in the 2010-2011 season. If he picks up where he left off, the Islanders will have a badly needed scorer on the wing.

Dustin played 22 total games for the Isles, and he had 4 assists and was a -2 over that span. Yet another of the young defensemen called upon to combat the injuries this season, he did a solid job on the back line. He didn’t seem too flashy or the like, but he did his job and played extremely well considering the circumstances.

It’s hard to really grade a kid who played less than quarter of the season and was tossed into the proverbial fire. Nevertheless, based on his showing, I’d say he earned a solid B. To my recollection, he wasn’t one of the skating, puck-moving guys on the blue line, and I don’t know if he is known for his offensive side. On defense, though, he played well enough to plug one of the many holes we found ourselves having on defense.

What future he has on the team, it’s hard to say. I think as with a few guys, this will become clearer in September as we see exactly what we have for a potential 6 and an extra on defense.

Stats:  76GP 12G 26A +4 6PM 1SH 1GW

This is a season that is starting to define this young man’s career.  If it was not for Pavel Datsyuk, and the fact that few hockey experts would be able to recognize, Frans should be a nominee for the Lady Byng.

6PM in 76 games?  That is the award in a nutshell!

Also – he is a great defensive forward, capable of doing so much on the PK.  His offensive numbers are starting to develop as well.  To me – there is no doubt that he can be a 20-25 goal scorer with regularity.  He just had to get a little stronger on his skates, and learn to be a little more elusive.

He is making his country of Denmark proud of his play, and I surely hope that he is a fixture on this Islander team for years and years to come.

I give him a B+, becuase I believe that he has made tremendous strides to better his game.  Now we just have to get him to the recognition factor.

Well – it looks like he is going back to NJ.  When will be the over/under for the first time that he complains about the ‘defensive’ system that NJ uses is hindering his chances of scoring.

Kovy needs an offensive system to flourish.

We will see…