2014 NYI Mock Offseason

[SI90]

I would share your concern.

We need a faceoff specialist for the PK BADLY.

Fiddler ?

 

[seafoam]

I've read Cronin likes to run an aggressive powerplay so we'll see how that shapes out. I think we can expect to see Nielsen, Grabner, Clutterbuck, Hamonic, de Haan, and Reinhart out there, which leaves a hole at center and a hole on defense.

 

[Seph]

Fiddler ?

Goc, Ott, McClement and Malhotra would also be good options, if they don't sign with their current teams.

 

[BTrotts19]

Goc, Ott or McClement would also be good options, if they don't sign with their current teams.

I'm in for Ott and I have mentioned previously I wouldn't mind a Brian Boyle. I have seen he is looking for roughly $3M which is probably a bit rich for Wang's blood, but I like his PK and he is a very good face-off man.

 

[Seph]

I'm in for Ott and I have mentioned previously I wouldn't mind a Brian Boyle. I have seen he is looking for roughly $3M which is probably a bit rich for Wang's blood, but I like his PK and he is a very good face-off man.

Boyle would be a solid choice as well; though, if we're going with current Rangers, I'd prefer Moore. Moore seems pretty loyal to the Rangers though, so he's more likely to re-sign before July 1.

 

[rikker]

i think Cizikas' jaw injury really hindered him. those plastic cages really mess with your vision.

at least another year for him to prove himself, IMO. he's not all that big, and lots of smaller guys take a bit of time to acclimatize.

he had a good showing in the Po's last year. 4 points in 6 games. +1. playing 10 minutes per game...

 

[A Pointed Stick]

I would far prefer to carry a faceoff specialist over Eric Boulton.

We need to win short-handed faceoffs and we don't.

We need to win more faceoffs, period. Our team blows in all FO situations. We had a few teams' numbers, but the majority of the league used us like cheap dates at the dot.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

As far as PK is concerned i think Halak will be the biggest improvement.

First unit of Franz, Grabs, Hammer and DeHaan is not a bad unit. Should be better than most.

Its the second unit that scares me, i dont really see 2 more defensemen i would be extremely confident in putting out there. Im assuming Cizikas, Clutterbuck, Bailey, Okposo are all forward options (not the best) and the defense? Who knows Viz and hickey? Ouch

Here is an older article about CalClutta's PK

http://islanderspointblank.com/islanders/why-isnt-cal-clutterbuck-killing-penalties/

 

[dlawong]

He may have been this year, but I thought his career numbers were actually decent. Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

Maybe he just had a bad year. In his first All star game, JT was one of the 3 final contestants in the skill competition, the other being Stamko and Pominville. Patrick Kane, the smart player with the wicked hand, happen to be really bad at shootout this year too.

 

[BroadwayJay*]

We need to win more faceoffs, period. Our team blows in all FO situations. We had a few teams' numbers, but the majority of the league used us like cheap dates at the dot.

Oh I agree wholeheartedly. The first step in driving possession is winning the faceoff.

 

[dlawong]

That's what I'm thinking. However, I don't buy the stuff about Cizikas not being an ideal centre...its still too early to tell whether he is or isn't when you consider all the things that went wrong last year.

He was a top centre and a captain for his junior team when he had scoring fast scoring wingers with him. Although I like C. Mac., I think his defensive game is the reason why he spent so much time in AHL. He plays hard and has a good shot, but he does not know how to play his positions well. Not trying to call him out, but Casey is not used to play with players like Martin and C. Mac in junior. He actually had real skilled wingers to play with and he was good at setting them up scoring while he can focus on being the best defensive player on his line.

Yes, I think he need to build up his strength more if he wants to have a long NHL career but this guy was selected number 3 overall in the OHL entry draft, only behind Terry O'reilly and Taylor Hall and he also was the MVP of the OHL Cup prior to that draft. He used to put up more points when he was younger and then his junior defensive coach turn him into a 2 way player because of his size. Give him a bit more time and find the team a skilled coach to work with their face-off and passes, you will see the result. All Isles centres need to improve in the circle. Can't just rely on one.