An independent blog on the New York Islanders, the NHL and AHL by a guy from New York.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Isles Notes for 4/24





Matt Moulson has been named a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.  The Trophy is awarded to a player who exemplifies sportsmanship and gentlemanly play while being an impact player for his team.



Moulson was 36 (over 30 goals for 3rd consecutive season) and 33 for 69 points in 82 games for the Islanders this season while serving only 6 minutes in penalties.  If he wins the award on June 20th, it will be his third honor awarded this season.



Per Islanders press release, “Moulson has already received a pair of Islanders awards this season. On Thursday, April 5, during the Islanders home season finale, he was honored with both the Islanders Community Service Award and the Islanders Good Guy Award. The Islanders Community Service Award is presented annually to the player who makes the strongest impact on the Long Island community throughout the year. The recipient is selected by the Islanders organization and serves as the team’s nomination for the NHL Foundation Player Award. The Islanders Good Guy Award is presented annually to the player who best displays professionalism, courtesy and cooperation with the media.”





Michael Grabner and Team Austria lost to Slovenia in the Gold Medal Game of the 2012 IIHF Division 1A World Championship Saturday in Slovenia.  Grabner, the only NHL level player able to represent his country in the tournament, finished with four assists in five games. Just making the Gold Medal Game, Austria earned a promotion to the top Division in the 2013 World Championship.





Per the Associated Press, “NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says Brooklyn may not be a viable potential destination for the New York Islanders because it's hard to reach for the team's fan base in Long Island and Queens.


Bettman reiterated Friday that the league ideally wanted the club to remain in Nassau County. The Islanders plan to leave outdated Nassau Coliseum after their lease expires in 2015.

Nassau voters rejected a $400 million referendum last year for a new arena.

Bettman said at an Associated Press Sports Editors meeting that the league was helping the Islanders explore their options "in the metropolitan area" and that moving the team to outside New York was not currently being considered.

The Islanders will play the New Jersey Devils in an exhibition this fall at the new Barclays Center, the future home of the NBA's NewJersey Nets. January's announcement of that game sparked talk of the club relocating to Brooklyn.”


B.D. Gallof proposed, “I'd expect NHL/Isles to be knocking on Suffolk's door to see if anyone home. Same with Queens, while playing coy with Brooklyn .”



The issue of the Islanders and their new Arena pursuits has been one of paramount importance to Ownership and fans for quite some time.  After the referendum failed in August, the rumors of Suffolk, Queens and Brooklyn have been rampant.  The destinations of Kansas City and Quebec have been whispered in the background.

I agree with B.D.  Why not turn up the heat on Brooklyn to improve the incentive for the Islanders to play there?  After the recent “Asbestos” issue, the Isles may need somewhere to play next season, even for the short term.  Why not Brooklyn?  This could escalate both the NHL and Islanders to push for a real offer from all possible suitors of the storied franchise.  If a more in depth lawsuit investigation reveals that the problem is worse than first anticipated and the arena deemed unsafe to inhabit, the team could be free to pursue other options sooner than the expiration of their lease in three years.


At any rate, the Islanders will be staying until 2015 right where they are barring a miracle.  But then again, any leverage or urgency to finish the never-ending Arena search in the New York area, the better.



In other news:



The New York islanders AHL affiliate, Bridgeport Sound Tigers finished the 2011-12 AHL season with a record of 41-26-3-6, earning themselves the number three seed in the Eastern Conference and the Northeast Division title.  It was their first division title since their inaugural 2001-02 season when they went to the Calder Cup Finals and lost to the Chicago Wolves.

Brent Thompson’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers were swept in the first round of this year's Calder Cup Playoffs by the New York Rangers top affiliate and rival, the Connecticut Whale.  The Sound Tigers fell by the score of 3-0 in games 1 and 2 of the series and 4-3 in O.T. of game three.  Sound Tigers Goaltender, Kevin Poulin made 50 saves in the final loss.

FORWARDS

McNeely – Cizikas – Rakhshani
Ullstrom – Mouillierat – Haley
DiBenedetto – Frischmon – Backman
Howes – Romano - Riley

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

Donovan – Oleksy
Ness – Landry
de Haan – Wishart

GOALTENDERS


Poulin
Reiter



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