Islanders Owners: Scott Malkin & Jon Ledecky

[Knoxville555]

i just find it weird being a fan of this team and not having something to complain about. Its been a while.

 

[BelovedIsles]

I give them credit for coming through. I was wrong on my suspicions about them. They set this franchise to be world class, as they stated—arena, management, funding.

Bottom line though is winning and winning consistently. They have yet to pass that litmus test.

 

[Richie Daggers Crime]

i just find it weird being a fan of this team and not having something to complain about.

That's why you go on your multiple Twitter accounts and start grasping for straws.

 

[CupHolders]

i just find it weird being a fan of this team and not having something to complain about. Its been a while.

There are always Cupholders!

 

[periferal]

I give them credit for coming through. I was wrong on my suspicions about them. They set this franchise to be world class, as they stated—arena, management, funding.

Bottom line though is winning and winning consistently. They have yet to pass that litmus test.

Totally agree. Everything is just talk until it happens. For two years we listened to Ledecky make grand promises about the on-ice success of this team that were not backed up with actions. Now FINALLY Lou has come on board and you cannot make more of a grand statement than that. And the biggest irony is that now we are learning that it is the uber-quiet Scott Malkin who is pulling all the strings. So in that way in terms of approach...

Malkin >>>> Ledecky

 

[Jester9881]

i just find it weird being a fan of this team and not having something to complain about. Its been a while.

3rd Jerseys haven't come out yet.

 

[BelovedIsles]

Totally agree. Everything is just talk until it happens. For two years we listened to Ledecky make grand promises about the on-ice success of this team that were not backed up with actions. Now FINALLY Lou has come on board and you cannot make more of a grand statement than that. And the biggest irony is that now we are learning that it is the uber-quiet Scott Malkin who is pulling all the strings. So in that way in terms of approach...

Malkin >>>> Ledecky

I didn’t realize how intricate of a player Malkin was. Always thought he was just there bc he had a lot of money and gave Ledecky the resources he needed to buy the team.

 

[Knoxville555]

3rd Jerseys haven't come out yet.

how bad can they be?

 

[MikeyMike01]

Never understood that argument...
I know some wanted an immediate house cleaning, but it's reasonable for new owners to take their time and assess the situation...

As Ledecky and Malkin took over, the team made the playoffs and won a round. It would’ve been absolutely idiotic to fire Snow or Capuano at that time.

The next year the team gets off to a poor start. Capuano is fired (correct decision). Weight takes over and the team goes on a pretty good run to finish the year. It would have been a possibility to fire both Snow and Weight at this time, but they did finish the season strong. I’d say they made the correct decision here in keeping the same staff.

This year was a disaster outside the first few weeks. Obviously time to clean house.

I don’t see how anyone can be upset at the moves made. They’re all very reasonable if not absolutely correct.

 

[LeapOnOver]

In a short few weeks I assume all of our opinions on them have changed. Before they were "frauds" (and had earned that title). Now the mob has subsided not calling for their heads thanks to the hiring of Lou and subsequently the removal of snow and weight - Moves that seemed to be so obvious to everyone but them.

Now instead of trying to hang them like we'd all like to do with wang, Malkin & Ledecky are showing themselves to be aware owners (very crucial), and owners who can not only get the job done, but are willing to spend money to do so.

So this thread is now about discussing what they've been doing in a more calm environment now that the Isles house isn't on fire like it was a month ago. We actually seem to be truly building something now and the idea of having a "first-class organization" doesn't seem crazy anymore. We're literally on track to having just that.

That said I found this Tweet interesting....



I knew from the last few months of reports that the New York Islanders are truly Scott Malkin's team, but for Ledecky to have NO SAY AT ALL in any decisions being made? None at all? Their ownership arrangement is such that Malkin always has final say and doesn't even listen to Ledecky's opinion?

Normally I'd say that's fine, but how is Ledecky allowed to run around representing Islander ownership and not have any say. Isn't he embarrassed if that's the case and why does Malkin want him doing that?

I purposely listed Malkin first in the title of this thread because we should all only be referring to him as the owner going forward. Any success or failures of this team we now know are 100% his doing and responsibly.

You seem to be taking the tweet and adding fake news to it. The tweeter said "about all these changes" that Ledecky had no decision in them. That doesn't mean he's never had a say and when he was parading around as the public owner in pressers and such he very well could have had decision making ability there. Have you seen Ledecky in front of the press acting like he has a say since the press conference? Do you remember his body language? It could be that he had already gotten tired of being in the public eye and made conscious decision to back off. We never know, but let's not make the tweet out to be anything other than Ledecky had no part in hiring LL. That's about all there is to it. Because really, "all these changes" really refer to just one thing. LL was given the keys to the kingdom, everything from this point on is a domino from one change. The hiring of LL.

 

[LeapOnOver]

As Ledecky and Malkin took over, the team made the playoffs and won a round. It would’ve been absolutely idiotic to fire Snow or Capuano at that time.

The next year the team gets off to a poor start. Capuano is fired (correct decision). Weight takes over and the team goes on a pretty good run to finish the year. It would have been a possibility to fire both Snow and Weight at this time, but they did finish the season strong. I’d say they made the correct decision here in keeping the same staff.

This year was a disaster outside the first few weeks. Obviously time to clean house.

I don’t see how anyone can be upset at the moves made. They’re all very reasonable if not absolutely correct.

Not to mention even Snow's offseason seemed like a positive adding Eberle and dumping Strome. It was far from a groundbreaking offseason, but I don't think anybody disliked the Strome for Eberle swap, even PW who was aggressively trying to steer us clear of Eberle.

 

[Jester9881]

As Ledecky and Malkin took over, the team made the playoffs and won a round. It would’ve been absolutely idiotic to fire Snow or Capuano at that time.

The next year the team gets off to a poor start. Capuano is fired (correct decision). Weight takes over and the team goes on a pretty good run to finish the year.

It was at that very point, before they removed the interim tag from Weight and made him the new head coach. They should have hired a new team president, and let them make a decision on Snow/Weight and the new coach. There's a good chance the new President brings Weight back, but not likely he lets him surround himself with the buddy squad with no or shaky track record. A real defensive minded assistant is likely brought in and a new GM that doesn't go into the season minus a top 4 D and the same broken goaltending that failed them the year prior.

 

[Bones45]

Instead of debating whether or not the owners are or were "frauds" (I think it was only a few dopey fools on here who believed that anyway).. Lets take a look at what they have done in the short while:

1. Got Isles a new home in Belmont
2. Got games at the Coli while the new arena is being built, so we delicate flowers dont have to go to the horseshoe in Brooklyn
3. Brought in ONE OF THE BEST HOCKEY MINDS IN THE PAST 50 years to RUN OUR TEAM.. in turn... SNOW AND WEIGHT ARE FIRED.

If he gets JT signed,,, somehow.. not only would it be a surprise to me.. it would be the coup of the century. The owners have done in a couple of years, which nobody has done in decades.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Instead of debating whether or not the owners are or were "frauds" (I think it was only a few dopey fools on here who believed that anyway).. Lets take a look at what they have done in the short while:

1. Got Isles a new home in Belmont
2. Got games at the Coli while the new arena is being built, so we delicate flowers dont have to go to the horseshoe in Brooklyn
3. Brought in ONE OF THE BEST HOCKEY MINDS IN THE PAST 50 years to RUN OUR TEAM.. in turn... SNOW AND WEIGHT ARE FIRED.

If he gets JT signed,,, somehow.. not only would it be a surprise to me.. it would be the coup of the century. The owners have done in a couple of years, which nobody has done in decades.

....And a sweet practice facility as well.

These owners are legit. Firing Snow years ago or hiring a president of hockey operations when they walked in without a succession plan was not realistic. It would have been foolish to do so. The owners have brought credibility to themselves and the franchise in handling things exactly like they did.

 

[Bones45]

....And a sweet practice facility as well.

These owners are legit. Firing Snow years ago or hiring a president of hockey operations when they walked in without a succession plan was not realistic. It would have been foolish to do so. The owners have brought credibility to themselves and the franchise in handling things exactly like they did.

Precisely. Funny how so many people here claim to know so much about hockey, yet they fail to realize that you have to actually have a plan to replace people when you clean house.

Oh yeah.. forgot to mention that you should be replacing them with people who are BETTER than what you are firing... not just another body.

 

[PK Cronin]

Precisely. Funny how so many people here claim to know so much about hockey, yet they fail to realize that you have to actually have a plan to replace people when you clean house.

Oh yeah.. forgot to mention that you should be replacing them with people who are BETTER than what you are firing... not just another body.

I've always thought the same exact thing when it comes to cleaning house. "Once you find out they have to go, they need to be gone immediately" is such a juvenile and overly simplistic way of viewing things. You can't have a rudderless ship and Malkin seemingly took away all of Snow's important tasks (Tavares re-signing) to minimize the impact he'd have on the franchise. I have zero problem with how ownership handled the removal of Snow. I do question why Weight wasn't canned in the middle of the season, but I guess it goes back to Ledecky saying "Owners own, GM's GM" and they were going to leave personnel decisions up to whomever was hired.

 

[periferal]

Precisely. Funny how so many people here claim to know so much about hockey, yet they fail to realize that you have to actually have a plan to replace people when you clean house.

Oh yeah.. forgot to mention that you should be replacing them with people who are BETTER than what you are firing... not just another body.

With respect to any Islander employee who actually might be great at his/her respective job, what are the odds that Lou won't be replacing every fired employee with someone BETTER?

 

[doublechili]

I think we may be seeing the benefit of having an owner who is in retail. He actually has to worry about making customers happy and giving them an incentive to patronize his business.

Wang was a tech guy who, if I'm not mistaken, sold software that was used in industry. So he didn't have the same need to appeal to individual consumers. Malkin gets it. And if he has to pay Snow and Weight to do nothing, and Lou and Trotz a lot, he correctly figures it's worth it in the long run to sell tickets and develop the arena, etc..

 

[Bones45]

If you Crooklyn commuting folks happen to see Ledecky on the train this coming fall, be sure to get on your knees and thank him for me.

 

[periferal]

If you Crooklyn commuting folks happen to see Ledecky on the train this coming fall, be sure to get on your knees and thank him for me.

I think it's more like "Thank Malkin for us," but semantics.

 

[doublechili]

For the first couple of years of their ownership Ledecky was the face of ownership and perhaps he was also the active manager of things (seemed like it). For the past few months Malkin is the guy and Ledecky is invisible. I wonder what caused that? Was it the arena that has gotten Malkin more involved?

Or, was it related to the Snow/Weight presser? That seemed to be the turning point. Soon after that we're spending money to bring Lou in, and then Trotz. Ledecky is nowhere and when anyone mentions ownership it's Malkin. I also wonder if Malkin was upset that the Tavares thing reached the point that it did? Was that on Ledecky for letting it get past last summer? Any thoughts?

 

[CupHolders]

For the first couple of years of their ownership Ledecky was the face of ownership and perhaps he was also the active manager of things (seemed like it). For the past few months Malkin is the guy and Ledecky is invisible. I wonder what caused that? Was it the arena that has gotten Malkin more involved?

Or, was it related to the Snow/Weight presser? That seemed to be the turning point. Soon after that we're spending money to bring Lou in, and then Trotz. Ledecky is nowhere and when anyone mentions ownership it's Malkin. I also wonder if Malkin was upset that the Tavares thing reached the point that it did? Was that on Ledecky for letting it get past last summer? Any thoughts?

In all of the Gary Bettman interviews regarding this current Islander ownership, that I have heard and read; he pretty much seems to mention Malkin exclusively.

I feel as if this goes back to the onset of their ownership. The only reason that it stood out to me is because of what you mentioned... the constant visibility of Ledecky.

I’m not sure what that means. But I figured I’d add it to the conversation.

 

[MJF]

In all of the Gary Bettman interviews regarding this current Islander ownership, that I have heard and read; he pretty much seems to mention Malkin exclusively.

I feel as if this goes back to the onset of their ownership. The only reason that it stood out to me is because of what you mentioned... the constant visibility of Ledecky.

I’m not sure what that means. But I figured I’d add it to the conversation.

It means that Scott Malkin, who lives in London, was not around here to be visible for the day to day stuff. But when it came time to start rebuilding the front office and try to resign the former face of the franchise, it was time for him to get involved.

Remember, Malkin was doing the negotiating with Pat Brisson throughout the entire charade. He made several trips to Los Angeles to meet with him in the last year.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Has that garbage that Larry Brooks has been spewing about Scott Malkin forbidding Snow from trading Tavares at the TDL ever been verified?

 

[Isles72]

For the first couple of years of their ownership Ledecky was the face of ownership and perhaps he was also the active manager of things (seemed like it). For the past few months Malkin is the guy and Ledecky is invisible. I wonder what caused that? Was it the arena that has gotten Malkin more involved?

Or, was it related to the Snow/Weight presser? That seemed to be the turning point. Soon after that we're spending money to bring Lou in, and then Trotz. Ledecky is nowhere and when anyone mentions ownership it's Malkin. I also wonder if Malkin was upset that the Tavares thing reached the point that it did? Was that on Ledecky for letting it get past last summer? Any thoughts?

Could be something as simple as Ledecky throwing up his arms to Malkin saying he has no idea what else he can do in regards to signing JT last summer or in season . Maybe they both though that after the Belmont presser signing JT would be a breeze since that stumbling block was finally out of the way but when that didnt get a rise out of jt/brisson I think they started to hit the panic button .