The New York Islanders finished in the top five in the NHL in goals allowed last season but what will it take to be that good again this year? The cast is more or less the same but there is definitely room for improvement and we break down the keys to it on today’s show from keeping Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock healthy to Alexander Romanov continuing his growth and more.
Plus, former Isles GM Garth Snow speaks about the departure of John Tavares and sheds some new light on an event that still angers many Islanders fans to this day.
And we start our look at Isles prospects with Ruslan Iskhakov. Is the Russian forward big enough and skilled enough to succeed in the NHL and what will he need to do to get there?
All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.
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11 Comments
isles are fine on d/back end. could use some pop/pp guy back there. the problem is when isles only score 2.7 gpg-the norm under you know who-that puts a lot of pressure on d men/sorokin to be perfect every game for isles to have a chance to win. that will be the case until you know who exits or is fired. i hope for the latter.
So starts my week of acclimation. Long were the days without islanders hockey. Long will be the days with islanders hockey.
lol come on Gil, we know he’s not making the team. Iskhakov should of been called up last year before the waste of a pick holmstrom. The day after barzy got hurt it’s not like we couldn’t use his shootout skills and speed. Who were the best players last year at camp? I’ll tell u bellows,Raty, and soshnikov how’d that work out for them? It doesn’t matter about the preseason with senile Lou the roster is already set. I wonder why NO other teams have an 81 year old Gm?
Good morning team. I'm a huge fan of defense. Yes, the cast is similar and the results shouldn't be too much of a drop. But, there is the factor of age. All of the original cast are another year older. I'm okay with that. Just one year older isn't a big deal until you reach that age when it is a big deal. I like the defensive technique the Islanders play, but we may soon need to start cycling in newer, younger, and faster players to do it. Either way, looking forward to the start of the season. Withdrawal level starting to get into the red. Gil, thank you for what you do and for another great show. Everyone have a great day! Looking forward to next time. Until then.. Let's Go Islanders!!
The part talking about John Tavares he knew what he was doing he told the fans that he would do anything in his power to stay with the Islanders the Islanders met his demands get a new hockey arena give him some help build pieces around him and he pretty much slept every Islander fan in the face like the way he left the Islanders yeah that was a problem and what is he doing with Toronto second-round exit right
I always felt that losing Tavares was the 4excuse to ax Snow and bring in Yoda. Snow was doing a decent job under difficult circumstances, but he could never attract a top level coach like Trotz.
Lets not forget what JT said and did in the months leading up to his departure. Here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj_Ya9SHYPk&t=81s Go to 5:20 and it's clear JT had a plan all along. I always believed JT convinced Snow he was re-signing, but now it's clear JT fooled Malkin.
The defense situation could get interesting if Aho continues to get better. His good decisions and execution under pressure were very solid last year. If Bolduc develops well, Lane will have some nice options and a solid 7th D this year, as opposed to last.
Perhaps the Islander's ownership handed down the do not trade Tavares order because Tavares made it clear he wanted to stay with the Islanders. Had Tavares been more transparent about his desire to go to Toronto perhaps Islanders ownership would have thought otherwise and would have traded him to ensure they received assets in return for him. At the end of the day Tavares deceived everyone and the decision to not trade him was made based on the strength of his desire to stay which was obviously not genuine.
The key to lack of talent is system.
. "Buying in" as they say. Well you need a few things to make that happen. First you need commitment. Second you need chemistry. Third is belief. Now the first 2 I'm on board. Have total faith in player commitment and chemistry. That belief I am talking about is your coaching staff in the eyes of your players. This group knows this is a step down from Trotz and is not behind this staff. It's going to be lean the next 2 or 3 seasons. The team in my eyes is wasting time with Lambert. Or the opposite. They know what's coming, so why pay a good coach to lose?
and pj judas leaving in '18 is similar to ek65 this month. Both moves made by kyle dubas who thinks you win with high priced offensive guys who don't give a rats ass about the d end. did pj want to stay on island? who knows? snow may have been the fall guy for pj leaving yet lou was gm and that hiring probably swayed pj out the door knowing with lou and trotz coming aboard accountability in d end would be required. Isles put all their apples into one basket thinking pj would stay and got burned, the cap $$$ room was there. pj just didn't bite. and once it got past july 1 after three day negotiating period it was obvious pj was gone. six teams including tb, stars, sj were after pj. Isle ownership miscalculated the market. and pj's to be wife like pj was from the t o so isles should have taken leafs with all that $$$ serious since pj dreamed about bring the cup to t o in leaf jammies. And that made lee the overpaid slug he is today since most of that $$$ went to re-sign him after panarin used isles to get nyr deal. And ish will never get a chance to play in nhl with nyi. He should play out his contract and move on or request a trade.
Hi Gil! Hope all is well! Well I feel it’s a combination of things——Dobber has to take the next step and improve defensively for sure, as you mentioned. Pellech and Pullock—same thing. Gotta be better—they get paid well. Lastly, whoever that 6th D man is—just be steady. I feel Aho played well but I prefer Bolduc’s size. Ps—-if all of that comes to fruition—-maybe Sorokin can have some lighter games instead of seeing high danger rubber too often. Take care Gil!! Never Say Die!!
From age 20 to 30 is prime years after age 30.injuries start popping up