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Guest4178
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 Posted - 01/05/2011 : 12:36:59
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The Devils appear to be the odds-on favourite to finish in last place this NHL season. With all due respect (?) to the Oilers and Leafs, the Islanders are not giving up without a fight.
Their two most recent trades do nothing for them this season. Trading Roloson immediately weakens the Islanders in net, and getting Ty Wishart does nothing for them this hockey season. (Nor is he much of a prospect for the future.) Trading James Wisniewski to the Habs (and getting future draft picks) weakens their blue-line, so it's quite evident the Islanders have no desire to finish the season on a positive note.
Too bad for the Islander Fans. While the Oilers and Leafs are suffering on the ice, they do not appear to making any deals to ensure they finish last (or near last) this NHL season.
Just wondering – do the Islanders (or Oilers) consider their January 6th match-up a "four point game?" :)
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Mario 66
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
360 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 12:57:11
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Have you watched hockey the last two weeks? The isles besides ending crosby's point streak are the third hottest team in the league over the last 10, only TB & Van are better. Clearly the islanders have yet to pack anything in.
Lemieux owns Gretzky |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 13:39:44
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NJ getting top pick (or being the favorite in the lottery) can be looked at as scary. They're def not playing well this year and with Parise out and Kovy sucking badly as well as Brodeur struggling, things are pretty much a write off there for this season. Overall, they're not as bad as they're showing which means they could add a darn good prospect to their club and return to a playoff team next year (even without the draft pick making the team). Crazy, but a nice start to a mini-rebuild if that's what it turns out to be!!!
I agree with Mario, the Isles have yet to pack it in! The Oilers, i don't think will. They can't continue to hope for nice draft picks, they need to allow the one's they've accumulated to play and mature and that's exactly what i see them doing. I've yet to see any sign of them not "giving it their all" and they prob have the attitude that "let's do as well as we can, prob still be in the lottery and maybe even move up a few spots and draft another potential stud"? |
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Mario 66
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
360 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 13:57:43
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Am i wrong in my thinking that Jersey loses the first overall pick to the nhl this year? so the leafs could potentially owe the bruins a second top two pick in consecutive yrs 
Lemieux owns Gretzky |
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Guest4178
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Posted - 01/05/2011 : 14:02:06
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The team may not be packing it in, but the GM appears to be doing so. Granted, teams may play well in spite of the GM (or ownership's moves), but clearly, the Islanders are not going to make the playoffs this season.
This is not the first time a team makes moves for the future (to the detriment of their current season), and fans can choose to accept the rebuild or not.
The two moves mentioned (trading Roloson and Wisniewski) do nothing for the team this season, despite the fact the Islanders have done well the past two weeks.
I agree with Alex. The Oilers players (most of the them, and especially the young ones) do not appear to be packing it in, but they're still destined to miss the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what moves the Oilers make by the trading deadline.
And by the way, I've watched a lot of hockey the past few weeks, but I do admit to watching more of the World Junior Championships than the NHL. Wow – that's hockey with the intensity you don't see in the NHL regular season! :) |
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Pasty7
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2312 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 14:03:20
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quote:
Originally posted by Mario 66
Am i wrong in my thinking that Jersey loses the first overall pick to the nhl this year? so the leafs could potentially owe the bruins a second top two pick in consecutive yrs
Lemieux owns Gretzky
They have a choice over the next 4 years which pick they want to lose i believe so obviously this year if they are a lottery pick they will not choose this year,,,,
"I led the league in "Go get 'em next time." - Bob Uecker
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Mario 66
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
360 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 14:12:48
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Ahh ic never really paid much attention in the kovalchuk matter so i was unaware that they actually had a choice on what yr they gave up a pick. Thanks for the clarifaction
Lemieux owns Gretzky |
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Oilearl
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
268 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 16:13:24
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| Higher first round picks are always good to get, however, the Oilers are not mailing it in this year. They are just young and dealing with injuries to key people. Another first rounder won't hurt them or any other team that ends up in that position. This is not a race any player wants to be part of but sometimes there is a positive. |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 20:35:13
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Lots of hockey to play yet Mario 66, over half a season to be exact. I don`t seriously think the Islanders will be hot for very long, isn`t Dipietro hurt AGAIN ??
This team is a prime example ( aside from Traveres, no-brainer ) of how not to build through the draft. My god how many top draft picks have they had ??
Detroit has been a solid team for approx. 20 years now, when`s the last time they had their own high 1st round draft pick i wonder ?....not just where you draft, it`s who is doing the picking  |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2011 : 22:33:16
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quote:
Originally posted by The Duke
This team is a prime example ( aside from Traveres, no-brainer ) of how not to build through the draft. My god how many top draft picks have they had ??Detroit has been a solid team for approx. 20 years now, when`s the last time they had their own high 1st round draft pick i wonder ?....not just where you draft, it`s who is doing the picking
Very true, just having a top pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you anything, however, most top 5's will pan out to above avg NHLers, not necessarily superstars, but above avg.
After reading your post, i was inclined to look up what exactly they'd done with their first round picks and it's not like the Isles haven't drafted anyone good, it's that they've traded them away!!!
Bertuzzi, Redden, Luongo and Connolly were all drafted between 1993-1999 and traded away. Throw in Brett Lindros (9th overall in '94) and i forgot Kasparitis in '92 and it's not as though they haven't drafted well.
A little more recently, Okposo (7th overall in '06), Bailey (9th overall in '08), Tavares (1st overall in '09), Nino Niederreiter (5th overall in '10) as well as a good young prospect in Calvin de Haan (12th overall in '09 as well).
Between 2000-05 it could be argued is why the Isles are struggling now. DiPietro in 2000 (taken 1st overall and injury riddled since), Sean Bergenheim (22nd overall in '02), Robert Nilsson (15th overall in '03), Petteri Nokelainen (16th overall in '04) and Ryan O'Marra (15th overall in '05) are picks which didn't pan out so well and prob set them back somewhat. In their defense, aside from Dipietro, these picks were no higher than 15th overall, certainly not a guarantee of a stud! BTW, have a look at Dipietro's draft year and while they could have had Heatley or Gaborik, it wasn't much of a draft year as far as the first round goes. Of course, Detroit, with the 29th pick, stole Niclas Kronwall but let's face it, he wasn't ranked by ANYONE in the top 15 i'm sure. Sometimes a later first round pick pans out like he obviously did!
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TheRC
Rookie
105 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2011 : 08:05:28
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Langenbrunner to Dallas for a conditional 3rd round pick? UFA or not, that's the definition of a fire sale. New Jersey is playing to lose, for sure. I for one hope that a top pick will do little to re-invigorate the team. I still associate the Devils with popularizing the trap and making deep playoff runs year after year playing the most boring hockey imaginable. May karma punsih them for this.
Also, signing a Russian free-agent sniper who's stated goal was to be paid the most amount of money possible to a long term deal? Never a good idea. Is anybody else not surprised he isn't really performing? If Kovalchuk was scoring 40+ goals on those horrible Atlanta teams of a few years back, he should still, barring some hidden injury, be lighting things up a bit more than he is in Jersey, regardless of chemistry. I suspect we have a slacker on our hands. Anybody care to wager Kovalchuk will bugger off to Russia in a few years after the most lucrative years of his contract are finished?
Fail Devils, fail.
"If at first you don't succeed, you fail" |
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MyTeamRules
Top Prospect
72 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2011 : 18:06:48
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I still think Toronto is going last, Parise will be back.
”If you've only got one day to live, come see the Toronto Maple Leafs. It'll seem like forever. ” - Pat |
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The Duke
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1239 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2011 : 09:46:47
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Why do you think TO is going to finish last ??
They have 36 points and NJ has only 22. How do you propose NJ will make up 14 points to catch the leafs at this point in the season ?? |
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Battle For Last Place 
