The UFA market is far from fantastic. However, the cap bubble has burst – and will remain so for the next few years. This has caused teams to plan for the future and not be as generous with fringe players in the free market. Nobody is really willing to pay for these players beyond one year, if at all… preferring ... Read More »
The Isles Secret Weapon – Being Ahead Of The Curve In Using Player Tracking Technology
You might have missed a subtle tidbit on this year’s NHL Draft broadcast that the Isles organization likely didn’t want outed publicly. TSN mentioned that the Isles are working with PowerScout Hockey. This is not surprising since the team has been using analytics since 2006 within the organization. They always seem to be looking for a leg up on the ... Read More »
IslesBeat Episode 6 where we talk Barclays and Isles business arrangement and joined by Lyle Richardson of SpectorsHockey
Check Out Hockey Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Isles Beat on BlogTalkRadio Read More »
IslesBeat Guide for the Thinking Fan: How player metrics and salary determine offseason consideration in trades & free agency
IslesBeat Guide for the Thinking Fan: How player metrics and salary determine offseason consideration in trades & free agency B.D. Gallof Part 1: The Islanders Forwards The baseball sabermetric folks created Wins Above Replacement (WAR) so they could get a summary/overall view of a player’s total contributions to their team. But how does that equate to hockey? War-on-Ice has done ... Read More »
IslesBeat’s Good Reads – Monday Morning Edition
The excellent Stu Hackel with a piece for the Hockey News on the NY Islanders unique deal with Barclays. In this is why, as I have said for months, that the business end/Barclays has NO say in the Hockey Operations nor will it have any effect or pressure on the team. Isles get guaranteed revenue. THN has an excellent & ... Read More »
IslesBeat’s Good Reads – The Future Requires Smart and Safe Moves
The cap bubble has burst. It will move very little, if not at all, for the next few years. Teams are now racing to plan ahead, including not sign marginal UFAs who still sit waiting for contracts. Many teams will need to trust their youth/young players to carry them forward. It is time for efficient spending and cap management. No ... Read More »
The Kyle Okposo Conundrum
Ryan Kesler, a very good but not elite player, just got a 6-year extension from the Ducks that averages 6.875 million per year. Kesler hasn’t scored over 70 points since the 2010-2011 season. Maybe they are apples to oranges, but the writing is on the wall that the Isles have a lot of thinking on tap because KO might ... Read More »
Summer Observation – Something to Consider
Washington Capitals lose Green, Ward and Fehr. They sign Justin Williams and trade for Oshie. Now they might need to let Johansson walk as they face a likely big arbitration number for their goalie. This is because the Capitals face salary cap issues. They might trade for Bozak, who is a lot less of a player than Johannson. Yet ... Read More »
IslesBeat Episode 5: We talk Barclays Ticket Prices, Prospects, Isles vs Rangers with guest Russ Cohen
NHL Author & NHL Hockey Prospect Expert Russ Cohen joins us as our first guest to chat Isles draft, prospects and the dire issues of the rival NY Rangers. He also thinks Michael Dal Colle could really make this team out the gate this year due to his style of play. We also talk Barclays Center “sticker shock” and Free ... Read More »
Cantiague Park Deal Could Become A Political Quagmire
Newsday editorial today questions Ed Mangano & Charles Wang’s deal at Cantiague Park. Gist? Could violate New York State rules. Basically, Newsday cites New York State has strict rules on dedicated parkland used for private purposes. Newsday questions that this deal could be violation of those rules. The more each item becomes another complaint and hodge podge political issue, the ... Read More »