Good Morning, Islanders Country.
We made it.
Hockey season is back. I know there were games in Prague, and the Stanley Cup rings were handed out, but our hockey season starts tonight.
I’ve been more bullish than some (not all) about this team over the last two years, and whether you view first-round exits as moderate successes or not, you have to admit that this team has proved some (not all) people wrong.
Each year, it’s going to Buffalo or Ottawa or some other upstart team in the playoffs and the Isles out, and then it doesn’t happen. And you know what? This team is better on paper than the last two, which finished with 93 and 94 points and made the playoffs after being counted out at the All-Star break.
Look at the forward lines; there’s more skill and talent there than in a long, long time, with a chance for a dangerous top line, balanced scoring, and a new look fourth line for everyone clamoring to get faster and younger.
If the Islanders are as good as their reputation is on defense and in goal, there’s no reason this can’t be a 100+ point team. Patrick Roy turned the team around when he took over last January, but now we get to see his imprint and impact after an off-season of evaluation followed by an intense and demanding training camp to instill a work ethic and mentality to carry this team to contender status.
The start of every season is exciting, no matter the expectations, and this one is no exception. Yet, it feels that expectations are tempered for this team, but I’m not so sure they should be. Maybe we should expect as much from them as their coach does. If we did, the bar for a successful season would be higher.
Coming up, Cal goes behind the camera, and the new fourth line searches for its own identity. Plus, there are new masks for the goalie tandem, first reports of a sale to Spano, and a hype video in case you need it.
Let’s dive in.
📰 NEWS: Cal Clutterbuck will work at the home opener at UBS Arena on Thursday, but he'll be behind a desk, not a bench. The NHL all-time hits leader will be part of MSG Networks coverage for the season opener against Utah.
Clutterbuck is not ready to announce his retirement from the ice, but he remains in shape after training all summer. However, there weren't opportunities on the ice that worked for his family, so he's taking a turn at broadcasting instead.
“Genuinely, I’m just looking forward to the start of the year,” Clutterbuck told Newsday. “And I’m looking forward to seeing the guys do well. They’ve looked good through training camp. They had a hard training camp, which I think is good for a team. I think they’re going to have a great start. I’m looking forward to watching, I’m looking forward to being involved and staying with the organization in some capacity.”
He joined other former Islanders to join the telecast, including Thomas Hickey, Matt Mouslson, Cory Schneider, and Rick DiPietro before them.
New Identity
Tonight will be the regular season debut of the new fourth line, a line that will need to craft its own identity after over a decade (minus those two years) of Clutterbuck and Matt Martin flanking Casey Cizikas. This line will be different in a number of ways. They’ll be faster and less physical. Younger and less experienced. Will they be better? More Effective? We’ll find out.
Kyle MacLean will aim to prove further that he belongs. Oliver Wahlstrom will seek to show that he was deserving of another chance. Cizikas will do whatever the coach asks, including starting the season on the wing.
"Casey could jump in on any line,” head coach Patrick Roy explained. “He could be right-wing, could be left-wing, could be the center, and play on the penalty kill. He could go in front of the net on the power play.”
Watching Wahlstrom adjust his game from top-line candidate to the fourth-liner with an elite shot will be fascinating, but it’s a challenge he’s up to“I think no matter what line I'm playing on, I always want to bring it, you know?" Wahlstrom said. "I want to bring the offensive, the flare back for MacLean and Cizikas.”
⏭ NEXT UP: The Islanders open up the 2024-25 season at home against Utah Hockey Club. Face-off from UBS Arena in Elmont is set for 7:30 PM EDT.
📊 STANDINGS:
Mask Up
A new season means new goalie masks designed by the uber-talented Dave Gunnarsson, known as DaveArt. Islanders goaltenders Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin will sport new headgear, and NewYorkIslanders.com caught up with each to discuss their designs.
“Everyone’s talking about my new mask, it looks different, but really it’s the same design,” Varlamov explained. “Now the NY [on the side] is blue and last year it was white. Last year, the top was bluer, so there’s a bit more of the orange color on top. I really like the extra orange, it looks fresh.”
Former Isles goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (2011-14) inspired Sorokin's design, which features snarling skeletons with glowing orange eyes and scary teeth. “He was the best goalie when I was a kid, so this is a tribute to him,” Sorokin said. “I asked him, can I use this design? He said yes of course.”
📚 SOUND SMART: Per Eric Hornick in The Skinny, the Isles 14-26-11 (.382) Opening Night record is the second-worst among current teams who have played more than three openers (Seattle is 0-2-1). Anaheim has the worst record on opening night of any other team: 10-19-0 (.345). This will be Patrick Roy's first Opening Night as the Isles' head coach; he went 1-2-0 in three Openers with Colorado. Lou Lamoriello (20-11-5 in 36 games) has more wins on Opening Night as a General Manager than any other GM has games (Doug Armstrong -19).
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On Oct. 10, 1996, Larry Brooks and Peter Botte of the New York Post reported that Islanders majority Owner John Pickett has agreed to sell the "beleaguered, underfinanced" team to 32-year-old TX billionaire John Spano. The terms of the sale, believed to be "well in excess" of $100M, specify that the Islanders will not be moved from Long Island.
That same day, Ken Moritsugu of Newsday reported Mets part-owner Nelson Doubleday was interested in buying the Isles -- but that an unnamed source in Nassau County had told him "another buyer" was close to a deal. Doubleday's investor group would have been led by his Sterling-Doubleday Inc., which would have "put up most of the money."
🎧 The Red Line - We’re So Back “In the latest episode of “The Red Line,” Phil Farber (@PhilzFacts) and David Tuchman (@TuckOnSports) are back ahead of the start of the 2024-25 season. The Isles made more changes than they get credit for this off-season, and with Patrick Roy behind the bench for his first full season, there is excitement that this team can move beyond being a fringe playoff team and become a contender.”
🔗 Roy's Explanation On Construction Of Islanders New-Look Fourth Line by Stefen Rosner, The Hockey News “Unlike years past, the 33-year-old will not center the fourth line, with head coach Patrick Roy moving him to the left wing spot. Kyle MacLean, who signed a three-year extension this summer worth $2.325 million ($775,000 AAV), will play center.”
🔗 Injuries, Bad Timing, But a Positive Attitude: How Oliver Wahlstrom Saved His Islanders’ Career by Russ Macias, NYI Hockey Now “This was Wahlstrom’s chance to prove he could effectively play a bottom-six role and that he had more to show. Wahlstrom met with the general media group ahead of the game and emphasized the importance of this healthy summer for him. He finished by guaranteeing he’s a contributor to this team.”
And we leave you with this…an Opening Night Hype Video #LGI
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