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Even Gretzky or Lemeiux couldnt help the Islanders; Comrie undresses the ugly truth
Topic Started: Dec 17 2008, 08:36 AM (2,128 Views)
sybo
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Resident Wiseass, Neighborhood Candyman, Master Drunkard
Botta this morning:
Quote:
 
10:30 am - “I don’t want to be traded,” Brendan Witt told Point Blank just 15 minutes ago in an interview in which he never backed down from his comments in today’s Newsday. “I want to fix the problem.”



In Newsday, the veteran defenseman criticizes coach Scott Gordon’s defensive structure: “Personally, I think it’s more of a risky type of game,” Witt tells Greg Logan. “There’s a lot of odd-man rushes. But that’s the way he wants us to play, and until he decides he wants to change that, we’re going to play that way.”



As you’d expect from the hard-charging Witt, he did not back down when I spoke with him this morning.



“I’ve talked to Scott about it a lot. I’ve kept it internal for a long time,” Witt said from his Minnesota hotel room. “I was just answering Greg’s questions honestly.”



Witt continued: “My opinions I’ve shared with Scott is that there’s times in the game when we shouldn’t play the system. You don’t see any other teams in the NHL playing this way for a straight 60 minutes. It’s a very hard system. It’s like telling a sprinter to keep running at that pace for 60 minutes.”



When I told Witt that his comments will give the perception that he wants off the Island, he was demonstrative in saying he wants to stay and “fix the problem.”



“If I didn’t want to stay with the Islanders, I wouldn’t have signed the contract extension this summer (through 2010-11). I love it here. I just want to win. I don’t want to win just 20 games and be happy about it.”



Later on, he pounded home his message.



“When I talk to Scott about changing it up, his feeling is the system will work but that we haven’t executed it,” said Witt. “But my feeling is, if you want to win, you install a system that works best for the players you currently have.”




Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first full-blown controversy of the season. Newsday even traced its story on the back cover over a beautiful blue sky in their photo of C.C. and A.J. at the new Yankee Stadium. It says, “ISLES CONTROVERSY: Witt blames Gordon for defensive woes.”



The justification for the hoopla is that it’s Brendan Witt talking. Witt signed a two-year contract extension with the Islanders when he knew Ted Nolan was going to be gone (the dman was not a fan of the ex-coach), but before Gordon was even interviewed. Witt happily signed up for the Islanders and Long Island, but obviously not for fire wagon hockey.



His comments to Greg Logan came on the heels of a minus-5 outing against Washington on Tuesday. To us this morning Witt said, “I had a bad night and was minus-5, but I look at those goals and there isn’t anything I would have done differently.”



Whenever you install a new system, there are casualties from the group of holdover players. (A scout at the Coliseum told me two weeks ago, “Mark Streit is the only dman suited to playing Gordon’s system. Maybe Campoli, too.”) The question now is whether the Islanders move Witt to another NHL team for fair value, and whether they can.



If Witt had not signed the extension through 2010-11 - even at a reasonable $3 mill a year - he would be much easier to trade. Compound the remaining two years on his deal with the perception of his unhappiness, and Garth Snow may no longer be in position to demand a good price.



If Logan’s blog entry from today’s 12:30 pm EST skate in Minnesota isn’t about Witt and Gordon hugging it out - and the coach saying all the right things about his respected defenseman - the hole only gets deeper.





ETC: After the morning workout in Minnesota, I hope to have information on line combinations and scratches for tonight and will add to this pre-game story.
Garth Snow circa 2006:
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but how can you not be excited about DiPietro…Robert Nilsson…Ryan O'Marra…Petteri Nokelainen…Jeremy Colliton…Kyle Okposo…Blake Comeau…Sean Bergenheim…Chris Campoli…and so many others.
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Snowday
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4th line
Gordon is losing the team. Between Witt and Comrie, now who's next to say something?

The thing is, Garth won't fire Gordon because he was the one to convince Wang Gordon was the better man than Nolan for the future of this club.

Wang needs to fire both. Bring in Lavy and a real GM.
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Webb20
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Godfather
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“When I talk to Scott about changing it up, his feeling is the system will work but that we haven’t executed it,” said Witt. “But my feeling is, if you want to win, you install a system that works best for the players you currently have.”(Boy that says alot about our coach)



Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first full-blown controversy of the season. Newsday even traced its story on the back cover over a beautiful blue sky in their photo of C.C. and A.J. at the new Yankee Stadium. It says, “ISLES CONTROVERSY: Witt blames Gordon for defensive woes.”



The justification for the hoopla is that it’s Brendan Witt talking. Witt signed a two-year contract extension with the Islanders when he knew Ted Nolan was going to be gone (the dman was not a fan of the ex-coach), but before Gordon was even interviewed. Witt happily signed up for the Islanders and Long Island, but obviously not for fire wagon hockey


Quote:
 
saying he wants to stay and “fix the problem


And there you have it, the word comes out "PROBLEM". I'll go on and keep trusting my instincts about this team.

I saw this coming, and many of you just thought I was coming out of left field. We'll see who speaks up next. And we'll see what kind of damage control the Islanders pull off. They'll be adding alot more mind altering drugs to that next batch of Kool-Aid.

I sold it all, retired and moved to Fabulous Las Vegas!
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."-Ben Franklin
"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."-Ronald Reagan
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Islander4cups
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In Garth I Trust
stevedepot,Dec 19 2008
09:42 AM


NOT talking about drafting. You keep falling back on that. yeesh.

You can dislike Burke and not look at him as someone who commands respect as a GM,
but I will always disagree with you.

You mention Burke

Quote:
 
How much could he have done in 2 years? He brought in Pronger and Neidermayer...the Pronger trade was a gift and Neidermayer wanted to play with his brother.


Would the Ducks have won the Cup without Beauchemin (who Burke traded for)???
How about Sutherby and Marchant? 2 more key players on that team?
Guess who brought them there? Oh yeah, didn't he sign Selanne???

The point, MY point is Burke is a well respected GM around the NHL. The only blemish I can think of was something he did to a player he traded away in vancouver that got bad press. Outside of that, he knows how to build a winning team.

Building through the draft is just one way. having the know-with-all and most of all
connections and respect around the NHL is another way a GM can build without the draft.
yes, Lamourillo has done both, but Burke is right up there, so much so the Hockey News named him the best NHL GM.


:dontknow: :goofy2: :cheers:

Steve.... that's fine. I see your point, but I don't agree with it. The Ducks weren't built for a long haul. They were built for that one season, he hit paydirt and has moved on to what he hopes will be greener pastures. Now, he WILL have to build through the draft because he has no other options in Toronto. They have no parts to deal off for quality players, so he won't be able to add pieces through trade.

Might he get some FA talent...not top flight with all the bad contracts the Leafs are still paying off.I do think his "rep", which I think is overinflated" would help bring bigger talent to Toronto, but lets face it...Toronto hasn't brought in a great FA yet that's lived up to it.

He is on his 4th stop as GM and has only one deep run into the playoffs...and it netted him a ring. IF he didn't have that ring, would he still have that rep in your mind? After all, Neil Smith has a ring but no job nearly a decade after the Rags canned him.
I miss these :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: and want more of them
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LEDZEP
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Burke = WINNER :thumbsup:
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do... Posted Image

What puckhead says is Islander law
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Come in with the milk

"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one,
must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough."

Ronald Reagan
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Islander4cups
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LEDZEP,Dec 19 2008
12:46 PM
Burke = WINNER :thumbsup:

So is Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson
I miss these :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: and want more of them
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4CUPZ
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HEAD OF SECURITY
Webb20,Dec 19 2008
01:07 PM
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“When I talk to Scott about changing it up, his feeling is the system will work but that we haven’t executed it,” said Witt. “But my feeling is, if you want to win, you install a system that works best for the players you currently have.”(Boy that says alot about our coach)



Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first full-blown controversy of the season. Newsday even traced its story on the back cover over a beautiful blue sky in their photo of C.C. and A.J. at the new Yankee Stadium. It says, “ISLES CONTROVERSY: Witt blames Gordon for defensive woes.”



The justification for the hoopla is that it’s Brendan Witt talking. Witt signed a two-year contract extension with the Islanders when he knew Ted Nolan was going to be gone (the dman was not a fan of the ex-coach), but before Gordon was even interviewed. Witt happily signed up for the Islanders and Long Island, but obviously not for fire wagon hockey


Quote:
 
saying he wants to stay and “fix the problem


And there you have it, the word comes out "PROBLEM". I'll go on and keep trusting my instincts about this team.

I saw this coming, and many of you just thought I was coming out of left field. We'll see who speaks up next. And we'll see what kind of damage control the Islanders pull off. They'll be adding alot more mind altering drugs to that next batch of Kool-Aid.

OH NO
THIS CANT HAPPEN TO TEAM STABILITY
IT JUST CANT
:blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah: :blah:
IT GETS SO OLD YOU REALLY TIRE OF THE S.O.S
YEAR AFTER YEAR
DECADE AFTER DECADE

BUT HAVE PATIENCE PEOPLE
WE HAVE A PLAN
:facesmash:
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Snowday
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The whole Gordon hiring was for Snow's ego and Resume. Just like his filtering of Milbury's prospects for his "shady" trades and overall out of left field drafting. He wants to look like a hero, but I honestly believe he has no clue to what he is doing, just taking shots in the dark in hopes some of them hit.

Now we all know why Nolan wasn't behind the rebuild plan with Snow at the helm.

Make Lavy the GM, bring back Nolan as head coach. :moon:
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Islander4cups
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Snowday,Dec 19 2008
02:10 PM
The whole Gordon hiring was for Snow's ego and Resume. Just like his filtering of Milbury's prospects for his "shady" trades and overall out of left field drafting. He wants to look like a hero, but I honestly believe he has no clue to what he is doing, just taking shots in the dark in hopes some of them hit.

Now we all know why Nolan wasn't behind the rebuild plan with Snow at the helm.

Make Lavy the GM, bring back Nolan as head coach. :moon:

wtf are you talking about? Snow drafted 7 of the top 73 rated skaters and 5 of the top 35 rated in the draft last year. It is considered by most "experts" as a top 5 draft the Isles had last year.

As far as dealing with MM's "prospects"...what prospects did MM leave us with? The cupboard was empty thanks to him. Sorry but Nolkie and Nillsen had to go. They weren't doing anything here. They were terrible first round picks. So was Bergenheim. (like his hustle but he wasn't top 20 talent) For someone who is falling all over themselves praising Nolan, remember that it was Nolan who didn't want to call up Robert Nillsen because he didn't think he was nhl material...

I miss these :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: and want more of them
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Westfall18
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Snowday,Dec 19 2008
02:10 PM
The whole Gordon hiring was for Snow's ego and Resume. Just like his filtering of Milbury's prospects for his "shady" trades and overall out of left field drafting. He wants to look like a hero, but I honestly believe he has no clue to what he is doing, just taking shots in the dark in hopes some of them hit.

Now we all know why Nolan wasn't behind the rebuild plan with Snow at the helm.

Make Lavy the GM, bring back Nolan as head coach. :moon:

conspiracy! conspiracy!
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William H. McCue Sr. 1934-2015 Rest in Peace Poppa.
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LEDZEP
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Snowday,Dec 19 2008
03:10 PM
The whole Gordon hiring was for Snow's ego and Resume. Just like his filtering of Milbury's prospects for his "shady" trades and overall out of left field drafting. He wants to look like a hero, but I honestly believe he has no clue to what he is doing, just taking shots in the dark in hopes some of them hit.

Now we all know why Nolan wasn't behind the rebuild plan with Snow at the helm.

Make Lavy the GM, bring back Nolan as head coach.  :moon:

Snowday just to interject where I live and love were having a Snowday :snowman:

1. You are correct - Snow is just seeing what works, now lets try this :goofy2:

2. Make Lavy the GM, bring back Nolan as head coach :punk: :punk: :punk: :punk:
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do... Posted Image

What puckhead says is Islander law
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Come in with the milk

"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one,
must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough."

Ronald Reagan
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Craving_the_Cup_Since_1992
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Bring back Steve Stirling! :banana:

Nolan had ONE decent season with the Islanders. ONE. That does not qualify him as a worthwhile coach. If I have to read about "Ted Nolan type players" again.... ugh.

Why would you make Lavy the GM? Based on what credentials that Garth Snow doesn't have? Lavy was a coach... won a cup... got fired... I'm sure he knows his fair share of players around the league... but what experience says that he is better than Snow?

Snow's drafting chops were excellent, but Islander fans want instant rebuild.

I don't think Gordo is losing the locker room. Two players making statements that get misrepresented on a message board does not constitute a lost locker room. The team is slumping. Players are feeling down. Frustration sets in and makes people critical because they know it's a team effort to keep these wins from happening.
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