Islanders bold predictions

Seph

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Sep 5, 2002
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- We'll have many phases where we have considerable problems scoring goals.
- Power play will eventually be as good as it was last season (which isn't saying too much).
- We will be light years better defensively than last season and lose the majority of our losses by 2-1, 3-2, 4-2 style outcomes.
- We'll have the most penalty minutes in the league and games where we fall behind 3-0 or 4-1 will become very entertaining from a physical standpoint.
- Barzal will lead the team in scoring, but will have less than 70 points.
- We will not end the season with both Lee and Eberle on the roster.
- Our best defenseman will be a guy who is not currently on the roster.
- Ho-Sang will be a factor this year and will be the Star of the Game on 4 separate occasions.
- The most pleasant surprise this season will be Valteri Filppula.
- Kovar will not end the season in an Islanders uniform.
- Most importantly, fans and media will "identify" with this team and what is being built here.
The Islanders' PP last season was the 6th best in the league, I'd be thrilled if it was that good again.
 

beach

Registered User
Aug 17, 2005
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Not an Islanders' prediction, but ARI will be this year's surprise team, making it to round 3.
 

steveat

Registered User
Jun 4, 2011
12,053
2,001
1. We make the playoffs

- Lou brought in other players...NOT because they're awesome, but because for him to implement a new culture, it's more difficult being one person, so he brought on key people (who already know the culture) to help hash out the framework for other players to follow or this culture change would take 3 times as long to implement and get everyone integrated. These guys are NHLers, but can easily get outbeat by younger prospect talent, so he purposely left the barrier to entry weak to give prospects a push to make the team.

Guys at the Hockey News think Isles will be second last only because Ottawa's tyre fire is too much and they'll beat us to the bottom. It seems so biased if you ask me. We lost one good player...but he wasn't a Lafontaine who was THE TEAM. We have 8+ players on our team that can easily score ore than 20 goals this year and our D only sucks when we have injuries because we lack proper depth and high end D. NOT because out D is shit.

2. Kovar will be our Kucherov/Kuznetsov. Why do people think Kovar, who has shown success in arguably the second best league in the world is going to suck?

3. Pelech, Mayfield will surprise 30+ points each

4. Pulock 55 points

5. Bailey 55 Points

6. Ladd 50 points

7. We are going to see MDC up one more time

8. Ho-Sang will get a legit shot

9. If we don't make the playoffs, it will be because of injuries.
 

miscs75

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Jul 2, 2014
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Josh Ho-Sang learns that he plays with 4 other guys on the ice and makes passes that aren't forced/telegraphed/late.
 

Chapin Landvogt

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Jul 4, 2002
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  • Bellows makes a tremendous case for himself to be on the roster opening night, but due to the surplus of bodies he starts in Bridgeport and tears it up, once injuries take their toll or when Nelson is traded, he is called up and eventually finds himself riding shotgun to Barzal, this won't be till later in the season so he wont have a Boeser type season, but you will hear people say "We've got our Boeser"

I've been saying for WEEKS NOW that we've got out Boeser!

His name is Oliver Wahlstrom.
 
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Flair19Woo

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Nov 10, 2006
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My prediction: pain.

They’ll be a pain to play against.

They’ll be painful to watch.

They will be painfully close to the bottom of the conference.

But....it’ll be short-term pain for long-term success and an improved culture.

Kovar will score 25-35 points.
Pulock will hit 35 points but injury could derail him.
Ho-sang will start learning how to play hockey.
Bellows will be in the AHL.
Lehner and Griess will turn in above average years but it won’t be enough.
 
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PK Cronin

Bailey Fan Club Prez
Feb 11, 2013
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My prediction: pain.

They’ll be a pain to play against.

They’ll be painful to watch.

They will be painfully close to the bottom of the conference.

But....it’ll be short-term pain for long-term success and an improved culture.

Kovar will score 25-35 points.
Pulock will hit 35 points but injury could derail him.
Ho-sang will start learning how to play hockey.
Bellows will be in the AHL.
Lehner and Griess will turn in above average years but it won’t be enough.

I pity the fool who doesn't think there will be pain!!
 

Jester9881

Registered User
May 16, 2006
14,350
3,460
Long Island NY
Not a prediction post...

Lou still has some work to do.
1. This team needs a 2nd line C, he needs to find one internally, through the draft, trade or UFA. Current in house options are Kovar, Nelson and Beauvillier
2. This team still needs two top six defensemen. Ditto above with options being Toews, Aho, Wotherspoon and Quienneville (Dobson/Wilde too far away)
3. This team still needs a starting goaltender. Internal options include Lehner, Greiss and Soderstrom

If Lou can answer at least two of those questions sometime this season/offseason, it will be a success IMO regardless of how they finish in the standings.
 

nyisleslover

Registered User
Jun 20, 2018
267
267
Albany, NY
I predict that no matter what happens next season, at least 1/4 of this board will complain about it.

Not a prediction post...

Lou still has some work to do.
1. This team needs a 2nd line C, he needs to find one internally, through the draft, trade or UFA. Current in house options are Kovar, Nelson and Beauvillier
2. This team still needs two top six defensemen. Ditto above with options being Toews, Aho, Wotherspoon and Quienneville (Dobson/Wilde too far away)
3. This team still needs a starting goaltender. Internal options include Lehner, Greiss and Soderstrom

Hey! Self fulfilling prophesies don't count! ;) :sarcasm: I tease! Good points!
 
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lazycop

Dave's not here.
Mar 25, 2006
1,575
464
Prediction:
Kinda like the Mets, we start hot, surprising everyone, then immediately suck. Our new coach isn’t the answer we thought he’d be. We make no moves at the deadline to actually improve the team. Our GM steps down(albeit for a different reason, age). We have aging, injured players holding us back.
Good news: unlike the Metsies, we have a farm system. It’s just not ready yet.
 

seafoam

Soft Shock
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May 17, 2011
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Not a prediction post...

Lou still has some work to do.
1. This team needs a 2nd line C, he needs to find one internally, through the draft, trade or UFA. Current in house options are Kovar, Nelson and Beauvillier
2. This team still needs two top six defensemen. Ditto above with options being Toews, Aho, Wotherspoon and Quienneville (Dobson/Wilde too far away)
3. This team still needs a starting goaltender. Internal options include Lehner, Greiss and Soderstrom

If Lou can answer at least two of those questions sometime this season/offseason, it will be a success IMO regardless of how they finish in the standings.

No Chris Gibson?
 

BelovedIsles

Registered User
Oct 22, 2005
20,062
5,365
1. We make the playoffs

- Lou brought in other players...NOT because they're awesome, but because for him to implement a new culture, it's more difficult being one person, so he brought on key people (who already know the culture) to help hash out the framework for other players to follow or this culture change would take 3 times as long to implement and get everyone integrated. These guys are NHLers, but can easily get outbeat by younger prospect talent, so he purposely left the barrier to entry weak to give prospects a push to make the team.

Guys at the Hockey News think Isles will be second last only because Ottawa's tyre fire is too much and they'll beat us to the bottom. It seems so biased if you ask me. We lost one good player...but he wasn't a Lafontaine who was THE TEAM. We have 8+ players on our team that can easily score ore than 20 goals this year and our D only sucks when we have injuries because we lack proper depth and high end D. NOT because out D is ****.

2. Kovar will be our Kucherov/Kuznetsov. Why do people think Kovar, who has shown success in arguably the second best league in the world is going to suck?

3. Pelech, Mayfield will surprise 30+ points each

4. Pulock 55 points

5. Bailey 55 Points

6. Ladd 50 points

7. We are going to see MDC up one more time

8. Ho-Sang will get a legit shot

9. If we don't make the playoffs, it will be because of injuries.

I think we’ll be competitive (not bottom 3, nor playoff material), whether external support is brought in or not. If another top 4 D is brought in, we either make the playoffs or just fall short.

We lost a great player (not good), but the collective can compensate to a degree.

Kovar is not close to Kuz or Kucherov. Now that one is real bold.

Agree with most of your other projections. Maybe less pts for Pulock.

My bold prediction; if he’s not traded, JHS becomes a regular forward.
 

boredmale

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Jul 13, 2005
42,363
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The Islanders' PP last season was the 6th best in the league, I'd be thrilled if it was that good again.

Islanders PP and PK seem to have a weird thing over the past 4-5 seasons where one is top ten and the other is near the bottom of the league. We can never get both working at the same time
 

LeapOnOver

Mackenzie is a hack!
Jan 23, 2011
12,471
3,674
Iksan, S. Korea
www.leaponover.com
JHS will quietly hit 45 points. Team will start off hot but once the chip on the shoulder falls off they'll be the worse team in the second half of the season. Both Eberle and Lee will be moved at the deadline because LL will just realize an all out rebuild is the only option.

Barzal won't get more than 65pts.
 

Chapin Landvogt

Registered User
Jul 4, 2002
19,875
5,926
Germany
I'll make my predictions on the answers to your questions...

1. This team needs a 2nd line C, he needs to find one internally, through the draft, trade or UFA. Current in house options are Kovar, Nelson and Beauvillier

With Kovar, Filppula, and eventually Nelson under contract, Lou feels like he's got the 2nd line center question dealt with from within. It'll likely be Nelson or Kovar's job to lose. Filppula could surprise us as he was a long-time #2 in Detroit and has played for 2 successive teams where he didn't necessarily have to take on a #2 role, particularly in his last 2 seasons in Tampa. And especially in Philly.

Let's not forget that his past 3 seasons have still seen him put up 31, 42, and 33 points respectively. It's not like he's a 15-point 4th liner.

Of course, once Brock's contract is known, that's when trade talk can pick up. That it may come down to arbitration (as opposed to ALL the other RFAs) is, for me, a sign that the organization will be very ready to move Brock.

2. This team still needs two top six defensemen. Ditto above with options being Toews, Aho, Wotherspoon and Quienneville (Dobson/Wilde too far away)

I think few in the organization feel this current team needs two more top 6 defensemen.

We fans are all hoping for at least one, but we may need to temper our expectations for now.

Lou and Trotz will be changing the culture, but pure SC competitiveness does not seem to be the ultimate goal right now. This season is likely a season of transition on several fronts and part of that transition will be seeing what we actually have, particularly on the blueline.

Don't forget that Trotz went into camp last fall with Washington having only 4 NHL Dmen of note. They threw Bowey and Djoos into the mix with Chorney being a bubble player. Trotz dealt with that group of 7, plus Aaron Ness for a cup of tea, all the way up to the deadline. Then Kempny and Jerabek were added. He's not new to this situation.

I can EASILY see Lou doing exactly the same thing. Toews and Aho make Dmen 7 & 8. Go with that group of 8 guys until the blueline proves to be an acute problem. If things are working out by the trade deadline and the team actually looks like it could make some noise with a bit of improvement, then Lou will go out and get it. Seems like an OK plan to me, especially with the gut feeling that Dobson is a regular in 2019/20. But all is clear that this is NOT a plan for instant success.

This said, I still think the most likely course of action, if a move is made before the season, will be seeing Nelson moved for another top 4 Dman.

3. This team still needs a starting goaltender. Internal options include Lehner, Greiss and Soderstrom

Not much of an open issue. Lehner and Greiss will likely split the duties, with Lehner getting 60% of the starts.

Can't see an alteration to that plan without injury or until Soderstrom forces his way in.

Personally, I think adding Mitch Korn (if we do so) would mean 7-10 more wins this season than will otherwise be the case.
 

Chapin Landvogt

Registered User
Jul 4, 2002
19,875
5,926
Germany
1. We make the playoffs

- Lou brought in other players...NOT because they're awesome, but because for him to implement a new culture, it's more difficult being one person, so he brought on key people (who already know the culture) to help hash out the framework for other players to follow or this culture change would take 3 times as long to implement and get everyone integrated. These guys are NHLers, but can easily get outbeat by younger prospect talent, so he purposely left the barrier to entry weak to give prospects a push to make the team.

Guys at the Hockey News think Isles will be second last only because Ottawa's tyre fire is too much and they'll beat us to the bottom. It seems so biased if you ask me. We lost one good player...but he wasn't a Lafontaine who was THE TEAM. We have 8+ players on our team that can easily score ore than 20 goals this year and our D only sucks when we have injuries because we lack proper depth and high end D. NOT because out D is ****.

2. Kovar will be our Kucherov/Kuznetsov. Why do people think Kovar, who has shown success in arguably the second best league in the world is going to suck?

3. Pelech, Mayfield will surprise 30+ points each

4. Pulock 55 points

5. Bailey 55 Points

6. Ladd 50 points

7. We are going to see MDC up one more time

8. Ho-Sang will get a legit shot

9. If we don't make the playoffs, it will be because of injuries.

Very positive outlook.

I think some of this has a good chance of taking place.
 

saintunspecified

Registered User
Nov 30, 2017
5,974
4,294
"Bold" predictions:

- Johnny Boychuk won't play half the season.
- Ryan Pulock will start slow, miss 10-15 games with an injury, and recover to score 15 goals as the season expires in tedium.
- Anthony Beauvillier will be the team's only 30 goal scorer, as Anders scores only 20-25.
- Toews doesn't make the team out of camp, but ends up playing 60+ games and acquitting himself well.
- Scott Mayfield will eventually find himself waived, and in the AHL.
- Barzal continues to delight, scoring 80+ points and making massive improvements on faceoffs and defensive play.
- Greiss ends up solidifying the 1A position and stitches together a decent year. Lehner struggles with injuries and personal frustration.
- Jan Kovar scores around 30 points and is adequate as a short term replacement on a team that's going nowhere.
- Both Eberle and Lee are traded at the deadline.

I can't predict Josh Ho-Sang.
 

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